12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Hard Work No Guarantee of Success

Some people feel they can accomplish anything by working hard or that hard work is necessary to accomplish anything. They think hard work guarantees them good results and success.

We believe this is simply not true. In fact, we consider you can accomplish a lot and probably much more by working intelligently and doing things better.

We’re not saying to be lazy but, in the end, we are pretty sure there’s more to success than only hard work. In reality, working hard may simply not be enough.

Maybe your boss can be impressed by committed employees that work long hours. But maybe he could be impressed even more by happier efficient employees that accomplish more working less.

Doing the Right Things Right

Some people just don’t work on the right things. There’s no point on working hard if you work on irrelevant stuff.

Take some time to identify priorities and focus more on these tasks. You probably can’t accomplish everything so try to concentrate on realizing what’s truly important.

12-Minute Financial Makeover Step 4 - Keep Cash Flowing with Crap-Happens Plan

Our Financial Makeover Series talks about personal finance basics and lets you figure out what applies best to your own unique situation.

In Part 1, we pointed out to avoid fees as much as possible, especially the devastating recurring ones. We also suggested to open a no-fee online checking account.

In Part 2, we followed up by proposing to use no-fee savings account to organize the projects that provide you pleasure. We insisted on how budgeting can allow you to spend more on things you truly love.

We continued on a similar theme in Part 3, telling you that budget choices can make you feel awesome and emphasized on how it could provide you more freedom.

This time, we’ll talk about another way to liberate yourself from financial worries setting up a solid custom-made contingency plan.

In the financial realm, we often hear about that basic concept to set up a rainy-day fund. Some might argue that their financial days are already rainy, if not stormy.

But we really believe starting an emergency fund can be a great first step to getting out of the hazardous living-paycheck-to-paycheck spiral.

The object is not to obsess about risks. In fact, your own crap-happens plan could allow you to forget about possible misfortunes and free you up, allowing you to truly taste and appreciate life joys and ventures.

Try to Get Money Worries Out of Your Way

We know many of you worry about money even in normal situations, some even worry about finances all the time.

The main objective of the financial aspect of your contingency plan should be set enough money aside to allow yourself to focus on living through tough situations and fixing things for you and your family. Your contingency fund should allow to relieve financial pressure as much as possible in these bad situations.

It’s impossible to anticipate all eventualities, especially the worst ones. But, having some and enough money stashed away for those bad periods sure may help to cope with any situation. No matter how bad it can be.

For instance, losing your job can be very tough both financially and psychologically. Yet, having money aside should at least give you some time to get your act together and focus on finding a new job.

Another example would be if your fridge or car breaks down. Most people often have to move heaven and earth just to scratch sufficient funds for those kinds of repair. The actual hassle of just getting those things fixed is bad enough. At least get the money part of it out of your way.

Because it’s Much More Than About Money

You don’t have to become survivalists, but your contingency plan has to be more than about finances. For instance, everyone should have a plan in place to survive at home for 3-4 days.

12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Becoming Serenely Efficient

In my early years, without knowing why, I was naturally drawn towards things done correctly or with what I now know, efficiently. At that time, I didn’t realize how amazing that frame of mind could eventually make me feel. I now relish the calmness and peace of mind that come with being efficient or more efficient I should rather say. My hope is that one day, others might at least catch a glimpse of the enviable serenity of the efficient.  

To bluntly summarize our actual way of thinking in that regard, our motto has been to accomplish as much as possible with as little as possible. For instance, despite the fact we are willing to work hard, we are always looking for ways to minimize our efforts to still obtain good results. These efficient longings have tainted our actions for a long time now.

To be frank, at a young age, I probably aimed more for perfection. My attention to details got a lot of work done but annoyed quite a few. After some time, I realized trying to become perfect was a fool’s errand because being perfect is simply impossible for us mere humans. Over time, I learn to set free form perfectionism.

Yet I never stopped craving for things done correctly and I slowly found out efficiency was the answer to my prayers. Still young, I naively thought nobody would be against things being done right.

But the more I got exposed to the real world, the more I understood it was not that simple. Many are afraid of people who mostly do things right. They are not willing to change. They wrongly think effective methods will only mean higher standards and hence, more work for them. They don’t see that in reality, it’s quite the opposite.

Jump Start Change with Only 12-Minute

It’s kind of odd that a lot of people rather dream about being millionaires than actually doing something about it.

But the great thing is that you can start fundamental change with just 12-Minute to spare. In fact, 12-Minute can be the easiest answer to that widespread psychological hurdle that many never seem to surpass. So, if you can’t seem to get things going, remember that you can accomplish anything and everything starting with only 12-Minute.

