Just everyday life for a lot of us.

And most days we manage to roll with it, deal with things as they come up, and get along just fine.

Some days, though, the clamor of multiple competing demands on our time, energy, and attention can be just too much to bear. We feel overwhelmed and out of control. It can paralyze us — dozens of things to do, and we do none of them, because we don’t know where to start. We fight the urge to just quit — crawl under our desk and hide, hoping it will all go away.

Quitting isn’t an option, though, and fortunately, it’s not necessary. In fifteen minutes or less you can take a few simple steps to retake control, overcome the panic, move forward, and regain workplace sanity. So when it’s all too much but you must get it done, try this:

1. Close your eyes for one minute and just breathe. Grab hold of your mind, block out the screaming voices of panic, and purposely focus on just breathing in and out. Notice where you’re feeling tense, and intentionally relax those muscles. Slow your breathing, calm your mind. Just take those sixty seconds to reclaim quiet and peace.
2. Clear your workspace. When we get too busy, our workspace usually reflects the clutter of our minds. Our carefully prepared organizational systems go by the wayside; we leave papers on our desk or on the kitchen counter as reminders to do something, and pretty soon the desk or counter is a mass of piles and sticky notes and reminders. Whether or not you consciously recognize it, the chaos of those piles distracts you and makes it nearly impossible to focus on anything. So take five minutes to clear off your workspace. Don’t sort or file anything unless you can do it in seconds. Toss the trash, drop the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, and stash the piles of papers in a nearby drawer or shelf for later attention. If you’re afraid you’ll forget something important, take a second to schedule an appointment to tend to those stashed piles. Your immediate objective is to create a clear, clean, distraction-free space for focused working.
3. Take five minutes to write down everything that needs to get done. Use whatever method works best for you to capture everything. I rely heavily on technology, but when I’m in this situation, I prefer old-fashioned pen and legal pad. Don’t try to organize or prioritize the tasks; just do a brain dump. Part of the anxiety you feel is a fear that you’re forgetting something, so get it all there on paper in front of you.
4. Scan the list. Is there anything there that somebody else could do? Your secretary or assistant? A colleague? Your spouse or child? This is no time to be too proud to ask for help — remember, we’re in crisis mode here. Take five minutes to offload anything that reasonably can be delegated.
5. Is there anything on the list that can be put off until tomorrow (or the next day) without knocking the earth off its axis? Take one minute to check off those tasks that don’t truly have to be done right this minute. Circle the ones that do need immediate attention.
6. Choose one of the circled tasks. Don’t spend a lot of time agonizing over priority. Just pick one. If there’s something that can be done in a couple of minutes — responding to an email or returning a phone call, maybe? — do that and enjoy the catharsis of seeing your list begin to dwindle immediately. But the main thing is to just pick one.
7. Clear everything else away, and do it. Gather the materials you need for that task, then sit down and get it done. If it will take more than half an hour or so, considering using the Pomodoro technique: set a timer for 25 minutes and work steadily until the timer goes off. Then take a five-minute break — stretch, walk, get a drink of water — and then get back to work, with the timer set for another 25-minute segment. Keep up that approach until you’ve finished the task.
8. When you finish that task, cross it off the list and choose another. One item at a time, work through the list until you’re caught up.

I know this approach works, because it’s saved my workplace sanity numerous times in my own professional life. I’d love it if you’d give it a try and then let me know how it works for you.

Originally Featured on LIFEHACK.org 

“I wanted to enhance my theoretical skills while continuing to build my in-field experience,” says Kelly who got her MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, which is located in Bloomington, Ind., four hours away from where she lived in South Bend, Ind.  “I felt that if I took time off from work just to pursue my MBA I would have fallen behind on the hands-on experience.”

Kelly is just one of the many young entrepreneurs opting to learn online, tackling business topics via such high-tech teaching methods as video lessons and embedded quizzes. It’s an ever-evolving world with an increasing array of options, from CodeAcademy, Skillshare and Coursera to Harvard/MIT, which just entered the arena with edX , a certificate program that will offer free online courses from both universities.

Being able to learn wherever you are without having to relocate for your degree is a definite plus, says Greg Zerovnik, director of MBA programs at Touro University Worldwide, an online university in Westlake Village, Calif., which prides itself on its small classes and one-on-one contact between instructors and students. “An online education means your classroom is wherever you are,” he says.

