Monday, Sep 30, 2019, 7:16 amBY Suzanne Gordon

(More than 2,200 nurses went on strike against University of Chicago Medical Center on September 20. (Photo: National Nurses United)

On September 20, 2,200 nurses represented by the National Nurses United (NNU) went on a one-day strike at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The Chicago nurses were protesting unsafe working conditions and forced overtimeand had been in contract negotiations with the hospital for months. The Medical Center has justspent $269million ona hospital expansion that it, insists, represents an investment to improve our community's health.

In response to the strike, the Medical Centers top officials went on a P.R. offensive, accusing striking nurses of engaging in shameless behavior, and insisting they are recklessly endangering their patients.

Nothing could be further from the truth, says Astria Johnson, an Emergency Room nurse who has worked for the hospital for 10 years. This strike is about providing safe patient care. I cant do that when I am assigned four patients, two of whom are intensive care (ICU) patients and two of whom are very sick. Someone may be on a ventilator to breathe for them. Someone may be septic and require intravenous antibiotics and require constant monitoring. Some people are getting their first diagnosis in the ER and I cant educate them about their disease or medication.

In response to the strike, management locked nurses out of the hospital for four days. The nurses went back to work Wednesday morning, and bargaining is expected to continue now that theyre back on the job.

Healthcare professionals like Johnson do not view striking as their first option. Most spend years going through the proper channels, speaking with management, and engaging in endless internal negotiating sessions to resolve patient care problems. When they do finally go public with their concerns, their actions often result in improvements to patient care.

In California for example, the California Nurses Association (CNA), the organization that was the founding member of NNU, spent 13 years fighting and winning the firstand thus far onlylegislated safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in the country: In 1998, California Government Pete Wilson vetoed a safe staffing bill that was passed by the legislature. In 1999, after more intense lobbying and activity by the CNA, legislation was passed and signed into law by Governor Gray Davis. Ratios were finally implemented in 2004. According to one study, in California, mandated ratios had a positive impact on patient deaths as well as nurse burnout.

Other healthcare workers have gone on strike to address vexing patient care issues. Since 2010, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which represents 4,000 psychologists, social workers, and other mental health clinicians at Kaiser Permanente in California, has mounted a campaign to publicize and remedy a critical shortage of mental health workers at the states largest HMO. In 2011, the NUHW filed complaints to the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) charging Kaiser was violating a regulation that requires that HMOs must see mental health patients within 10 business or 14 calendar days of their request for an appointment. The complaint was accompanied by a 34 page report entitled Care Delayed, Care Denied.

In 2012, the NUHW went on strike to expose Kaisers failure to hire sufficient mental staff and give patients access to timely care. These mental health workers pushed the DMHC to take action to fulfill its mandates to protect patients. In March of 2013, the DMHC released the results of its investigation. It found that up to 40 percent of patients at various Kaiser facilities experienced appointment delays that violated California law. In June of 2013, the state of California fined the system $4 million, issued a cease-and-desist order against Kaiser, and ordered the HMO to correct the problems. In 2015, a follow up survey by the DMHC, based on a sampling of hundreds of individual patient charts, revealed that, in Northern California alone, 22 percent of patients suffered excessive appointment delays. The DMHC called the violations serious.

In 2015, one of these serious violations resulted in the death of, 83-year-old Barbara Ragan, according to her husband Denny Ragan. Barbara had worked for Kaiser herself for more than two decades. Shed been seeking mental health care from Kaiser and, according to her husband, faced lengthy delays for treatment and ultimately died by suicide. Kaiser has said it is not responsible for Ragans death and insisted that she had received adequate care.

In 2017, the state ordered follow-up inspections to make sure Kaiser was in compliance with state laws and regulations. As a result, Kaiser has also hired hundreds more therapists.

Even though the unions actions have played a role in forcing Kaiser to improve patients access to an initial visit or assessment, workers say problems continue when it comes to providing follow-up care. Kaiser has not hired enough staff so that, after an initial telephone appointment, patients get needed follow-up care. Today patients have to wait up to two months for a follow up in person visit, says Kirstin Quinn Siegel a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Kaiser Richmond. People who have been suffering in silence, perhaps for years, and finally call to get help should be seen immediately not in two months.

After experiencing delayed care, another Kaiser patient, 19-year-old Elizabeth Brown, died by suicide in 2018. Kaiser has declined to comment to the press about Browns care.

Peter Ly, a psychologist on the Child Team at San Jose Kaiser, says that A teenager struggling with depression, or who is self -harming or has suicidal thoughts needs to be seen right away and then consistently every week or two. We cant do it. We are asked to put people into groups when what they need is individual one-on-one therapy.

