Online Career Tips

By J. Mason
Online Career Tips Staff

If your boss can’t find your desk because of the mess surrounding your work area, then it’s time to start cleaning. Besides being a potential safety hazard, messy desks can create bad publicity for yourself. You don’t want to be a spectacle because of your clutter! Consider taking the time to get more organized in your space, and minimize the need for whispers around the water cooler about you.

[What are the Dangers of a Messy Desk?]

First you want to make sure you can still see your floor. If you have a lot of paperwork, use a filing cabinet! Any kind of audio equipment, computer parts, or general use office items that are space hogs can be put away in the storage areas of your building. Your co-worker shouldn’t have to wait while you shuffle stuff around for them to take a seat. Keep the space inviting, and the floor inhabitants to a minimum.

Also, minize visual clutter on your walls and desktop. Having a few pictures with friends is great, and it shows your personality, but too much could signal that you’d rather be at that party than working. Make sure there’s room to move on your desk as well. Pretend like it’s your kitchen. You wouldn’t have cluttered counter space, because then where would you prepare food! While you won’t be prepping a meal at your desk, it’s nice to keep the visual landscape open. It gives off the appearance of being organized.

[Set Aside Time for an "Email Hour" Every Week]

You don’t have to be self conscious of where you sit, but it pays to give it some TLC from time to time. Throw away unnecessary trash, and wipe it down with some disinfectant wipes. Chatter will forever be a constant in the office space, but by maintaining a healthy desk presence you remove unfounded assumptions based on appearances.

Treat your desk like your home, and make it enjoyable to “live” in. It may even improve your mindset during the workday for the better.

Artist: Siegmar Munk

By: J. Mason

Meeting request; accept or decline? Accept.

Annual staff meeting request; accept or decline? Accept.

How many of these do you get a week? How many do you see a month? If the answer is too many than you’re either not digging hard enough for purpose from them, or you need to have a talk with the organizers.

[related: Turn Your Afternoon Into a Sprint, Not a Marathon]

There is a true purpose, hopefully, for every meeting that is organized. And while you may not know the purpose of your presence up front, it’s best to be polite and try to attend. You’re included for a reason, and whether it’s for your face, ingenuity, or because you’re with management, make sure to bring your brain and be present.

Meetings can be a burden, if you let them, but they can also be a productive part of the day if timed right and not dragged out. I found some great information on the four characteristics of decisive meetings from a study conducted by Charan (2006) for the Harvard Business Review. The author of the post, Steve Nguyen, shares the best ways to conduct productive meetings is by incorporating these 4 elements:

• Open – an outcome is not predetermine; think of a brainstorming session.
• Candid - allow and encourage workers to air their conflicts.
• Informal - light chatter and project review; an open area for spontaneity to arise.
• Closure – at the end of these meetings people leave knowing what they are expected to do next.

So,  if you feel your weekly meetings aren’t hitting these marks maybe it’s time to re-evaluate. Look at what you’re doing and discussing. Some meetings are unavoidable, but there’s a reason behind that. Don’t lose yourself in requests, find a purpose and roll it into your everyday.

By: J. Mason
Online Career Tips Staff

After an enjoyable weekend coming to work the next day is at the bottom of your wish list. You may sleep in later, or take a little longer getting ready in the morning. Whether you get sidetracked or not, you’ll still need to make it into the office eventually. So, instead of fighting the urge to start the week instead embrace it and turn it into a routine.

1. If you’re a coffee drinker, set up your coffee machine to auto brew a little earlier than usual Monday morning. That way you have it ready when you’re up.
2. Wear a favorite outfit to work. Instead of the Monday frump, try dressing up a bit. If you look better, you may feel better about yourself which will give you more confidence for the day.
3. Try taking a different route to work. Change up your normal scenery to get a new perspective on your day, and hopefully have a change from the same traffic and drivers.
4. Chat with a co-worker while your computer is booting up. Don’t stew in your unhappiness to be working, instead engage someone in a light conversation to get your work day off to a good start.
5. Grab lunch by yourself or with co-workers. Whatever your typical pattern is for Monday’s, drop it. If you’re typically by yourself, surround yourself with a co-worker or two, and if you’re usually part of a big group go solo today.

There’s an old cliche that everyone makes mistakes. It’s what your parents tell you when you fall down, and what your friend may tell you when you mess up at work. How you handle the failure can make or break your position.

We all want to highlight our accomplishments. When you got an A in school you put it on the fridge, if you won a contest at work you brag about it until the sun goes down. If you fail at something, it’s more likely that you’ll sweep it under the rug. Here’s a better approach, “frame” it as something to work and improve upon.

The next time a project flounders, write it down. Make sure you’re detailed. People in the IT field have to write detailed reports when they have to work on someone’s computer. They have document how they troubleshooted so it could be used as a reference later on. Try this same approach to tasks or projects you seem to have more trouble with.

[related: Know the Promotion Strategy at Your Company]