NO ONE is good at Multi-Tasking - GUEST BLOG

This blog is written by one of our excellent speakers that will be featured during the Education Conference on Thursday, August 13, 2009.

Job Advertisement: “Must be good at multitasking.”

Obviously the company that posted the above ad is not up-to-date on current research which shows that no one is good at multitasking. Now I realize that you are probably disagreeing with me right now, since you multitask throughout the day, but reality is that our brains are not good at executing demands to perform multiple activities simultaneously.

What actually occurs is a mental traffic jam where eventually one item breaks through, followed close behind by a second, and then a third. They may be so close together that it seems simultaneous, but in actuality one precedes the next.

When MIT students were given two simple tasks to perform at the same time, identifying shapes and letters or colors, they could not do it and lost their composure. Once they were allowed to switch back and forth, they could do it, but it was very slow because they were forcing their brains to fire in different directions so quickly.

This mental traffic jam is causing stress as we pump adrenaline throughout the day. Over an extended period, there are both short-term (absentmindedness, since we are not focused) and long-term results (brain damage in our prefrontal cortex and hippocampus). Those two brain regions are associated with short-term memory and the abilities to assess and prioritize. The extended stress also ends up causing physical illness (80% of sickness according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

It can appear that teens and even younger children may have a better ability to multitask. Again, reality is that they are not better at it, they just have more practice. If you must multitask, be sure that one of the two things you want to do can be done without any thought, like running and listening to your iPod.

Denise Landers is the author of Destination: Organization, A Week by Week Journey and the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc. (www.keyorganization.com). Based in Houston, she is a national speaker, trainer, consultant and coach providing conference sessions, corporate training, and individual assistance to improve daily work flow and time management skills.

FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

Wow. Just came back from vacation and the world did not stop while I was gone. It is a great feeling to come back feeling refreshed and face the mountain of work on your desk! Ugh. Thanks to great EXPO staff the trade show continues to progress forward - nicely.

It is now time to FOCUS. Focus on the end game - Nursery/Landscape EXPO. Have you reserved your booth yet? Have you logged in and registered yet? Are you waiting for the printed brochure before you act? Don't wait! The time to focus on EXPO is now.
www.nurserylandscapeespo.org

Make your hotel reservations, so you can be sure you are in the headquarters hotel. There is still time to reserve a booth but the best ones are going fast. Let us know if you have questions by emailing expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org

Why 2 themes for the EXPO?

Many people would say, "What themes?", but the Nursery/Landscape EXPO has two themes that carries the show's messages.

The first is the official EXPO theme. This year it is STAND THE TEST OF TIME! That says so many things in the shaky economic times we face. While the show celebrates over 50 years of continued service to the Green Industry, the Green Industry itself is steeped in tradition in Texas and surrounding states. They continue to be leaders in production, retail, landscape, and industry supply. There is a great sense of pride among all who are part of this vaat Green Industry community. They do STAND THE TEST OF TIME, even though years have been added to many faces.

The second theme is really not a show theme as much as it is a party theme. Each year enthusiasm is built around the Welcome Party. Well, a party needs decorations. And decorations need a creative direction - thus the party theme. "TNLA goes ..." is the starting point each year. We have gone to the beach, to the circus, south of the border, and psychedelic. This year we are going to Ancient Rome. So while the decorations will suggest roman culture, togas are not the suggested dress. Many exhibitors use THIS theme to decorate their booth.

Enjoy and reflect on both EXPO themes!

Watch out for vendor impersonators!

The Nursery/Landscape EXPO enjoys a great following of exhibitors and attendees. Our show continues to be successful, thus an attractive target for vendors who may say they are part of the TNLA show management team but aren't. We have recently had a hotel reservations company calling our exhibitors and asking to assist them with their reservations. This group is not authorized to solicit our valuable exhibitors.

There is also a company that solicits exhibitors to place an ad in their trade show guide. Again, this group is not with show management. HOWEVER, we will have TNLA staff call to give you the opportunity to advertise in the official show program. Should you have any concern about who is legitimate and who is not. Please call 512.280.5182 or e-mail expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org.

We're LIVE!

Yes, that means you can click on exhibitor registration, attendee registration, hotel accomodations, exhibitor service kit, etc. Check out the Hot Links button on the front page to get to most any where on the site FAST!

We are LIVE! The excitement continues to build.

Keeping Your Attitude Positive!

Below are 5 Keys To Keeping Your Attitude Positive in a Negative Economy excerpted from Jefferson Davis, Trade show Turnaround Artist
1. Take more control over what you allow to enter and occupy your mind.
2. Start each day off on the right foot.
3. Start each interaction off right. Your first words can make a difference.
4. Life & Business are like the changing seasons - you can't change the seasons, but you can change how you respond to the seasons.
5. Participate in a trade show - like the Nursery/Landscape EXPO! - (Snuck one in from show management!)

There's A Lot Of Noise Out There!

Experts say people receive thousands of bits of information per day. How then do we get people to truly process the information we feel is important? Some would say you need to speak louder, make a bigger impression. Others may say a quality product or service should speak for itself. Well, as the Nursery/Landscape EXPO gears up with their marketing messages to exhibitors and attendees, I hope we are speaking loud and clear about what we believe is a great product. If anyone knows someone who should be exhibiting or should attend, let us know. We will do our best to get the message to them, have them process the potential, and respond to the call to action.

Our greatest tool in selling is still the face-to-face contact. EXPO should be the place where people meet!