Thats why he and roughly 4,000 other workers went on a five-day strike in December 2018. Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D, RI) the sponsor of the mental health parity and addiction Equity Act flew to California to join striking therapists on the picket line.

We do not go into this work to make money, says Susan Whitney, a marriage and family therapist at Kaiser in Bakersfield. There is no cap on our caseload. In order to help patients we keep accepting more and more of them. We cant take lunch or even bathroom breaks. We dont act until we and our patients are at the breaking point. And our number one concern is how will this affect patient care?

In a response to union allegations, Kaiser has issued a public statement insisting that, KaiserPermanente is committed to finding solutions and creating a model for mental health care that meets the growing demand for mental health care and responds to the shortage of qualified professionals.

But according to Whitney, Weve been going through official Kaiser channels for years and the only way weve seen any enforcement or improvement is when we go public and enlist the support of patients, community leaders and political representatives.

In July of 2019, Kaiser announced that it had added 300 more mental health staff statewide and was continuing to recruit staff. NUHW members have proposed that they participate in decisions about where new staff are assigned both geographically and to which clinical teams.

In 2004, two researchers investigated management claims that healthcare workers represented by unions jeopardize patient care. Michael Ash and Jean Ann Seago found instead that patients on cardiac units in hospitals where RNs were represented by labor unions had a reduced cardiac mortality rate. They concluded that, The protections offered by unionization may encourage nurses to speak up in ways that improve patient outcomes but might be considered insubordinate and, hence, career-jeopardizing without union protections.

What was true 15 years ago is even more so today as healthcare corporations consolidate through hospital mergers and acquisitions, gain more power, and act to protect the bottom-line rather than patient care.

Continued here:
How Have Health Workers Won Improvements to Patient Care? Strikes. - In These Times

They arent very popular anymore, but I grew up in the golden age of jingles (probably because I watched WAY too much TV as a kid).At any given time, Ive got a million of them floating in my head.

And I love great copy even if it isnt accompanied by a catchy ditty.One that long ago stuck with me was the centerpiece of a radio ad for the Verbal Advantage self-improvement system which admonished listeners, People judge you by the words you use.

Indeed, I believe that words matter.Unfortunately, the intersection of business management and societal impact where Ive spent much of the last 20 years is littered with jargon that has obfuscated rather than clarified (heres just a sampling of the CSR glossaries out there).Often two people slinging around phrases like corporate social responsibility, sustainability, cause marketing and shared value may be using the same words but mean very different things.

The Purpose Advantage by Jeff Fromm

Such is certainly the case for the word purpose. Hoping for some clarity I recently devoured the review copy I was sent of The Purpose Advantage by Jeff Fromm.In this short, handsomely laid out book, Fromm provides a useful definition of purpose, examples of how a purpose-centric orientation can help companies achieve great things and even a step-by-step workshop designed to help firms define their purpose and run with it.

According to Fromm, purpose as it applies to companies has three important aspects.It is:

Foundational. A clearly defined and long-term strategy that affects every part of the businessthat connects with consumers values and passions, attracting and retaining high-quality talent, spurring creativity and driving growth.

Based in Action. More than just a declaration, purpose requires brands to make meaningful change, not just launch a new ad campaign.

Societal. Purpose is concerned with the well-being of others, the planet and our future.Its about missions for preserving the environment or fighting for social justice, the kind of purposes that make the world a better place.

3D illustration of a folder and focus on a tab with the acronym CSR, Corporate Social ... [+] Responsibility. Conceptual image.

I agree with Fromm in setting the bar high for what it means to put purpose at the core of how one manages a company(Ive winced at so many sloppy, uninspiring purpose statements over the years).Unfortunately, the bar is so high that today purpose-run companies are largely an aspirational concept.

Fromm cites Bombas, Patagonia and Seventh Generation as very advanced, but very few new or established companies come close to being permeated with purpose from head to toe.A growing number ranging from B Corp start-ups to corporate behemoths like Unilever are striving to get there.And in another terrific section of the book, Fromm shows how the effort can be highly worthwhile in building successful, long-lasting enterprises.

Adapting an adage Ive long admired, perhaps we should say that, Purpose is a journey, not a destination.I recommend The Purpose Advantage for leaders seeking guidance on setting out on this challenging, but worthwhile odyssey.

Link:
You Say Your Business Has Purpose? What Does That Mean? - Forbes

As an adult, it can be hard to find balance in a life that demands both work and rest. Weve all heard the old adage, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and theres definitely truth to it.

