Group chat is an important tool in the communications toolbox. It is valuable for special cases and less useful for general cases. When used appropriately and sparingly, it's great. But it becomes a potential enemy when it systematically controls and diverts your attention away from doing great work.&nbsp;

Group chat and messaging tool for business

<ul><li>Hashing things out quickly. Throw in some words and a picture, get some quick feedback and move on.</li><li>Red alerts, such as a crisis or a server that's down.</li><li>Having fun is essential. A chat works great to develop culture, make inside jokes, emojis, and meme generators.</li><li>A sense of belonging. This is vital for remote workers to greet, let people know they're out for lunch, and generally feel part of something.</li></ul>

Group chat is great for

Group chat as the main method of communication leads to:<ul><li>Mental fatigue and exhaustion. Group chat feels like an all-day meeting with no agenda.</li><li>An ASAP culture. Everything must happen now!&nbsp;</li><li>Fear of missing out or not having a say. If you don't pay attention all the time, you might lose out.</li><li>Thinking a line at a time instead of complete thoughts at a time. People can jump in before you can fully present yourself.</li><li>Implied consensus because "we talked about it in the chat room."</li><li>Knee-jerk responses. You only have a small window to make your point before the writing scrolls away.</li><li>Lack of context.</li></ul>

Group chat as the primary method of communication

As a rule of thumb, use group chat in real-time sometimes, asynchronous most of the time.<ul><li>Don't expect everyone to be in chat all day.</li><li>If it's important, slow down. The conversation is not suitable for a chat room.</li><li>Announcements aren't chats. Send announcements via email or whatever that provides synchronous communication.</li><li>Give everyone a chance to have a say. Thoughtful feedback = time + an answer, not just an answer.</li><li>Treat group chats like conference calls. Limit it to three people as more can become chaotic.</li><li>Summarise instead of drip information.</li><li>It's OK to be unavailable.</li></ul>

How to make a real-time/asynchronous split work

We still lean on chat too much, and I'd like to see us make a major effort to cut back. Understanding the positives and negatives, and how they play off one another, is central to getting the most out of something. Ignoring the pros because the pros are so good, or dismissing the pros because the Cons are so bad, leaves you with a false sense of comfort and a cloudy picture of the reality on the ground.

Since then, quite a few business chat and messaging tools like Hipchat, Flowdock, Slack and others have sprung up. And we’ve since rolled group chat and instant messaging (we call them “pings”) into…

Stashed ideas

Is group chat making you sweat?

Life doesn’t owe you a thing. Every person on this planet is facing some struggle. It may be mental, it may be physical, it may be one you can totally relate to or not at all.&nbsp;Everyone has a bunch of demons locked in their closet and life offers little sympathy and help to make them go away. Whatever you want, it is your responsibility to go out there and do what’s necessary to get it — regardless of what life throws at you.

Don’t fall into the entitlement trap

When you say, “What an unbelievable performance!” all you’re really doing is placing something out of your own realm of possibility that’s actually already proven to lay inside it.<blockquote>“Give others and yourself more credit. It just happened, you witnessed it, you just did it, believe it.”</blockquote>

Never say anything is “unbelievable”

<ul><li>McConaughey’s next lesson addresses our often backward approach to finding happiness: “Happiness is an emotional response to an outcome. If I win, I will be happy, if I don’t, I won’t. It’s an if-then, cause-and-effect, quid-pro-quo standard that we cannot sustain because we immediately raise it every time we attain it. You see, happiness demands a certain outcome, it is result-reliant.”</li><li>McConaughey suggests focusing on joy instead: “It’s not a choice, not a response to some result, it is a constant. Joy is the feeling we have from doing what we are fashioned to do, no matter the outcome."</li></ul>

Seek joy, not happiness

The only way to not get dragged into a never-ending cycle of wanting more is to define success for yourself. What do you really want? If the answer is still money, that’s fine! But maybe you’d prefer being healthy and fit, having a happy family, or a thriving marriage. Maybe, you want to be famous, spiritually sound, or leave the world a better place. The answer doesn’t matter half as much as asking the question. What does success mean to me?

Define success for yourself

Instead of making choices that’ll cost us tomorrow, we can also create outcomes that pay us back. The concept of ROI — return on investment — can be applied anywhere. Whether it’s setting up the coffee maker and laying out your clothes the night before, preparing for a job interview well in advance, or not sleeping around with committed guys and gals, every choice you make that’ll leave you happier and a little more relaxed tomorrow is a choice worth making.