Despite the growing number of options, is an online education a smart choice? For many entrepreneurs, it just might be. The reason is, you don’t have to give up your day job — or your business — to take classes, says Jeremy Johnson, co-founder of 2tor (www.2tor.com), a Landover, Md.,-based company that partners with higher-education institutions to deliver online degree programs. Otherwise, he says, “an entrepreneur has to consider the lost revenue of leaving his or her startup for two years.”

In addition to keeping young entrepreneurs’ momentum going, the quality of online offerings has become vastly more competitive, as technology innovations have made real-time communication and learning possible. And it’s become more accepted among employers to hire people with degrees from online programs.

A 2010 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, showed that nearly 8 in 10 employers reported hiring an applicant who had an online degree that year and nearly 9 in 10 said that online degrees are looked at more favorably than in previous years.

Still, one of the main benefits young entrepreneurs cite for going back to school is the connections they make. Though losing this benefit is a worthy concern, it may be overblown.

Instead of a localized set of students to bond with and bounce ideas off of, online students suggest their networks aren’t limited to any one geographic region. Indeed, some argue they receive a more comprehensive networking experience, as they can connect with students and professors overseas and down the street.

“The network I was able to build across the entire world has helped me many times already,” Kelly says. “There are people that I studied with who were from Japan, China, Korea and India and I keep in contact with them on a fairly regular basis. This has helped my knowledge and understanding of the global economy.”

In the end, the most important elements to consider when picking an online degree program are the courses and resources provided. “Ask yourself if [a program] fits your idea of what you think you need to advance your career or company,” Zerovnik says.

Then, make sure your online degree will be competitive with those from other online and offline programs. “Look for the same standards of admissions you’d have at an on-campus program,” Johnson says. “After all, you [may not] want to go to a place where just because you apply means you’re automatically accepted,” he says.

Or, maybe you do? Tell us about your philosophy toward online education in the comments section below.

Article Written by By Lambeth Hochwald and Originally Featured on YoungEntrepreneur.com 

Should you follow @YoungTrep on Twitter? Absolutely.

1. Who’s texting you?

Okay, so you are in a meeting and your co-worker’s cell phone starts buzzing. He grabs it casually and glances at the text. You blurt out, “Who’s texting you?” Clearly, you are annoyed that he chose to look at the text over sticking with the conversation. And yet, whoever sent the text is really none of your business. Putting a co-worker on the spot like that is a sure-fire way to get them to resent you. Yes, you called him out for looking at the text, but demanding to know who sent it is out-of-line. If you want to draw attention to the action without embarrassing the co-worker, try saying: “Is everything okay? Is the text important?” Not only, will he politely get the point to shut it off, but if it is important, he’ll tell you and you’ll look like a nice person for inquiring.

2. Why are you so dressed up today?

Your office is business casual, but your co-worker shows up in a suit. You and everyone else are thinking, “job interview.” But, there are lots of reasons for getting dressed up. Maybe your co-worker has a date, wake, or non-profit event to go to? Okay, so we both know she is going on an interview, but you shouldn’t put her on the spot about it. Questioning someone’s motive for dressy attire looks like you are fishing for evidence to use against them. It’s the fastest way to get a colleague to distrust you. So, the moment after she gives you her excuse, I mean reason for being dressed-up, she is also making a mental note you are not someone she should confide in. It’s better to leave the fashion commentary to the pros.

3. What did you think of that meeting?

Your boss just conducted a horrible meeting. It was boring, contradictory, and in your opinion, a complete waste of time. So, you hit the lunch room and ask your co-workers for their take on the meeting. First, you look like you are seeking negativity. Everyone who was in the meeting knows it was bad, no need to ask. Second, you are opening yourself up for a discussion that will ultimately lead to some boss trash-talking. Once you’ve been part of a discussion around your boss’ mistakes and flaws, your co-workers not only assume you talk about them behind their backs, but they will also use that discussion as ammunition should you ever be at odds-on-the-job. Up for a promotion? You’ll be shocked what will get back to your boss.

Anything and everything you’ve said against her will suddenly be mentioned. So, get ready to do some explaining. It’s better to leave bad meetings alone. Just be glad it’s over and move on.

