Are You Guilty Of TMI?

TMI – Too Much Information

We spend more time with our co-workers than with our own families. At work we often share lunches, dinner after late evening meetings and even an occasional after work cocktail. So it’s kind of difficult to avoid discussing some personal matters with colleagues. Our colleagues sometimes know about major life events before other people in our lives.

But, there are valid reasons for not sharing personal information with your co-workers. People will think nothing of repeating what you’ve told them and others with purposefully use that information with malice. Are you sure, which of co-worker’s can keep your personal life private?

If you have never experienced backlash from personal issues shared with the workplace, consider yourself fortunate. Keep in mind that when you chose to share personal information, especially information that shows your weaknesses, you may be exposing your Achilles heel. If you’re in a managerial position you’re going to lose the respect of your underlings and if want to get to a managerial position you may shoot yourself in the foot. It’s not rude or a lack of manners to forgo sharing your private life, its simply good judgment. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t exchange pleasantries, be social or share positive life events but learn the happy medium.

Beyond what you verbally share.

For those utilizing social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc., how much personal information is too much? To find out the answer, it might be a simple as Googling your own name.

My Google experience was a little shocking, not because of any scandalous content but I was very surprised to see everything that I’d ever posted on Twitter, show up on Google! Thankfully, I erred on the side of caution.

I have profiles on a few networking sites and people will still ask what I do for living. I’m okay with that because that let’s me know that I haven’t disclosed too much information. When you post things on the Internet it becomes part of cyber abyss. The Internet is not your backyard, it is worldwide, GOLBAL!

If you wouldn’t want something that you’ve said or done to be on the evening news, then why would you post it? I could cite all the places on the Internet that state employers are checking on you but it would take me longer to reference them then for you to look for yourself.

©2009 – 2010 Cultivating Careers

5 Tips For Managing Stress At Work

1. Plan your activities
It is important to timetable responsibilities, both on a daily basis and long-term. Plan out the, what, why, how, when, and who will do the job.

2. Organize your time on a daily basis
Make a list of issues; give priority to the most important or the most pressing issues.
At the end of each day check what you’ve completed. If you find that certain tasks or issues are not being addressed, re-evaluate your list.

3. Don’t hesitate to ask

In the fast paced world of today’s workplace, tasks and responsibilities often change. It is hardly a black mark against you to ask a question if you are unsure. However, not getting clarification and failing to deliver, will be.

4. Contribute to a positive environment at work

Be open for discussions, have a good communication with others and do not be afraid of positive critique. Keep in mind individual differences, some people perform better under pressure, others need more time to organize their work. Knowing the work style of your colleagues is a positive when a project needs to be completed.


5. Take a break and delegate
Yes, you are allowed to take a breather. Break for a few minutes in the middle of the day. For any Type A personality, delegating responsibilities can be tricky. But learning to delegate responsibility is necessary unless you prefer burnout.

©2010 Cultivating Careers

Dealing with Negative People

When is the last time you had to deal with a negative person?

How did you handle it?

Did you attack back or navigate through the situation with grace?

Taking a moment to review a negative situation, while we’re calm, allows us to think about productive avenues for handling future negative people and situations. (Seriously reviewing any past situation allows us to think of better alternatives for the future.)

You may ask, why bother to have any forethought about our responses? The answer is simple; We damage ourselves by feeding into other people’s cycle of negativity!

Wherever we go, we are inevitably going to face people who are negative, people who oppose our ideas, people who piss us off or people who simply don’t like us. That’s the way life is, we are all, thankfully different. Our differences are not the cause of conflict but they do trigger our emotions. Our emotions are what drive us back to our basic survival instinct of React and Attack. But, we have the ability to keep our emotions in check and control our responses.

Have you ever noticed that negativity spreads? I’ve found that if I’m around a negative minded person, their negativity starts to affect my thoughts and judgments. I’ve learned that when people initiate negativity, it is a direct reflection of their obvious self-dissatisfaction. People are often so bored and unhappy with their own lives that they want to bring others down too. Reacting to someone who is negative will only trigger anger and additional negative responses from that person. If we do respond, we have wasted our energy upon the unproductive. Energy wasted on negative people is energy that could have been spent on a million other, far more important issues.

Some people may have a less than articulate way of expressing themselves, it may even be offensive, but they are still entitled to do so. They have the right to express their own opinions and we have the right and will power to choose our responses.

“If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.” ~ Alex Noble

© 2009 YP Mazzulo