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The Biggest Mistake You’re Making When You Communicate

7/26/2019

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Here is a challenge for you: think back to a recent conversation you had. Did you experience the phenomenon where you began talking about one topic, but suddenly, without realizing it, got on to a different topic? A subject that was unrelated to the initial conversation? Maybe you even forgot what the initial conversation was about!

This game of telephone happens when we try to relate instead of listen. This isn’t entirely wrong - we may think we’re helping when we share our stories and that it will bring us closer to the people we interact with. While communication can do all of those things, it’s important to realize that some people simply want a safe space to vent. Many times, when people have a problem or issue, they hold the solution inside of themselves. Unless they specifically ask for advice or want to hear if something similar has happened to you, try to refrain from relating and focus on listening instead.

If you are struggling with this, active listening is a practice that can help you fine-tune the way you show up in your conversations. It comprises two simple parts: Listening and Understanding.

Listening:
Allow the other person to express themselves fully before offering your opinions, and do so only if they ask.
  • Practice Empathy: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to see things from their perspective.
  • Focus Attention: Listen fully and limit distractions like phones.
  • Show Listening: Provide subtle responses, such as “yes” or “I understand.”
  • Suspend Judgment: Resist making assumptions.


Understanding:
Verifying what you’ve heard is a good way to validate the other person in the conversation. It shows them you care.
  • Be Responsive: Provide direct responses like “tell me more…”
  • Ask Questions: Ask questions to gather details.
  • Verify Understanding: Summarize what you heard to verify understanding.
  • Be Open: Be open to what the other has to say.


It’s a cliché that communication is vital, but it’s true: communication is the thread that connects us all together. The next time you enter a conversation with someone, try to avoid the game of telephone. The paradox of it is, in not relating, you may even find that you relate more. Give someone the gift of listening, it is free and one of the best gifts you can give.

What have you learned by listening?
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Walkie Talkie

7/25/2019

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This year, my adventure vacation is walking the Camino in Spain. To prepare myself physically and mentally I had to find creative ways to fit more walking into my already busy life. Walking the Camino requires stamina and I wanted to be prepared to walk 12 miles a day for a week.

Turns out, it was easier than I thought. Movement has many benefits to include boosting creativity and clarity, bringing more oxygen to your brain, activating endorphins, and increasing productivity. While increasing my daily walks from 6 miles to 8-10 a day, I found myself solving problems with less effort. I started to crave additional walks and would turn to a walk more often to solve a problem rather than calling someone to talk it through.

Often, we are challenged with fitting moving or walking into our workdays, but there are many ways to get your steps in.

I add steps by walking or moving during situations or events that are traditionally done sitting or standing in one place. Here are my best tips:
  • Walk around sporting events. Instead of standing on the sidelines to watch my children play sports, I walk around the field. Not only does this help me to get my steps in, but I get to see the game from different perspectives. 

  • Schedule walk and talk meetings. I schedule "walk and talks" with co-workers, friends, and family. If no one is available to actually walk with me, and I am talking with a team member that will not mind, I will still do the walk and talk. This helps me to eliminate unnecessary sitting time, add steps, and clear my mind. 

  • Move each hour. Every hour, I take a 5-minute moving break whether I am working or writing. I add high knees or do jumping jacks for extra oomph. All of those 5-minute breaks add up!

  • Take the stairs. I resist the urge to take the elevator or escalator and use the stairs whenever possible.

  • Rock star parking. Well, not really…. I choose a parking spot further away from my destination to get some extra steps in.

  • Airport downtime. Instead of sitting and waiting to board the plane, I use the time to take a brisk walk through the terminal.

  • Screen time. I watch most of my shows on Netflix, therefore my screen time was used on the treadmill while watching one of my favorite cooking shows on my phone via the Netflix app.       


It has been said that walking is the antidote to many physical and emotional ailments. Walking can clear the air and release strong emotions like anger. Walking meditations are stress-reducing, mood-elevating, and stimulate creative ideas.

These are just a few reasons why we encourage all of our employees to add walking to their day.  Fun, competitive wellness challenges get our team moving with points awarded for exercise and triple points for trying something new. Creating awareness and point motivation is all that is needed to take the first step. One team member walked up and down a pier gangplank during low tide for extra points and another used their airport waiting time to get their walk-in for the day.

If you would like to walk the talk and get yourself or your team moving in a forward direction, I would love to schedule a walk and talk with you. ​
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4 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Sleep Habits

7/25/2019

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Do you ever you wish you could sleep as soundly as a baby? When we think of nourishing our bodies, the focus is often on what we consume: what we eat, what we drink, what we read, and who we listen to. While these things are essential for our minds and body, I’d argue that behaviors are just as important, if not more important, when it comes to nourishment. Simple actions like vowing to get enough sleep can do wonders for our health and have a domino effect in other areas of our lives.

Did you know that poor sleepers are more likely to have higher weights, a greater risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and depression? Not surprisingly, lack of sleep also affects our emotions and social interactions as well. Think about it - the last time you got a bad night’s rest, were you fully present the next day? Were you more emotional or high-strung or stressed-out? Getting enough sleep improves our concentration, increases our productivity, and improves our immune function so we have the best capacity to be mindful in all of our interactions.