4. Will you cover for me?

Asking co-worker to help you lie to your boss is recipe for disaster. For starters, you are putting him in an uncomfortable situation. And more often than not, co-workers can’t handle the guilty conscious covering for co-workers gives them. While he may agree to assist you, rest assured it leaves serious doubts in his mind about you and your ability to be honest. If you lie to your boss, what else are you capable of? Long after the situation has passed, your co-worker is feeling uneasy and starts to resent you. Before you know it, he’s avoiding you at work and your boss is suddenly questioning you more than usual. Don’t ask co-workers to do something they’ll regret later — you’ll be the one regretting it even more!

5. Can you tell the boss I’m better for the job than ____.

You are up for a promotion, but so is someone else in the company. You go to a co-worker and ask her to talk you up, and talk the other candidate down. Getting a recommendation for the job is one thing, but asking a co-worker to criticize another co-worker so you look better implies you have doubts about your professional credibility. If you are capable and deserve the promotion, then you should win it on your merits, not on the weaknesses of your competition.

Don’t succumb to the dirty tactics of politicians. Instead, ask your co-worker to simply put in a good word for you, but only if she feels you would do a good job. Stay clear of discussing the competition and you’ll show your confidence and professionalism too.

What we say and how we say it on-the-job plays a larger role in our ability to develop working relationships that can serve us well in our career. Think before you speak. A little strategy can go a long way in keeping your relationships with co-workers in good standing.

This Article was Written By J.T. O’Donnell and Originally Featured on AOL JOBS 

“Selfish.”

The word has such negative connotations. It’s seen as a tremendous character flaw – the type of insult that someone may yell out in a heat of passion only to stop a conversation dead in its tracks, as the receiving party takes tremendous offense.

To be fair, part of that reputation is earned. We’ve all known people that are truly selfish – people that would figuratively (and possibly literally) step on the faces of others in order to pursue their own needs. These people are truly selfish individuals, and they often know very little of caring, happiness, giving, and love.

Yet it’s possible that, as a society, we’ve gone too far to the other side, promoting the idea that if we want to truly be good people, we need to be as selfless as possible. We see this with caregiving, volunteer work, and raising a family – many people dedicate their entire lives to others. But there’s a problem – complete selflessness has a cost – and that cost is often your own health, happiness, and wellbeing.

Remember That You Are a Person Too

With so much emphasis on helping others, you should always remember that you deserve as much health and happiness as anyone else – possibly more. This is because:

You Are a Person – If one believes that everyone needs to deserves happiness, then you must also believe that you deserve happiness too.

You Can Control Your Happiness – As much as you try to help others, the only person whose happiness you can fix with any certainty is your own.

You Matter Most to You – When it comes to your life, no one is more important than yourself. Not friends. Not even family.

That last point is often forgotten. But the truth is that you are important. You matter. And you especially matter to you – the one person in this world that knows you best of all. It is for that reason that being a little bit selfish may be a good thing.

Selfishness and Happy Living

It feels good to give your life for someone else, but unless you also care about yourself, the chances of living a healthy and happy life will suffer. Caregivers are a great example of this. Caregiver anxiety is an extremely common condition, as caregivers give too much of themselves for their patient and forget/ignore the things that make them happy. In the end, while they may have made someone else’s life a little easier, they often make there’s a great deal worse.

It’s time to be a little bit selfish. It’s time to care about your own health and happiness, even if it’s slightly at the expense of someone you care about. Your happiness needs to be important to you. But perhaps the greatest reason to be a little selfish is because it makes you a better person for others as well.

Caregiving – It’s hard to be a good caregiver when you’re unhappy. The anxiety and stress can be draining and distracting, causing you to make more mistakes than if you were a little selfish and focused on your needs.

Parenting – Great parenting is not just about attending to all of your children’s needs. Great parenting is also about setting an example of how to be an emotionally happy and healthy person, and not be someone riddled with anxiety symptoms.

Relationships – You may love your partner to the point of wanting to care for their every whim, and your partner may accept this love with open arms. But they want you to be happy, even if that means not attending their every need.

