- Career Survival Tips: Putting Out Fires
- Are You in the Wrong Job?
- Why CEOs Can't Get It Right When They Try to Say ‘Thanks’
- CEO to CEO: Why Your Strategy is Failing
- Office Etiquette: Mind Your Manners
- Stressed Out? Here's How Leaders Cope
- Dreaming of Quitting Like that Goldman Sachs Exec? Five Reasons Why You Shouldn't
- The Biggest Mistakes When Hiring Someone New
MOST SHARED
- Europe May Be Unprepared for Greece Exit: Official
- Marc Faber: 100% Chance of Global Recession
- As Bank Loans Dry Up in Spain, Small and Medium Businesses Fight for Life
- How Nasdaq Lost Control of Facebook IPO, by the Minute
- Facebook Analyst Reports All Over the Map
- Where Large Banks Fail, Regionals are Succeeding: Bove
- How Boaz Weinstein and Hedge Funds Outsmarted JPMorgan
- Durable Goods Orders Weak; Jobless Claims Edge Lower
- Crowdfunding More Marketing Than Fundraising: Opinion
- A New Look at the ‘New Poor’
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Big Stock Upside for Hudson City Deal: Analyst
- 5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Boost Dividends
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- Steinbock: The Euro Zone Endgame Begins
- Option Bulls Take Another Shot on Idenix
- How Weinstein, Hedge Funds Outsmarted JPMorgan
- How Nasdaq Lost Control of Facebook IPO, by the Minute
- Week Ahead: Europe Has Wall Street Bull on Short Leash
- Citigroup Lost $20 Million on Facebook IPO Trades
- JPMorgan to Shake Up Risk Team After Big Loss: Report
- RIM May Cut at Least 2,000 Jobs in Restructuring: Report
- EU Finalizes Bank Reforms; Shifts Burden to Bondholders
- Spain's Bankia Eyes Stake Sales After Record Bailout
- EU Set to Launch Action Against China Over Telecom Aid
Text Size 
Job Search: Time To Get Started And Here's How
Paul Hellman
Founder
Express Potential
This year, there’s something big you need to do. It was probably on your To Do list last year, but you ran out the clock. This year, you tell yourself, things will be different.
The hard part is starting. To begin anything – a sales call, a business trip, a prison sentence - tough, tough, tough. You get the point, but to continue anyway – now that I’ve started – if you exercise, the hardest pushup is the first one, and Monday, the start of the week, often feels like one long pushup; just pushing yourself out of bed on Monday can require Herculean effort.
(Don’t ever call anyone on Monday, if you can possibly help it, unless you’re absolutely convinced they’ve had at least 20 cups of coffee.)
Years ago, time management guru Alan Lakein proposed an intriguing solution to this problem called the Swiss cheese method.
Start a project, he said, by limiting yourself to a few minutes. Just poke a few holes in it. Do something fast. Suppose, for example, you’re waiting in the dentist’s office – you could even be the dentist, waiting for your hygienist to finish, or your patient to pass out.
Normally you might look at the latest issue of People, Time, or Adhesion Dentistry. Instead, look at your project – do a few easy things, build momentum. Basically, you trick yourself: “I’ll only spend a few minutes on this project,” you tell yourself. “How terrible could that be?” And then, before you can say, “I hate the Swiss cheese method, I hate Swiss cheese, and I think I may be lactose intolerant,” you’re up and running.
Tip: Begin.
______________________________________________
Consultant, author, speaker, and founder of express potential® (www.expresspotential.com), Paul Hellman has worked with CEOs, executives, and managers at leading companies for over 25 years to improve performance and productivity at work. His latest book is “Naked at Work: How to Stay Sane When Your Job Drives You Crazy,” and his columns have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and other leading papers.
Comments? Send them to
POPULAR EXECUTIVE CAREERS POSTS
- Career Survival Tips: Putting Out Fires
- Are You in the Wrong Job?
- Why CEOs Can't Get It Right When They Try to Say ‘Thanks’
- CEO to CEO: Why Your Strategy is Failing
- Office Etiquette: Mind Your Manners
- Stressed Out? Here's How Leaders Cope
- Dreaming of Quitting Like that Goldman Sachs Exec? Five Reasons Why You Shouldn't
- The Biggest Mistakes When Hiring Someone New
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
