Health and Human Services Professional Development

Early Bird Gets the Worm…or at Least the Job by   Jill Bowers   on   July 5, 2013   Five tips for getting up early by Robin Sharma…although a few of these many not seem feasible (i.e., getting a weekly massage), his philosophy on getting up early may be useful to you/your daily routine. https://youtu.be/z6hsOLVwfFc *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Need More Time? 10 tips for Using Technology! by   Mikki Sherwood   on   July 25, 2013   Do you think you know ALL of the shortcuts for your technology? David Pogue (via Ted Talks) shares 10 easy time-savers for the internet, smartphones, and digital cameras. See if you know them all! blob:https://embed.ted.com/c02d7e5c-f956-490b-8b9c-6531d033be21 *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Randy Pausch on Time Management by   Jill Bowers   on   July 30, 2013   This is a longer, but inspirational talk by Randy Pausch on goals, prioritizing, planning, and avoiding procrastination. He has an incredible way of framing and summarizing important advice on this subject. For example, he talks about “doing the   right   things adequately rather than doing the wrong things in a polished manner” or how to recognize excuses we are making for ourselves, such as “I don’t want to make a plan because my schedule might change.” He also explains how we procrastinate by using Steven Covey’s 4 quadrants to do list, how to write proper thank you notes, and how to avoid being on the phone for long periods of time. He is one of my favorite people to listen to, gives awesome advice on time management here, and if you have not heard any of Pausch’s talks, I highly recommend! *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission gran...

Putting Off Until Tomorrow…Stop Procrastinating by   Jill Bowers   on   July 30, 2013 Many successful leaders have said, “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Easier said than done sometimes. Procrastination, or postponing a inevitable task, is easy to do. Mark Twain put a different twist on it when he stated, “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.” But what if an important deadline for school or work IS tomorrow? Are you a procrastinator? Do you tell others (and yourself) that you “work better under pressure”…Do you ACTUALLY work better under pressure or might you simply be a habitual procrastinator? And if so, you are not alone. According to the  McGraw-Hill Center for Teaching and Learning , many [even successful] individuals procrastinate, and the causes of procrastination are rooted in psychology (i.e., your own fears and anxiety) rather than laziness or poor time management skills. They stat...

Are Your Digital Habits Influencing Your Productivity? by   Jill Bowers   on   August 29, 2013   Although modern technology tools can help us to achieve our goals and in an efficient manner, we also need to be cognizant of how much time we are spending on email, Facebook, or site surfing at large. You may want to consider logging the amount of hours you spend online or texting on an average day. It may be surprising to learn how friends’ status updates or text messages are prohibiting you from completing important and even urgent tasks. In his book,   The 4-Hour Work Week ,  Tim Ferris recommended setting aside certain times of day to respond to emails. Following this model, on days or weeks where you need to complete urgent and important tasks to meet your goals, you may want to consider checking in online once in the morning or last thing in the evening and disconnecting from email, Facebook, Twitter, or other online communication tools the rest of ...

Take Control of Your Time by   Tami Duzan   on   August 31, 2013 “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future!”  These lyrics sung by the Steve Miller Band summarize what happens to many of us.  Do you ever feel like time is slipping away and you don’t know how you’re going to juggle everything you have to do?  Here are a couple of tips and some resources that may help you manage your time so that you don’t feel overwhelmed and stressed. Evaluate, Prioritize and Compartmentalize! 1) Your first task is to evaluate all of the time suckers in your life, whether that be school, friends, work, family, exercise, spiritual/religious activities, gaming, or other hobbies.  Make sure you acknowledge everything that is time consuming. 2) Take a look at your list and decide if each item is really necessary at this point in your life. 3) Once you’ve determined which activities should be on your list, start prioritizing and compartmenta...

Hard vs Soft Skills and Employment by   Elizabeth Shuff And Julia Mackenzie, Guest Authors   on   June 7, 2014   Employers have long been focused completely on the technical skills that future employees bring to the table, which are often termed “hard skills.” Research, however, has shown that more and more employers are looking for people with good “soft skills” to complement their work-related knowledge. So, what’s the difference? Hard skills are what you would list on your resume. Obviously, hard skills will always be an important factor in employment. Employers want to hire someone with excellent content-specific knowledge and skills; the importance of soft skills, however, is becoming clearer. Soft skills are not easily taught, rather they are qualities a person has acquired. Research has shown that two of the most important soft skills are good communication and integrity. Employers are looking for people whose hard skills compliment their soft skills...

8 Steps Towards Professionalism by   Jill Bowers   on   September 6, 2014   In need of a job? Want to avoid living on Mom’s couch forever? Professional demeanor can be the difference between being hired or fired. Here are 8 simple tips that you can use to make certain you are prepared to behave like the professional that you are or have the potential to be. 1. Dress “appropriately” Media Source:http://media1.giphy.com/media/uFcNbEr46h9Is/200_s.gif What is appropriate? Well, this may vary by position. Yet, as a general rule of thumb, if the attire is appropriate for a night club or party, it most likely is NOT appropriate for the workplace. 2.Speak with substance Media source: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwbhpSWYRQQkm6K_PESA6l6yo1mRmvulanArcevwe5dGBwXgIT Make meaningful conversation, and answer questions directly, rather than talking in circles. Do not over-disclose, revealing information about your personal life or pe...

End of the Semester Stress and Self-Care by   Jill Bowers   on   November 26, 2014   It’s that time of the semester…final exams, papers, projects, grades, and graduation. In addition to stress associated with school, many students are coping with emotions associated with holidays or gloomy/winter seasonal affect. International students, or those that live far away from family, may be especially at-risk for exhausted financial or emotional resources as they try to get home or figure out plans for winter break. And, many of you simply put so much pressure on yourselves as academic or organizational leaders that you forget or don’t take the time to take care of yourself in the way that your body and mind needs. Self-care can enhance your ability to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. It can help you to have better cognitive focus and give you more energy. Engaging in self-care can also improve your mood, and some forms of self-care can aid in the develop...