Dumb Little Man | Tips for Life

Do you groan when you think of trying to lose weight and exercise? Most of us do! Unfortunately, for so many the very idea of losing weight breeds negative thoughts and feelings. You may even feel as if it’s an impossible challenge.

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Before I switched into freelance writing, I worked for a small IT company and had the lofty job title of “Head of Documentation”. This meant I was the person who got landed with writing the software user guides, helping out on company reports, and proof-reading promotional leaflets. I can definitely say that writing for DLM is more exciting! But my experiences of office life, along with my writing for my own business purposes (and editing copy for clients), have helped me master few straightforward tips about writing well in a business context.

Whether you’re worried that your emails come across as too friendly or too brisk, or whether you have to prepare a report or presentation, these tips should help you write in a professional, readable, way – that’s bound to impress your clients, your boss and your colleagues.

1. Be As Clear And As Succinct As Possible
   If you’re not totally confident about your writing skills, it’s easy to fall into the trap of using complex words and impressive-sounding phrases that don’t really mean anything. You need to resist this temptation, and make your writing as simple, clear and concise as you can.
   
   This is especially crucial if you’re writing a document for external purposes, particularly if it will be published on the web, where readers are typically rushed and distracted.
   
   This sort of language is often a real turn-off to potential clients. I’ll bet that you’ve come across paragraphs like this on websites:
   
   

   AskBio has proactively developed strategic relationships with the following corporate, foundation, and academic collaborators, which provides distinct capabilities to execute projects from discovery through patient clinical trials. (AskBio – Collaborators)

   
   Does it inspire you to read on? Does it even make sense at a quick glance? Wouldn’t you prefer to read:
   
   

   AskBio has strong relationships with these corporate, foundation, and academic collaborators. Our expert connections mean we can take your project every step of the way – from discovery to patient clinical trials.

   
   Yes, my example doesn’t hit all those key business words like “proactively”, “strategic” and “execute”. Frankly, unless you’re writing for a boss with a predilection for buzzword bingo, you don’t need them.
   


2. Avoid Jargon And Colloquialisms
   As well as cutting out those buzzwords which don’t add anything, you’ll want to be careful about your use of industry jargon and colloquialisms. This is particularly important when you’re communicating with customers.
   
   When checking your promotional materials, your website, or your emails to customers for the use of jargon and colloquialisms, look out for:
   
   • Industry acronyms that you don’t spell out (don’t assume that everyone reading your website will be familiar with every aspect of your industry).
   
   
   • Common acronyms that are strongly related to business or to technology. Not everyone will know that “FYI” means “for your information” or that “F2F” means “Face to face”.
   
   
   • Phrases specific to your culture (colloquialisms). For example, the American “step up to the plate” doesn't resonate with me as we don’t play baseball here in the UK. In today’s international marketplace remember that your customers may not live in your country – and English may well not be their first language.
   
   
   • Industry jargon. If you’re unsure whether a word or phrase will be understood outside your industry, try to find an alternative. Be especially careful if you work in the finance or legal sectors: these seem prone to a lot of jargon!
   Here’s an example, from a Webmaster Training course that requires “basic computer literacy”:
   
   

   SEO - what SEO is, how it works, what the benefits are and why it is essential.

   
   Someone who has “basic computer literacy” is a typical office worker who can use Word, Excel, a browser, and so on. Do you know what SEO stands for? Does everyone in your office? This is a prime example of where simply spelling out an acronym could make things a whole lot clearer:
   
   

   SEO (search engine optimization) - what SEO is, how it works, what the benefits are and why it is essential.

   
   Even if you’re not too sure what “search engine optimization” would involve, you’d at least be able to guess from the phrase that it’s not some obscure software package or arcane programming language.
   


3. Always Use A Spell Checker (And Ideally A Proof-Reader)
   This might seem such an obvious tip that it’s not worth including. But do you really spell check everything? In most email and document programs, it only takes an extra couple of seconds to hit “spell check” – and it can prevent you from making embarrassing, silly or careless mistakes. Start getting into the habit today: it’ll soon become as automatic as putting on your seat belt when you get into your car.
   
   We’ve all received emails riddled with typos or errors – and they don’t create a good impression. They can also pose a barrier to clear communication: if an important word or phrase is misspelled, then the recipient may struggle to understand what exactly you were trying to convey.
   
   Since computer spell checkers won’t pick up on everything, run any important documents (especially promotional materials) past someone in the office who’s good with words. Don’t just ask them to look for typos – ask them to point out any places where the meaning was unclear, or where a sentence was unnecessarily convoluted.

