What is Work Mode?

Work mode is the state of being that you routinely slip into when you arrive at work.

The patterns of getting coffee, checking email and even thinking can influence your work mode. These patterns have developed your entire working career.  Have you ever had a clear thought about a problem at work after work has finished and wondered how you didn’t come up with the answer at work?  This is work-mode.

Take a moment and ask yourself; where you learnt your work-mode patterns from?

Was it that first poor boss or your old office buddy Gary? Was it your mentor or that slacker whos always late? We are all influenced.

The point is this: Work-mode can be disruptive because you may not be performing at your optimal rate. And if your not at that optimal level, you then you need to change your state.

The
two methods to do this are either by moving your body or drastically
changing your focus.

Here are some suggestions:

  • Take a brisk walk
  • Snooze for 15minutes
  • Listen to some music
  • Talk to a friend
  • Watch a video that is non work related online
  • Laugh a bit
Posted in Businesses, Health, strategy at July 8th, 2008. No Comments.

Moving Office

Sometimes its nice to take a break and work from somewhere different. Yesterday for a few hours I temporarily moved my office to the hills above wellington. Here I could think clearer and it gave me fresh inspiration and ideas. I highly recommend it.
A few hours working above Wellington

Posted in Great Ideas, strategy at May 8th, 2008. No Comments.

30 day trials do not work

Was checking out some of the latest software as a service (Saas) companies at simplespark when I noticed that many offer a “free 30 day trial”. That got me thinking.

A free 30 day trial used to be worth something as it was a means of re-assuring the buyers confidence before making a purchase.

I don’t think this method works now. 30 day trials are disappointing and not really worth anything. If I see a 30 day trial and I do not know the app, I will close the page. Why? Because there is no trust between me and the company. In order to gain my trust, I need free. The cutting edge SaaS providers give away free versions of their software and sell pro versions. E.g Flickr, Salesforce, Gmail, Basecamp etc etc

30 days builds a trial, free builds trust

Posted in Businesses, The Future at April 3rd, 2008. No Comments.