Personal Growth Archives - Work Smarter Stress Less

Networking During a Pandemic

The time has come for you to figure out how you are going to enhance your online presence. Maybe you have dabbled here and there—sharing an article, liking a tweet, or posting some thoughts on LinkedIn. But now it’s time to get serious. With in-person networking curtailed by the coronavirus, your online presence is more important than ever. Maybe you have been reluctant to build an online presence because you don’t like the idea of selling yourself or feeling fake. But that’s the wrong way to look at it. Building your online presence is an opportunity to learn, to help … Read more

The Tremendous Value of The Long Form

by Tom Catalini

Consider the difference between Edward Norton appearing on a late night talk show for 6 minutes to his podcast interview with Tim Ferriss that went on for 2 hours. One gives you a flavor about some snippet of his work and personality. The other gives you a deep dive into one of his most ambitious projects, a sense of the wide range of his accomplishments, and a clearer picture of his creativity and business savvy. In the full story of his most recent project we learn how Norton met a young writer named Jonathan Lethem who gave Norton a draft … Read more

The Secret to Self-Discipline and Achieving Your Goals

by Tom Catalini

Self-discipline is probably one of the most powerful skills you can build in your own personal development. Here is the secret to doing that better than ever before.

Read More Books: How to Easily Read Dozens This Year

by Tom Catalini

If the Internet had been a thing when I was in school, I would have skirted book reading even more than I did. As it was, I figured out that if I read the first and last 20 pages of whatever book was assigned in English class, that I could fudge my way through most tests and reports. That little shortcut, plus watching the movie version of the book if it was available, got me through. Making matters worse for “Future Tom,” my bad habits were rewarded with good grades. I guess I was pretty good at getting the gist … Read more

How to Face, Recover, and Learn From a Bad Day at Work

by Tom Catalini

Even though I could point to a lot of other people and circumstances that cause a bad day, I feel like it’s all my fault. I think that I should have known better. Or that I did know better but didn’t do anything (or enough) about it. Maybe you feel like that sometimes too. Or perhaps you see it a little more clearly. You might recognize that lots of things that cause a bad day at work are simply outside of your control or influence. It could be that both things are true to some extent. Many things that can … Read more