Why you should try time tracking Tracking your time can help you understand your habits and become more mindful of how you spend your time. Also, monitoring your time will help make you more aware of distractions that regularly impair your productivity, writes Emily Long. LearnVest (12/18)Speed-reading is not a good tactic for saving time Speed-reading is not as beneficial as some people believe, because it leads to a shaky understanding of text material and overconfidence about knowledge, writes Alyse Kalish. Taking time to fully comprehend important materials is worth the effort, she writes. The Muse (12/27)
Increasing how often we express gratitude will lead to improved well-being, writes Susan Fowler. "Your appreciation generates feelings of gratitude that are deeply satisfying, nurture your psychological needs -- especially for relatedness, and are long-lasting," she writes. SmartBrief/Leadership (12/27)
The Landscape
Employee benefits should reflect corporate culture, identity Employee benefits and perks must fit a company's corporate culture and identity, writes benefits consultant Harrison Newman. Most employees would prefer an office with treadmill desks and beanbag chairs over a cubicle farm, Newman points out, and younger workers may put more value on nontraditional benefits. Employee Benefit Adviser (12/26)
According to the recent Capital One Small Business Growth Index, the state of small business is strong. Regardless of some uncertainly that small business owners have felt this year around potentially impactful legislative issues, small business confidence is at its highest point since 2012. See the full results of our business owner survey.
Employers are seeking tech knowledge, soft skills Many of the fastest growing jobs in the next five years will be tech-related, but soft skills are also in high demand by employers. Cities such as Washington, D.C, San Francisco and Austin, Texas, are among those with the highest skills scarcities, according to a LinkedIn report. International Business Times (12/26)
The Water Cooler
Hawaii men find out they're brothers after 60 years of friendship A pair of Hawaii men that have been friends for 60 years found out recently that they are brothers. Alan Robinson was adopted and Walter Macfarlane was unaware who his father was, but a DNA test showed they share a common birth mother. USA Today (12/27)
It's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. ... We're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.
