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Procrastination is a complicated behavior that affects all people
to some degree. Some experience only small problems with
procrastination while with others, it is a major source of anxiety
and stress. Lack of motivation and procrastination is related to
time management. Procrastinators often fail to complete tasks
even though they know what the task is and the time they
have to do it.

Why do people procrastinate? Often a difficult task is avoided in
favor of the less difficult. Tasks that take longer amounts of time
are less desirable than those that can be completed quickly.
People sometimes procrastinate due to fear of failure. No one
wants to be embarrassed by a lack of knowledge or skills when
beginning a new task. Overcoming the fear of failure and
developing good work habits will do wonders for those who tend to
procrastinate.

The first step in overcoming procrastination is to recognize what
psychological issues cause you to procrastinate in the first place.
Self-defeating issues such as anxiety, fear, poor time management
skills, indecisiveness, difficulty concentrating, and perfectionism
can be major contributors to a lack of motivation. It's important
to clarify your goals and then work to achieve them.

If you do not know how to manage your time efficiently, there are
classes and literature available to help you learn. In order to
change, you first have to accept and forgive yourself for your
shortcomings. Do not expect to change overnight, expect to
backslide on occasion and forgive yourself when this happens.
Give yourself adequate credit for tasks you do accomplish in a
timely manner.

If you have a friend or coworker who seems to be highly organized
and efficient, ask for suggestions as to how you can do the same.
Reward yourself for small steps taken towards your goals and be
realistic in your expectations. As with any type of behavioral
change, overcoming procrastination will not happen instantly.
Change your work or study habits to minimize distractions and
promote wise management of your time.

Be disciplined in your approach by setting a realistic goal and
sticking to it. Setting priorities is critical in learning to manage
your time in the most efficient manner. Do not dwell on setbacks
or mistakes. Focus instead on success and soon enough you will
stop dwelling on failure and instead come to expect the best from
yourself.

Motivation is the key to achieving success at work and at home.
Motivation comes from within. Coming to grips with personal issues
is the first step in realizing why you procrastinate and then taking
steps to change. If you focus on self-discipline and proper time
management, you will be able to change those habits that led you
to be a procrastinator in the first place.

You can get motivated and stay motivated by implementing a few
changes and observing a few personal rules. Observing and copying
those who seem to always be a step ahead is also an excellent tool
in overcoming procrastination.

Realizing that procrastination is a self-imposed condition is an
important step in changing those bad habits into a lifelong formula
for success. Make your plan, follow it carefully, and forgive yourself
for imperfections. You will soon transform yourself from a chronic
procrastinator into a highly motivated, disciplined individual.

Arina Nikitina is the author of the goal setting tutorial "How to Set
and Achieve a Goal". Get 27 proven techniques, 9 worksheets,
and step-by-step success plan here:
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12 commandments for parents

All these “commandments” are addressed first to the parent. But they are to be referred to by teachers and educators as well. Along with the parents, they will settle upon an attitude and strategy for the education and growth of the child, so that they can give him all the things he needs to properly develop emotional and physically.
In a child’s education an important factor is the parents’ expertise for this “job”. No one is born holding all the knowledge, but we can learn and understand some things from books or advice from qualified persons.
Amongst the commandments a parent should strictly follow are the following:
1. Do not underestimate your child – he can understand more than you think he does and if you make him believe you think poorly of him this might affect his development.
2. Don’t use threat – a child loves a challenge and once threatened he might probably go on and do what he wasn’t suppose to just to see if he can escape the punishment.
3. Do not bribe your child – if you are trying to get him to learn for money for example, he will fail to understand the importance of learning, all he will get from this is the importance of money.
4. Do not make a small child promise something – small children can’t hold promises so don’t force them to lie and then punish them because they did that.
5. Do not keep them under a short leash – to grow up normally children need some space, some freedom.
6. Do not use big words or too many words when you are talking to your child – keep your ideas simple and concise so he can understand every thing you have to say.
7. Do not expect an immediate and blind obedience – it is not recommended, the child has to be learned to think for his own not to follow orders.
8. Do not indulge him too mush – he can develop compartmental disorders.
9. Do not compromise when it comes to the rules of a game – the trick for a game to become educative is too have its initial rules respected.
10. Don’t impose rules that don’t go with the age of your child.
11. Do not try to inflict quilt – quilt is not an appropriate feeling for children, especially if they are little.
12. Don’t give your child orders that you don’t take seriously – your child will try to please you and giving him an order is drastic, and it becomes cruel if that order is a joke.

