AATUCYKTOTA?

That’s “Acronyms At The University: Can You Keep Track Of Them All?” for those not in the know. And hopefully it’s an acronym that you should never have to use or ever see again, but also highlights a bigger issue at the University.

As an ASR staff member, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of University acronyms. Though they are intended to make things easier for University staff to write or discuss, they can quickly get out of hand. But, it’s important to stay in know. On the ASR website, you can find a handy spreadsheet of widely-used acronyms >>

Common goal setting mistakes

MindTools.com looks at some common mistakes that people make when they set goals. Learn how to recognize these mistakes, so that you can avoid making them yourself!

Mistake 1: Setting Unrealistic Goals

Mistake 2: Focusing on Too Few Areas

Mistake 3: Underestimating Completion Time

Mistake 4: Not Appreciating Failure

Mistake 5: Setting "Other People's Goals"

Mistake 6: Not Reviewing Progress

Mistake 7: Setting "Negative" Goals

Mistake 8: Setting Too Many Goals

Read more at MindTools.com.

Surviving the winter at work

Tips from Fast Company for increasing your happiness during the winter months that don't involve coffee, can you believe that they don't include coffee?

• Let the light in - Try to get 30 minutes of natural light daily
• Get your heart pumping - A 20-minute walk can boost your mood
• Take more breaks - I don’t know what your supervisors will think of this

Read more from Fast Company's article about surviving work in winter »

Being a star team player

How can you be a star team player? MindTools.com offers these 10 tips:

• Set an example.
• Use your strengths to help the team.
• Share positive, contagious energy.
• Put the team first.
• Build relationships.
• Trust and be trusted.
• Hold people accountable.
• Be humble.
• Be a good listener.
• Accept criticism.

Check out their blog post for the full descriptions of each, as well as other work tips.

Is it a hat? A tomato? Learn the Pomodoro technique!

The Pomodoro technique helps users break down larger tasks into smaller tasks to be completed or worked on in pre-established, timed intervals that helps users better focus and concentrate on the task at hand. Learn more »

Password managers

From “Ouch!”, Securing the Human’s monthly security awareness newsletter: “One of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself online is to use a unique, strong password for each of your accounts. Unfortunately, most of us have so many accounts that it’s almost impossible to remember all of our passwords. A simple solution is to use a password manager, sometimes called a password vault.” Read more about password managers.

Preventing theft: Tips from campus police

Don't give thieves an opportunity

Never leave valuables unattended - even for a minute. Lock your door when you leave, don't prop open doors and never allow anyone to tailgate in behind you through a secure door.

Trust your instincts

If you see someone unfamiliar in your work area or in the hallway, or if you see someone acting suspiciously, call the police.

Be a good reporter to the police

If you call to report someone acting suspiciously, give a good detailed description. Make note of what the person was wearing, logos on their clothing, tattoos, hair color, or the direction they were headed.

Work Tip: Updated Google and PowerPoint Presentations

The ASR Communications team has compiled all updated Google and PowerPoint presentation slide templates in one convenient location for staff use. Please use these wonderfully designed templates for your upcoming presentations! View the templates »

With Operating System Updates, patience is a virtue

Microsoft and Apple are both planning to release new versions of their operating systems in the coming weeks, and while the urge to upgrade is exciting, University IT asks that you wait to update your devices until they send the all-clear.

Help the U conserve energy

The University of Minnesota’s Facilities Management team is asking the University community to reduce the U’s monthly energy bill and carbon footprint by conserving energy as summer heats up. Their tips:

• Turn off unnecessary lights
• Close shades or blinds that allow direct sunlight (not a big problem in Williamson)
• Reduce the use of non-essential equipment, including: radios, fans, microwaves, cell phone chargers, etc.

ASR staff listserve converted to Google group

The ASR staff listserve, ASRstaff@lists.umn.edu, was converted to a Google group on July 15, 2015. For most users, this change will not affect how they interact with and use the ASR staff list. Staff should send content to the ASRstaff@umn.edu email address or directly to Marit Gladem, glade022@umn.edu, who will remain the moderator of this list.

However, the switch will give staff the ability to share Google Drive files with all of ASR at once, making it easier to control permissions for internal documents. As an added benefit, the Google Group will track and archive content that has been sent to the group which will give staff a place to find past content and newly hired staff a place to catch-up on recently sent messages. If you have any questions about this change, please contact Kate Sophia, ksophia@umn.edu.

Work and Wellness Tips

This week's work and wellness tips:

• Gmail set to roll out an "Undo Send" feature
• Actress Rashida Jones' "Guide to Happiness at Work"
• Should we have this meeting? A decision tree to help you decide.

Problem Solving? Plan. Do. Check. Act.

Originally developed by Toyota, the A3 problem solving template is a process improvement tool that helps communicate a problem-solving story in a single sheet of paper.

The tool was recently showcased at Process Improvement Expo hosted by PCMC. You can view the presentation slides, developed by LaToya Bell of Facilities Management, at pcmc.umn.edu.

To download image above, right click and select "Save Image As"

Download Problem Solving worksheet.

Performing a personal SWOT analysis

As part of the planning following the employee engagement survey, ASR would like to improve its employee engagement, particularly on professional development opportunities. The following articles and related exercise can help employees begin to prepare for a project that ASR is planning to help address and improve engagement. So, take this opportunity to reflect on your career goals and perform a personal SWOT at MindTools.com.

Mac updates helping some users with WiFi connectivity issues

Over the past several months, following the release of Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, some University Mac users have experienced difficulty connecting to UMN WiFi. Recently, Apple released an update to OS X for Yosemite 10.10.3 as well as iOS 8.3 for iPhones and iPad devices. OIT has received promising, consistent reports of improvement from testers who applied this update.

If you experience continued issues with WiFi access please contact Technology Help.

Passphrases

The April edition of "OUCH!" (PDF) covers passphrases: what they are, why they provide greater security than passwords, and how to use them securely.

Use filter views in shared Google Sheets

If you want to filter your data that you can save and come back to later, or that you don't want to disrupt how others are viewing the data, you can use a filter view. Check out the Google Support site for the step by step job aid on creating, naming, and saving a filter view.

Standard symbols for process mapping

Standard symbols are an integral component to completing a functional process map. Here is a handy cheat sheet to help you keep them straight.

Goal setting, is it easier said than done?

It doesn’t have to be. There are a lot of benefits to setting smart, achievable goals: career development, skill advancement, and personal productivity among them. But, where can you start? Below are a few tips for setting your goals from Mindtools.com:

• State each goal as a positive statement, avoid negativity
• Be precise by including dates, times, deadlines
• Set priorities
• Write your goals down
• Keep operational goals small and achievable
• Set performance goals, not outcome goals
• Be realistic

Visit Mindtools.com to explore all of their great resources for career development.

Starting an Individual Development Plan

Employee development can be mutually beneficial when a balance is struck between an individual’s career goals, and an organization’s inherent need to get work done. It’s a win-win situation in that it benefits the individual (the development of new skills or knowledge) in a way that also benefits the organization (a more skilled workforce able to accomplish more).

But, how do you decide what to do? The University of Minnesota’s Office of Human Resources has a webpage dedicated to resources for helping employees discover what their role is in development, including an Individual Development Plan (IDP). The IDP is a tool for helping employees turn their big goals into concrete and achievable actions. Learn how to start your IDP with this helpful guide and an IDP worksheet on the ASR Intranet.