Fake News (Honest)

It’s Blue Monday today. And apparently, you are supposed to be the most depressed you will be all this year.

Well, that’s pretty good news for me because, as I type this on pre-Blue Monday Sunday, I’m in a damn good mood, thank you very much.

But I suppose tomorrow I could wake up totally depressed.

Ya, I doubt it.

You’re likely going to hear the media chat today about the “Blue Monday” formula, which looks like this:

What do all the initials mean? Let’s break it down. W = weather, D = debt, d = monthly salary, T = time since Christmas, Q = time since you gave up on your New Year’s resolutions, M = low motivation levels and Na = a feeling of needing to take action.

On first glance, one could say “ya, that makes sense” as things like debt and weather can weigh on us sometimes. But glances are over in nanoseconds and this formula is fake for all sorts of reasons. In particular, mathematically it is impossible. Things like low motivation levels and feelings are hard to quantify with stable numbers. Even “weather” would be hard to “score”.

And just when you thought that was confusing, another formula came out (by the same guy):

Tt = travel time, D = delays, St = time spent stressed out, C = time spent on cultural activities (??), R = time spent relaxing, ZZ = time sleeping (haha), P = time spent packing for a holiday, and Pr = time spent in preparation.

Can anyone begin to guess what this actually is?

Well, 2005 was the first year “Blue Monday” and any type of formula was mentioned in the media. The associated press release was authored by an academic in the UK.

Ummm, nope, that’s not quite accurate. It was, in fact, written by a public relations firm who passed it around to academics inviting them to put their name on it in exchange for a payment.

And who was that PR firm working for? Sky Travel, a budget travel shop and TV channel in the UK who were promoting their winter travel offers!

How brilliant is this PR stunt? 

Since 2005, the third Monday of every January (in the Northern Hemisphere) has been called “Blue Monday” with not a dot of fact, accuracy, or even logic attached to it, all because of a PR firm’s great press release and an academic’s willingness to put his name to the concept. Cliff Arnall, said academic, has since claimed that his intention was to simply inspire people to take action and the University he was a part-time tutor at back then distanced themselves from him.

For most of the 1990s, I was the administrative and facilities head of a mental health unit in the UK. Yes, the dark winter months can certainly make people feel blue. But so can insidious stress, a sudden loss, feelings of loneliness and any number of other external and internal factors. Honestly, there is no basis for Blue Monday in science.

Action – It is, however, a good reminder that we need to take care of our emotional well-being, especially during the darker days of winter. Further still, it can nudge us to check in with others who might be a little more susceptible these days.

Search through the 1400 or so articles on my blog for ways to reduce stress, stay motivated, get out of bed feeling positive, and generally feel far more appreciative and grateful throughout the year.

Blue Monday was a (very successful) tongue-in-cheek PR stunt, not a fact. And, it is a good reminder that we can use any time of the year.

(Oh, and this Blue Monday story is another example of just how gullible we can be.)

The Most Important Thing Today


It’s Friday, January 11, 2019

What is the most important thing you can do today to stay on track with your work-related performance goals?

Think about that for a minute … I’ll wait.

De de do do da da dum didly dum dopee dopee do

La la do de do la la

Hmmm la de da hmmmm dee doo

Got an answer?

Good.

I’m sure that was the right one.

You see, I know you already know that the best thing you can do to stay on track with your work-related performance goals is to review where you are every Friday and then plan the following week.

I know you already know this.

Sometimes you may forget that you know this. You think I have a magical answer. Well, I don’t. Nobody does. (Some gurus and pop psychology folks say they do, but they really don’t.)

Just like the only way to lose weight is to use more calories than you take in, the only way to stay on track is to regularly check in with your performance goal. Friday is the perfect day to look back through the week to see what worked, what didn’t and what still needs to happen, and then plan those priorities into your schedule for next week if you haven’t already done so.

That’s it.

Measure, adjust, prioritize, plan.

No golden nugget, no magic formula, no secrets.

Action – Now, go do it.

The Good Side of Your Bad Side

Puzzle_piecesAll these how-to books, articles, webinars and interviews telling us to “think positive” and “always be happy” have simply made it that much more difficult to do it!

In fact, researchers continue to find that the more we try to be happy, the less likely we will be.

“Pursuit” of anything (whether that’s happiness or money or a certain job or whatever) is a reflection of lack and fear. But “accepting” what it is you are after – because you know it already exists somewhere – comes from a place of self-acceptance and love.

Of course, being positive has its benefits. But so does being negative. In fact, without negativity, you would not be unable to discern the positive things in life. You wouldn’t know what brings you joy, meaning, pleasure and excitement. You wouldn’t have insight into the range of emotions and moods that make you uniquely human.

Half of who you are would be missing.

