DCW's Month of October

October was a busy month for the Dull Co-worker (DCW). Let's recap what I was up to:

On October 2nd, I posted one of my personal favourite blogs, Does Your Desk Need a Makeover...is it wrong that when I reread it, I laugh? What does that say about me? I hope you enjoy it as well and find it inspirational. You too can have a desk that looks like mine...think positive...don't give up...don't be self-critical...it may take some time but you will get there my friend.

This blog inspired me to create the worldwide DCW Desk Makover Contest Extravaganza (note: I love the word "extravaganza" and will use it in whatever context I can...why don't you do the same and see how it can spice up your work emails, meetings, conversations, etc.). This contest is open until November 12th until 1:53pm Eastern Standard Time. Keep sending me your photos! Just because you're reading this and you live in Slovenia, South Korea or Latvia, don't think you can't win. The Dull Co-worker will travel to you if you win this contest.

For those of you who are into Do It Yourself (DIY) projects, you can also check out my Beautiful and Practical Desk Oranization Strategies post. It contains some simple tips to help create a welcoming and warm workspace.

I also noted how my decorating talents have been recognized at my workplace and I have been asked to be the interior designer for our meeting rooms. In my Office Meeting Room Decor post I showcased some of my personal favourite pictures which hang in our meeting rooms.

You can certainly see the theme this month has alot to do with adding ambience to your work environment so that you can have time to get to what's truly important at work. My Effective Email Management Strategies post will also help you manage your workload so you have more time at work to get to important personal emails and surf the internet.

During October, I also mentioned how I have launched some free seminars. Please email me at thedullcoworker@gmail.com if you'd like me to come to your city and speak on any of the seminars listed in the Free Motivational Seminars by the DCW post. For those of you who are in leadership positions, you may want to consider some of the information given in the Creating Ineffective Work Relationships and My Favourite Work Moments posts.

Those are just some of the posts from October. Of course there are others that revealed mice can read (see the Warning! This Blog Contains an Actual Work Email post). Thank you to the person who responded with the comment that my office should just post a "Beware of Cat" sign. I love it and have suggested it to my alliance member who wrote the email.

Thank you to all who have read my blog this month and a big thank you to my friends from Hare Styling and Simply Nature who have inspired me in so many ways.

Effective Email Management Strategies

Fact: email has become the number one communication tool in the workplace. Therefore, it’s not surprising that workers are virtually drowning in a sea of emails every day with no one throwing them a life line. Endless articles are written and courses are taught on how workers can effectively manage their email so they have time to do what’s truly important.

I have read much of the literature and my post today will summarize all the data into some very easy and simple techniques which will help you manage your emails so that you can have more time at work to:

• Check and update Facebook


• Check and update Twitter


• Surf the internet for the latest celebrity news (e.g. keep up to date on whether Lindsay Lohan is in or out of rehab)

Dull Co-worker Email Tips

1. Unsubscribe to any work-related newsletters or advertisers. That will leave more room in your inbox for emails from Banana Republic, Shopper’s Drug Mart and other important shops that are advertising sales.

2. Set aside time to process your work related emails once a day. For example, if you work 9am – 5pm, set aside 4:55pm – 5:00pm to respond to those time-sensitive emails that require an immediate response. This will allow you more time in the day to send emails to friends, keep in touch with family members and make social plans for after work and weekends.

3. Delete the following types of emails:
a. Those you are unable to respond to during the 5 minute scheduled email time
b. Those from people you don’t like
c. Those containing a request from a co-worker who is asking you to do something you don’t want to do
d. Those that require you to compose a response that would require alot of thinking, analyzing, or researching
e. Those that are boring

Office Meeting Room Decor

Since my October 2nd Desk Makeover post, I’ve been approached by the Facilities department at my work place to decorate our meeting rooms. It seems they were impressed with my desk beautification skills and want me to add some zest to these rooms.

Here is what I'm proposing for the meeting room walls:

Perplexing Remarks

My post from October 23rd (How to Make Enemies at Work) got me thinking about other comments people have made. When someone makes a statement, sometimes I'm perplexed on how to respond as I'm not sure if it's a compliment, an insult or just an observation.

Maybe the intention is to give a compliment but the way it's said makes me wonder if it's an insult or just an observation. I hesitate to say "thank you” because then I'd feel foolish if it's not a compliment (case in point, Oct 23 blog).

But then I'm afraid that if the person did intend to give me a compliment and I didn’t thank them, I could be perceived as being rude. Then, I just start feeling annoyed that I'm even in this predicament in the first place.

Here are some examples from my life:

Example #1: "Your hair looks different"

Does this mean “I love your hair” or "I really don't think your hair looks good at all and I can't believe you are walking around with that hairstyle" or “Thank goodness you changed your hair because it looked hideous before” or “I don’t normally check you out this much but now I am and I need your confirmation that you look different than you did yesterday.”

Example #2: "That's a bright coat/dress/shirt"

I never know how to respond to this. What I'd like to say is "Yes, compared to your drab outfit that makes you barely indistinguishable from these gray walls, my outfit is bright.”

Example #3: "Your eyes are really blue"

Did these people have colour recognition issues as children and thus require constant reassurance they can correctly identify colours??? Are they looking me to say "Good job! Yes, the colour is blue not green or brown. Now let's move on to discuss shapes....here is an example of a circle....”

Frightening Work Moment

Do you know what is more frigthening than a horror movie...it's the moment when you willingly turn the radio station at work from Top 40 and rock music to listen to elevator music and 70's easy listening. What's even more scary is that you can passionately defend this to your colleagues, friends and family members who find this alarming.

This can only be explained by my "Drugs In The Air Vent Theory" (DITAVT). See my post from Sept 6th for a detailed account of this highly plausible and completely scientific conspiracy theory.

How to Make Enemies at Work

Actual conversation from my workplace in 1998 between two women I worked with:

Co-worker 1: "That's a nice dress."

Co-worker 2: "Thank you."

Co-worker 1: "But not on you."

Indulge: A Tasty Workplace Recipe

Everyone knows that bringing lunch to work is economical but sometimes it’s hard to know what to make for lunch. Well, the Dull Co-worker has created the perfect meal for you to take to work. Try out this scrumptious and easy recipe for either breakfast or lunch. It’s guaranteed to add zest to anyone’s work day and make your co-workers drool with envy!

Dull and Dreary Inspired Lunch Fiesta

Ingredients

Bread
1 teaspoon butter (room temperature)

Directions

1. Put bread in toaster for approximately 2 minutes or until brownish


2. Top with butter


3. Serve on a plate garnished with a paper towel


4. Enjoy!