Make decisions you’ll be happy about tomorrow

In 2015, Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey gave the commencement address at University of Houston. Speaking to some 4,000 graduates, he shared personal stories and lessons he hoped would help…

Matthew McConaughey’s 5 Rules for a Good Future

Recruiters favour a résumé tailored for the specific job you’re seeking. They are put off by generic documents that look like they’ve been sent out time and again.
Despite this fact, most candidates don’t bother to customize their résumés. That’s quite shocking in light of the fact that most job seekers typically apply for upward of 100 to 200 jobs.

Tailor Your Versions

When it comes to length, one size does not fit all.
It used to be that the classic one-page résumé was a must. But today you’ll want to think again about what length your résumé should be. You have choices depending on how far along you are in your career.

The Right Length

If you’re wondering what must be included on your résumé, fret no more. The gold standard consists of five must-have sections.
<ul>
<li>Personal Information: 99% of résumés</li>
<li>Education: 99% of résumés</li>
<li>Work Experience: 97% of résumés</li>
<li>Résumé Summary or Objective: 95% of résumés</li>
<li>Skills: 95% of résumés</li>
</ul>
It’s important that your résumé presents a full picture of your skills and shows how they align with the requirements of the job you’re seeking.

The Basic Ingredients Of A Resume

It’s important that your résumé presents a full picture of your skills and shows how they align with the requirements of the job you’re seeking.
Soft skills are key in the workplace of the future and provide a crucial advantage, even in technical jobs. The areas most frequently noted and the proportion of résumés mentioning them: communications (14%), customer service (9%), project management (7%), time management (6%), and leadership (5%).
It’s also important to note any certifications you’ve achieved.

Share Your Skills

Today’s world is undergoing rapid change in technology, the environment, management structures, and the very shape of the workplace. Employers are looking for people who have a creative side and a life outside of work.
Reading, blogging, traveling, music, and sports are the most common hobbies listed. But don’t just list the topic—show how your hobby is relevant to your candidacy. For example, if you’re applying for a job in finance, you might put down some of the relevant books you’re reading.

A Well-Rounded Profile

5 ways to reboot your résumé this fall

It's the little things when trying to access a person.Without a doubt, one of the best life skills there are is the ability to gauge a person’s character and personality accurately. It’ll help you find stronger relationships and avoid a lot of pain and frustration.&nbsp;

Potent habits that can reveal a person’s character

if you notice a pattern where someone fails to follow through with any of their commitments—or regularly changes them—it can reveal someone who isn't reliable, doesn't hold themselves accountable for the things they say, or doesn’t value you all that much.

Commitments

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

Just have a look inside the person's car and see if it was clean, organized, and tidy, or if there were food wrappers and empty soda cans everywhere.&nbsp;In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink:_The_Power_of_Thinking_Without_Thinking" target="_self">Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking</a>, Malcolm Gladwell shared a study where the personality of 80 students was assessed by those students’ closest friends versus complete strangers who only spent 15 minutes visiting their bedrooms.

Check Their Car

We all make mistakes. But when you address it in a respectful, kind, and fair way, how do they respond?<ul><li>Do they apologize and commit to avoiding it?</li><li>Do they make excuses, get defensive, or go silent?</li><li>Do they blame you, accuse you of making it a big deal, or go back in time and list your transgressions (that they never mentioned before and have been saving just for this occasion)?</li></ul>

The Reaction Of Making A Mistake

On the other hand, if you make an honest mistake and apologize, how do they respond?<ul><li>Do they respect you and share how they feel? Do they take it in stride?</li><li>Do they make things personal and say, “You always ____” or “You never _____?”</li><li>Do they belittle you, hold a grudge, or insult your character, intelligence, etc.?</li></ul>

How they act when you make a mistake

I’ve noticed some people have a “split personality.” For example, when some guys see women they’re attracted to, they suddenly act friendly and happy; once those women leave, they're back to their old selves. I knew guys like that and, if we went out on a Saturday night, their eyes would dart all over the room searching for women as they half-listened to their own friends.The thing about people like this is they don't really have an established sense of self—who they are changes completely depending on who they talk to.

How they act with people they want something from

I once knew a guy who was obsessed with how he was portrayed on social media—his posts, profiles, and stories were designed to present him in the best light possible. Yet in reality, he was just a relatively average guy who was good at his job.We eventually had a falling out, but looking back, this was one of the biggest warning signs. Because, like on social media, he was overly concerned with how people thought of him, he made his friendships calculated, and he chased validation and approval.