So the focus on positive has, to me, become dangerously commercialized. There are far too many books, podcasts and ‘gurus’ raving about ‘happiology’. What’s more, when most of the academics are also rolling out self-help books every few months, good and valid research gets lost (again) in the plethora of paper being propped up in retail book outlets.

Yes, let’s keep looking at the positive. And the negative. In fact, let’s look at all the elements that create ‘whole-ology’.

(In my Masters program, I wrote a review paper on this subject. Yup, it’s ‘academic’ – full of citations and wherewithalls and 20+ pages. Grab a coffee, or a beer, and have a read – The Good Side of Your Bad Side_Nancy Morris)

The Power of the Nap

sleep
Yes, napping benefits your health!  Researchers have found that the brain needs rest and can refresh itself with a 20-minute power nap.

Of course, not everyone thinks they could take a nap in the middle of the day, but frequently we can. Some companies, including Google, Uber and other top performers, are including napping rooms or similar facilities in to their building designs.

Here are several proven and important benefits of a good power nap:

Helps with Stress:  Stress hormone levels are lower in those who take naps. A short power nap leaves you feeling refreshed, renewed, and focused.

Increases Alertness and Productivity: Taking a 20-minute nap approximately eight hours after you have awaken will do more for your stamina than sleeping another 20 minutes in the morning.

Improves Memory and Learning:  Napping protects brain circuits from overuse and neurons can consolidate what has been learned.

Helps Your Heart:  Taking 40 winks in the middle of the day reduces the risk of heart disease.  Countries where siestas are common have lower levels of heart disease.

Increases Cognitive Functioning:  Over forty five minutes, the benefits of napping disappear; the recommendation is a fifteen to thirty five minute “power nap”. This is the time necessary for the brain neurons to recuperate.

Helps Motivation to Exercise:  You will be able to exercise longer, faster, more efficiently when your body has its required amount of sleep.

Boosts Creativity:  Power napping allows your brain to create the associations necessary for creative insights.

Makes up for Midnight Tossing and Turning:  Sleep deprivation triggers a diabetes-like condition, harmed hormone production, and interferes with the ability to use carbohydrates.  Power napping benefits someone who is getting insufficient sleep at night.
 
Protects You from Sleepiness:  Naps are useful for shift workers, students, and anyone doing long-haul work.

Improves Overall Health:  Napping benefits heart functioning, hormonal maintenance and cell repair.  A power nap maximizes these benefits by getting you into and out of rejuvenating sleep as fast as possible.

Now, go take a nap…

Ask The Expert

I recently ran a webinar for one of my corporate clients on “expertise” – what it is, what it isn’t, how to own it, share it and build it.

One of the questions that came up was –

When will I be an ‘expert’?

It is a great question and one almost ALL of us ask ourselves at some point in our professional work, whether we are a revenue generator, a member of a support team, client services, management, business development or a solopreneur.

And the way to answer that is to question it back.

How do you define someone else as an expert?

There is no hard and fast rule that says “when someone does X, they are an expert”.

Expertise is relative.

For example, in a highly defined niche or small marketplace / working environment, you can easily become the go-to person (i.e. defined as an expert) but when the domain is larger, that may not be the case and it becomes something you may need to work more consistently at achieving.

How you identify someone else as an expert plays a significant role in how you will ultimately identify yourself as one.

Is it by their credentials? The number of years they have worked in that industry? What you hear others say about them? What you read about them online? Whether you found their work with you above and beyond expectation? Who they associate / run with? Whether their name keeps popping up in industry-related conversations? Something else? Or a combination of several things?

For example, if you label someone else as an expert because they are quite visible in the marketplace and others are talking positively about them, then the way to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin as an ‘expert’ is to do the same thing. While continuing to build your subject-matter learning, build your visibility at the same time – send business-related updates to your clients, blog or tweet important information / opinions, attend the right events, use high-level questions to let them know you know your stuff, make case studies / stories of your successes easily available, mentor someone, build your identity by regularly and consistently getting your name out there (and “out there” should also include “in the office”).

If you label someone else as an expert because they can easily solve difficult problems or come up with creative ideas, then focus on your continued learning in the field and build your confidence to manage the mistakes you will ultimately make. Get the education you need in the subject as well as in areas around and related to it. Work with a mentor, coach or trusted advisor on matters such as risk-aversion, factors contributing to errors, flexibility and creativity. Get involved in more complex matters.

Personally, when sourcing experts for important or high-fee matters, I look for 2 things – a referral by someone else and their own proven track record. So, for me in my own business and mindset, I focus on building systems that allow people to refer me to others and I share my track record in several different ways (eg case studies, stories, testimonials, champions etc).

So, when wondering what it will take for you to feel like an expert, the simplest place to start is in understanding how you define others as an expert. Then, go out and build that same definition for yourself. Of course, you can expand on it later but this is a great way of starting to build your systems of both the mindset and the skillset of expertise.

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