3 Ways to Deal With a Bad Day at Work

We’ve all had them. A rough day at work. Perhaps you screwed up that presentation to your team, or your boss gave you a less than stellar review, or maybe you simply overlooked that important lunch meeting with a new client.

And now we have to get up the next day and get after it again, setting aside the frustrations and disappointments.

The question is: how do we move forward after a bad day at work?

Change your mindset. A critical first step is to change how we think about what happened. Instead of dwelling on the failure or the criticism, we need to reframe the situation, consider it a learning experience, and move on from it. That bothersome review provides information we need to improve our performance, while the presentation and overlooked lunch meeting might tell us something about our preparation. As we work to change our mindset we’ll discover that our feelings about the situation change, too, and we’ll see it more clearly with an attitude that enables us to move forward.

Take a walk. Yes, seriously. Get outside and experience the outdoors. It will relax you, help you with the first step (changing your mindset), while putting things in perspective as you feel a gentle breeze, listen to the birds sing around you, and watch the squirrels play hide and seek.

Listen to a motivating podcast. There are so many great podcasts out there that can help inspire and challenge you to be your best self, both at home and on the job, and help you bounce back from the frustrations of a difficult day. Bring your headphones with you as you head out on that walk around the neighborhood and by the time you return home (or to the office) you’ll feel energized and ready to put the disappointments behind you and move forward. If podcasts aren’t your thing, then put on your favorite music to move to.

A frustrating or difficult day doesn’t have to lead to a bad week. Develop some strategies for dealing with the disappointments as they come and your career will be more resilient.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Ways to Be More Productive

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 3 Ways to Be More Productive:"When you apply an essentialist framework to tasks, you’ll quickly find that the anxiety surrounding its perceived complexity melts away."

• How to Help Your Spouse Cope With Work Stress: "Develop calming end-of-the-workday habits and rituals. You both need time to decompress."

• 101 Time Management Tips to Boost Productivity: "Double-check your work so that you don’t spend the time going back and correcting your mistakes."

• 15 Traits That Set Influential People Apart: "Influential people move through life with purpose, conscious of their actions and of how others may perceive them."
• 15 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To Every Week: "Here's a list of the podcasts I find most valuable as a leader, entrepreneur, and human being....Together, this holistic list will help you expand as a professional and as a person."

4 Habits to Add to Your Morning Routine

All too often we spend our mornings rushing around, scrambling to get ready, eat a decent breakfast, take a shower, and get the kids off to school. But if we change up our routine and spend thirty minutes adding a few new habits to the morning, our days could be much more productive.

You don’t have to radically change your morning routine to see positive results. Even adding just one or two of the habits below can make a big difference.

MOVE. One of the best ways to start your day is to incorporate some type of exercise into your morning routine. You don’t need to invest in an expensive gym or club membership to see results. Find a space in your home that allows you some privacy and room to move, increasing your alertness and creative flow. If you like to dance spend ten to fifteen minutes get your groove on to your favorite songs and check out the next idea to pair your movement with music or a podcast to inspire you to have a great day. You can find many simple and short workouts online that don’t require you to purchase any fancy equipment. 

MOTIVATE. Gain some daily motivation by reading inspirational literature, listening to a motivational podcast, or enjoying some music that lifts your mood. This can be done in concert with some exercise, as noted above, or you can listen in while showering, eating, or even on your morning commute. You might want to check out these podcasts.

JOURNAL. A great practice for the morning is to take a few minutes to write in a journal. This activity can assist you in focusing on the important items on your to-do list, while also providing an opportunity to note those things in your life that you are grateful and thankful for. A daily practice of gratefulness has been shown to have great benefits for well-being.

MEDITATE. In addition to exercise, journaling, and filling your mind and ears with some motivational or inspirational thoughts, spend a few minutes each morning in meditation or prayer. You might also find it useful to add an empowering mantra or repeated line of prayer that will put you in a mindful and confident state to begin your day.

Add one or all of these four habits—moving, meditating, journaling, and getting motivated—to your morning routine and you will set yourself up for a successful and productive day.

5 Great Podcasts to Boost Your Career and Life

In last week's post we shared four tips to renew your passion for work. The basic point was to look at things in a different way and one of the tips to do this was to check out a new podcast.

There are so many excellent podcasts out there and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. That's where this post comes in.

Below find five great podcasts to help you see things in a new way, therefore helping provide you with a boost and spark to your life and career:

1. The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes: "The goal of the School of Greatness is to share inspiring stories from the most brilliant business minds, world class athletes, and influential celebrities on the planet; to help you find out what makes great people great."

2. Building a Story Brand with Donald Miller: "Through his company StoryBrand, Donald Miller has helped over a thousand businesses, non-profits and personal brands clarify their message to create better websites, email blasts and marketing material."

3. Snap Judgment hosted by Glynn Washington: "Mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic, kick-ass radio. Snap's raw, musical blend of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another."

4. The Tim Ferriss Show: Ferris "deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use. This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more." 

5. TED Radio Hour hosted by Guy Raz: "A journey through fascinating ideas: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to think and create. Based on Talks given by riveting speakers on the world-renowned TED stage, each show is centered on a common theme."

4 Tips to Renew Your Passion for Work

Yes, it happens.

You lose that passion and drive you once had for your job. Instead of getting up with enthusiasm you reach for the snooze button on the alarm, or you start to feel the anxiety creeping up on you throughout the weekend in anticipation of that Monday return to work.

Sometimes it's not easy to restore your passion and enthusiasm you once had for your work. It might not be as simple as taking a few days off.

Consider taking a look at things from a new perspective in the following four ways:

1. Attend a conference. A conference provides a great opportunity to learn new things and hear from some motivational experts in your field. It also provides a great opportunity to meet new people who can help shake up your perspective and see your work in a new light.

2. Check out a new podcast. This can be particularly useful if you have a long commute or spend some time at the gym. There are so many incredibly useful and interesting podcasts out there that can help you gain new understanding of your field and the world. Next week we'll take a look at some of these and recommend some podcasts to add to your playlist.

3. Read a book. If you have time and enjoy reading there's never been a better time to find a great read. Head over to the library and check out the books on the new book stand and you're likely to find several fantastic books to challenge your view of the work you're doing.

4. Attend a special training. Don't have time or the money to attend a conference? Attend a local training session or an evening workshop on a topic of interest to you. Wherever you live, it's likely you'll find some excellent training or workshops put on by local libraries, nonprofit organizations, or community colleges.

Implement one, or better yet ... all four tips, and you'll be on the way to feeling more enthusiasm and energy for your work and career!

12 Steps to Successful Career Change

Following up on our blog post last week about podcasts of interest to job seekers we came across the Dream Career Podcast and its series of 12 Steps to Successful Career Change. 


The series is broken down into 4 sections: Realization & Assessment, Exploration, Preparation, and Search & Networking.


Listen in here for useful suggestions and advice as you move through that career change.

Listening in on Great Career Advice

The boring commute to work, that long summer road-trip, or hours spent on the treadmill at the gym provide great opportunities to listen to podcasts that can offer useful information as you seek to advance in your career. We've identified five podcasts that you'll want to download to give you the necessary inspiration and knowledge as you move ahead in your career:


48 Days to the Work You Love  


Career Joy


Next Stage Online Radio


HBR IdeaCast


Escape from Cubicle Nation