Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips You can work productively all day given a few restarts or what we used to call “breaks.” Working long hours for many days in a row isn’t a good idea. Fatigue wins—every time. There are, however, ways to beat fatigue. We used to call these breaks, but I am sure someone has […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Success can lead to failure. Sometimes great success can lead to great failure. See, e.g., Facebook. There must be two social media companies out there named “Facebook.” There is this social media site called Facebook that many of my friends and relatives use. They show photos of the kids and the new […]

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by Dwayne Phillips What do you write on Christmas Eve that hasn’t already been written and read? I wish for you today the same things I wish for you everyday. Some of them are: You are rested so you can enjoy just about everything else to its fullest The same goes for being fed, clothed, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips It isn’t easy to admit that I lack knowledge for something that “I should know.” Most people are like me in this respect. How can I “help” without looking over their shoulder? “Maybe if you did it that way instead of this way,” said the eager, wanting-to-be-helpful person standing behind me and […]

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by Dwayne Phillips “I always seem to break the machine.” I hear students say this…frequently. Reframe: I am earnestly doing my job. I try harder than most other persons. I am not sleep-walking through the day. I push the performance of my tools. I want to work with these persons, the ones who always seem […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Some of the best advice I ever heard and heeded is simply, “Don’t try too hard.” Writing. Studying. Researching. Don’t try too hard. Writing: let it come out of you. When you hit a difficult spot, type “this is a difficult spot, come back later.” Done. Now keep banging away on the […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Choose to learn. We all pay the tuition, but we may not all get the education. I guess many school teachers and government employees and just plain folks never say this to themselves. I always did, but perhaps that explained my mediocre career in government service. I was too inquisitive, too exploratory, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips We each have a reputation, something about us that others “know.” What is it? What do I want it to be? I go to a coffee shop on Saturday mornings to view the Internet and write blog posts. On a recent Saturday I found car keys in the bathroom (shows how old […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Simple desires for the workplace. Years ago, a wise old man once told me, “The workplace should be pleasant and profitable.” He worked in a commercial business. No profits, no business, no jobs. Profits were necessary. Also necessary, in his experience, was that the workplace be pleasant. If it wasn’t pleasant, people […]

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