OG Tuesday Issue #110

YOU DO YOU

Recipe: The Perfect Nap

• Less frustration. See the science.
• More efficient learning. See the science.
• Sharper memory, especially for important things like connecting names and facts. See the science.  
• Better mood and reasoning skills. See the science.
• Optimal behind-the-scenes immune system and hormone regulation. See the science.
• Elevated thinking. See the science.

Here’s your recipe for enjoying a perfect nap:

Ingredients: 

• 5-minute meditation
• Ear plugs
• Eye mask
• Soothing music
• Timer/timer app

Instructions: 

• Choose a nap time between 1PM and 4PM.
• Complete a short pre-nap meditation.
• Silence your phone and your computer notifications.
• Set a timer depending on your napping goals:
  • 10-20 minutes (aka the power nap). Napping for this long keeps you in a light sleep stage, so it’s ideal as a quick refresher.
  • 60 minutes. Napping for this long gets you some of the benefits of deep sleep. You may feel groggy when you first wake up, but you may also experience better memory and recall.
  • 90 minutes. Napping for this long gets you through an entire REM cycle and provides many of the same benefits of an entire night of sleep.

Nap tip! Avoid napping for 30 minutes. Why? Napping for this long will get you into a deep-sleep stage but you won’t stay there long enough to complete the cycle, and so, you’ll likely feel more sluggish than you did before the nap.

See this University of Melbourne blog post for all the details behind our instructions.  

Additional napping resources: 

• Sleep Foundation: Napping Benefits and Tips
• Science Alert: The Science of a Good Nap
• The Science of People: How Long to Nap
• Mayo Clinic: Napping: Do’s and don’ts for healthy adults
• Ted Ed: How long should your naps be?

TOGETHER WITH WHITE ELEPHANT ONLINE

Check “Holiday Party Planning” off your list ✅

 

The holidays are fast approaching, and more teams than ever are struggling with how to celebrate in this new remote and hybrid world.

Fortunately, White Elephant Online has found the answer, offering the ability to play White Elephant – the fun and memorable gift swap game – virtually.

Here’s why thousands of teams at some of the biggest (and smallest!) companies across the globe have used their platform:

• It’s inexpensive. With games starting at just $49 there’s no cheaper way, remote or otherwise, to celebrate with your team.
• It’s easy to plan. Their self-service platform is easy and intuitive, both for the planners of the event and participants.
• It’s a tried & true holiday tradition that’s a blast. White Elephant, also called Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa, is played by millions each year.

Whether for your main event, or a fun add-on for those who can’t make it in-person, check out White Elephant Online for what may be the easiest decision you have to make all week.

Plan Your Holiday Party Today 🎁

LEVEL UP

Annual Review Deja Vu

These tips will help you consider some common performance review competencies and areas:

Goals 

Take a look at the goals you set during your last annual review. Obviously, feel free to focus on the ones you accomplished, but also address any you haven’t. Consider these questions: 

• For goals you met

• • • Which goals are you most proud of meeting?
    • What did you learn during your pursuit of these goals?
    • Did pursuing these goals make you think of any new goals?

• For goals you didn’t meet 

• • Are these goals still viable in the upcoming year?
  • Would additional support or resources help you achieve them?
  • What ideas do you have for resuming progress toward these goals?

Tip: If you find yourself falling into patterns of negative self-talk, think about your performance in measurables (percentages, quantities, time spent, etc.) instead of emotions. You might find you did more right than you did wrong.

Growth

• What new/extra responsibilities did you take on during the past year?
• What responsibilities did you delegate during the last year?
• What tasks and projects did you take on beyond your comfort zone?
• If you’re running short on specific accomplishments to discuss, then focus on what you’ve learned. (What additional knowledge or skills have you pursued (via classes, webinars, etc.).

Tip! Scour your emails and calendars to piece together all the amazing things you’ve done.

Leadership Skills 

Think not only of your concrete accomplishments, but also of the characteristics you’ve embodied. Brainstorm a list of leader-centric qualities (e.g. public speaking, team building, morale building, communication, etc.) you demonstrate and also one specific example that shows how you demonstrated it.

With just a little noodling, you’ll find plenty of areas where you shine.

Relationships 

Your value goes beyond your measurable output. Discuss your contributions in terms of relationships, citing actions you’ve taken to support, connect with, or uplift your colleagues.

Needs 

If you need something, say something. While performance reviews revolve around past performance, they should also lay the groundwork for your future success. Ask for the support and resources you need while you and your boss are in a goal-focused mindset.

There’s no wrong way to do your annual review, but no matter how you do it, remember one simple truth: You are awesome.

TOGETHER WITH MONDAY.COM

We Love a Good Template

We’ve compared monday.com to the Swiss army knife of project management softwares — and they’ve taken it up a notch by launching industry specific templates.

Here are some of our fave templates that you can use today (for free):

For HR & Recruiting:

• HR Requests
• Employee Engagement Survey
• Employee Recruitment & Onboarding
• Job App Form
• Cross Company Event Planning

For EAs/Admins/Operations:

• To-Do List
• Facilities Requests
• Event Planning

See more templates

GET MORE SH*T DONE

Scheduling Meetings with High-Maintenance Humans

• Circulate meeting minutes to both attendees and invitees as a nice gesture. Simply remind anyone giving you scheduling stress that you’ll send them minutes and catch them next time rather than spend disproportionate time going back and forth with them.
• Publicly thank people in scheduling emails to nudge others to follow suit. (Ex: Thank you so much, Don, Von, and Fawn, for sharing your availability. Everyone else please do so by the end of day.)
• Use Google Sheets or Doodle to collect availability en masse.
• Schedule recurring meetings on the same days each week or month to create memorable scheduling consistency.
• Call the person. This may be the last thing you want to do, but it could be five unpleasant minutes that save you hours of annoying emails.
• And finally, always remember this golden rule: Never change an existing meeting just to accommodate one person unless that person is absolutely necessary or a guest of honor.

WATERCOOLER TALK

November is Native American Heritage Month!

• Join a conversation with the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate and the first Native American cabinet secretary
• Wear red on Raw Shawl Day (November 19) to spread awareness of past and present violence against Indigenous peoples
• Like posts and share support on social media during Rock Your Mocs week (#RockYourMocs) on November 13th – 19th.
• Support those working to preserve native lands.

• Read about (and maybe even visit) Indigenous heritage sites
• Read Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq (fiction)
• Read Carry by Toni Jensen (memoir)
• Read Wednesday Addams Is Just Another Settler by Elissa Washuta (essay)
• Listen to music of the Sioux and the Navajo
• Watch films spotlighting Native American history and life

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SPILL THE TEA

Hooray, You Made It to the End of Our Newsletter!

Riddle me this: Why didn’t the monster eat the crazy person?

⭐ Answer here.