If being a little bit selfish now and then helps you find happiness, and not at the long term expense of others, focusing on your own happiness not only benefits you, but may even benefit those that you’re giving to. Yet even if it doesn’t, your happiness should be your priority above all others. If that means you need to be a little selfish now and again, then being a bit selfish may be a good thing.
—-

This Article was Written by Ryan Rivera and Originally Featured on PICK THE BRAIN 
Ryan Rivera is a speaker, writer, and educator, focusing on living a healthy and happy life free of anxiety and stress. You can read more on his website at www.calmclinic.com.

Job recruiting via social networks has never been hotter, and that means jobseekers must pay close attention to their presence on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Are you making one of these LinkedIn mistakes?

No profile photo. LinkedIn profiles with photos are seven times more likely to be clicked on than profiles without photos, according to Forbes.
No recommendations. LinkedIn recommendations speak to what your colleagues think of your work and your networking skills. Be sure to ask anyone you’ve worked with — and impressed — for a recommendation. The worst that can happen is that they decline.
Lying about skills. It may be tempting to fudge a few details about your knowledge, skills and abilities, but should an employer test you on one of these skills during the hiring process, your reputation is at stake.
Bogus LinkedIn requests. LinkedIn offers several options to make a connection with another professional; one of these is, “I worked with [name] at [company].” Avoid using this option unless you really have worked with the recipient.
Lots of recommendations all at once. This habit tips others off that you’re looking for a job. It’s far better to solicit LinkedIn recommendations on a regular basis — after a project is completed, for example.
Massive changes at once. As with the previous item, this signals that you might be looking for your next job. Make frequent small changes instead of infrequent large-scale audits.

Originally Published on PayScale 

But that support didn’t come accidentally. And while some professors reached out to me on the journey, many of the connections that I made (that led me to scholarships and other opportunities) developed when I reached out to my instructors.

And while it isn’t a one-time-thing or quick fix, a great way to start to develop and further your relationship with professors is the end-of-course email.

So once you have finished your class and received your grade (you don’t want to do this before final grades so as to avoid looking like you are trying to influence your final grade) you have several options to send a quick (yet powerful) email your professors.

Check them out below and choose the option that best fits your scenario – and start to make those priceless and genuine connections with your professors.

1. You Like Your Grade

If you like the grade that you earned in your class, let the professor know that you really appreciated the content and explain what exactly you liked about the class. Professors appreciate feedback – especially when it comes to letting them know what engages students in the classroom. This can be a great way to begin to build a relationship with a professor that will lead into next semester.

2. You Don’t Like Your Grade

If you didn’t like your grade, say thank you for a great class, express your disappointment in yourself – and try to set up an appointment to meet with the professor during summer or in the fall to ask advice for how to improve in the future. This is particularly useful if you’ll need to build on that subject for your major (e.g. English/writing, math/science). This isn’t easy. It will require bravery, but I think that if you are paying for college in order to learn, you have to make yourself get the most out of your subjects. And that certainly goes for subjects that you might struggle with.

3. The Course Was Phenomenal

Finally, if it was a class that genuinely interested you, regardless of what your grade was, say thank you for the class and ask for advice on what work or volunteer opportunities might be available for that field or subject. Professors often have ventures and connections related to the subject that they teach – sending this email could open up doors for you that you didn’t even know existed. At the very least, you are showing interest to a professor who might be one you ask for a recommendation letter when you transfer.

Regardless of which email you decide to send, or if you use a combination of the ones above, remember that developing true, authentic relationships with your professors can be a good way to help with your recommendation letters and scholarship opportunities in the future. And in many cases (like mine) a good relationship with a professor can change the course of your life.

You will never know what is out there if you don’t take the opportunity to connect – so take a few minutes right now to reach out and send those emails.

Good luck and keep it up in your future semesters!

About the Author: Isa Adney is the founder of the blog CommunityCollegeSuccess.com and author of the book Community College Success: How to Finish with Friends, Scholarships, Internships, & the Career of Your Dreams that releases by NorLights Press March 15, 2012. Isa also speaks to college students regularly about diversity, networking, and leadership. She’d love to connect with you on her blog, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  Originally Published on YOUTERN. 

More than half of the women surveyed reported feeling overwhelmed. Which, to me,  sounds about right. Trying to balance a career, expectations set by employers and peers, and running a house, all on top of trying to raise good, responsible kids,  can be a heavy burden for a woman.