Too much time at the grind dulls our edges. But, one could say the same about leisure.

Binge-watching every rom-com we lay eyes on does not necessarily mean were living our best life. When work and play are running haywire in your life, here are a few things you can do to set them straight.

Its called self-distancing, and in a 2014 study, Self-Distancing: Theory, Research, and Current Directions published in Advances In Experimental Psychology, authors Ethan Kross and Ozlem Ayduk found that getting a little psychological distance from a difficult situation is an excellent way to move through it. When people reflect on whats going wrong in their life while immersed in their negative feelings theyre doomed to fail. Why? Because theyre so focused on emotion they cant see reason. Kross and Ayduk hypothesize that people need a way to take a step back from their experience so they can work through it more effectively.

Thinking about how our actions affect those we work and play with is integral to reestablishing balance. In his classic best-seller, How To Win Friends and Influence People, author Dale Carnegie wrote, If out of reading this book you get just one thing an increased tendency to think always in terms of other peoples point of view, and see things from their angle it may easily prove to be one of the building blocks of your career. Consider the source: Dale Carnegie literally wrote the book on self-improvement, leadership and interpersonal skills. If hes telling us to think about how others think and feel, maybe we should listen not because it makes good business sense its just good sense.

[See all Bangor Metro stories]

As human beings were hardwired to move forward. Life is linear, so stepping back instinctively feels like were losing ground. But, sometimes stepping back is the only way to move forward. So how do we do this? By focusing on whats important and eliminating whats not. In Marie Kondos best-selling book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Kondo calls this act of decluttering our life the KonMari Method. In essence, Kondo believes that what we surround ourselves with, both physical and emotional, should spark joy. If it doesnt, then we need to lose it like a bad habit and move on.

Another emotion that comes in our DNA is the desire to make amends. When weve spent too long at the office or too much time surfing the web, we need to acknowledge how our actions have hurt the ones we love. According to Michael McCullough, the principal investigator of the 2014 study, Conciliatory Gestures Promote Human Forgiveness and Reduce Anger, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, when people make a sincere attempt to apologize, they are usually forgiven. Whether we give an apology, make a peace offering, or bake a cake, it doesnt matter how we show were sorry. It matters that were sorry.

Its incredibly difficult to see the big picture, think about the consequences of our actions and repair whats wrong when were engrossed in our own world. Ultimately, our ability to reflect whenever we feel our lives are out of whack can make the difference between a meaningful life and a life of wasted potential. The ability to think about and learn from our mistakes is a gift why not use it?

This story was originally published in Bangor Metros October 2019 issue. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.

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What to do when your work and play are out of whack - Bangor Daily News

Frank Lampard has urged Callum Hudson-Odoi to follow the example of Raheem Sterling and ally natural talent to a remorseless desire for self-improvement in order to reach the pinnacle of the game.

The Chelsea manager was in straight-talking mood before Saturdays home game against Brighton and he revealed his amazement at how Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds had won the 2019 Fifa fair play award. He fell out with Bielsa last season while he was at Derby and Bielsa admitted to spying on Lampards team in training and every other club in the Championship.

Lampards comments about Hudson-Odoi came in the context of a discussion about how much he enjoyed the man-management aspect of his job. He said some young players need cajoling, some definitely need some tough words at times and it sounded as though he felt Hudson-Odoi fitted into the latter category.

The 18-year-old winger made his comeback from a ruptured achilles on Wednesday in Chelseas 7-1 Carabao Cup win over Grimsby, scoring one of the goals late on, but Lampard was critical of him after the game. He said he wanted Hudson-Odoi to work hard in order to get in behind the Grimsby defence, to put himself into dangerous situations inside the box, but he had needed to reinforce that message pretty strongly at half-time because it had not got through.

I have to say it as I see it, Lampard said. I know Callums talent and he has got huge talent. Hence why the club were so keen to get him signed up [to his new contract]. Were all delighted with that. But theres a lot of work for Callum to do. Lots of work.

You can look around and look at fantastic examples and not even at this club.

I dont like to talk about other clubs players but Raheem Sterling is an incredible example of a player with great talent, whose work ethic added to that talent and improvement in a short period of time through absolute dedication, has seen him become a complete player, who we are all wowed by.

He is a great model for Callum because Callum has those talents. I want him to be the absolute best because he has the potential to do that and some of it is about hard truths and I saw some hard truths in the game the other day ways that he can improve. He needs to listen to them and he will. Then he can be that player for us.

