Do you sometimes feel like the right advice for your problems are just one Google search away—but you can’t even find the time to do that search?
We hear you! You’re busy doing your job, leaving little time to actually seek out help. That’s why we found five super short TED Talks to inspire you to push through common challenges.
We’ll just stop talking now and get right to the good stuff…
1. When Your Boss Asks You to Come Up With Five New Ideas Today: Play This Word Game to Come Up With Original Ideas by Shimpei Takahashi
Takahashi is a toy developer who realized that in order to think outside the box, you have to get a bit wacky. Which is why this one-word association game helped him come up with some of his proudest and most successful ideas.
2. When Your Co-worker Keeps Posting NSFW Statuses: Don’t Like Clickbait? Don’t Click by Sally Kohn
Sick and tired of being surrounded by bad media? Wish you could filter your social media of rude or inappropriate comments? According to Kohn, you have all the power to fix the internet yourself—so stop clicking on things that don’t matter to you.
3. When Your Colleague Says You Have Weird Ideas: Weird, or Just Different? by Derek Sivers
Here’s how you can respond to everyone who tells you your ideas are strange: “No they’re not, they’re just different.” Because even some of the oddest things here are considered normal somewhere else, states Sivers, an entrepreneur. And for that reason, they just might work.
4. When Your Manager Catches You Drawing During a Presentation: Doodlers, Unite! by Sunni Brown
Yes, doodling is actually good for you. According to Brown, people with this stigmatized habit are actually more likely to retain, remember, and focus on information than regular listeners. So carry on drawing.
5. When You Hopelessly Try to Explain Your Job to Your Parents: Talk Nerdy to Me by Melissa Marshall
If you’re one of those people who tries to explain your job to friends and they respond with blank stares, you’ll want to watch this. Marshall will show you how intellectuals can break down their jobs to the average listener so that everyone benefits. Don’t let your awesome accomplishments get overshadowed by confusing communication!
Photo of person listening and working courtesy of Hero Images/Getty Images.
Published as “The Daily Muse”
