Article: You may feel like the absolute last resort is to actually talk to your boss about the problems you're having, but that's where you're mistaken. If you really want to improve your relationship with your boss instead of waiting for things to get worse, then the best thing you can do is ask your boss if you can schedule a time to talk and be honest about your feelings while maintaining your professionalism. Once you have face time with your boss, make eye contact, speak clearly, and let him or her know what the problem is. Make sure you focus on how your problem is with working with your boss, not your actual boss or some aspect of his or her personality. Talk about how you're having trouble communicating, which is making it more difficult to meet objectives, or say something else about how you're struggling to meet deadlines because of changing expectations. Frame the conversation so it sounds like you want your company to succeed, which can only happen if you and your boss work better together. It's important to choose your words carefully. Avoid any personal attacks that may offend your boss, and focus on discussing your work. Picking a time to talk in advance will keep your boss from being caught off guard and will give the situation the seriousness that it deserves. If you really want to improve your relationship with your boss, then you should work with your boss to improve the state of your company, instead of against your boss. Though it may feel good to make your boss look stupid at a meeting or to send a passive-aggressive email to your boss, in the long run, this won't do any good for your relationship and it won't make you feel any better. Furthermore, making your relationship with your boss even worse will make it harder to get your work done, and at the end of the day, nothing is more counterproductive than that. Help your boss achieve his goals by being helpful, present, and supportive. Even if he's difficult to deal with, your life will be easier if you move with the grain instead of against it. Keeping track of all of your conversations, whether it's through emails or memos, will help you be on top of your situation with your boss. Doing so will be helpful for two reasons. First, having a record or everything your boss said will help you in the event that your boss gives you confusing instructions or claims he or she didn't say something that he or she really said; you can use the written communication as evidence. Second, having a record of everything your boss says to you can be helpful if your relationship is so problematic that you want to discuss the situation with a supervisor; in that case, you'll have written proof that something is off. If you're really struggling to communicate with your boss, then try to make sure that all of your communication happens in front of someone else, so that you have evidence of what happened if your boss tries to deny it. Document everything that you feel is relevant to your concerns with your boss. You may want to purchase a pocket planner so that you can enter the issues on the appropriate dates. Keep this private. You don't want to pull put the planner and scribble notes in front of him because that will cause more anger. You are keeping notes for your own sake, so that you have all your concerns backed up with facts. Another way to improve your relationship with your boss is to keep an eye out for problems that may arise, and to react to them with preparation and forethought. If you know that there was a bad traffic accident on the freeway and that your boss is going to come in late, try to delay the meeting until he gets there, or start it off for him. If you know your boss is going to be angry after meeting with a difficult client, give him or her some space instead of bringing up something upsetting, which may start an argument. If you know that your boss has difficulty accomplishing a certain task, try to keep yourself relatively free so you can be there to help out.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Talk to your boss about it. Work with your boss instead of against him or her. Keep track of all of your conversations. Anticipate problems before they come up.
Article: Use a specialty algae scrubber or a lint-free cloth to gently rub the inside of your tank. Apply consistent and light pressure while making small circles on the surface. It is okay if pieces of algae fall to the sand as they will be siphoned up shortly. Resist pushing too hard on your tank as it can cause damage or make the tank possibly tip over. Place your fingers into the sand at the bottom of your tank. Gently push the sand from the bottom to the top. Repeat throughout the tank floor until all sand has been upturned. You will see that debris and deposits have settled on the surface of the sand. It is sometimes helpful to go over the sand surface one time with the siphon prior to raking. Lower your siphon until it is about inch above the sand's surface. Move the siphon in a back-and-forth pattern, holding the depth level, as you pick up debris and dirt. Target any particularly large particles. You can expect for the siphon to pick up some sand particles with this method. You can then re-rinse those particles and re-introduce them to the tank or you can throw them out. It is often a good idea to add in new sand every few weeks anyway. Take your time picking up the clean decorations and putting them back into the tank. You can follow the same pattern as before or you can mix it up with a new design. Make sure each piece is anchored and move around the freshly cleaned sand as needed. Replace the water that you removed by adding in the treated water to your tank. You can pour directly from the bucket, although that may disturb your tank and fish. A better option might be to use a jug to add the new water in slowly. You can also deflect the water with a plate as it is added in which will lower the chance of damage even more. As soon as you've completed the water change you can plug all of your tank appliance back in. Watch to make sure that they are operating properly before leaving the tank alone. You may want to leave your tank light off for a few hours following a water change. This can help your fish to relax following what may have been a stressful event. Check the temperature of the replacement water with a thermometer before adding it to your tank. Both water temps should be roughly the same or you risk shocking your fish.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Scrape off algae. Rake your fingers through the sand. Remove surface debris with a gravel siphon. Replace all decor. Pour fresh water into the tank. Re-activate your heater, filter, and lighting.