Lampard said he thought Bielsas award was irony, at first. Bielsa was commended for ordering his team to let Aston Villa equalise at Elland Road in April, after Leeds had scored while a rival player was down injured.

I did smile, Lampard said. Who votes for it? Its strange and I think everyone had the same reaction. A lot of news was put to spygate and quite rightly so.

It got dealt with in the right way and so when you go and give an award for fair play in the same year, I dont think its right.

Read the original:
Lampard urges Hudson-Odoi to learn from Sterling and queries Leeds award - The Guardian

Not everyone will agree with your plans, but once you begin work, it wont matter. Be innovative and take the initiative to turn your ideas into something tangible. Much can be accomplished if you take action instead of just talking about your dreams. Personal growth should be a priority.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Personal changes can be put in place. Consider what you want to accomplish and make adjustments that will leave you feeling good about who you are, what you do and how you look.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) A change of plans will lead to a change of heart. Double down and put your energy into what counts. Happiness begins within. Do things that lift your spirits and bring you joy.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Do what you can to make a difference. Offer help, suggestions and kindness. Refuse to let someone bully you into something that benefits him or her more than anyone else.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Think matters through before you take action. Make sure you wont ruffle feathers or promise to do something impossible. A steady pace and common sense will lead to success.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Trust in your ability, beliefs and innovative vision. A chance to get ahead is within reach. Follow your heart and counteract anyone who tries to interfere.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Your help will be appreciated by the benefactor, but not so much by someone you are close to. Dont neglect meaningful relationships. A little love will go a long way.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Explore new possibilities. Share your ideas and plans with a loved one. Dont let obstacles get you down. Where theres a will, there is a way to overcome whatever challenges you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Turn your dream into a reality. Consider the changes you will have to make and take action. Solicit people who share your concerns to pitch in and help.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Participate in events that will bring you in touch with interesting people. Personal improvements will lead to compliments, and spending time with a loved one should be a priority.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Keep busy. Idle time will lead to anxiety and uncertainty. Let others do as they please, and work on self-improvement and personal growth. Choose peace over conflict, and lower your stress.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Getting together with old friends or relatives will bring back memories. Love and romance are on the rise and will prompt you to relax and enjoy what life has to offer.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Focus on truth, new possibilities and letting go of negativity. Honesty will help you realize whats best for you and how to implement positive change.

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0929 Horo | | albanyherald.com - The Albany Herald

The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt and the Making of the American Athlete

Diversion. 329 pages, $27.99

The doctor described the president as a physical marvel.

An emergency room attendant claimed he was one of the most powerful men I have ever seen laid on an operating table, while another doctor noted that his magnificent physical condition owed to his regular physical exercise.

It may well have been overblown rhetoric stemming from the presidents own trumped-up assessment of himself, but there had to have been a kernel of truth in there, considering he had just been shot.

Those were medical reports after former president Theodore Roosevelt survived an assassins bullet while stumping on the 1912 campaign trail as a candidate of his own Bull Moose Party. His brush with death and subsequent bill of good health marked one more chapter in Roosevelts strenuous existence, a life he had dedicated to a rigorous self-improvement plan that would launch him to success and inspire a feeble nation.

In his new book, The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt and the Making of the American Athlete, Ryan Swanson whips through T.R.s athletic exploits and influence on American sports with the vigor of sportscaster Harry Caray punctuating a Cubs home run with Holy cow! We often think of two body types for Roosevelt: the bronzed boxer-cowboy hybrid and the paunchy president. Both are correct, as Swanson shows, leading us through T.R.s physical transformation.

As a young boy, he was thin and asthmatic. At Harvard, the sinewy figure he developed as an avid boxer and rower was undercut by his glasses and jittery movements. When he was nearly 60, his ballooning girth sent him to a pastoral retreat dedicated to intense physical training and profuse sweating.

In every stage, he was never the star athlete and never afraid of looking ridiculous. Second to his Strenuous Life speech, in which he goaded Americans to go to work and to war, the oration that defined Roosevelts approach to life was his Man in the Arena speech. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, Roosevelt said in a sermon dripping with sports analogies.

In Swansons book, we see Roosevelts face bloodied, blinded in one eye and overheated in pursuit of the strenuous life. Its the sort of heartening journey that will make one want to shout Go, Teddy! Go! each time he mounts another hurdle.

Its less Roosevelts athletic prowess he was often middling and more his unrelenting grit thats so inspiring. Here we find a president who is strong not because he brags about his might but because he publicly embraces his vulnerabilities. That infectious, positive energy was crucial at a time when more Americans were starting to lead sedentary lives and needed some prodding to get moving again. Swanson describes a country where corporate power superseded the states, factories robbed workers of their physical labor in the fields and doctors saw more cases of nervous exhaustion and irritable weakness.

