We all get a little crazy on the job every now and then.  From moms at home to on-call response teams, there are ways to limit the craziness and typical work day stress.  Once you trade the temporary high of battle scars and constant adrenaline, you may find that you actually enjoy your job more than you realized.

Feeling overwhelmed at work today?  Try some of these 20 Ways to Simplify Your Work Life:

1. Know what you’re capable of. If you’re confident in your ability to do your job, even emergency meetings can’t stress you out.
2. Don’t repeat any gossip you hear. If you can detach yourself from the gossip chain, you cut the majority of the drama out of your work days.  This is also one of the 25 Things to Stop Doing Today at Work.
3. Create an enjoyable lunchtime ritual. Listen to music, read a book, picnic on the grass, or just enjoy your leftovers.  Let your mind calm down and mark the day’s halfway point.
4. Keep contact information easily accessible. Any phone numbers that could be urgent should be kept close at hand in a single location.  Day planner, cell phone, Outlook contacts, or index card: do whatever works for you, but keep that information available to avoid turning routine calls into desk-tossing panics.
5. Clear your desk of anything that’s not necessary, like stacks of catalogs, outdated correspondence, and yesterday’s tea mug.  Keep a personal memento or two on your desk, but make sure the items add meaning to your life, like a family picture or an object that makes you smile or reflect.  Read Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.
6. Always have an update for your supervisor. Always.  Even if it’s something trivial, be ready to answer the “What’s new around here?” or “What’s going on in your department today?” question.  It’s a great way to build trust.
7. Shorten your task list.  I like to keep two task lists, one for ongoing things that need to be handled at some point and one for what’s on the docket today.

Often times we can fall in a rut at work.  We start accepting unhappiness as our destiny and quit fighting it like we did in our twenties.  Make it a point today to identify some of the hindrances you’re facing with your company or position and take a step to get past them.

Personal growth should be something you’re looking to accomplish each and every day. No one likes change, but how many of these 25 things can you stop doing at work today?

1. Stop bottling up your talent.  The 21st century is perhaps the most exciting time in history to possess unique knowledge and talent.  There are so many outlets for you to showcase your talent.  Whether it’s a blog, eBook, podcast or other form of expression,  get your knowledge out there – it’s one of the 7 ways to be seen as an expert in your industry.
2. Stop being afraid to fail.  I know it’s become a cliche, but failure can be extremely valuable.  Do you really think that successful people never fail?  Of course this is not the case, they’ve just worked through failure and ended with success.  No one should strive for failure, but I’d rather swing and miss than never be in the game.
3. Stop being unorganized.  Start making lists and setting goals for yourself.  It’s easy to lose sight of what you want to accomplish if you don’t keep in front of you.  Try to organize the tasks you must complete today as well as those which are not priorities – your day will be more efficient and less stressful, guaranteed!
4. Stop shrugging responsibility.  You should be the first to volunteer for a new project.  Not only will you probably learn something new, you’ll gain the respect of those around you.
5. Stop being afraid to socialize with upper management.  Manager’s want to promote and hire well rounded, likable people.  While it’s always important to be respectful, don’t wait around for executives to notice you, put yourself out there to be noticed.  Take the initiative to setup a happy hour or group lunch – it will be noticed.

Just the fact that you came to work today means you’re going to get less done than you could have.  That’s right I said it, you’re less efficient working at the office than at home.  More and more businesses are coming to the realization that it’s not just a great fringe benefit, it’s in everyone’s best interest to allow an employee to work remotely.

Both employers and employees should consider these 12 reasons to cut loose from the company office building:

1. Add time to your day.  The average employee commutes 1 hour per day to and from work.  That’s 20 hours a month of wasted time.  Just think what else you could accomplish if you had an extra hour per day added to your life!
2. Increased creativity from better surroundings.  Having the choice to work in a park, coffee house, library or from the comfort of your own home helps to relax and inspire you.  Most design firms have already realized this and encourage their employees to experience new surroundings.  Working from your deck is a lot more stimulating than your cubicle.
3. Avoid distractions.  Escaping chatty coworkers and office politics will help you to recapture a significant portion of your work time.  Most of us have become so used to distractions that we don’t realize how debilitating these constant interruptions can be.  Anyone who has had the opportunity to work remotely knows just how much more they get done in a shorter time.
4. Work harder and smarter.  Those who work remotely have to make it a point to show their productively.  Now ‘working’ is transparent.  There’s no room for manipulating perception by simply showing up early, leaving late or running around with your hair on fire – now your accomplishments/actions/results will define you.  This is a good thing and one of the 7 Ways to Be Seen As An Expert In Your Industry.
5. Global Reach. Now even small businesses are able to have ‘offices’ worldwide. Forget about just the local potential, imagine the perspectives (and resources) that employees located throughout the state, county or globe could bring to the company.  Pretty neat if you think about it.

