By Stephanie Chan and Craille Maguire Gillies
To view the interactive version, click here.
1. Simplify your to-do list with “I will do one thing today” stickies from Pretty Bitter.
2. Take a sabbatical to reset your creativity and improve your work. For encouragement, watch über designer Stefan Sagmeister’s TED talk about the power of time off.
3. There is a time and a place for a stiff drink. The time: Friday at 4 p.m. The place: your office. This break made possible by a desktop cocktail chemistry set.
4. Make a mind map. This is not an extracurricular activity at Burning Man. Mind mapping uses visual brainstorming to think about a topic – say, how to ask for a raise – when you’re lost for words.
5. You probably spend more time in your office chair than you do in your bed, so get a good chair. The classic Aeron chair will keep you nimble, help prevent lower back pain and last you through many job changes. Take it with you when you move on to your next one.
6. Eat breakfast – even if you don’t want to. A little nosh first thing in the morning will improve your performance at work and make you less likely to overeat later in the day.
7. Sweeten up your next presentation with a chocolate pie chart.
8. Give and ye shall receive. Volunteering has inherent personal benefits, of course. Giving your time can also be a good way to expand your network – and maybe even find a new calling.
9. Follow your passion. For inspiration, read musician Kris Demeanor’s award-winning story, “Get a Real Job.”
10. Words to live and work by: “I don’t think you need to keep rehearsing your instincts. Far better to seek out models of what you can’t do.” – John Updike
11. Deskercise! Unlimited’s personal trainer lays out the moves to keep you fit at work.
12. Ignore everybody. Find this and other keys to creativity in Hugh MacLeod’s cartoons, which he doodles on the backs of business cards.
13. Sometimes the world is too complex to render in mere words. Enter London-based author-designer David McCandless’ clever book Visual Miscellaneum. Think of it as a visual coffee break.
14. Save money. Not as simple as it sounds, but our Rich by Thirty columnist has suggestions on how to build a reserve. Because someday you will want to retire.
15. When it comes to workplace philosophy, we defer to Groucho Marx: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.” In other words, be flexible.
16. Don’t check email first thing in the morning. E-interruptions will only bog you down and make you less productive. Get started on your real work and clear through the little stuff later.
17. While the Japanese have codified the business card exchange to a high art, North Americans treat it more like speed-dating. Enter this stylish Russell+Hazel binder solution. Fill it with three-ring note pages and schedulers to track contacts, die-cut pages to hold business cards and record handwritten notes, making meaningful follow-up a snap.
18. To reduce stress and improve focus, take a deep breathe. Really. Sit up straight and breath deeply from your diaphragm, just below your lungs. Repeat as needed.
19. What goes around comes around, so recycle your gadgets. An estimated 140,000 tonnes of e-waste is dumped in landfills in Canada each year. Donate your old cellphones and computers to groups like the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Project Redial.
20. Have experience? Become a mentor.
21. We’re firm subscribers to the maxim, “There is no such thing as too many books.” Books for learning, books for escaping, books for… see, we get carried away. Where better to put all those books than on Ikea’s classic Billy bookcase? To celebrate Billy’s 30th birthday, Ikea has created a bunch of decorative options. Cheap, cheerful and perfect for the home office.
22. The Philanthropist Briefcase from Apolis Activism re-imagines what has long been a symbol of corporate mores. (In fact, the word briefcase is related in etymology to the word budget.) Apolis Activism’s limited edition cases use cotton from independent farmers in Northern Uganda, and are just one example of a gift that gives and receives.
23. If you’re self-employed or run a business on the side, go to Moo for customized business cards.
24. Smile! ’Nuff said. U
Category: Multimedia, Personal Best, Work
Comment
Leave a Reply
[...] story behind the story — and photographed the image below at our office. On December 25, we archived the entire list so we could keep on giving all year long. Click the image below to try out the [...]