At Actualize after a recent wellness event, our team suggested we include sleep as one of the next topics. Most healthy adults need around 7-9 hours of sleep per night in order to function at their best capacity. Unfortunately, according to the most recent Gallup poll, around 40% of Americans fall short of that number, the national average being around 6.8 hours a night. No wonder our team wanted more tips to aid in their sleep.

Are you a part of this statistic? If you’re in need of more sleep, here are 4 things you can do to prioritize rest in your life:

1.     Set a bed time: Try to stick to a schedule if you can – our bodies like structure. Once your body gets into a routine, you may find it easier to fall asleep around the same time every night.

2.     Power down: Try your best to avoid electronics 30 minutes to an hour before you go to bed. The blue light can mess with our circadian rhythm, tricking our brains into thinking it is day time. If you can’t bear to part with your devices, play with the settings to decrease the amount of blue light it emits.

3.     Avoid large meals late at night: While it’s an old wives’ tale that eating late at night can make you gain weight; it is true that eating a large meal could mess with your digestion and make you feel uncomfortable. Play around with an eating schedule that works for you, but you may want to explore taking a few hours off from eating close to your bedtime. If you do find yourself hungry, try a light snack instead.

4.     Stay active: Incorporating joyful movement into our day can benefit all areas of our health, but especially our sleep habits. Exercise can help us burn off extra energy throughout the day. Just be careful to finish exercising 2 to 3 hours before bedtime or it may have the opposite effect.
 
How can you change your routine for better sleep?
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Signs You Should Enhance Operational Efficiencies

7/24/2019

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Can you remember when you kept trying to resolve a problem and continued hitting roadblocks, and the problem persisted?

Last year at Actualize Consulting, our UK expansion increased project responsibilities tasking individuals to work on multiple projects, making our staffing decisions more complicated.

We decided to bring on another person internally to support our growth rate. When that person suddenly quit, we immediately hired another person ignoring the signs. Losing this person was a red flag that made us realize that Instead of looking at adding people we needed to shift our focus to our operational efficiencies. We paused and pivoted our energies to address the firm’s needs for an updated process to report on key metrics.

When our Manager of Finance and Accounting went out of the country for vacation and the second hire did not work out, I found myself accountable for the key items to keep the business running smoothly which specifically was payroll and setting up new projects as we won work.

At that moment, I had a moment of panic. I had to instill my Culture Infusion teachings of pausing to pivot to a positive and utilize self-talk as I told myself, “I got this.”

Through the storm of having to tangle through the weeds of our operations, I realized we did not need another person. We needed to automate and bring our internal systems to a new level. Just as we assess and recommend systems improvements and overhauls to our clients, we needed to look at our internal systems with the same eye.

I started my career at Accenture and worked at other consulting firms before moving into operations at Actualize in business process redesign, vendor evaluation, and system implementations. I even have my MBA in Information Systems. As you can imagine, I was beating myself up for not seeing the answer sooner. Yes, I am human and was caught in the tangle of weeds. I had an “aha” moment and had to laugh at myself as I also needed a reminder of the importance of reviewing your processes, procedures, and systems on a regular basis. Geez, we do this all the time for our clients, so I put on my consulting hat and dug in.
We are currently evaluating new systems to support our internal operations using the same Actualize developed vendor selection process we use with our clients.

When was the last time you reviewed your processes, procedures, and systems to create and maintain efficiencies to support your firm’s growth?
​
I know it can be a daunting thought to review all, so I suggest starting with asking yourself the following questions to determine where you can start.
1.      Are there manual processes that are hindering operational efficiencies? For example, our manual process of tracking resources was not meeting our needs, so automation of data is necessary.
2.      Can you identify a person or team that is overworked? In our case, our entire internal team was overburdened with manual processes, again a sign to automate.
3.      Is there data you need but do not have easy access to run your business? We see this all the time with our clients of needing more access to their Treasury or Mortgage data. Internally, the manual spreadsheets were not robust.
Bottom line, with ever-changing technology and innovation it is imperative that you take the time to review your processes, procedures, and systems regularly.
At Actualize, we use this methodology with our clients and utilize internally as well. We stay on the forefront of the industry innovations.
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Juggling at Work? Add Balls....Literally

7/24/2019

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Hands are used for talking, grasping, feeling, clapping, gesturing, typing, and even stopping traffic. We use our arms and hands all day; but besides washing them, how often do we stretch and take care of them? Here are simple exercises that can improve your mobility and keep your arms and hands healthy.
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Approach Your Mouse with Wellness

7/24/2019

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Do you have a mouse on your desk? I have 3 that I use throughout the day as part of my wellness strategy. When I started experiencing numbness in my right hand and tendinitis, I knew it was time to change the way I approached work at my desk. In order to heal and set myself up for success, I focused on balancing the usage of both my hands. Check out the video below to see the three different mouses and how they've helped me:
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