Over The Line: with Martins Toluhi

Have you thought of how you can improve and grow your career beyond where you are at the moment? Are you setting yourself up for the next season of professional growth? Or are you wondering how to go beyond been stock on the same spot professionally? If you answer is yes to any of these questions, then get ready for a power ride to a new season of progress and productivity. Karl Weick was right wh...

The concept of scoping your week or month ahead of time simply means taking a ‘helicopter view’ of what you think the week or month ahead of you should be like. It helps you to obtain a high-level view of what should happen. This way you are able to define the broad strokes of your pursuits for that period of time.  Scoping should be intentional, and it should follow a repeatable process. It is yo...

Have you ever asked yourself the question? Why is it that some people schedule their tasks and plan out what to do, yet constantly procrastinate on what they know they ought to do? Why can’t they find the energy, drive or passion to do what they planned and set out to do in the first instance? Could it be that the goals, tasks, and objectives they set themselves to accomplish in the first instance...

To make the most of your time and increase productivity, it is imperative to understand yourself, know how you are wired to function, and create the right atmosphere for your own personal productivity.  Without a doubt finding your creative zone will enhance your capacity to deliver more consistently at a level that will help position you for the right level of success. Sir Ken Robinson wrote in h...

It has been scientifically and psychologically confirmed that productivity is higher when one takes breaks at reasonable intervals to refresh the brain. It gives the brain the opportunity to produce at its best. In carrying out mental tasks and activities, the brain uses up a lot of body energy and calories. Continuous mental activity can be exhausting.  According to Carson Tate, founder and manag...

In this episode we look at another philosophy of productivity that I called - Inner calmness  Over the years, I have concluded that the calmer a person is internally, the more control that individual will have over his or her energy, and as such the more directed they will be in their efforts to get things done. Worry, anxiety, and inner turmoil rob the individual of their energy and productivity;...

If you have handled any major or minor project, you would realise that every task has a way of expanding to consume the time allotted to it. This is the reason why, for instance, people who have two weeks to turn in a job sometimes linger until the last three days to get it done. It is crucial to understand the importance of having a schedule with time and resources allocated. While it is sensible...

YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY: LESS IS MORE In this episode we focus on the concept of doing the right work and not just doing things right. We consider a critical piece of personal productivity which is the philosophy that ‘less is more’. This is certainly central to the mastery of productivity. If you are going to make any difference with the work you do, it is imperative to not just...

YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY: DOING MORE IN LESS TIME  Some of the questions I regularly get and that I will address will include: What is your personal philosophy of productivity? How does your personal philosophy impact on your personal productivity?  How would you like to do more with the time you have and go further in less time than you normally would have gone? If my guess is rig...

In this episode I will conclude our series on switching your career successfully. If you have been following this series, you will remember that I have been using questions to drive your strategy for switching your career successfully. I promised I will use a four-question model – FQM; so, in this episode you have the fourth question covered.  The question answered in this episode is “How bad do y...

While most people advocate for you to do what you are passionate about, it is important to scan your past experiences and see if there are skills that you can take forward from your paste career and life experiences. This is where you ask the all-important questions around the gaps that may exist in the skills you currently possess and the new role you are trying to switch to. So, here we will foc...

Humans are wired with the capability to leverage their personal stories on the journey to their best life. This is even more so when it comes to making your career change. The next phase of your life and career may very well depend on the storyline that is shaping your current perspectives. Christian Jarrett, in his BBC feature article of 27 May 2019 wrote and I quote “As philosophers have long ar...

In this episode I will consider the key question that triggers the process of your career change. In this framework, we will work through the four quadrants for transformation, each quadrant driven by a major question.  First it bears repeating that questions are powerful in engaging life change and transformation at any level. Questions are equally powerful in engaging your successful career tran...

In this episode we will start a new series on how to switch your career successfully. Essentially, we want to look at the concept of pivoting your career strategically from your current or previous positions to a new one. Truth be told, most people will have to change career a couple of times in their career journey. The economy and the changes around us make it a necessity to prepare for career c...

There are changes happening at all levels in our world today. The workplace of the future is going to be radically different from how we know it today. The rate of change is also accelerating at a speed beyond what we had imagined before now. In this episode we consider why it is necessary to future proof your career and provided you a model for future proof for your life and career. Reinvention d...

Career optimisation is really non-negotiable if you are going to remain relevant in the marketplace.    A significant part of making the most of your career is not necessarily hinged on your core hard skills, rather it is based on a strategic blend of both hard skills and key soft skills.  While technical or hard skills are necessary as core bases for getting into a role, when it comes to thriving...

Your career as a professional is a life-long journey that requires your strategic engagement. Whether you choose to grow through the corporate ladder to building a business or you venture into building your own business. Whatever the route you take, the core objective of career growth is to be so good that the world can’t ignore you. Setting yourself up to Being so good they can’t Ignore you will...

Getting a new role is a major achievement considering the demands of the interview process, so would have to congratulate you for landing your new job. It is really something to celebrate. According to some research, the excitement of starting a new job could quickly turn to some kind of anxiety due to the fear of the unknown. This episode is to offer you tips that can help make your first day and...

One of the questions I often get asked is about the interview question “tell me about yourself”? The fact is that if there is any question you are sure to get in any interview, it is this very question – “Tell me about yourself”. This question may come in different flavours or phrasing, but it sure tops the list of the questions you get to answer.  So, you could be asked, why do you think you are...

Another question I often get asked is “What are your common-sense guide to acing an interview?”  This question does come up in one form or another and I believe it is a legitimate question to ask. The point here is to be ready for your opportunity and take it in a masterful way when your job opportunity shows up.  I will argue that a successful interview happens way before the day of the interview...

One of the questions I often get is “how do you handle rejection in your job search?” How do you handle such rejections? Just as it is with anything worth doing, getting a job comes with a few challenges; the process comes with some ups and downs. It can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride. What looks like a promising interview with high hopes just tend to fizzle out without any feedback or...

Humans are wired with the capability to leverage their personal stories on the journey to their best life. This is even more so when it comes to reinventing your career and business for higher growth. The next phase of your life and career may very well depend on the storyline that is shaping your current perspectives.  The question here is “what story is driving your big ask? What story is shapin...

As we have already established that the best asset you have in your career growth is you and it will serve you well to proactively invest in your skills development.   First, it is important to note that the dynamism of the workplace demands that as a knowledge worker you will need to continue to up-skill and right skills so that you can respond to or lead the changing needs. Committing to that pr...

When it comes to growing your career, I would say that having goals is great, but working your system is superior. It is important to note that career development is not linear. Career path tends to go through series of twist and turns.  Sometimes things would come up unexpectedly. It is often at these unexpected twists and turns that we land on great career opportunities.  This is a major reason...

In this episode we are looking at the subject of Self-Leadership as a major key to effectively develop an outstanding career. Contrary to popular opinion, self-leadership has little to do with being charismatic, rather it has to do with being value driven, being a person of initiative who is constantly ready to take responsibility and is accountable for his or her actions. This quality of self-lea...