From the Castle
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Sunday
Apr222012

A Practical Tip For Entry-Level or Student Staff Who Want to Focus Better

I always find it funny when I walk into one of the joint or communal offices where I work and I here anywhere from 4-8 quick mouse clicks. Those clicks are usually the sounds of our student staff members clicking off of Facebook and back to the real work they should be focused on. I find this funny for a few reasons, but mostly because I am the last supervisor in my office who would care that they’re on Facebook (and they should know this). I don’t expect anyone between the ages of 18-21, who have an office job, where they are expected to use the Internet, to not visit Facebook every once in a while during their eight hour day. In my opinion, in 2012, that’s just unreasonable. But since I can tell that they seem to feel a little guilty, I’d like to give them (and anyone else with the same issue) a tiny tip for maintaining focus.

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Saturday
Mar312012

Stop Wasting Your Mental Energy On Things That Don't Matter

We think about a million different things every day.  We worry too much. We have far too much on our minds. What should I wear today? What will I have for lunch? Am I ready for this presentation? I can’t forget to call my mom tonight. What will I wear tomorrow? … and so on. These things are pretty standard, and they do not actually take much thinking to deal with. There are, however, many things people frequently get concerned with that are really just wasting mental energy and willpower. Below I outline some of these things for which I gave up caring about ages ago. I hope you follow suit.

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Wednesday
Mar072012

Why You Need To Meet The People You Like Online IRL

I interact with a lot of people online every day, but I can really only think of handful of those people who I could say that I know and could honestly vouch for their character if asked. This is because all the tweeting and Liking and blog commenting in the world can’t make up for genuine face-to-face interaction with people.

Research has shown us for years that nonverbal communication, including body signs and signals, makes up the majority of communication between individuals and groups. With this in mind, I think people must make a greater effort to meet the people they interact with online, especially the ones they would like to build real personal and professional relationships with.

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Wednesday
Mar072012

Ceci N'est Pas Un Marteau

I've been living on my own for the better part of four years now. And mama didn't raise no fool. This is the story of how I've managed to keep myself alive and functioning this long without my parents, and more specifically, without a man.

Having three girls left my father with no sons to traditionally teach the ways of "manhood". So, my sisters and I were lucky enough to learn everything in lieu of this non-existent son. Yet, I was conflicted; I loved working outside with my dad and crawling into the basement spaces he couldn't reach when doing electrical work, but I also loved my Barbie. And Ken was always there to fix her issues. So where was my man, ready and willing to fix every little thing in my life?

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