Basically, Americans seemed to have every sign of economic progress and technological development in their midst, but instead of flourishing they were falling apart, he writes.

Roosevelts thoughts about sports extended beyond his philosophy on the benefits of physical activity. His broader concerns focused on a rapidly industrializing country that he believed was raising soft, effeminate men who could barely face down an army. His goal of American athletic supremacy, whether it was Olympic races or simply walking, ran parallel with his ambition to build a world-class military that could rival Britains. Even his Strenuous Life speech, while often connected with athleticism, was in fact a call to military action in the Philippines.

It seems theres no aspect of American life that Roosevelt hasnt touched or, more accurately, punched right through. From his conservation efforts and exploration of an uncharted river in the Amazon to his jingoistic expansion of the U.S. military and rollicking time as a Rough Rider, Roosevelt hit the line hard, as he would say in both football and life. I co-created a Teddy Roosevelt book club in Washington partially out of the need to explore each facet of this complex character who has, for better or worse, defined what it means to be an American.

Happy as I am to dredge this deep well, I expressed some initial skepticism about a book devoted to T.R.s mark on American sports because it seemed John J. Miller had already tackled that subject with his 2011 book, The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football.

Sure, Swanson sets the scene with an opening chapter on Roosevelts attendance at the 1901 Army-Navy game in Philadelphia and devotes another section to the Ivy League politicking over reforming Americas most dangerous game. But theres ample meat left on the bone covering tennis, baseball, school sports and more.

There were moments when I could have done with fewer interjections by the author. Swansons conversational tone makes clear that he doesnt intend for this to be a typical Roosevelt read. This is an engaging book you can hold with one hand while doing light bicep curls with the other, not a Doris Kearns Goodwin tome that gives you a backache.

At times, Swanson falls prey to the trap of mixing Roosevelt myths with facts. In his telling of Roosevelts 1879 boxing match at Harvard against Charles Hanks, Swanson emphasizes the presence of T.R.s love interest, Alice Hathaway Lee, a point that is debunked in David McCulloughs Mornings on Horseback. Owen Wister, a friend of Roosevelt who specialized in fiction, wrote that Lee watched the match from a balcony in the gym, but McCullough notes that the old gym had no balcony and no women were present. Its a small detail that may be hard to pin down exactly because the primary sources rely on hyperbolic, 19th-century reporters like Wister. But this type of color is what separates this book from the tedious exactitude of other Roosevelt stories.

The chapter on African American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson is particularly illuminating. The 1910 showdown between Johnson and the white boxer Jim Jeffries served as a proxy race war in Jim Crow America. Swansons vignette offers a nuanced portrait of Roosevelt, who fought for equality while holding racist views of white, American supremacy.

History often frames Roosevelt as a woke hero for inviting Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House. But he also dishonorably discharged 167 black enlisted men of the 25th U.S. Infantry on limited information after the mayor of Brownsville, Texas, alleged that some of the soldiers had engaged in violence in the city. The Brownsville affair transformed Roosevelt into African Americans Judas and provided rhetorical ammunition for Johnson, a rising athlete who played politics better than the aging ex-president.

Swanson succeeds in telling stories that will be entertaining for readers without any previous knowledge of Roosevelt, as well as those who dont closely follow sports, like myself. Whats most invigorating about Swansons book is watching T.R.s struggle. Everyone wants to cheer for the bespectacled underdog with the high-pitched voice and the toothy grin, even if its the same man who ran a successful two-term administration and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

It was Roosevelts sheer ability to keep moving forward that Americans found so appealing, Swanson writes about the presidents brutal exercise regimen toward the end of his life in 1917.

How wonderful to see a president make the strenuous life look like so much fun.

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Teddy Roosevelt, the athlete, was more about grit than might - The Keene Sentinel

Have you heard that compliment for someone? He is always on top of things! It sounds really good, doesnt it? Are you that person? Maybe, maybe not. Do you want to be?

Staying on top of things is a direct consequence of putting the first things first on your calendar each day. More information here. But there is more than that. You need to unlearn to operate in crisis mode and you need to learn to operate strategically. This is not easy, but, like everything else in life, it is a self-improvement process.

This article is about learning how to anticipate the important requests that may (or may not) come your way in the future. And how to prepare for them in advance.

Time to read: 8 minutes (based on 150 works per minute).