Being perceived as an expert in your industry is one of the Financial Tips I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was Younger as well as a great source of job security and profitability.  As someone who has become an expert in a specific niche, having sold a successful information based resource website to a Fortune 500 company, I’ve seen the benefits of expertise first hand.  I’ve also seen others expand upon their own expertise to create phenomenal entrepreneurial opportunities.  Follow these initial steps to start down the path of becoming an expert in your industry:

1. Be organized!  I’m a huge believer in organizing your resources and information.  To be perceived as an expert you don’t have to know every answer immediately, you just need to be able to access information in a timely manner.  Throughout the day I have no problem telling a client that I’ll have to call them back – I’ll then review my notes or do additional research and formulate a focused and intelligent response.
2. Ask for help.  Experts become experts by learning from other experts.  Mistakes can be good, but avoiding them can be better.  Associate with people who share your same level of passion, even if it’s a different niche, and you’ll be inspired to achieve more. Excellent Read: Outliers: The Story of Success.
3. Get your knowledge out there.  This may be the most important takeaway – get your expertise out there in the marketplace.   I have seen great results, including job offers,  from non-monetized websites, twitter posts or Facebook pages.  Volunteering to speak at a company seminar, submitting a guest article for your industry newsletter or writing an eBook will all work to get you recognized as an expert.

Business relationships matter.  It’s the relationship that keeps your clients coming back and not going across the street to your competitor. The key to starting (and maintaining) a successful relationship is being likable.

Whether you’re already likeable or a real SOB, if you want to be successful in business you’re going to need to be liked.  For some of us, that means playing dirty.

Here are some sneaky ways to trick people into liking you:

1. Jump on a crisis.  People never forget when you help them out in their time of need.  Even small tasks like helping a busy co-worker make copies or filling in when they’re on vacation will make you stand out (and appreciated). Better yet, help a coworker or client who was recently laid off – I guarantee it will solidify a relationship for life.
2. Bypass technology.  Email is the enemy of effective communication.  With everyone being so damn reliant upon email, most of us have become afraid to meet in person.  A face to face lunch, an impromptu meeting at the office, or even just picking up the phone will go further than years of email communication.
3. Open up personally.  The more you share your passions, hobbies, and family stories the less likely you are to get fired and more likely you are to get the sale.  People are suckers for a good “My kid started walking for the first time this weekend” story.  Your life is interesting, I promise. Excellent read: “Rework”, by David Heinemeier Hansson.
4. Show your sense of humor.  Don’t be afraid to tell a cheesy joke or play a prank.  Loosening up a client or coworker can help cut through inefficient formalities and accomplish what you want quicker.   Humor is obviously a sign of tremendous intelligence.
5. Grow a mustache.  Just kidding…or am I?

Sooner or later most of us will be caught saying or thinking “If I only knew then what I know now”. I started diving into specifics, but eventually settled on a list to get us thinking. Look for the series to continue with expanded topics upon each of the following 18 tips:

1. Work smarter, not harder.  Follow an interest or passion.  Focus your efforts on working to develop a way of life, not just a job or position.  There will always be a company willing to trade you dollars for your time – pursue your interests and work toward making that your way of life.  Excellent read:  “Rework” by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson.
2. Surround yourself with good people.  Good people are inspiring, trustworthy and ultimately great for business.  Not everyone fits into this category, but don’t be afraid to reach out and build relationships with those around you.
3. Develop the habit of saving.  Much like brushing your teeth or wearing your seat belt, saving should be a habit.  You should feel guilty when you don’t do it  - it’s one of 10 easy things to increase your net worth in 10 years.

Being stuck in a dead end job can be one of the most debilitating and stressful situations one can face in their life. The sad part is most of us know when we’re trapped in such a situation but choose the unproductive sanctity of the familiar  rather than the short term discomfort of change. The hardest thing to do is acknowledge and accept that it’s in your best interest to ditch the comfortable and move on and grow as a person.  Get out of your comfort zone and start that business or switch jobs to try out something new.

Here are 7 reasons why you’re strong (and smart) enough to survive short-term discomfort and change your situation:

1. You’ve learned that money does not equal happiness. For most people, it’ll take a lifetime of failed relationships, poor health and lack of real achievement to realize that amassing money should never have been the goal.  The goal should have been to be truly happy.  Happiness is achieved through meaningful relationships and by realizing one’s potential – not through short-term emotional highs or sticking with an unfulfilling job just because it will make a couple hundred dollars more per month.  Don’t be afraid to trade your higher salary for a happier existence.
2. You’ve realized that you’re no longer learning. Stress and anxiety levels decrease when you’re learning new tasks – not to mention you’re growing as a person. When you’ve acknowledged that the monotony and replication of a job is negatively affecting you, you’ve taken the first step to motivating yourself to move on and seek person grow elsewhere.  Life is too short, get out there, open your mind and learn new things!
3. You’ve embraced the fact that nothing worthwhile comes easy. Sure, most of us think that it would be great to win the lottery or inherit a huge sum of money.  The fact is that real personal satisfaction comes from hard work and savings, not luck or gifts.  When you were a kid you’d save up for weeks or months to buy that toy/used car/computer you researched so much – appreciating every detail and facet of it.  It’s the hard work, growing and achievement that will lead to happiness.  Don’t avoid things that are ‘hard’ – look at them as goals which, when accomplished, will lead to feelings of self-worth.