Nobody likes interviewing, but one phenomenon, known as interview paralysis, has an extraordinary capacity to elude our preparedness. The name pretty well sums up what's occurring: frozen anxiety that happens before and/or during an interview. It makes it nearly impossible to go into an interview and provide your best effort to amaze the interviewers. Each person will have interview paralysis for a different reason. Here are some strategies for responding to them.

1. Having little trust in your own abilities and experience - Make a list of everything you've done that relates to the position you're applying for, no matter how small. Get rid of the scarcity mindset. Once you do, you'll be astonished by how much you show up for yourself. The interview process doesn't need to be one-sided. Remember that you are not the only one being evaluated in the circumstance; you also have power.
2. The perception that there is no room for blunders - In an interview, don't be afraid to halt and admit a mistake or misstep. It's impressive when you have this level of self-awareness because it gives you a moment to gather your thoughts and start over. In this manner, your one error will not result in an entire interview with the same error.
3. Using metrics outside of your control to frame interview results - Although challenging, redefining success can help tremendously reduce stress and prevent interview paralysis. Remind yourself that the interview's outcome is entirely out of your control and that the job is not contingent on this particular interview. Instead, develop new success metrics.
4. Inadequate preparation for the interview - Poor interview preparation sends subtle messages to yourself about the task's relevance as well as your own self-perception. Being thoroughly prepared takes time and effort, and it comes out as unprofessional when you aren’t prepare. Whether or not you are fully aware, it can dramatically worsen paralysis.

Source: https://zapier.com/blog/interview-paralysis/

How we connect and communicate with our employees can significantly impact their motivation and effectiveness. You should be able to increase workplace engagement and productivity with these seven employee psychological tactics and motivating strategies.

1. Provide opportunities for professional and academic growth - Companies that value each employee's unique human capital can count on greater employee loyalty and dedication. A company's direct investment in an employee's long-term performance is demonstrated by covering all or part of the tuition for educational opportunities, the costs associated with participation in seminars or certification courses, or both. Employee loyalty and retention are directly correlated, and this is particularly significant for companies that make it a policy to promote from within whenever possible.
2. Rewards for achievements - Studies have shown that most people value public recognition over corporate gifts, and employees value workplace recognition highly. Employees are highly motivated to meet reasonable credit requirements when they see how praise is related to promotions, bonuses, and raises. Employees rewarded for objective success are more productive and tend to be retained, miss fewer days of work, and perform better in terms of safety.
3. Encourage employee creativity and input - As obvious as it may seem, many managers need to recognize the value of giving employees a voice in the workplace. Listening should be highlighted as a crucial skill to increase employee engagement and productivity. Everyone has ideas on how the workplace could be improved, and by routinely asking for everyone's input, you can keep everyone interested and inspired to come up with new ideas.
4. Giving prompt feedback - Active feedback techniques that are linked to both individual and organizational success are well received by employees. Short-term performance evaluations are more appealing to people because they enable faster processes for improvement and correction than the more conventional quarterly or annual evaluations. Employees feel more invested in organizational goals when they receive regular performance feedback, which fosters long-lasting relationships.
5. Encourage rest periods and exercise - Another employee motivation strategy that improves performance and works satisfaction simultaneously is to give short breaks throughout the day regularly. Employees perform better overall when they are encouraged to take five or ten minutes every hour or so to walk around the office or visit the break room for a snack. Additionally, when employees have access to regular exercise, their performance improves. Supporting employees' physical health increases productivity, whether your business can offer club-level workout opportunities or merely encourages activity during lunch breaks.
6. Create incentives - Along with receiving praise from others, employees also respond favorably to tangible rewards. Financial incentives, such as cash bonuses, gift cards, or a night out, are a powerful way to reward individual and team performance. Additional vacation days, free parking or company perks or benefits are other incentives to take into account.
7. Promote flexibility in the schedule - Flexible working hours and scheduling boost productivity while lowering infrastructure costs. With today's technology, many businesses can experiment with flexible scheduling for some employees due to the possibility of part- or full-time telecommuting and remote working. Numerous research and real-life instances have demonstrated that employees permitted to work remotely, even part-time, are significantly happier and more motivated to be effective.

Source: https://staffscapes.com/seven-employee-motivation-strategies-that-boost-productivity/

100 Years Ago - How it all began at 901 S Main St
Coopers Harness Shop began operating out of the front of the building that is now operated by WorkIT Coworking Center. Take a stroll down memory lane and read the article featured in this image:

Rolling through the years
Charles H. Cooper has long history
in Stillwater's business scene
In 1907 Charles H. Cooper rode a bicycle to Stillwater from Stroud, carrying all his belongings with him. He got a job in a harness shop, where he met his future bride, Angela Greiner. Married in 1909, the young couple lived in two towns before returning to Stillwater.

