By: Sandy Chernoff, owner: Soft Skills for Success

Today’s competitive world has made everyone more concerned about how to find work, and how to excel in the field he/she has chosen. We all have our strengths and weaknesses; it is vital that we mould and develop those strengths, and overcome those weaknesses.

Why Soft Skills Make the Difference

Employers often have to choose from 10 or more viable candidates for any one position. 

How will they select the best one from a group of individuals who all possess similar educational qualifications and work experience? 

Usually that will boil down to the one with the best soft skills: 

• self starter
• a good team player
• an excellent communicator 
• an efficient time manager
• an effective problem solver
• an effective conflict resolver 

The person with these traits will obviously be the one most valuable to the organization.

Most successful businesses rely on relationship building and that develops with good communication, excellent customer service and quality products.  Collaborative teamwork cannot exist without cooperation, support, clear communication, trust and respect....all of those are based on good relationships.

Soft Skills Improve Job & Organizational Performance

Those possessing good soft skills will improve their performance at work.  This will not only catch the attention of the boss, but will help to increase the happiness factor of those they contact.  This in turn will enhance the creativity, productivity and ultimately, the bottom line of the company.  The more members of the team with excellent soft skills the more all of the aforementioned will be true.  Employers realize that in order to achieve company goals, they require employees with effective soft skills. 

Soft Skills Bring Personal Growth and Success

Soft skills are empowering. No matter what career path one chooses, the better one’s soft skills the more impressive will be their accomplishments.  These attributes are beneficial in all aspects of a person’s life: at work, at home, at play.



To learn more about Sandy Chernoff and Soft Skills for Success
 visit: www.softskillsforsuccess.com 



Sandy,
Thank you for sharing this valuable information on Soft Skills with us. 
Michelle Panzlaff
Tidy Tiger

I sure hope you're enjoying the summer as much as I am. The simple pleasures and time with my sweetheart is what brings sunshine to my days, so not too worry if the sun hides behind clouds, I am still happy for what I have.
 
One of the very few items of inspiration in my home is a small stone placed on our bathroom counter that says simply ‘Gratitude’. It reminds me that life is great and to be lived with joy. I don’t have many objects of this sort because they cause clutter and more work to clean around. I prefer my space. Yet this object has one simple powerful message, so it stays. Besides, with my fiancé painting up a storm, our home is full of beauty and inspiration already.
 
I am going to admit, writing this post today was a bit of an effort. When I am busy with life, projects and helping others I sometimes put off blogging and writing articles. Sometimes I am just not inspired to do this; rather I would like to be knee deep in an organizing project.
 
The idea for today’s post came to me as I was doing some reading and I felt it was overdue. So, I sat down, started typing, and out it came.
 
And now for today's post. Enjoy...


Advice for the Expert and Novice Procrastinator
 
It’s Thursday afternoon, and Tracy realizes that her proposal for her newest client is due by the tomorrow morning. With a busy night of family events planned, she knows that if she doesn’t get this done prior to leaving work she is going to be dropping the ball. So far this proposal is only in outline and finishing it in time seems difficult. Can she do it? 
 

For many people the tendency to procrastinate is basically normal and at worst it creates unnecessary time pressure and some inconvenience. We all occasionally put off doing things, avoid action or feel unmotivated at times. I could have put my name in that first paragraph too.
 
Then there are people that really have a hard time. They may seem incapable of getting things started, let alone done. We’ll call them ‘expert procrastinators’ as they, more often than not, find themselves immersed in stress and open loops. For them it may feel like living on the edge of a storm, constantly.
 
Today, I’ll share some easy methods that can help anyone, ‘expert or novice procrastinator’ beat procrastination and get back to feeling less stressed and more productive today.

1. Watch out for, acknowledge and counteract ‘deferral thoughts’ such as “I can send the report tomorrow”, “I will take the trash out after I watch my show” or “The dishes can wait till I need them for our next meal”. Instead, when you have these thoughts, try to take it from another angle and tell yourself “If I do the dishes now, I can enjoy the rest of the afternoon without this hanging over my head”.
2. Stop waiting for you to feel motivated and inspired to take action. It’s true, and I too have experienced it, we like to think we must feel ‘inspired’ before we act. In reality, most times it’s getting started that gets us more motivated to continue. Once you get started, one small task leads to another and before you know it some great progress can be made and that will inspire you to keep going.
3. Reward yourself. After completing a task give yourself a little treat. It can be anything you like and can afford, maybe even a nice walk around your neighbourhood or a sweet treat to enjoy.

