115 Shares If you’re packing your computer or briefcase and lugging it home to do more work most days you gotta ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” When you’re sitting in front of the keyboard writing an email to someone at the office at midnight would your friends ask, “Aren’t there other things you’d rather be doing?” When you get your paycheck do you think, “I sure get paid well, that’s why I work all the time!” (I won’t even delve into you being hunched over your crackberry during meals, meetings, and otherwise... More »
14 Shares One of the big differences between people who are successful in life and business and people who aren’t is how they look at things, which in turn shapes how they make decisions. If you aren’t satisfied with your progress up the corporate ladder, the value of your investment portfolio or your ability to find a partner you might have more success by altering how you look at things and therefore how you decide to act. To show how we look at things, and the difference it makes, here are a couple of... More »
1.8K Shares The notebook has been around forever. Do you remember your first one? It probably had very wide lines and perhaps a spiral binding. You used a fat pencil and traced letters until they became second nature. Before long you learned script. Then you migrated to pens. Some of you, dear readers, are now Moleskine aficionados and are selective and perhaps downright snooty about your pen choice. The lefties here might have learned that it is easier to start at the back of a notebook so that you don’t rub your hand across... More »
102 Shares Broken promises are one of the biggest mistakes that one can make in their career. Broken promises are a problem because:
42 Shares Are you efficient, effective, or efficiently effective? As you are focused on getting things done efficiently you may be making very quick decisions. You rapidly move through tasks and check things off your To-Do list one, two, three. You look productive because there is activity, your list is full of check marks or strikeouts showing completion, and your calendar shows meetings. That To-Do list isn’t too long and overwhelming because you’re on it. The question is:
122 Shares Time wasters are often things that we enjoy. They often are the seed of great frustration as well. The frustration manifests at the end of the day when we think, “What did I do today?” or “Why didn’t those things get done?” or “I guess I’ll be here until 8pm so that I’m not late with that project.” Recognizing some of our time wasters as we get into them is a great thing to do because maybe we’ll limit that habit of wasting time. And, limiting our wasting time hopefully means that... More »
“Why don’t you join me on the line?” Do you think I’m inviting you to get on a conference call? Is the football player in you visualizing the scrimmage line? Does ‘on the line’ mean anything in particular to you? The line that we’re going to look at today is the line that separates risk from safety. It separates the unpredictable from the predictable. It divides security from opportunity. The line also separates variety from sameness; possibility from lack; and adventure from monotony. As we’ve grown most of us have created a... More »
65 Shares Why are you late? Time management begins with one of the absolute basics – arrive on time. In his book Copy This!, the founder of Kinko’s (now FedEx Kinko’s) Paul Orfalea recounts that he would make hiring decisions based on key basic modes of operating. One of those is being punctual. I’m sure that Mr. Orfalea isn’t the only one making career decisions based on being on time and other fundamentals of operating in a business context. If you’re not the one, you undoubtedly know people who show up late. Sometime they... More »
105 Shares Since the beginning of the year we have looked at 10 of the top Productivity & Organizing Myths. They have been collected, examined, and refuted so that you can recognize when your thinking or actions are moving into they mythical. Myths seldom serve you. Realizing you’re operating in the mindset of a myth can help you to change course to reality where results really come to the front and center. Our top 10 myths are: #1 – Some People are Born Organized #2 – One Can’t stop influx of email and paper... More »
Myth: We need to be at all those meetings and events that have made their way onto our calendars. Reality: We can succeed at work and be happy with a modest number of meetings and activities. Do you say any of these things? I haven’t been home at 6 o’clock in the evening for weeks. We are constantly trying to balance work with kids’ activities with family commitments. I have to schedule a date with my spouse so we have time to talk. If only I had 30 hours in a day.... More »
Myth: We need a lot of material things. Reality: We can succeed and be happy with very little stuff. When we productivity pros hear a few phrases we pay attention because you are giving clues to your mindset. Do you say a version of any of these things? I need another ______ (fill in the blank- pair of shoes, suit, house, car, computer, tech toy, etc.) It would be nice to pay off those credit cards! If we lived in a bigger house we’d be tidy because we’d have a place to... More »
Myth: Getting organized requires so much time that you won’t be productive while getting organized. There’s too much to do to bother getting organized. Reality: Looks can be deceiving. The project might be substantial but you can do it! As the Question goes, “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer, “One bite at a time.” Here are two proven ways to tackle a substantial organizing project. One, hold daily sessions. Two, make a day of it. If you choose to hold daily sessions, have ones that are relatively brief. You can do... More »
Myth: Decluttering or getting organized takes a brief time. Reality: A major decluttering effort takes a lot of hours – most likely days. We don’t collect piles of mail, stacks of magazines, wads of receipts, a variety of files folder, heaps of papers, towers of reports, and other clutter in just a few days. In most spaces it is years of accumulation that pile up resulting in clutter that is unsightly, distracting, a hazard, an obstacle or guilt-generating. Thus, undoing the jumble will probably be more than a few hours. Let’s dwell... More »
Myth: Piles of papers or things are organized and people can find anything quickly in those piles. They say, “Believe it or not I know where everything is.” Reality: It takes a lot of time for people to find specific papers within piles and often they don’t find the papers until they’re no longer needed. This leafing through piles often causes a lot of stress that the user is accustomed to but relieved to eliminate by getting organized in the end. Papers grouped together by topic are the most useful and findable.... More »
Myth: Having the right portfolio planner, calendar, mole skine and containers (tools) will make someone productive. Reality: Having the right tools is the first part to being productive, managing your time well, and being successful. The second part, which is even more vital, is that one knows how to use the tools. None of us would expect to be master gardeners just because we purchased a shovel and rototiller. Nor would we think we could play Chopin because we purchased a piano. Ditto for playing like Tiger Woods simply because we bought... More »