The building at the southeast comer of Ninth and Main was where Cooper opened his harness shop in 1922, having traded his farm in Hennessey for a half interest in the Greiner Brothers Harness shop. In Hennessey, he was also the chief of the volunteer fire department. When he moved to Stillwater, he was also active in the fire department. He particularly wanted to settle in Stillwater to give his children a chance to attend college. As a boy, Cooper, along with his brothers Joe and George, soaked harness leather and learned to lay out harnesses on the floor piece by piece to repair. He admitted that he wouldn't have known how to put the harness on a horse. They watched the old men congregate around the checker table in the back by the wood-burning stove. The boys would climb the outside stairs of the Ninth Street building to launch paper and balsa wood airplanes. Sometimes, the planes would sail all the way to Seventh Street, where the Katz store stood. The phone number of Cooper's Harness Shop was simply 233, and a live operator answered.

In 1929, as a 13-year-old schoolboy, Charles ran a paper route, finally saving enough money to buy a bicycle for $15. Later, he was offered a similar bicycle for $7, so he bought it to ride, putting the other one up for sale. As customers came into the harness shop. they saw it and asked if he could do bicycle repair, which was when he was allowed by his father to take one counter at the back of the store for his bicycle business. That was the real start of Cooper's Bicycle Center. As the Depression deepened, his father's health failed and he was forced to close the harness shop, which had begun selling automotive tires and accessories. Since his father was no longer able to work (he died in 1938) Charles operated his bicycle shop from a building located behind the family home on 620 S. West, across the street from the St. Francis Xavier rectory. Serving in the Army Air Force during World War II, Charles relied on his mother and three sisters to rent bicycles to the servicemen and women who were stationed in Stillwater. Since the commanding officers restricted the service personnel to the area of the campus at times, Charles modified a 1928 Dodge Sedan, cutting the body to make it an improvised pickup to deliver bicycles. He said he would like to find that old vehicle today. Western Union delivery boys also used bicycles from Cooper's to deliver their messages.

Five years after the end of World War II, using a G.I. loan, Cooper built the building at 220 S. Main that still houses the bicycle business. Novelty bicycles were a pet hobby of Cooper, who designed and built several. Some of them are in use today. There is one that is a companion bicycle, where the riders sit side by side. Another is called the Kangaroo because it has an offset wheel, which makes it bump up and down as it is ridden. He built a tiny bicycle for his children which two of the eight learned to ride before they were 3 years old. The others were around 5 years old when they mastered the balance of two-wheelers. Cooper and his brothers all rode unicycles, as do some of the adult children and grandchildren. The truing stand, which is the motif of the bicycle store, is shown in catalogs in 1902. Cooper did not realize he was using a genuine antique daily until he saw an identical one featured at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

Over the years, Cooper has seen great changes in the bicycle business. From the early days when balloon-tired bicycles were new, to 10-speeds, from the great bicycle shortage in the 1970s when gasoline prices skyrocketed, when he ordered 10-speed bicycles by the railroad box car load, to the BMX craze, which son, Guy, promoted, to the mountain bikes, which all the Cooper boys, Jim, Chuck, and Ralph enjoy today. Grandsons enjoy the freestyle stunts, especially enjoying the Schwinn Stunt Team which put on an exhibition in Stillwater in 1998. Retired now, his daughter, Mary Ann Cash, son-in-law, Wes Cash, and grandson, Dennis Hotson, are busy at the bicycle center, in addition to Brad Rogers and Scott Campbell. Cooper enjoys traveling to bicycle swap meets and Wheelmen meetings, where he can admire vintage bicycles from the turn of the century. He has a bicycle collection that he maintains and a small museum. Charles H. Cooper leaning against the counter at Cooper's Harness Shop. 901 S. Main St., in 1923. Cooper rode his bike into Stillwater in 1907 carrying his belongings with him. Cooper opened his harness shop at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Main Street in 1922.

Tricki Woo loves hard-boiled eggs, kisses, and sweet potatoes. She also loves preparing for the future by burying treasures and befriending small children. She will bark at anything she finds unacceptable, which can be taxing, but her human has not been murdered once (NOT EVEN ONCE!) since Tricki Woo took on the role of Household Security. Her arch enemy is the squirrel - a rivalry that goes back generations and will end in a reckoning of blood and tears. Tricki Woo will turn two on December 2nd!

Hepz connects you with women around the globe to enrich each other. Are you disappointed because time and cost are keeping you from hopping on a plane to help others on the other side of the globe? Your problem is solved... From the comfort of your home or from our store at 918 S Main Street in Stillwater, and for a fraction of travel costs, each time you purchase Hepz, you are keeping families fed, children in school and safe from the vulnerabilities of trafficking. We are very grateful for you. Together, we are working to end trafficking. Visit us downtown or online at hepz.org

Payne County Tree Service was founded by Rick and Kristen Hadley in 1990. We provide tree pruning, trimming and removals, stump grinding, brush chipping and removal, woodchips, and our most popular product this time of year - firewood. We take pride in the beautification of our customers' properties. Be sure to let us know if there is anything tree related that we can help you out with! www.pctsi.com

Members - don't miss your chance for your business to be featured in our next newsletter.

I am an OSU grad with a B.A. in English and am returning to OSU this fall to pursue my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in poetry. Besides being a student and a poet, I work for Dr. Belinda Bruner as her editor for her novel as well as work a couple of online tutoring jobs. I have at least three notebooks and journals open on my desk at any given time; I enjoy doing a couple of different types of journaling as well as like to make detailed lesson plans for the students I tutor. Beyond my creative work, I love to run, eat, spend time with friends, and share cat memes on Facebook.