Stay on Track with Your Career Goals Create an Accountability Team - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Stay on Track with Your Career Goals Create an Accountability Team - Introvert Whisperer Stay on Track with Your Career Goals: Create an Accountability Team One big problem we all have when it comes to pursuing our goals is losing focus or momentum. You see it the most with people trying to lose weight. They get all excited in a flurry of planning and preparation, only to poop out a month later. The same thing happens to us for almost all of our undertakings unless the amount of time between launch and finish is seriously short, like a month or two. Very few career goals can be achieved on such a short time frame; so how can you avoid this familiar trap? First, it’s important to understand the mechanism of change in us humans. Unfortunately, the loss-of-momentum scenario I painted occurs about 60-70% of the time, according to important researchers and doctors like Dr. James Prochaska. Even in the face of death induced by poor lifestyle choices, that statistic holds true. It’s very hard to make changes without the appropriate mechanisms in place The good news is, those mechanisms can be simple enough to put into place. The primary mechanism you must establish is accountability. Accountability is one of those things that come built-in at work. You get an assignment and a list of people, like your boss and peers, who expect you to get it done. BAM! Accountability. Sure, you’d like to think you’re mature and professional enough you don’t need someone lurking over your shoulder to make you do things. But that’s only partially true. You may not need someone to over-manage you, but like most of us, you do need to know that someone will be expecting you to produce something. That’s why it’s tough to do things on your own. You have only yourself to be accountable to and, quite frankly, we’re all kind of pushovers. We can rationalize why doing something else right now is fine to do rather than working on something that will support our career goals. Next thing you know, you’ve done that enough times you don’t even think about your action plan until it’s too late or past due. Here’s how to build the right kind of accountability: Identify Your Support Structure It may be enough to have simply one person in your corner to help you, but more than likely it will be a team, each person having different roles. Your boss is the first and most likely person to engage in your career plan and to help keep you accountable. In addition, consider securing a mentor in your workplace. You may also want to have a career coach who will not only follow up with you, but tap into your deepest vision of what you want for yourself. Identify Regular Follow-Up Schedule in advance the specific day and time you will follow up with each person on your accountability team. It doesn’t have to be all in the same week; you can stagger your follow-up time. The key to this step is that it is on both your schedule and the other person’s. You both know what this time is to be used for, and that makes it tougher to push out or reschedule. With busy schedules the way they are, if you wait until the last minute to get time with another person, you may still be waiting. Establish Accountability “Rules” When you identify your team, you need to lay out the kind of behavior you want from them. You should discuss such things as missing your deadlines or failing to work on something you had committed to do. Obviously, nothing critical will happen as a result of you missing something, but you don’t want the situation so loose that it’s meaningless. As a coach, when I see someone miss something a time or two, I ask them tough questions like, “What are you avoiding?” or “How can you make this as important as these other things you’ve done?” You don’t want your team to take you out in the parking lot and beat you up, but you also want them to be appropriately tough if they have to keep you going. Talk about all of this up front. Celebrate Your Milestones We tend to do significant things and then just blow them off with very little attention. Use your accountability team to take a few minutes to bask in the glow of a well-deserved accomplishment. You can master your career success by developing your goals and setting up the right structures to help you achieve them. You don’t have to and shouldn’t try to “white knuckle” your way to the finish line. In your career, just like in sports, you can have a team to help you win. (Like this thought? Tweet it!) Who’s on your support team? Who might you like to add? Share your experience in the comments! Image: Flickr Go to top Bottom-line â€" I want to help you accelerate your career â€" to achieve what you want by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my 4 Building Blocks to Relationships eBookâ€" the backbone to your Networking success and fantastic work relationships.  Grab yours by visiting here right now! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Beginner Flute Lessons How to Make the Most of Your Lessons