Whether your business writing just involves emails, or whether you have to produce much more complex documents, what tips do you have for conveying a great impression and a clear message?

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For some, running a marathon is the ultimate goal. For others, it is a 26.2-mile waste of time. Then there are some of us who sit idly by, with envy in our hearts at the thought of crossing the finish line. There is, however, a strategy for achieving the ultimate goal of a marathon, even if you are a couch potato like I used to be, and believe it or not, it doesn’t require cheating.

The following steps will not only make it possible for a non-runner to finish a marathon, but may, dare I say, make it easy:

Step One: Drop the “Jogging Myth”
When I discuss running with my mother, she says, “Oh, I can’t run, but I jog from time to time.” This belief holds back many would be runners as they believe that running is too difficult, and that jogging doesn’t count. The truth is that jogging IS running. Here is the only distinction you will ever make when it comes to running: If you have one foot on the ground at any given time, you are walking. If you have both feet off the ground at any given time you are running, no matter how fast or slow you are moving. This leads to Step Two.

Step Two: Slow Down
The simple explanation of the scientific mumbo jumbo is this: Lactic acid accumulation in our legs equals heavy legs and fatigue. We want to increase our lactate threshold to avoid this. Science has found that you get the best results by training aerobically, which means slowing down your run to a very comfortable pace so that you don’t get tired while running. You may be asking, “How slow can I really go?” Keep reading.

Step Three: Listen to Your Body
Ideally, you should get a heart rate monitor and stay below your maximum heart rate. To find your optimal heart rate you can use an aerobic heart rate chart, or follow the 180 formula.

But let’s say you don’t want to spend the $100 on a new heart rate monitor; is there another way? Yes. Your body gives clues. Listen to your breathing. Are you huffing and puffing? Does your chest hurt? Is it difficult to catch your next breath? If so, you are running too fast. You should be able to breathe easily. Listen to your heart. Is it pounding, or barely noticeable? Check in with your eyes. Is it easy to focus on the world around you or are you getting tunnel vision? Overall, you should be enjoying the run, and if you are not, then you are going too fast. Slowing down makes running easy and trains your body to burn fat, which is Step Four.

Step Four: Become a Fat Burner, Not a Sugar Burner.
Burning sugar is like burning the head of a match. It’s fast and it disappears quickly. Burning fat is like burning coal. It’s slow, and long lasting. When we slow down our running, we train ourselves to burn fat instead of sugar, which is what we need for a distance run. Become a fat burner by consuming more good fats and less sugar.

“But I like sugar and bad fats,” says the reader. I understand, and suggest the rule of 80/20. Just make sure that 80% of the time you are eating good fats (avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds) and complex carbohydrates (whole grain breads, quinoa, and beans). That means you get to indulge 20% of the time. This will support you in becoming a fat burner and push you to the finish line. Finally, we get to the most important step.

Step Five: Believe!
What you believe is true for you. If you truly believe you can do it, you will. If you believe you can’t do it, you won’t. To change your beliefs you must consciously associate massive pleasure with the belief that you will cross the finish line. Visualize how will you feel. Think about your new body, and the energy you will gain from this success. On the flip side, you must associate tremendous pain with the thought of not reaching your goal. What does it mean to stay the same? What will it mean in 10 years? Who else will it affect? When you believe you will gain more pleasure and avoid more pain from reaching your goal, you will be unstoppable.

Remember, you are not running a 26.2-mile race. It’s only 1 mile, 26.2 times.

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Something can be said for knowing a little bit about a lot of things. Being an everyman or everywoman can propel you to a more efficient, productive and fulfilled personal and professional life. Whether it’s keeping up on current events, a new hobby or interest or simply any new idea, taking a small amount of time to learn something every day is a great way to add to your personal knowledgebase.

Incorporating bits of learning into your every day experience puts you on a path to lifelong learning. Lifelong learning keeps you engaged in your environment, builds your knowledgebase, ensures that you use your mind, provides a sense of accomplishment and simply makes you feel good. The knowledge you gain, tools you get and experiences you have with learning a little bit everyday all work together to achieve real personal advancement.

Here are a few thoughts on how to incorporate learning a new thing each day into your routine.

Make it part of your routine and give it 20 minutes
Are you a “getting things done” kind of person? Devote a small amount of time each day, 20 minutes, to reading some new article or book chapter or watching a video. On average we are all doing way too much in our daily experience. However, a great way to feel good about your day is to start off with an accomplishment by learning something new, exercising or completing a work task. You might try all three before you start your “real” day, but let’s stick to the learning a little bit a day theme.