DEPRESSION – AVOIDING IT

Depression is a serious illness that can affect the work power, family and social life of a person. This is why we don’t have to ignore it and hide it. It is important to know the symptoms, the causes and what possibilities we have to prevent it.
Each one of us had at some point a depressing sad moment. Depression is a normal human reaction associated to a loss, with the tumult of everyday life or with an agitated sentimental life. Sometimes the sadness sensation passes but sometimes it doesn’t, it becomes more persistent and it can conduct to nervous breakdowns. The diseases of the nervous system are very serious and that is why it is important not to pass them by without proper help when we realize we can’t handle them by ourselves. Getting help is not only normal, but required also.
Here are some of the symptoms of depression:
sadness
loosing energy
loosing hope in life and others
not finding pleasant anymore the things you used to love
having trouble concentrating
uncontrolled crying
headaches, other types of inexplicable aches and itches
needing to sleep a lot or on the contrary not getting any sleep at all
loosing appetite and loosing weight at the same time
These are just some of the symptoms of depression and if more of them are associated they are not to be ignored and a discussion with a close person or a specialist has to happen very soon.What causes depression? There is not a single source that causes depression. This is a complex disease that can appear as a result of multiple causes. Depression can also be transmitted among persons that are close to each other, by influence.
There are proofs that say persons suffering of depression suffer brain changes. There are also proofs that explain how depression can also be genetic. Children affected by the depression of their parents or parents whose children suffer from chronic depression are more likely to be affected themselves by this illness.To try and prevent depression we have to know ourselves very well. Although treatable depression can be hard to prevent once we are already melancholic. The best method to avoid another crisis after a chronic depression is to keep and eye open to its symptoms and its causes. And also get professional hope whenever we feel like we need it.

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Spinning Gold from Straw Low Cost Employee Retention and Motivation Tools
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Employee retention and motivation…why should employers care? A storm is brewing. National productivity was up 3.9% in the second quarter and 1.9% in the third quarter of 2004. At the same time, the unemployment rate was up 5.5% in October 2004. “Productivity is up, but fewer people are doing more,” said Jennifer Loftus, SPHR, CCP, CBP, GRP, National Director, Astron Solutions. “In addition, the number of 25-34 year old workers will decline by 2.7 million by 2008, resulting in a predicted shortage of 10 million workers within the next ten years.”

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), each employee who leaves a company generates a cost. Conservative estimates place that cost at 30% of an employee’s salary. For example, an organization that loses and replaces 150 employees a year, each at an average annualized salary of $50,000, incurs an estimated turnover cost of $2,250,000 in one year.

However, making changes to recruitment and retention programs can generate positive fiscal returns. If the same organization that replaced 150 employees were to implement changes, financial savings would accrue. The organization would enjoy a $22,500 decline in recruitment and retention costs with each 1% decline in turnover. By working to improve the employment relationship, the organization would also reap the recruiting benefits of a reputation as an employer of choice.

How can employers cost-effectively retain and motivate employees?

Communication is the key ingredient in finding what will best motivate and meet employee needs. According to the February 2001 Workspan article, “Igniting Passion in Employees,” employers should first ask their employees a series of detailed questions. For example, answers to why they stay at the organization, what would make them leave, and what should be done to keep them from leaving, can be essential in planning incentive programs.

Variable compensation, or incentives, used to be the domain of senior management and executives but are now increasingly being used in a number of organizations. According to a recent WorldatWork study, 77% of organizations in 2004 provided variable compensation opportunities to their employees at all organizational levels.