Beginner Flute Lessons How to Make the Most of Your Lessons Suzy S. As you learn to play the flute, attending regular private lessons are integral to your success. Here, Chicago, IL flute teacher Jillian D.  shares her tips for making the most of those lessons Growing up, flute lessons were, and still are, an important part of my life. They instilled me with discipline, integrity, and pride, while also allowing me to grow and mature artistically. The moments you spend with your teacher are filled with helpful information and wise insight. The hard part is getting it all to stick. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your beginner flute lessons: Before your lesson: Eat.  Nothing is more distracting than a growling stomach. Eat a good meal before your lesson, so you’ll be fueled and ready to play. Be prepared.  Show up to each lesson prepared and ready to learn. Working hard in the days leading up to your lesson will allow you to make progress each week. Review your lesson material without your flute.  Going over fingerings, pieces, and other lesson material away from your flute is a good way to warm up your brain before a lesson. You’ll be surprised at how much you remember when you come back to your flute. During your lesson: Be engaged and stay focused.  It’s easy to let your mind wander when your teacher rattles on about alternate fingerings, harmonic overtones, and melodic minor scales. But stay focused! Be as attentive as possible, and try to absorb everything your teacher says like a sponge. Ask questions.  If you don’t understand something, do not be afraid to say so. Your teacher only wants to help you get better, so if something is unclear, ask! Record it.  Recording your lessons is a great way to easily review your teacher’s feedback later. However, it’s always important to ask for permission before you hit record. After your lesson: Take notes in your flute journal.  You’ll be given a LOT of useful information during your lessons. Write them down in a notebook or journal as you go along. That way, you won’t forget when you’re practicing during the week. Review.  Keep your lesson notes organized and detailed. Even something as simple as reviewing your notes on the car ride home will help your flute playing immensely. Practice as soon as you get home.  Practicing after your lesson is a great way to make sure everything sticks. Go over what your teacher helped you with during the lesson. Take what he or she said a step further, and see what kind of progress you can make on your own. Concentration, hard work, and preparation are the keys to getting the most from your beginner flute lessons. Have fun, stay focused, and discover something new while playing your flute every day. Jillian D. teaches flute in Chicago, IL. She is currently working on her degree in  Flute Performance at DePaul University School of Music. Learn more about Jillian here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  LifeSupercharger