Why do we always praise our colleagues who are always ready? Because it is easy to work with them. They help move the needle in the right direction. And they ask the right questions. But lets take a step back. I think that there are two types of people those who improvise (and can improvise) and those you cannot improvise. I can openly say that I belong to the latter type. And I cannot just show up at an interview and ace it without hours of deliberate practice and preparation.

I would argue that the first type (improvisors) can fake being on top of things for a long time. But eventually, the world will know that they are faking. Especially when a decision has to be data driven and the decision-makers need to make sure that they have considered all potential consequences.

This is when the second type of people come into play. Those who have done their homework and have came prepared (to an interview, to a meeting, anywhere).

Below, you can find some tips on how to achieve that status in your company, your circle of friends, or your family.

First and foremost, you need to know what type of skills (or knowledge, or information) you bring to the table. For example, if you are involved in a discussion about the future of your product,and you are the go-to person for statistical data. Then, you need to have that data prepared days and even weeks in advance.

You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. If we continue the example above, and you are not a data person, then it does not make any sense to try and come up with the data or the analysis of the data. If you are disorganized it does not make sense to try and propose to your spouse how you want to organize the closet (or the summer house, or even your suitcase).

I am sure that most of you have demanding jobs. Typically, a person is stuck working on urgent (and not necessarily important) tasks. Steven Covey writes about the four quadrants. I urgent & important, II urgent & not important, III not urgent & important, IV not urgent & not important. The more you stay in quadrants I and II the less on top of things you can feel, because you are operating in crisis mode. And of course, the more you operate in II and III, the more you feel in control of your life and career.

This is why you need to learn to think weeks in advance. Do you remember when you were in school and your parents kept urging you to do your homework on Saturday (or even Friday) so that you can have the whole weekend free? Well, this is the same. If you have an important report due two weeks from now why wait until Monday on that week to start? Because if you are ready with the report by then, you can start working on another important task which is two two weeks later.

I do not remember how many times I have said that, but I believe in working with Most Important Tasks (MIT, more info here). Please not, most important tasks, not most urgent tasks. If you want to accomplish anything, make time for it. If you want to read a book in preparation for a conference, make time for it. And, If you want to polish your presentation skills before the All-hands meeting speech that you have to deliver, schedule some time for deliberate practice.

When you want to do something, you have scheduled time for it, and you need to concentrate, make sure you have one or two hours to fully immerse in the task. Close the email, turn off your phone, even put your headphones on. This way you will remove all the potential distractions and you will achieve most of the work in a fraction of the time it would take you if you were distracted every few minutes.

The main benefit of preparation is that you have a ready product that you can circle around for feedback. If you have to prepare a report and you are ready a week in advance, use the time to gather feedback from some stakeholders and polish the message. If you are in charge of planning the family trip, share it with you spouse and your kids, before announcing it to everybody.

You mind constantly tries to find better, easier, and faster ways to do something. If you get into the habit of picturing everything as a process with moving parts (cogwheels), then you will start noticing small improvements that can save hours and days if implemented. If you rush to get the status for all projects in the last 2 hours before you send out the report, then your brain will be stressed out and will not notice automated ways that you can use to get the data.

Last but not least, learn to seek allies and to delegate things that are important, but someone else can do that faster, better, or just instead of you. If you can automate any of the steps (gathering data, getting feedback), do it and never worry about it in the future. This way you can achieve the so-called multiplication factor, which means the ability to own and deliver a lot of things, without actually having to own most of them.

Staying on top of things can greatly improve the way your peers perceive you and the value you bring to the organization. Do you want to be that guy, who is always behind? Or that other guy, who is always prepared and appears to control their life and have time for everything. The difference between being stressed out and always working in crisis mode and feeling happy and in control can be just a few tips and deliberate planning session each week.

Originally published on: https://www.fromgnometogoliath.com.

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Staying on Top of Things - Thrive Global

(THE CONVERSATION) My most vivid adolescent memories of the Jewish High Holy Days are the painful rumbling of my empty stomach as I fasted on Yom Kippur, and the sharp blasts of the shofar the rams horn sounding from the synagogue pulpit.

I was one of millions of Jews the world over who observe Yamim Noraim. Thats Hebrew for Days of Awe or High Holy Days.

This 10-day period begins with the two-day celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. It ends with the one-day observance of Yom Kippur, when adult Jews in good health are expected to fast.

What is the significance of these holy days for orthodox Jews, secular Jews and perhaps even for non-Jews?