Team and small group variable compensation programs provide several benefits to the employee and the organization:

Increased total cash compensation opportunities
No increase to fixed salary costs
Greater opportunities to reward top-performing employees and departments
Enhanced line of sight helps employees to achieve goals
Improvement in organizational processes and fiscal situations as a result of goal achievement

Astron Solutions’ client, Boston Children’s Hospital launched a small group variable compensation program for their patient financial services department, when their days in receivable had increased to 110 days. This extended length of time in receivable translated into an extremely large daily revenue loss. A quarterly incentive program was formulated focusing on the department’s efforts to decrease days in receivable, with a maximum incentive pool equivalent to 20% of the department's total quarterly payroll. Cash payouts were equal among all employees, with the understanding that performance needed to be kept at satisfactory levels in order to be eligible for participation and payouts. The result was a positive return on investment for the hospital. In addition, the employees learned how to work more efficiently together as a team, the hospital decreased its days in receivable which generated positive cash flow, and the employees increased their take-home cash without causing the organization fiscal strain.

Spot awards are another option for organizations looking to motivate their employees. According to the William M. Mercer 2004 / 2005 Compensation Planning Survey, 55% of organizations continue to use spot cash awards to reward, motivate, and retain key performers, which is 7% more than in 1998. Another 8% of organizations are considering implementing a spot cash award program in the future.

Non-monetary recognition awards also continue to grow in popularity. As also indicated in the Mercer survey, 72% of organizations offer non-monetary recognition awards to reward, motivate, and retain key performers, with an additional 10% of organizations considering implementing a non-monetary recognition award program in the future. Since 1998, non-monetary recognition awards have been the primary emerging reward and recognition practice. These rewards include a public “thank you” or recognition in a company newsletter for a job well done, a special one-on-one lunch, and job restructuring. “Employers should ask their employees how they would like to be rewarded. Employees who work for not-for-profit organizations know that money is tight, and will often be an organization’s best source of ideas with faster buy-in and appreciation,” said Loftus.

Career matrix programs, which link individual competency and varying levels of job complexity to support career advancement, are also another low-cost motivational tool. Creating a career matrix involves various steps. Briefly, these include defining the job level outcomes for three levels of complexity of a job or job family, the activities and requirements that support the outcomes at each level, the three levels of individual core competencies, and the behavioral indicators as well as assessment processes that will be used to determine individual competency. Once defined, employees are then slotted into the matrix using defined criteria, and the guidelines are finalized for placement. This is followed by an overlay of the current pay system and establishment of compensation policies.

Astron Solutions’ client, Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), like all hospitals, faced a nationwide nursing shortage. They were having difficulty attracting new graduate nurses to work at the organization, much less attracting RNs to work at their soon-to-be unveiled Open Heart program. After implementing a career matrix program for their Open Heart Program nursing staff, NGHS turnover is now at 5.2%, significantly below the national average of 15.2%. Vacancy rates have also dropped to 8.4%, again lower than the national average of 14.3% (average for Med / Surg and Critical Care.) In addition, 83% of NGHS’s RN positions were filled before the Open Heart Program opened and the fees spent on traveling nurses / agencies declined by $68,000.

NGHS’s career matrix program reinforced their commitment toward employer of choice status, the link between human resource programs, employee satisfaction, and responsibility for contributing to NGHS’ financial objectives, as well as the organization’s commitment to developing clinical expertise internally. Instituting the program also helped establish NGHS as a “learning organization” and has provided them with a competitive edge in local and regional recruitment of both new graduate and experienced RN staff. The program has also required Nursing Management to become more aware of their dual roles as career developers and patient care coordinators. With the RN shortage continuing, NGHS is in a position to continue to meet growing patient demands, while addressing career advancement desires of the new generation of RNs. The success of the program did not go unnoticed by the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration’s (ASHHRA), who honored both NGHS and Astron Solutions with the 2004 “Best Practice” award at ASHHRA’s annual conference.

With all of these various choices, employers should not feel like the spinning impaired miller’s daughter from the beloved children’s fable, “Rumplestiltskin.” Low cost solutions to retaining and motivating employees are readily available, proven to be effective, and are relatively easy to execute, resulting in a “happy ending” for employers.

Astron Solutions is a consulting firm dedicated to the delivery of HR consulting services and supportive technology. For more information about variable compensation or career path program development please call Astron Solutions at 800-520-3889 or visit their website at http://www.astronsolutions.com

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positive-attitude | team-building | meditation

12 commandments for parents