Happy holidays! This is SmartBrief's last publication for 2019. To close out the year, we have selected the most-read stories that have caught readers' attention and informed their workday. Hope you enjoy this special edition, and we look forward to keeping you smart in 2020!
People undermine their chances for advancement by obsessing about problems instead of focusing on solutions and avoiding growth opportunities due to a fear of failure, writes Bryan Robinson. He offers advice for shifting away from a negative mindset centered on self-criticism and self-doubt.
Your answers to three questions indicate whether you're self-confident at work or self-absorbed, says Suzy Welch. The former represents someone who isn't threatened by the success of others and wants to hear their ideas.
Business owner Lucas Miller describes four situations where it's unlikely an employee will get a promotion anytime soon, and advice on progressing beyond a dead-end job. One such situation is when management is not invested in an employee's career development and there are no clear goals or growth strategies to follow.
This infographic offers a walk down memory lane and, perhaps, a glimpse of the future. It shows the most popular jobs people take throughout the course of their life, using data from the Current Population Survey.
Shared work spaces and resources will signal whether employees are taking the initiative and cultivating a culture of respect and responsibility, writes David Dye. "When was the last time you picked up some trash, wiped out the microwave, or made a new pot of coffee?" he writes.
A study conducted on workers in an Amazon project found that both male and female workers alike resented their job more after receiving criticism from a woman, with some even dismissing it. However, this workplace dynamic is less pronounced in workers in their 20s.
The tidying trend, sparked by Marie Kondo's Netflix show, can apply to your office setting as well as your home by clearing your desk of unnecessary clutter including old notes, condiments and even computer files. "You can also argue that the simple act of cleaning does more than just physically clear up space -- it clears up mental and emotional space," writes Alyse Kalish.
Ensuring good sleep is critical to good health, and sleep hygiene is critical to ensuring good sleep, researcher Michael Grandner told attendees at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Good sleep hygiene is about following a regular schedule, routinely getting exercise, keeping the bedroom dark and cool, and limiting the duration of naps, among other must-dos, and he said keeping beds only for sleeping will help ensure the brain knows what to do when the head hits the pillow.
No one-size-fits-all approach exists for successfully letting go of stress, writes wellness expert Christine Lusita. She explains the solution depends on which one of four personality types a person has: the leader, supporter, socializer or planner.
The city that welcomed the most international visitors last year might not have occurred to you -- and it wasn't Paris, London, New York or Hong Kong. And surprisingly, Los Angeles didn't even crack the Top 20.
People in many parts of the world are waiting longer to get married, but the gap in age between bride and groom fluctuates, often depending on whether the couple is from a developed or developing country. The country where people wait the longest to get married might surprise you.
Plenty of commercials out there recommend probiotics for gut health, which you can get from yogurt and pills, but new research suggests you can get them from Belgian beers such as Hoegaarden, which are twice-fermented. Go for the yogurt if that appeals to you, but some might want to try a Westmalle Tripel for the same health benefits.
