Do You Feel It?
By Kris Powers | March 9th 2021
Spring is in the air, and along with blooming flowers, I’m catching scents of “hope” and “healing”. The events of the past 12 months have been unprecedented (are you as tired of that word as I am?) and I think we are all anxious to return to something that resembles our lives before the pandemic.
If you’re anything like me, you may feel as if you are awakening from a long slumber; albeit not feeling exactly well-rested. Perhaps, like me, you are just plain worn out.
The good news is that, for me, there are certain times of the year that signal a time for rejuvenation and growth, and Spring is one of them. So, I’m grabbing onto the “hope” I feel in the air and plotting my next steps.
Career Training During COVID
By Kris Powers | February 24th 2021
The Brookings Institution recently wrote, “Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to be fast nor easy…Agreeing that the short-run shock of the pandemic has turned into a full-blown recession, economists and other analysts have turned their attention to a big question: will jobs actually come back?”
Since the onset of COVID-19, we have seen many businesses close, while others have worked to pivot from in-person to virtual or remote services whenever possible. Minimizing face-to-face interactions has been a leading force behind many a business innovation in the past year. As a large number of employees are now working remotely, businesses have strategized how to move their operations remotely too.
Who is Murphy (and why is his law so crappy)?
By Kris Powers | January 25th 2021
I was listening to Alanis Morrissette’s song “Ironic” this morning. Singing along, I found myself thinking; some of these situations really aren’t ironic but examples of Murphy’s law in action.
“Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face” – Alanis Morissette
17 Ways to Find Motivation When You Need it Most
By Kris Powers | January 7th 2021
I’ll be honest; there are days when I lack motivation to do the things that need doing - whether it be self care, work, or things around the house. To jump-start my motivation on those days, I’ve come up with some life hacks to help me “fake it ‘til I make it”.
Creating your own personal life hacks toolkit will help you build the resilience to move forward and find motivation when you need it most.
Here are 17 tips I use to tap into my motivation when I’m feeling less than inspired:
Rethink Your To-Do List
By Kris Powers | December 12th 2020
Many of us are feeling fragmented right about now. Regular holiday season stress on top of pandemic anxiety has created a cocktail for disaster. Are you having trouble focusing? Seeing an uptick in mistakes or feeling as if you are doing sub-stellar work? Do you end each day wondering where the time went, or feel that you are simply going through the motions?
If you are anything like me, your mind is a racing screenplay of the dozens of things we feel we need to accomplish. At the start of the pandemic, I had big plans for tackling long overdue projects at home while working remotely (I’ve not been overly successful on that front). The holidays have brought their own set of challenges while I try to figure out how to celebrate without our out-of-town family joining us this year.
8 Tips to Make You Hire-ly Marketable
By Kris Powers | November 30th 2020
If you are seeking a promotion, looking for a job change or are considering a total career change, now is the perfect time to gain a professional advantage by enhancing your skills and qualifications to set yourself apart in today’s competitive business environment.
Online opportunities have made it easier than ever to brush up on skills you need. Where do you start?
How to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of Automation and AI
By Guest Blogger | November 24th 2020
Undoubtedly, AI and automation can drive job creation and business growth. But they can also displace entire job categories. According to a report by McKinsey, about 60% of occupations could be automated.
When it comes to your career development, you shouldn’t leave anything to chance. A good way to future-proof your career is to stay one step ahead of the tech industry.
Instead of wondering whether a robot can do your job, it’s better to ask yourself how you can help a robot do its job.
Show Your Value in New Ways
Your role will eventually go away if your job is doing something reproducible or algorithmic. Take a closer look at the tasks you perform now and how you perform them. Be the one who will suggest automation improvements.
8 Tips for Successful Remote Learning and Work
By Kris Powers | November 12th 2020
Whether you are working from home, helping children manage their remote learning experiences, taking courses for personal or professional development during this time of economic unrest – or all of the above - there are steps you can take to make your days more efficient.
The principles for setting up for successful learning at home are not all that different than those needed to work remotely. The basic needs for structure and discipline are the same. By following a few of the steps below, you will communicate to your child, yourself, and your household that education and work are a priority.
Rejoining the Workforce
By Kris Powers | November 4th 2020
I’m an optimist; already looking ahead to a time when COVID will be a thing of the past – a horrible time in our history that will be talked about by future generations.
When we come out on the other side of this, and we will, there are going to be many men and women looking for employment. Perhaps you were laid off as a result of COVID, maybe you took a sabbatical to home school your children, or to care for an elderly parent. Whatever the reason, if you are planning on reentering the workforce again, there are steps you can take to make yourself more attractive to companies and more employable overall.
Embracing the "Good Enough"
By Kris Powers | September 29th 2020
My father was a perfectionist and was frequently heard saying, “if you are going to do it, do it right”.
As a teenager and young adult, while I may not have always given 100% to everything I did, I did try to do things as right as I could. While raising my children, I often counseled them that a job well done felt a whole lot better than a half-hearted attempt at something.
But you know what? As someone who suffers from OCD, this can take on a whole new meaning. Doing it “right” can mean striving for an unreachable level of perfectionism and subsequent feelings of disappointment when things aren’t “perfect”. So many lists, always wondering if I had really done my best, left me feeling frustrated and tired.