What is it Like to Attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

What is it Like to Attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teachtheyre sharing their college experiences as well. Brittnee is a Philadelphia tutor specializing in Spanish tutoring. She is currently a senior at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania majoring in Spanish. See what she had to share about Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Brittnee: Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is located in a very rural area in the tiny town of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The campus is extremely safe, as we are located nearly in the middle of nowhere. Never once have I felt unsafe walking on campus no matter the time of day. For transportation, there are buses that bring students to campus from certain apartment complexes. As there are both apartment complexes and single houses that are rented, everything is in close proximity, and campus is walkable from all of these places in fifteen minutes or less. Some students like to bring a bike for faster transportation, but the majority of students walk. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania? Brittnee: Professors are usually readily availableif not during their office hours, they are certainly available by appointment. This is true for academic advisers, as well. I spend a great deal of time with my academic adviser, and I feel completely comfortable walking into his office hours or asking him to meet me at a different time (or place other than his office) if my schedule does not fit his on that given day. How would you describe the dorm liferooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Brittnee: When I lived in the dorms in 2012 and 2013 as a freshman and sophomore, the dorms were a great way to meet people since we were all in the same position of coming to college with no friends. There were activities that were planned for us in the common room of our building that also gave us a chance to meet people who lived on other floors. My dorm in particular was known as the sociable one because we were the ones who always kept our doors open as a way for people to pass by to say hello and introduce themselves. When we left the dorms with our new friends, there were four places we could dine on campus, two of which were dining halls, one of which was a caf, and the other was the student union building. In every one of these places, we were provided with plenty of different options. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania? Brittnee: A well known major at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is education because of the fieldwork that has to be done to get the degree. My education friends have told me that they really enjoy the fieldwork and observations in classrooms because it gives them a real life experience right away. When I came to Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, I decided to study Spanish, not only because of the love for the language that I have, but also because it is becoming difficult to get far in the professional business world if you do not have any knowledge of Spanish or a second language in general. In conjunction with my Spanish major, I also have minors in business and international studies, both of which are compatible with my Spanish. Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania was very supportive of my areas of study, as I did not declare these two minors until my junior year of college, which did not leave me much time to complete them. My adviser and some professors worke d with me to make sure this was possible and that I would still be able to graduate on time. They were successful because I am on track to graduate in May, as scheduled. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Brittnee: I am not a part of Greek life, however, I am an athlete. I play tennis, and by starting as a freshman, this gave me a great opportunity to have a solid friend group right at the start of my college career. Not only did I have these girls, but I was also able to meet mutual friends through older girls on the team. How helpful is the Career Center and other student support services? Brittnee: The Career Center is helpful as far as I know. From my experience, they helped me shape my resume, and for this, I got several job offers. A few times throughout the year, there is a career fair where companies come to campus and are open to talking with students about future plans. How are the various study areas such as libraries, the student union, and dorm lounges at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania? Brittnee: All three of these places are just perfect. I spend all of my time in the library and the student union, and I have never had a problem with too many people. We are a small enough school population-wise that not everybody is in the same spot at the same time. There are certainly rooms in the library and the student union for our use that are readily available to us. Describe the surrounding town. Brittnee: Shippensburg is a very small town. The only fun things to do are to go out to eat at one of the four restaurants we have, or to travel to the local Walmart and walk around. Students usually gather at someones house off-campus if they want to get together in a big group. Or if they want to spend money, students will meet up and go out to eat. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Brittnee: We have about 8,000 undergraduate students at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. With that said, I am generally pleased with the class sizes. For my general education classes, they usually consisted of about 50 people. When it got down to my Spanish classes, my largest class was 15 people. This is perfect for me because the professor can really focus on each and every student in the class. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one you regret the most. Brittnee: My most memorable academic experiences were usually with my foreign professors. A few years ago I had this professor from Spain, and she was a bundle of joy and always so full of energy. During our Spanish class, she would play music videos that related to our lectures for the day. She would get up in front of the class and jump around the room and pretend she was singing a concert by holding a makeshift microphone. I know this is not anything significant, but it was a great memory for me of how she could turn something simple into something fun and enjoyable while getting the point across and making people laugh. Check out Brittnees tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