 
 
Article to blog… done!
My reward… cake and a walk!
 
Have a grrrrrreat day!
Michelle 

Try making a game of showing up on time..

People are generally more enthusiastic about embracing even the most mundane task if they can figure out how to make it more interesting. Getting from A to B isn't too exciting, yet try making it a game. The object of this game being, getting to your destination as close as possible to your targeted arrival time. No later, no sooner.

WANT TO GET MORE JAZZED AND FOCUSED IN YOUR BUSINESS?

If you're like me and many people I meet, I bet you just nodded your head 'YES!' 

Just because I stay organized doesn't mean I don't need to keep working to improve my business. I work on improving my business all the time, step by step. I find inspiration to do this by being part of a coaching program, and I really enjoy the support I get there.

My clients look to me to support them, yet indeed I too need support. Heck, I think we all need to look outside ourselves sometimes and discover the things we don't know and how they can make our lives better. 

So if you need support to get your workflow 'unstuck' and back in 'flow' call me. That's my passion and those are the skills I love to flex.

And if right now a little 'inspiration' to get you 'juiced' with possibility and opportunity is what you need, come join me for taste of the 'Inspired Living Business Plan' and what it can do for you.

FLYER AVAILABLE ON LINK BELOW..

Go ahead and ask, you won't be the first...

If you want to know what simple activity can consistently make someone better organized, I will answer 'The ability to make quick objective decisions'.


To Decide or Not to Decide. 
Learning to ‘make decisions’ on everything, as soon as it crosses your path, and dedicating time and energy to follow through on your choices, are two important aspects to staying organized.

Not being able to make decisions, and putting things ‘here for now’ is a challenge that plaques many, for various reasons. These reasons, or shall I say ‘Obstacles’ are mainly due to what I will call ‘technical error’.
 
Technical Error is not having a proper, easy to access ‘home’ for things. Then again, sometimes the 'obstacle' leading to this 'decision making challenge' can be related to fears or even perfectionism. Yet anyway we slice it, learning to make objective decisions about what we keep, where we keep it and whether or not we act on it is very important in my opinion.

So to help you and those you know make better choices about what to keep and what to do with it, here are some tools to share.

To help you make quick decisions I have a free copy of the '4 Decisions to Make with Tasks and Mail' for you on my site.

Then if you want to take a look at thinning out or eliminating any piles of business cards, magazines, brochures and over stuffed files you can find great 'Tips to Weed your Tasks and Paper' here.

And if letting go is hard, stay objective by asking yourself these questions about your stuff:

When it comes to Paper:
Is it a duplicate?
Is it current?
How often will I refer to it?
Can I get it elsewhere if I need it?
Do I have time to read it?
Do I want, or truly need this?
Is replication very difficult?
Does the law require I keep it?

When it comes to Clutter ask:
When was it last used?
Is there a specific date I will need this again in future?
How hard would it be to replace again if I needed it?
How does it make my life more purposeful or better?
Is it beautiful or loved?
Does it reflect the person I am now?
What is worst case scenario if I toss it?

Now, if you still struggle a bit with the questions above and/or still need a little help to decide where to put things, take a closer look at the information in my 2010 article The-top-questions-to-ask-yourself-about-your-stuff


OK, all good? Ready to tackle it alone? Great!

Not looking forward to going it alone?
Just don't have the time?
Or is being objective impossible because you can’t see the forest through the trees?

Call me, its my passion to help. 

Try this basic exercise to 'Managing Commitments' 

1.  Write down on a blank piece of paper one project, situation or task that is on your mind that you need to ‘get done’.

2.  In just one sentence describe the intended outcome so that you could check this project off as ‘done’. 

3.  Then write down the very next physical action required to move this project or task to completion.

Commonly the best thing that comes from doing this is you having a clearer definition of what ‘done’ looks like, and the very next step you need to take to get there.

Nothing has happened yet, after all, the task has yet to be done. Yet for many, after doing this simple activity, a sense of added motivation can be felt as up until now it was just a thought nagging at your subconscious mind. Now you know what 'done' looks like and can place this task in priority with other tasks and projects also written down.

Podcast on topic here

Will your pictures and keepsakes mean anything to the next generation?



A lifetime goes into collecting images and keepsakes that take you back, to that special day, that once in a lifetime event, that person you could never forget.

So why can these precious items that tell your history, that hold cherished memories, be lost in piles, water-damaged, folded up, scattered about, or have never made there way out of the envelope? And how can this happen while perfectly good, empty albums and scrapbooks lie about, having suffered the same fate?