So, start doing something about it, 12-Minute at a time. The truth is, beginning by investing only 12-Minute, can be a huge first step for improvement for the rest of your life. It’s impossible to accomplish everything all at once so take an easy step, the first step, now!

The long-haul recipe to success and happiness can be quite simple: just think about going forward in the next 12-Minute.

Action Out of Too Much Reflection

I must admit l can be the first to reflect too much. It’s not a crime to think about what you’re going to do. In fact, any accomplishment begins with someone thinking or if you prefer, dreaming about it. Too much reflecting only becomes a problem when it freezes up action.

12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Stressed Out by Performance: Choose Efficiency Instead

Corporations and our so-called modern society put a lot of emphasis on productivity and performance. But fed-up out-of-breath individuals are questioning those values more and more.

The secret may be to lean towards efficiency instead. Efficiency doesn’t only focus on results but also considers effort and methodology.

By definition, being efficient is more than doing the right things (being effective), it’s doing things the right way.

In that sense, efficiency can take out some stress out of performance. To resume what we’re trying to expose here, being efficient means performing as well as possible with as little effort as possible.

Efficiency Can Make Life Easier

Efficiency can allow you to swiftly tackle on each of your tasks, using up less time and effort.

Because efficient people do things the proper way, they usually manage to achieve their assignments with minimal efforts and without undue delays. And since they use less time and effort, efficient beings also typically feel less pressure.

In that sense, adopting an efficient frame of mind can be a great way to relieve pressure and make everyone’s life easier.

The Impact of Climate Change on Stocks

Despite what many people think like some in power south of the border and others closer to home, global warming has started to greatly affect our planet and already too-many lives consequently have suffered from it. Unfortunately, global warnings are not enough to fight global warming.

Social media and live news probably amplify our exposure to it but you cannot deny that catastrophic events sure are more frequent and violent. Luckily for us, significant disasters have spare our family so far. Nevertheless, we have felt Mother Nature unleashing its power in the form of extreme heat, stronger winds and rain.

We know that human lives have no cost and should be treated with respect and dignity. In the current circumstances, everything within our power should be put in place to save and help as many human beings as possible.

That being said, we are even more worried about the profound impact climate change could have on our economy. If our economic system collapses because of it, we won’t be in a position to help anyone anymore.

We have been reflecting on it for a while and so far, are not reassured. A lot of troubling questions arise and for now, we have failed to find adequate answers. Here are some on those questions.

Treasure Your Freedom

In our world, a lot of people take freedom for granted. Many of us consider it a given right. But it’s also a privilege and we don’t always realize or remember how lucky we are.

Every day, we live as free men, enjoy freedom of speech, have access to wealth and have the enviable opportunity to make choices. So, be grateful and appreciate what you have because…

Many Just Don’t Have That Chance

Some of our neighbors, now closer in this shrinking world, will get imprisoned, beaten or even killed because they are different or if they speak their mind. Other fragile people just lost their mind or never seem to get healthy enough. Other honest folks are not fortunate to get their hands on a little money or a decent job.

Freedom is priceless. Appreciate it while you can and before it’s suddenly unexpectedly taken away from you.

Financial Freedom Insouciant Mindset

A couple months back, after Preparing for it, we took our first steps Out of RRSPs. Since then, our focus has been more about Minimizing Taxes instead of Maximizing RRSP. To briefly remind you, one of our main strategy has been to keep my taxable income just under the lower tax bracket upper limit.

Many details around the whole process, like the first transfers and withdrawals, made me realize my salary wasn’t essential anymore and that I could stop working whenever I wish from now on. It felt like I literally was at the doorstep of financial freedom.

Strangely, a completely different mindset quickly set in. I deeply felt like everything was now cool and okay. Furthermore, it seemed like it would always be alright. That freedom was a relief and a wonderful feeling. To some extent, the burden of many financial obligations was finally off my shoulders.

But there was another odd side to it. I felt invincible, almost indestructible and some kind of carelessness settled in. It’s tough to precisely describe it. You could call it detachment, nonchalance, disinterest, insouciance…with an added touch of selfishness. In short, I didn’t care about other people and what they thought of me. Having enough money kind of made me feel like I didn’t need others anymore. In that insouciant mindset I became somewhat negligent. With that financial security, I now felt like I could get away with anything.

Using Technology to Generate Extra Free Time

Sometimes I feel like technology gobbles up more time than it gives us. Ideally, technology should help us and to some extent, free up some of our precious time. Not the other way around.

