Pre Interview Tips

Now I’m sure everyone, supposedly, knows what not to do and what to do when going for an interview. However, I figured I could add my two cents.

Unless you’re one of those individuals who strive under pressure and suffer from no lock ups, memory freezes or other associated issues, then it would be safe to say that most people prefer to be relaxed when attending an interview.

I have a few ideas that anyone can attempt, after you’ve done the traditional neccessary leg work in regards to the interview in question.

No. 1

Make sure you take a trial run. No i’m not talking about the interview process, although having somebody pretend to be the interviewer and asking you questions wouldn’t be a bad idea. No I mean just a day or two before the interview, make sure you go through the motions that you would need to get there. Find out the exact route, and use it, get the bus or other means you might have. See how long it takes, the route, where exactly the office or location is. This way when it comes to the day you get there without any hiccups. Lateness, regardless of the reasons, not only puts on a bad display for the potential employers, but it also stresses you and you may not perform at your best.

No. 2

Unless if you a regular meditator or work out regularly this step might be a bit tricky. So don’t just do a strenuous workout if you haven’t gotten into a routine before hand; it could lead to injury or cramps. Right after a proper workout which raises your heartbeat to an appropriate amount and gets the blood flowing, endorphins and other chemicals are released into the bloodstream that in effect makes you calm and relaxed. A natural high. The effect of this is always evident, at least it is for me.

Meditation on a regular basis enables you to disengage from the worries and stresses of the world and studies have shown people who regularly meditate have enlarged portions of the brain that regulate emotions. [1] Furthermore, meditation leads to better focus and control of emotions, reduced stress, and increased health.

These two methods could alleviate some of the stresses usually associated with interviews, hopefully adding to a well rounded preparation that wisdom prescribes. Good luck.

Blog aid

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve come to use a few tools when it comes to the task of blogging. It’s not usually hard to find information online when it comes to most anything but one thing that happens is loss of focus when dealing with the topic you might be free-writing or incubating. There are a plethora of tool available as add-ons for firefox that enable many features. The problem is just that, there are countless add-ons. Finding one that adds just the right type of functionality  to improve productivity or increase information or aesthetics without overwhelming features or crowding is crucial for me.

With that in mind Zemanta, is such a tool that helps to add a bit of colour to any blog. It scours sources of images which are usually available freely without licensing issues to insert into your blog. This is done on the fly and presents images in relation to the content being typed. Another feature is text links which you can select as well as tags based on content. Usually the links are a bit too much, highlighting almost every other word which Zemanta deems pertinent. Otherwise it offers a very simple system to link to other sources that might be of interest.

It is available for blogs as well as email and I’ve only used it on Firefox but it’s available on other browsers as well.

Why aren’t we productive?

I’ve narrowed down reasons why I don’t seem to want to get things done.

• Fear of the unknown,
• having gotten used to not being active, and
• being overwhelmed by the complexities or aspects that cannot be altered.

Lost momentum from the aforementioned

Building momentum can be key when loss of it leads to stagnation and ruing. Small, creative tasks can be useful in building up successes that can lead to a stream of feeling good and like you’ve achieved something. This, if interspersed, with tasks that do require major focus and energy, can be useful as a productive distraction which can relax and help refocus e.g., personally, by writing this blog, and others, helps me to focus and create at time when I feel overwhelmed by forces beyond me, life changing choices I need to make, financial stresses etc.

It can also help by leaving the task at hand to mature so you will have a better tact when you get back to it. This helps connections to form in the brain that otherwise would not form without the required period of rest.

Here’s one I just thought of today, even though it sounds ludicrous:

Feeling that once all you’re supposed to do is done there won’t be anything left.

That is misleading the more I thought of it because there will hardly ever be a time when you’ll have nothing to do in an average life. If things get done then more could be done on say a project or assignment in terms of further research or polishing it. Leaving it alone to mature seems like doing nothing but surprisingly coming back later to something will reveal points and angles that were just waiting to be found.

I’ve noticed that after practicing for a while on my guitar and getting nowhere but frustrated, cramped and seemingly worse as I go on, that if I leave it for a day, two or even a week, then when i come back I’ve mysteriously improved. Rest and recovery are crucial.

In terms of coping with loss of productivity these are simple steps and realizations that anyone can come across. Although underlying issues will be need to addressed, these steps could hopefully lead to an active recourse that will snowball and transform you so as to better equip you to handle the major tasks in your life.