Keep Your Project Moving

Written by Robert F. Abbott


I'll admit it upfront. I like starting new projects. Unfortunately, I'm hardly as fond of finishing them.

One exception is my book, A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, which I did get finished. Even on that project, though, getting finished wasn't a slam dunk -- it took more than seven years.

Do you have that problem, too? Many of us do, apparently, and it holds us back from reaching some of our goals, or reaching them as quickly as we would like.

So, let's explore what's happening, and what we can do to keep moving ahead with big communication projects.

First,repparttar hurdles. One that immediately comes to mind isrepparttar 104390 determination to make everything perfect (at least in our own eyes) before we let others read, see, or hear it. Rather than settle for acceptable work (and after all, not everything has to meetrepparttar 104391 standard of excellence), we keep polishing and polishing.

Trouble is, as you'll know if you've done this often enough, additional work doesn't always equal additional quality. Sometimes we actually make things worse by repeated editing and rewrites.

If you're troubled by this habit, ask yourself how you'll be judged. If you'll be judged as a writer or speaker, then it probably makes sense to put in extra hours. Onrepparttar 104392 other hand, if you're preparing a technical report, then your ideas probably matter more thanrepparttar 104393 manner in which they're expressed.

Here's another hurdle: not enough planning in advance, and you end up making too many changes. Communication projects generally move more quickly if we start with at least an outline. We can set out, in advance, our objectives, a profile ofrepparttar 104394 target audience, and what we wantrepparttar 104395 audience to take away. From an editorial perspective, we could write an outline that stipulates howrepparttar 104396 message will unfold.

In addition, it's often easier to revise or procrastinate than to create new material. Especially if you haven't done any advance planning. In that case, you might not be sure what comes next. Polishing existing material gives us an excuse not to dorepparttar 104397 sometimes hard work of creating new material.

If your big communication project involves writing, you've probably known -- or will soon know -- writers' block and allrepparttar 104398 other barriers that keep you from getting words on paper or on a computer screen.

Personally, I've foundrepparttar 104399 best way to overcome this problem is just to do something regularly. For example, duringrepparttar 104400 course of writing A Manager's Guide to Newsletters I found myself stuck many times. Often it had something to do with an idea that I couldn't work out atrepparttar 104401 time. And there were occasions when I just couldn't get interested.

How to Bring Your Heart & Spirit to Work

Written by Ann Ronan, Ph.D.


How to Bring Your Heart and Spirit to Work

If you live an average life span and work full-time you will have spent 90,000 hours at work. More than one third of your waking adult life! Do you long to spend those days doing work that is satisfying? Would you like to experience long stretches of time “inrepparttar flow”, when you lose track of time because you’re so engaged in what you’re doing?

The first key to finding this type of work is: Know Thyself. If you acknowledge what makes you unique, your special skills, and your deep interests you can find or create work you can love. So how to do this? Here’s five clues. Get out your journal or whip up a new computer page and answerrepparttar 104389 following questions:

What activity was I doingrepparttar 104390 last time I "lost track” of time?

What issues or causes are deeply important to me?

Which 3 or 4 special skills do I love using in my work?

What unique knowledge do I bring torepparttar 104391 workplace?

How is my style different from those around me?

Now, take this information and choose about four unique strengths that really jump out at you - this is your special “brand.” Ask yourself how these strengths benefit others: your customers, colleagues or clients. Or how could it benefit them inrepparttar 104392 future?

Then, put your strengths to work. If you are seeking a new position, you are now armed with good information to add to your resume. You’ll be able to sparkle in an interview because you know what you’re bringing torepparttar 104393 position they’re trying to fill.

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