Who cares?! Getting them organized now is what really matters.
Before its too late and these keepsakes, heirlooms and photos get left behind as the next generation doesn’t know the story and doesn’t understand the value.

Getting organized in any area of life and work should not be about assigning blame or guilt to what hasn’t happened, it’s about taking action now and honoring your possessions and space for the present and for the future.

So the question begs, how do I organize them? Here are 5 steps to help you: I call this my ‘ALBUM’ method!

Arrange and Sort
Gather some shoe boxes or other trays to sort in. Have a marker and note cards ready to make categorizing easy.

Choose your categories based on dates, life stages, events, or people. You decide, just remember to think long term on what makes most sense for you and your family.

If you can’t decide ultimate order now, that’s ok just take time to label the categories you come across well so putting in order later will be easy.

Limit and Purge
Toss the extra packaging, old flyers and old cardboard frames.

Toss any unflattering, fuzzy or ‘too dark/too light’ shots.

Redundant, duplicated, off centre and poorly framed shots can get tossed too, unless there is any potential to create a special effect when scrap booking a very special image. In which case do limit this, as in reality you’re not going to do this with every subject.

Toss pictures taken for temporary needs or practice shots.

Box it up safely
Chip in and get good archival quality photo boxes that are acid free.

‘Neatly’ label the outside of each, and don’t mix up your categories. That ‘I’ll put it here for now’ mentality is what gets us cluttered in the first place. This stuff is either valuable and to be honored, or it’s not.

Safely store negatives in envelopes with photos if possible.

Upgrade when you have time
When shopping for albums & frames consider your volume, the sizes and where in your home you will display them.

Take the time to plan how much album space to allot to each category.

Purge more as you go.

Maintain your system
Develop film or download images from digital cameras immediately.

Limit the pictures you take, or keep. Don’t fall back into that ‘good enough for now’ habit.

Update boxes routinely, monthly, bi yearly or yearly.


Then sit back, enjoy your collection, invite family and friends to view them with you.

Re-live all those great memories in style while making new ones to cherish along side them.

Enjoy the peace of mind being organized brings and share the news on how grrrrreat it really feels.

To learn more about organizing your home, your office and everything in between, get resourceful and check out the information and free gifts available on this site.

You can also call or write today and I will be happy to discuss any organizing dilema you may be experiencing.

Warmest Regards,
Michelle



Additional free resources:
Archival Products - www.archival.com
Collection Protection Supplies - http://www.bagsunlimited.com
Specialty Options - http://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional/storage-boxes
Instructions on the nitty-gritty of photo storage – http://www.ehow.com/how_4599899_best-way-store-photographs.html
Tips on how to organize digital photos – http://smallnotebook.org/2008/05/20/how-to-organize-digital-photos-the-easy-way/

The best part of what I do is working with someone one-on-one and witnessing the 'ah-ha' moment as they start to see their system come together, or learn a simple trick to help maintain their system. When a client starts to see how the moving parts work and the stress melts away and peace of mind slips in, it’s a fabulous sight.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Stay in touch.
Michelle

How do I know what my clients are experiencing?

Well, I too have accumulated 'stuff' and occasionally its needs to be purged.

Here's me, practicing what I preach...
Last Monday was one of those days when I too had to spend some time organizing my belongings, re-live some past memories and let go of some 'stuff'!

We have a small storage unit close by in which we store our valuable and not so valuable possessions that just don’t fit in our home. For the most part these items are not up for disposal due to their valuable and highly useful nature. (For example: our 4 large containers of camping and sporting gear)
 
Lately however, we have been contemplating thinning out much of the household items and other less loved stuff we know has been taking up space. So we decided to practice what we preach: ‘Have nothing which you don't know to be useful, think to be beautiful, or love.’
 
We managed to gather up 6 large boxes of stuff to give away. I was actually surprised at the amount and was excited to make that kind of a dent in our storage space. We now have more room and much better access to what we use most often.
 
One particularly liberating experience was tossing out a pile of old records I had created when I was producing a business plan for a health food internet café. Wow, what a trip to go through those old documents and ideas! Yet, I don’t regret tossing it because really, I have most documents backed up in electronic format anyhow.
 
I understand my client's situations and feelings when dealing with clutter and letting go. Like myself, I know they too can feel refreshed when ‘space’ is cleared and the 'unneeded' and 'unwanted' are released. So, where is your clutter?