Productivity Tips – Dr. Melissa’s Blog
Managing our Impulses: A Call to Action
In the world of marketing, a Call to Action (CTA) is the part of an advertisement where the viewer/reader/listener is asked to do something – call this number, visit this website, buy this thingy on Amazon. We are bombarded with CTAs, and we often tune them out. But...
Are we broken?
This year has been tough. Understatement, right? I won’t waste time listing all the things that have changed or disappeared altogether so far in 2020, because you know them as well as I do. Lately, I feel like I’m floating in an undetermined space. I feel tired. My...
Working from Home…how research informs our current and future world of work
In July 2020, I was invited by Mike O’Neill of Bench Builders, a workforce consulting firm, to speak on a webinar about working from home (WFH). It seemed like everybody and their brother was writing articles providing WFH tips to people and businesses who had...
How psychological tests can change your life…and the world
Psychometrics is “the science of measuring mental capacities and processes.” Early in grad school at Virginia Tech, I was a psychometrics nerd. I loved learning about how to construct psychological tests and assess their statistical validity and reliability. I...
When your Core Values Flash Before your Very Eyes
A few weeks ago, my 18-year-old daughter, Maddie, was driving home around midnight. There were train tracks ahead, but the barrier arms were raised, and no lights were flashing. So, she drove across the tracks… …and saw a blinding headlight attached to a...
Good, Fast, and Cheap…Pick Two
I was in my early 20s when I first heard the truism above in a project management class. The implications of “Good, fast, and cheap…pick two” are: If it’s fast and good, it’s going to be expensive If it’s good and cheap, it will require lots and lots of time If...
How to flourish in work and life: Be a HERO
Psychological Capital (PsyCap for short) is a framework that organizational psychologists use to predict important outcomes like job satisfaction, job performance, organizational commitment, and absenteeism. Many companies have bought into this concept and...
What are your Lessons Learned from Quarantine?
I lead seminars at companies and conferences. When not quarantined, that is. I love public speaking and miss it greatly right now. One of my most popular seminars is Project Management for Regular Folks. I’ve been teaching that course since 2016 because I...
When you have all the time in the world but no motivation to do anything…
When I retire, I’m going to take up fly fishing… When the kids are grown and flown, I’ll start that new hobby… When things calm down a bit, I’ll clean out that closet… While I’m stuck in quarantine, I’ll improve my life, my business, my home, my relationships, my…....
Do You Have a Pandemic Project?
You may have noticed something. I’m blogging more frequently now. For the past several years, I have sent you a productivity tip every other Tuesday. Now, I can’t let a week pass by without reaching out to you. It’s part of how I am dealing with this...