How Children Succeed Part three

How Children Succeed Part three Improving Academic Performance In part two of our introduction to How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character we explored the cognitive hypothesis, which suggests that success today depends primarily on cognitive skills (e.g., reading, writing, recognizing patterns, calculating, etc.) the type of intelligence that gets tested on IQ or standardized tests, and that the best way to build these skills is to practice them as early and often as possible. In part three, we’ll explore one of the major themes of the book, which is that “character,” and more specifically “performance character” is the more fundamental driver of success, and it too can be nurtured and developed. Tough believes society has gotten significantly off track, focusing too much on building a narrow set of cognitive skills and abilities, and taking a misguided approach to teaching children how to build all-important “character” skills. As such, he finishes his introductory chapter by sharing two examples of the type of research that supports the notion that character, not cognitive skills, should be considered of primary importance as we educate children. First, he introduces a University of Chicago economist named James Heckman, who won a Nobel Prize in economics in 2000 for developing a new statistics methodology for understanding the economy. Heckman, buoyed by his academic pedigree, pivoted in the mid 2000s from a pure focus on economics, toward understanding education and social issues. Most relevant for Tough’s book and research, is Heckman’s analysis of the GED test. It turns out that the GED program (General Education Development program), which administers a test high school dropouts can take to indicate they have the same academic skills of a high school graduate, has proven to be a useful tool for understanding the importance of character attributes. The GED was supposed to be a test that “leveled the academic playing field,” allowing children born into poverty and difficult circumstances to pass one single test that demonstrated they were ready for college. Heckman has found that, in fact, in many ways a GED holder is exactly like a typical high school graduate. By comparing the two groups (GED holders and regular graduates of high school) Heckman found that the GED holder performs similarly on standardized tests like the ACT and SAT, and has a similar IQ. However, when it comes to graduating from college, the GED holder is absolutely nothing like the typical high school graduate. Whereas 46% of high school graduates are enrolled or graduated from college by age 22, only 3% of GED holders are still in or graduated from college at that age. What Heckman found is that the GED in fact separates “bright but non-persistent and undisciplined dropouts from other dropouts.” Because the average GED holder is not good at staying focused on a long-term goal, planning ahead, or adapting to their environment (the types of things one must do to successfully get through high school), they tend to be unable to succeed in college. Tough notes that what Heckman’s research doesn’t address is whether and how character attributes such as persistence, grit, curiosity, etc. can really be taught. He then introduces a student, who is discussed later in the book, Kewauna Lerma, who was born into a very difficult and disruptive family situation. Through her freshman year of high school, she was on her way to dropping out. But, he describes how, during her sophomore year (after a series of discussions with teachers, grandparents, etc.), she completely turns her life around, and ultimately graduates from high school, and is accepted to college. He wraps up his introduction by reinforcing that this book is going to be all about understanding on a deep, personal level how character attributes enabled Kewauna Lerma to turn her life around, and on a macro societal level, understanding how a whole generation of children can be steered towards success and away from failure. Initial Review and Analysis This is a powerful book. The main theme, that academic success comes from character traits like grit and curiosity and not necessarily proficiency in math, reading, and writing, is counterintuitive and somewhat inspirational, regardless of whether it’s 100%, 75%, or 50% accurate. My personal view is that it’s much more true than false. Certainly, some people seem to be blessed with high IQs that help them succeed academically with a bit less effort than others, and you can also find examples of students that seem to excel in school as a direct result of lots of early “drilling” on reading, writing, counting, etc. by their parents. There are some good reasons why the cognitive hypothesis seems to be society’s current default belief about how to best educate children. But, I think as a general rule, the average person observes someone who is successful academically without truly “seeing” the hours and hours of self-directed hard work that lies behind that success. They can’t see the “persistence” and “grit” that enabled the person to build their skills, and instead attribute their success to a high IQ or natural ability. Where I think the book falls short a bit is around discussing the “how” of building character on an individual level. The book explores various theories, and the people and organizations that are testing those theories, for how to build character. But often, the discussion is at a relatively high level, and is very focused on the relationship between poverty and academic performance as a societal issue. Had an attempt been made at articulating a clear “top ten strategies for building performance character attributes” in yourself or your child, I would have found it even more valuable. In fact, this is something I’ll attempt to write about in future blog articles. That said, it is powerful in and of itself to convince yourself that grit and persistence, not intelligence, drive success. Once internalized, this notion compels you to encourage yourself, your students, or your children to focus on building character skills and displaying grit, instead of assuming that something is hard because they “just aren’t good at math,” or whatever the subject or activity may be.

Listening Exercise DIY Centrifuge

Listening Exercise DIY Centrifuge Today youll see an interesting video about how scientists have made a medical tool out of a simple childrens toy.  Its amazing to see how theyve solved the problems  that prevent many remote villagers from receiving medical care-cost and electricity.  Take a look at the short video, and strengthen your listening comprehension with the  questions that follow.Scientists ____ ____ paper and string to make a centrifuge that could be used for medical tests in remote locations.Question #1 used present perfect for which of the following reasons?experiencechange over timeaccomplishmentincomplete, expected actionBut centrifuges are _____________ bulky and expensive and need to be plugged in.What else needs to be plugged in?In the quest for an affordable, electricity-free centrifuge, scientists ____ previously ____  use of a salad spinner, but this design is relatively slow.To make use of is a phrasal verb that means to use something for your own purpose.  What have you made use of today?No w, scientists at Stanford ____ ____ ________ by a simple childrens toy.What can the centrifuge be made out of?What have you been inspired by recently?They studied the mechanics of the toy to work out how to achieve the _______ possible spin.As always if you write your answers in comments well correct them for you and even give you an explanation!