Traditional beliefs

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are known, respectively, as The Day of Judgment and The Day of Atonement. In Orthodox Judaism, these combined Days of Awe embody both celebration and trepidation, renewal and repentance.

This is a time when Jews believe that all humankind is judged by God and inscribed either in The Book of Life or The Book of Death. Judaism doesnt believe these are actual books. However, Jewish tradition tells us that God writes down the names of the righteous in The Book of Life, and the names of the wicked in the Book of Death.

The belief is that the righteous will live through the coming year; the wicked will not. All others neither fully wicked nor fully righteous will have their fate decided between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

The angst surrounding these holidays is captured in a liturgical poem called the Unetanneh Tokef, translated as let us speak of the awesomeness. This ancient prayer is chanted during both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services, and states that,

On Rosh Hashanah they are inscribed, and on the fast day of Yom Kippur they are sealed who shall live and who shall die who shall perish by water and who by fire; who by the sword, and who by a wild beast; who by hunger and who by thirst

Leonard Cohen, considered among the greatest of songwriters, was inspired by this poem and used similar words in his song, Who By Fire. He wrote,

And who by fire, who by water

Who in the sunshine, who in the night time

Who by high ordeal, who by common trial

Who in your merry merry month of May

Who by very slow decay

And who shall I say is calling?

Given the apprehension that accompanies these stark pronouncements, it is hardly surprising that during the Days of Awe, observant Jews often greet each other with a phrase of hope, Gmar Chatimah Tovah roughly translated, May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.

As a psychiatrist reflecting on the High Holy Days, I have often wondered how many traditionally raised Jewish children have been frightened by the prospect of winding up in the Book of Death. I know I was.

As someone who has written extensively on Jewish ethics, I know that the High Holy Days also embody an ethical core that transcends religious doctrines and embodies universal ethical truths.

The varieties of Jewish beliefs

Judaism encompasses a wide range of beliefs. Orthodox Judaism is based on the premise that the Torah essentially, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible represents Gods eternal and unchangeable rules for Jewish living and religious observance.

But non-Orthodox branches of Judaism emphasize Jewish ethical and cultural traditions more than strict adherence to Jewish law and scripture. They seek to adapt Jewish traditions to modern needs.

Judaism in all its varieties is, at heart, a religion of hope and optimism. For example, the somber warnings of the liturgical poem Unetanneh Tokef are softened by its reminder that one can avert being inscribed in the Book of Death by means of repentance, prayer and charity. That is done in the interval between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Repentance, or teshuvah in Hebrew, requires taking a kind of spiritual inventory aimed at improving the health of our souls. True repentance during the High Holy Days also requires making amends to those we have sinned against or mistreated. Merely asking God to forgive such sins is not enough.

The ethical core of the High Holy Days

Secular and Humanistic Judaism are branches of non-Orthodox Judaism and are often considered together under the rubric, Secular Humanistic Judaism. This tradition does not invoke or accept the concept of an eternal, transcendent God. During the High Holy Days, emphasis is placed on how all people Jews and non-Jews can become better human beings.

In this secular humanist tradition, Rosh Hashana is seen as a time for self-evaluation and self-improvement, without reference to God. Instead, emphasis is placed on the cultural, historical and ethical aspects of Judaism.

A common ceremony in the secular humanist tradition is Tashlikh, which involves symbolically casting off ones sins by throwing bread crumbs into the water.

Tashlikh allows Humanistic Jews to reflect on their behavior; to cast off behaviors they are not proud of; and to vow to be better people in the year to come.

Finally, although Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are quintessentially Jewish holidays, their ethical values transcend any one religion.

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Universal ethical truths are at the core of Jewish High Holy Days - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Korey Wise told students that lasting criminal justice reform is still far from a reality as he shared his story at WMU on Friday afternoon.

Wise spoke in the Bernhard Center ballroom on Sept. 27. One of the Central Park Five, Wises story was dramatized in the limited series When They See Us, which received two Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Actor for Jharrel Jeromes portrayal of Wise. Wises appearance at WMU marked his first public appearance since the Emmys.

In 1989, Wise and the other members of the Five were falsely convicted following the rape of Trisha Meili. No DNA evidence could connect the Five to the attack, but the prosecution managed to convict on various assault charges. Wise was originally not a suspect, but was brought into the investigation after he accompanied his friend to the police station.

I was just a kid who loved his boy, Wise said.

Wise and the others were eventually exonerated when Matias Reyes, a convict who Wise met during his time in prison, confessed to being the real perpetrator. DNA evidence confirmed Reyes confession. Since his release Wise has been an advocate for criminal justice reform, sharing his experiences.