For many, having a portable phone or computer only makes them more incline to work. Being available 24/7 can really become a nightmare. In that sense, you can often even become a slave to technology, always connected and reachable for a question that probably could have waited for the next morning or at least, for a more suitable moment in your already hectic schedule.

Be careful not to get hooked up by the latest cool phone. It often comes with its fair share of increased work-related expectations along with a solid dose of distraction. Some distractions can be relaxing but most can only make you waste time. It the end, being distracted will affect your performance and possibly amplify your stress level.

People that view technology as a magic solution and expect it will tackle on all the work for them will be deceived.

Despite these reservations, technology can still be a great tool that can immensely help get things done if you learn to use it the proper way.   

12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Experience Living with Only 75% of Your Salary

Could you live with only three-quarters of your salary? Extreme savers may find this quite easy as they probably already save more than 25% of their actual income. But let’s face it; they are still exceptionally rare individuals.

Heck, many can’t even get by with their full revenue.

I’ve been experiencing it first hand myself for the last 2 years. As some of you might know, my working conditions allowed me to take a differed 6-month leave of absence in 2017 and to spread out income deductions over a longer period so I’ve been paid 75% of my salary since 2015.

So today, we’ll talk about financial and psychological implications of having your salary amputated and how my family and I fared with it. We definitely think the broad benefits are worth the hassle.

I’ve been doing it for real but everyone has the option to at least artificially implement it. For instance, by using pre-authorized transfers to automatically put aside a significant portion of their paycheck. It can be a great way to discover if you have the financial means but also the stomach to live with less money. If you prefer, gradually doing it could give you a chance to learn to slowly cope with it. 

Is Living with Less That Hard?

12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

No Need to be Perfect to Have Success

The Utopic Pursuit of Perfection

Some people think you have to be perfect to have any success and accomplish anything significant in life. Even though I’m literally allergic to incompetence, I still tend to believe quite the opposite. From my standpoint, nobody is and can be perfect, yet everyone can improve and achieve wonders.

As a sample of great accomplishments of imperfect humans until now, just look at all that fascinating technology and architectural marvels that surround us. All those things were not built perfect the first time around. We are far from perfect but still are getting somewhere. And that somewhere is most of the time, getting better and better.

Furthermore, those who try to become or remain perfect will most likely get away from their true self in the process. Their resentful and sometime annoying pursuit of perfection may also result in a lack of support from their peers.

Letting go of minor discrepancies, admitting we are all human and embracing the contribution of others to focus together on essential matters can be a much more interesting and productive approach.

Accept Occasional Mistakes

Only person who do nothing never make mistakes. You’ve got to allow yourself and others to make a few here and there.

12-Minute and Your Career (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on November 12, 2012

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Have You Done Enough Today?

That may summarize the burning questions tormenting your mind…

Am I working hard enough? How can I make sure I’ve accomplished my fair share? Will my day ever end?

Answers to those questions can be quite simple from our 12-Minute perspective: take the habit to complete about 12 significant tasks each day; plenty to keep your projects going but not too much so you won’t get exhausted.

Sure you can do a couple extra actions some days when you have more energy, just remember that at some point, you will need rest, both mentally and physically. Also don’t be too hard on yourself on days you fall a little short.

Using a dozen tasks per day as a point of reference can also be a great way to stay balanced and pace yourself.

Let’s try to illustrate our point of view using Lucy’s story.

12-Minute and Your Career

The 12-Minute Approach offers you a multitude of techniques to improve your job and career.

Here are some ideas we hope will inspire you on the way to becoming real happy and efficient professionals in your respective fields.

Achieve A Little More Each Day

A quick and easy way to start improving right away is to take 12-Minute to accomplish one simple extra action each day.

Try to evolve by taking one different action that really counts. This single additional task is pretty simple to implement.

It should slowly but surely spread improvement around you without disturbing you too much. After a while, you’ll be able to incorporate another new action in your routine. And so on…Little by little, you will adapt and things will get better without disrupting your routine excessively.

12-Minute Balance

Many believe that one of the most important keys to happiness is balance. Sadly, many lives equate to a never ending juggling act struggling in search of that so elusive concept.  

The 12-Minute Approach offers you simple yet powerful ways to achieve that so precious balance in your life.

Let’s hope that, by focusing on rhythm, order and harmony, these 12-Minute Ideas help you strive toward that balance so essential to your happiness and well-being.

Equal Balance between Needs and Activities

In order to stay happy yet still be effective, your life should be equally balanced between your needs and your activities.

Thus, on average, you should devote half of your day (12 hours) to your needs (sleeping, eating, resting, clothing…) and the other half (12 hours again) to your activities (work, study, play…).