If you can’t start your day with a little time for learning something new, try doing it at lunch time or at the end of the day. Take an article to lunch or add a video to watch to your iPod. After you have shut down your computer for the day pull out your “learning” file and read a new article.

Think of learning a little bit in your daily routine as simple compound interest on your personal knowledgebase. If you were to put away money every day in an account that earned simple interest the balance on the account would accumulate exponentially by the daily addition of principal. The same concept works for your knowledgebase, add to it daily and your personal abilities will benefit exponentially.

Think About What Interests You and Surprise Yourself
What ideas, information or things interest you? Answer that question for a moment. Once you have your answer - find resources (hopefully free, see below) on those subjects. Organize your interests whether on paper or electronically in a way that can deliver bits of new information to you on a regular basis. For example, keep a folder of articles either physically or electronically. Pick something out of that folder and dig into it at least once a day.

By the way, web videos of skate boarders smashing through plate glass windows for the sheer fun of it, doesn’t necessarily add to your lifelong learning experience - unless you add it to the what not to do in life column. So, make sure you choose some piece of information that fits within your personal goals or might simply add value to your knowledgebase.

Once you have your interests settled - surprise yourself. At least every few days choose something to learn that may not be on the top of your list as an interest or might not even be on your list at all. These things tend to be really useful later - if not directly then indirectly. For example, I would venture that most folks reading this article are not heavily into Japanese Origami. However, twenty minutes of learning how to fold a paper swan might come in handy years later as a way to change what’s on your mind and bring some focus back into a really stressful work day.

Use free resources
Organized education can be expensive even though a necessity. However, learning a little bit everyday can be virtually free if you take the time to find valuable resources. Use the web but also understand its limitations and use your public library.

When using the web, recognize that there are incredible bits and pieces of information to learn from all over the web from established media outlets, universities, governments, and other sources. Once you found some of these resources that interest you, see if they serve up their information through Really Simple Syndication – RSS.

RSS feeds can be a great way to find little bits of new information. Practically, all e-mail programs support RSS and there are many web-based and desktop programs that also support it. An RSS reader can help you organize your “learning folder”, in fact it could be that folder.

Public libraries are an incredible source of free learning. Find your local library, get your card and take the time to find books and other information that fit your interests.

Overall, it doesn’t take long to find a small bit of useful and interesting information that you can retain.

Take notes, spend some time reviewing
Learning something new also requires you to retain all or some of what you’ve learned. You need to make the most of those 20 minutes of everyday. So, take some notes - in a journal, on the article or on a sticky note.

One of the most effective ways of making sure you retain something is by getting that piece of learning past your short term memory. A good way to do just that is by taking some action beyond reading or watching. Note taking can accomplish that by requiring your brain to process the information in another way. Gather those notes because you are going to use them later.

Once in a while, at the end of a week or month, use your 20 minutes to look back at your notes. Looking back at your notes will ensure that your knowledgebase was added to and that you have gotten past short term retention.

Try these few simple tips for learning a little bit every day and enjoy the added value you have created in your personal knowledgebase.

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Food tracking is about as much fun as going to the dentist. But experts know that regularly tracking what you eat is one of, if not the best predictors of weight loss success.

Food tracking isn’t all about calories. In fact, I would argue that calorie tracking is less important than the timing, composition, emotions and location or your meal or snack.

Like any challenging activity (read regular exercise), constant reminders of the benefits are necessary to maintain the behavior. When you feel like giving up on your food tracking, revisit this list.

1. It is proactive: Food tracking is the ‘adult in the room full of children’. Behavior automatically improves


2. It is reactive: By reviewing your food records you can pin point ‘trouble spots’ and adjust your strategies accordingly


3. You can eat more: Like any smart shoppers knows, bargain shopping allow you to purchase more items for any budget.


4. Evidence: Phantom pounds that show up on the scale due to fluid shifts can be challenged with your food records and prevent ‘scale related’ breakdowns. As one of my clients stated, “The scale shows that I’m up a pound but that can’t be right. I’ve tracked my foods all week and there is no way I gained. It must be hormonal!'”


5. It makes you feel good: Tracking isn’t much fun. Neither are most pieces of exercise equipment. But you feel great afterward, a sense of accomplishment, order, and pride. Change your view of tracking from a form of captivity, to a form of freedom. You will spend less time thinking about dieting and more time enjoying what you eat.

Finally, remember that food tracking is like studying for exams. How you study is up to you. Memo pads, daytimes, excel files, Google docs, and these printable templates will do just fine. Start by monitoring 3 or 4 days per week and work up from there. If you miss a meal, or a day don’t worry, pick up where you left off.

In a week or two, your eating habits and weight will begin falling into place and feeling better about your eating habits will start right away.

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