To be free is a state of mind, but to be free is also not a state of mind, Wise said, describing how the current criminal justice system deprives people of their dignity. You need to be free of parole, you need to be able to come and go as you damn well please.

Wise said that before his exoneration he had planned to max out his prison sentence to avoid parole. Parole, he said, is just another form of imprisonment.

Youre still the property of the state. You have a curfew, you could be 50 years old and still have a curfew, he said.

Wise said that despite increased media coverage, he feels that no real progress has been made in regards to criminal justice reform. In someways, he said, things are getting worse.

Its the Twilight Zone...[Police] now are more like robots. And when theyre afraid they get itchy trigger fingers. RIP Eric Garner, he said.

Wise also discussed President Trump. During the trial of the Five, Trump took out a full page ad in the Daily News calling the New York to bring back the death penalty. Despite the DNA evidence and their exoneration, Trump continues to argue for their guilt. Wise encouraged people to vote with the goal of getting him out of office.

Vote wise, he said, inciting a wave of laughter.

Wise continued with a discussion of some of the things that have kept him going over the years. During his imprisonment, Wise saw time in solitary confinement. During that time the only thing he had was his will to live.

I wanted to stay alive. I dont know why I wanted to stay alive, but I guess thats the only great thing you can do, he said. He added that his time in solitary provided a sense of safety that was hard to find amongst the general population.

After his exoneration, Wise took comfort in his family and in music. Immediately following his release Wise lived with some family from upstate New York. While staying with them, he worked through his emotions.

They were like therapists, he said.

Wise also cited music as one of his biggest releases.

Hip-hop is empowerment. Hip hop is self improvement, he said. Even in my home I just try listening to hip-hop and being hip-hop to keep a smile on my face.

Wise concluded by answering a question regarding his portrayal in When They See Us. Describing what it was like to see himself portrayed on film, Wise said:

[It is] very hard. I dont see it everyday. Most weeks I dont see it at all, but when I do see it I dont process it.

After the event Taylor West, WSA vice president and one of the events organizers, said that bringing Wise to WMU is one of the most exciting moments of her time as a student.

It was so emotional, she said. Seeing how many people actually showed up, listening to him, it was amazing.

Continued here:
Korey Wise shares his story of life after exoneration, continued frustrations with the justice system during WMU visit - Western Herald

Satyagraha (noun), an act of non-violent civil resistance, a term invented by Mahatma Gandhi.

Usage: Mahatma Gandhi first resorted to satyagraha during his early battles in South Africa, though the concept gained in recognition and respect when he applied it to the freedom struggle in India.

The Mahatma came up with the term Satyagraha - literally, holding on to truth or, as Gandhiji variously described it, truth-force, love force or soul-force to describe his method of action in terms that also imbued it with moral content and authority. He disliked the English term passive resistance, which journalists had applied to his civil disobedience movement, because satyagraha required activism, not passivity. If you believed in Truth and cared enough to obtain it, Gandhiji felt, you could not afford to be passive: you had to be prepared actively to suffer for Truth.

No dictionary imbues truth with the depth of meaning Gandhiji gave it. His truth emerged from his convictions: it meant not only what was accurate, but what was just and therefore right. Truth could not be obtained by untruthful or unjust means, which included inflicting violence upon ones opponent. Hence he would call off a satyagraha if any participant resorted to violence as he did when the killing of policemen in Chauri Chaura in 1922 led him to call off his nationwide protests just as they were gathering steam.

Gandhiji was profoundly influenced by the principles of ahimsa and satya and gave both a profound meaning when he applied them to the nationalist cause. This made him the extraordinary leader of the worlds first successful non-violent movement for independence from colonial rule. At the same time he was a philosopher who was constantly seeking to live out his own ideas, whether they applied to individual self-improvement or social change: his autobiography was typically subtitled The Story of My Experiments with Truth. If truth was his leitmotiv and guiding credo, satyagraha was his principal mode of major action precisely because it was infused with truth, the highest of all moral principles.

So non-violence, like many later concepts labelled with a negation, from non-cooperation to nonalignment, meant much more than the denial of an opposite; it did not merely imply the absence of violence. Non-violence was the way to vindicate the truth not by the infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on ones self. In satyagraha, it was essential to willingly accept punishment in order to demonstrate the strength of ones convictions.

Today, in the post-truth era, one can only ask in despair how much of that old spirit of Mahatma Gandhis survives in our countrys politics.

First Published:Sep 28, 2019 18:26 IST

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Shashi Tharoors word of the week: Satyagraha - Hindustan Times