88 Shares You’ve got your list of things you want to accomplish for today, and yet, after a series of meetings that you had to go to throughout the day, none of the things on your list got done. That’s because meetings are almost always a huge drain on your time, and should be killed on sight. Think about the last few meetings you attended — did you sit through them wishing you were somewhere else, or finish the meeting wondering what the point of the meeting was, or worse yet, feel that the... More »
186 Shares Ian’s Messy Desk has a pretty on-point 15 point checklist for self-management. Ian is also quick to point out that self-management shouldn’t necessarily be separated from your productivity systems, but rather work hand in hand. Set rewards or penalties. You’ll need some motivation to help you move forward. Set small rewards to mark the completion of small steps. Set larger rewards to mark major accomplishments. You might even set penalties for not reaching goals. You could, for example, make a donation to a food bank every time your weight went up instead... More »
For those readers not yet familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done philosophy, I would forward you to our GTD section and this article written by Brett Kelly for Lifehack. Also, if you are interested in getting started getting things done, this summary of another David Allen book, Ready For Anything, is a great start. Lifemuncher have taken 13 points from the book [so far] that outline what you can get out of the GTD system. It’s a good idea to become familiar with some reason why you would get into GTD... More »
172 Shares While reading an article at NYTimes.com called Time Wasted? Perhaps It’s Well Spent, I came across an interesting concept. First of all, the post is about how time is spent at work. With the average workday comprising of a reported 1.5 hours of actual work, Lisa Belkin asks the question, ‘Where does the time go?’ The big idea is that, like athletes, people work better in short bursts rather than long work days. Some workplaces are taking this to heart and providing a more relaxed attitude to attendance and stronger implications of... More »
eSoup has written about 5 Einstein quotes that could help entrepreneurs, or anyone in a problem-solving or creative field. They draw upon Einstein’s years of battling scientific opposition and critical genius. Wise words you can use as inspiration or guidance. 1) “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” 2) “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” 3) “Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds.” 4) “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” 5) “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we... More »
466 Shares It is hardly a secret that the key to successfully accomplishing one goal after another is staying motivated. There are, of course, tasks which you may not like at all, yet you find motivation to complete even them because you recognize how each particular task serves a greater goal. How exactly do some of us manage to stay motivated most of the time? Here are just a few ideas you can try: 1) Find the Good Reasons Anything you do, no matter how simple, has a number of good reasons behind it.... More »
269 Shares Do your days seem to be crazy busy and your to-do list filled up with an endless supply of tasks? Is your calendar full and your work day a non-stop rush from one thing to another? If so, you may have too much on your plate. It’s time to step back, take a few minutes, and pare down that to-do list to just the bare essentials. Imagine, for a moment, that you have only a few things on your list for today. Imagine the peace that comes from that simple little fact.... More »
260 Shares One of the most powerful tools we can use to enhance personal productivity is to standardize tasks and processes. This is nothing new, yet it has become part of the much touted Toyota Production System as a way to reduce automobile manufacturing costs. A classic example from hundreds of years ago is the way that railways came up with a standard spacing or distance between the two parallel rails that make up a railway. Before they did, every railcar had to be unloaded and reloaded onto a railcar of a different gauge... More »
5K Shares If you’ve got a big block of free time, the best way to put that to use is to relax, have fun, decompress from a stressful day, or spend time with a loved one. But if you’ve just got a little chunk — say 5 or 10 minutes — there’s no time to do any of the fun stuff. Put those little chunks of time to their most productive use. Everyone works differently, so the best use of your free time really depends on you, your working style, and what’s on your... More »
194 Shares “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” – Henry Ford This famous quote from quintessential American success story Henry Ford encapsulates the very core of why positive thinking works, and why it is one of the most often touted tool of personal development literature. It also highlights, by contrast, what is wrong with the (in)famous book and DVD “The Secret”, cited recently by another blogger as one of the most successful infomercials ever. Positive thinking works not because of any cosmic or... More »
It’s eye-opening when you realize that many of the interruptions that occur in your day may actually be under your own control! In no particular order, here are the top ten interruptions we see most often with our clients that are affecting their productivity: 1. Phone Calls Schedule some time to have calls screened by a support person, or if you work alone, screen calls with voice mail. Answering the phone constantly makes you reactive, not proactive! Granted, there are some jobs that make this suggestion unrealistic, but in general, protected time... More »
84 Shares Have you ever noticed that some people effortlessly learn new concepts and materials while others struggle? Napoleon Bonaparte learned the names of thousands of his loyal soldiers. World champion chess players can replay games in their mind from years ago. I have often wondered how these intellectual marvels have accomplished such great feats. Some were born with extraordinarily high IQ’s, but certainly not all. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques that will help you to learn faster, study better, and begin absorbing information like a sponge. Here are 7 tips to... More »
1.8K Shares Here are 50 ways to increase your productivity and add hours to your day. 1. Take a break. You can’t always be working at optimum productivity. Instead, you should shoot for working in short bursts at your most productive times. 2. Set a timer for each of your tasks. 3. Eliminate all distractions. This includes the phone, email notifications, and having multiple web browsers open on the desktop. 4. Distractions should be avoided, but sometimes a bit of music in the background can help you focus. Of course, it doesn’t need to... More »
309 Shares The biggest obstacle to productivity is connectivity. Too many of us have become addicted to email, to our feed readers, to Twitter and IM, to forums, to social sites like MySpace and YouTube and Digg. It’s an addiction, and as yet, no good cure for it has been found. Today let’s crank up our productivity by curing our addiction. Going through this program won’t be easy, but think about all the things you want to do beside work or surf the Internets. You can have a life — if you get rid... More »
Procrastination, poor time-management, writer’s block – if you’re a writer you’ve encountered these debilitating creative illnesses at least a few times. How do we make ourselves get any work done? Why, with a seven-point list of course! Write first thing in the morning. When you wake up, don’t check email, don’t look and see how your blog is doing, and don’t read your feed reader. Find the most important or most urgent writing task on your to-do list, and get started on it. Once you crank that out, the rest of your... More »