Fake Social Media Life

Without a doubt, one of the best life skills there are is the ability to gauge a person’s character and personality accurately. It’ll help you find stronger relationships and avoid a lot of pain and…

7 Little Things That Can Tell You A Lot About Someone

There is no such thing as talking about yourself in a vacuum. Connection implies having two sides in the relationship.If you go into a conversation thinking only of yourself — your reputation, your goals, your achievements — the other party is going to sense that right away and you’re going to come across as self-centered and arrogant.

Believe everyone has an interesting story to tell

Yes, your work says some things about you. Certainly if what you say and what you do don’t align, you’re going to lose credibility.Don’t rely on your colleagues or friends to tell your story either. While it’s wonderful when they do, they only know a part of your life. No one else can read your mind and know your passions, your motivations, what you’ve learned, and what your dreams are.

Your the narrator of your life

Avoid the mistake of over-focusing on what you did. Nothing is more snooze-inducing than reciting a factual timeline of your life, your resume, or your achievements. The part that builds connection, that turns your story from a couple of black and white statistics into a colorful film, that adds the spice and herbs to your otherwise bland potatoes, is the passion and personal motivation behind your facts.

Find your nuggets of “why” and focus your story around those

Don’t lie about your accomplishments. Don’t stretch the truth, either. Don’t go about wearing your curriculum vitae on your forehead and ensuring that everyone in your vicinity gets exposed to your list of good deeds. If you’re telling a story where the facts emerge naturally, don’t try to hide or play down the awesome things you did because of modesty.

Don’t leave out the facts of your achievements for humility’s sake

Get to know yourself and what your most authentic and interesting responses are for the common questions you’re asked.

Know your “story clips” that you can call up in any situation

Get out there and speak up. Express yourself as you really are, in your one-of-a-kind brilliance. Be understood. And in the process, you might just find out that you aren’t alone.

Go out and tell your story

Sound familiar? Growing up, these sentiments were constant choruses in my household. If I boasted to a friend about acing a test (“SO easy!”) and was within earshot of my mom, I was sure to see her…

How to Talk about Yourself in the Best Possible Way

Learn to say “I’ll let you know later”, “I’ll get back to you on this”, and other similar phrases.Instead of saying yes to an offer only to realize later that it doesn’t fit your schedule, better to take a few minutes to think about it.

Delay Your Reactions

Every day, pick a small task you don’t want to do then go ahead and complete it. From washing the dishes to making your bed and from going for a run to making dinner instead of ordering food. It can be anything.After doing this for a few days, you’ll realize the problem is not the task itself. It’s your habit of postponing things. It’s being comfortable, especially when you have a choice. But often, once you make the first step, you get yourself in the mood and get the job done.

Push Yourself to Complete a Task When You Don’t Feel Like It

Spend a day away from social media or don’t connect your phone to wifi at all. After you realize you’re not missing out on anything, by being offline for one day, you’ll consciously choose to spend less time online, every day.

Spend a Day Away From Social Media

Choose your outfit and put everything in your bag (men might not understand this, but most women have a looong list of things that they need to have in their everyday bag).Write down a to-do list and check your calendar to see if you scheduled any meetings or calls. Do anything you can to make the next day easier.

Prepare Your Next Day the Night Before

Next time you eat, do just that: eat. You’ll see it’s not easy at all to not reach for your phone. And the simple fact that we have to talk ourselves out of doing it should raise some questions.

Eat Mindfully

The Pomodoro Technique might as well be called the Bible of Productivity. It got so famous because it works so it does deserve all the praise.

Use a Timer for Your Tasks

If you keep your phone next to you when you sleep, you’ll just keep hitting the snooze button until it’s almost too late to get out of bed. But for most of us, the hard part is standing up, not waking up. And this is why this method works.

Place Your Phone on the Opposite Side of the Room

To avoid buying unnecessary things, ask yourself a simple question: “ Would I pay the full price for it?” If the answer is “yes”, then take out your wallet. If it’s negative, walk away.

Set a Spending Waiting Period

“It’s ok, I’ll remember it” should go down in history as the biggest lie we tell ourselves. Out of all the things you pick up during the day, you end up forgetting more than half of it.So make a habit of writing everything down, even the silly stuff that seem unimportant.

Write Down Every Idea

To reach your goals, you need a system. You have to build good habits and stick around long enough to let them do their magic. So here are 9 micro-habits that can drastically improve your life.

Virginia Roberts@virrober