The World Without Sex (And Other Ideas)

The World Without Sex (And Other Ideas) Courtesy Flickr.com and chloe delong. Hey thanks! Then again, whatever doesnt kill you only makes you stranger, so Im going to suppress my fear of public ridicule and write about the absurd and occasionally pathetic ideas I get for blog topics. I have no explanation for the blog ideas that follow. Title: Things I Wish Were Food Pitch: After a witty and sarcastic intro about how theres not enough variety of foodstuff in the world, Id write a list of things I wish were food. The number one thing? A juicy rainbow. Id love to grab that arc and turn its frown upside down, chomping into it like I would a slice of watermelon, the bombardment of flavors gushing my buds with the mixed nectar of all those colors. Why it fails: That last sentence. Title: Mock Interview with Knucklehead James Olmsted Pitch: After summarizing the events that transpired last Thursday, Id write a completely fictional interview between me and the knucklehead that caused them. Id try to relay that hes just a regular guy with a short fuse. For example, he eats at Dennys just like us, but he goes bananas when they forget to put bananas on top of his banana waffles. Id write all this knowing that Olmsted, an attorney, probably doesnt eat at Dennys. Why it fails: Oh shoot, I already wrote that one. Title: The World Without Sex Pitch: This is a weird one (like all of them), but imagine for a moment what the world would be like without sex. I think it was Freud who said sex influences everything we do. Everything. So what would we do without it? The blog would focus on the things that would cease to exist, such as fashion, bars, obviously the porn industry, and Kinkos. Why it fails: Actually I think I just successfully pitched it to myself. Title: Pitch: Thats not a typo. The title is                       . Nothingness, unknown as dark energy, zero in the denominator. It would be the first article of its kind. I envision headlines being written about my headline-less blog: Revolutionary Journo Doesnt Write What Youre Reading and other catchy titles of a similar nature. Why it fails: The body of the text would also be nothingness because what better symmetry is there for an empty title than a body-less blog? The problem is WordPress wont let me hit the Publish button unless I write  something. Im sick of technology stifling my creativity. Title: A Water Molecules Journey Pitch: A first-person narrative from the perspective of a water molecule. I would share its neat journey from body of water to cloud to mountaintop to flowing river. This would be educational and weird as the word shtick. Why it fails: Its educational and weird as (a word very similar to shtick). Please comment with your favorite of these gems. If a fair amount of people comment, Ill fully write the blog that receives the most votes.

5 online resources for Combined Science tutors

5 online resources for Combined Science tutors Combined Science, otherwise known as Double Award Science, was first brought onto the curriculum in the 1990s as a modern and integrated way to teach the Physics, Biology and Chemistry. It is now very popular with schools as it represents a timetable-friendly way to get all pupils studying Science. There are lots of resources online that can be accessed by Combined Science tutors. Here is First Tutors' pick of the bunch to help budding scientists achieve exam success. 1. Teaching Ideas offers stacks of teaching resources for Science tutors with young pupils in need of variety. From SAT Science guides through to optical illusion games, you'll find a plethora of resources on this site. http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/science/contents.htm 2. The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) was established on 1st April 1994 and is a non-departmental public body reporting to the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. http://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/microsites/general_science/news/index.asp 3. GCSEScience.net does exactly what it says. Bringing together science revision games, exams and worksheets, it also hosts links to science-related news stories via YouTube to provide real-life case studies to bring the subject to life. http://www.gcsescience.net/ 4. The Association for Science Education has a website which is a must-visit for students of the subject at any level. Pupils aged 5-19 are catered for with a host of quizzes and learning resources. http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/ 5. First Tutors can recommend several resources to help Combined Science tutors guide their students. https://www.firsttutors.com/uk/resources.php