With the right amount of motivation and care, working moms can have it all, and achieve peace and balance.  Here are a few tips that can help you when you are feeling overwhelmed trying to balance work and family:

1. Make sure all of your basic needs are being met. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising, and getting quality time with yourself and loved ones.

2. Don’t Set yourself up for stress. If you have a hard time balancing it all already, then why add more to your plate? Many people say yes to unimportant tasks, obligations and, others expectations of doing more things because they dont want to let others’ down. The only person that is important is you, so stop worrying what others think ad feel. Let it go!

3. Take Time to Build a Relationship with Yourself. You are the one person, without fail, that will be in your life day in and day out; so take time to learn and build a relationship with yourself. Learn the things that set you off, set you apart, make you happy, and excite you. Taking time to really enjoy who you are as a person, just like you would in a relationship with someone else, can help you stay grounded in who you are and help you stay balanced when unexpected things come up.

” Would you like fries with that?” John, the customer service guy, gave a quick automatic response.

“I just asked for fries only.”

“Oh, sorry about that. Would you like to upgrade?”

“But, I already ordered large fries.”

“Of course! Dine in or take-away…?”

The customer looked askance.

I find this incident funny every time I recall it. However, this story underscores something profound in the present age. Transactions happening in milliseconds, be that loading a webpage, response from ATM machines, text messages, responding to emails, staying in touch using your smart phones, have made a somewhat adverse impact on human concentration and patience.

As soon as an email hits your inbox, it is sealed with the expectation of getting a prompt response back. Plus, if the sender knows you have a blackberry, you are expected to respond back in seconds. Technological advances are not bad, they may perhaps even be necessary. They certainly do have a great upside. But, they have also robbed us off our time, time to think, time to contemplate, to cogitate, to plan. They do not give one the time to listen.

This is what I intend to cover briefly today — listening. It seems most are talking, some are hearing but only very few are listening. Listening is an art. It is easy to listen to the subject matter when you are interested in the topic. But sometimes, for example, at work, it can be a great deal more important to listen attentively even when you are not interested in the subject matter. Your performance, your decisions, your job may well depend on it.

Many people are just waiting for the speaker to finish her part so they can begin theirs. They are not actually listening, they are simply pretending they are. Good listening requires concentration. So, are you a good listener?

Here is a little exercise for you to help you see where you stand, follow the steps below:

1. Put on your earphones and turn on your mp3 player.

2. Play your favorite song, ideally below five minutes in length.

3. Listen to every single word in the song, every single beat in the music.

Did you hear every word or did you find yourself wandering off into your world of thoughts after the first few lines? An overwhelming majority is unable to fully listen to a song of even three minutes.

Try the above again, promising yourself that you will listen to the whole song no matter what, that, for the whole time you will focus your attention undividedly on the song and nothing else.

Interestingly, you will find that even after your determined resolve, your mind still wanders off. However, with practice one can become an excellent listener. Those who are good at listening are often good at managing relationships, both personal and professional.

Yogic texts lay great importance on mastering the skill of listening. A while ago I wrote a post on the subject, you may want to read it.

An apt anecdote comes to my mind to end this article:

A man approached Buddha once and said, “I want to become wise. Please tell me how do I operate better in the world? What do I do to not mess my relationships?”

Buddha spoke, “It is very simple. You only have to be mindful of two things: Listen attentively to others when they are talking and even more attentively to yourself when you are talking.”

If we can listen to ourselves when we are talking, what we are talking becomes clearer. And as that gets clearer, nothing we don’t want or mean to say can come out.

This Article was Written by Om Swami and Originally Featured on PICKTHEBRAIN.com 

Om Swami is a monk living in the Himalayan foothills. An advanced yogin, well versed in the science of mantra, sacred syllables, tantra, esoteric practices, and meditation, you can visit his blog on omswami.com.

“I did the equations and calculated that it is never too late to go back to school.” Mother Jody Ship Who is Graduating College with Her Son Devin on why she went back to school.

Watch the Video Here

Head over to the MyCollegesadnCareers.com Facebook Page and Let us Know Your thoughts. Do You think its Weird when Family Members Graduate Together? Would You Graduated College with a Parent? Do You think it is Ever too Late to go Back to School? At What Age?