Archive for the ‘Productivity’ Category

The Benefits of Automation

Automation is the use of control systems to control processes, reducing the need for human intervention. Putting this into context, automation is having technology do things for you so that you don't have to. Automation is all around us. When you're at a set of traffic lights, there isn't a traffic light operator that decides when to change the light from red to green. It is done automatically… Continue reading

July 2 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: automation, email, Productivity, time, twitter | 7 comments»

Scrum for One

That’s a funny word, isn’t it? “Scrum.” Scrum is a project management strategy for software development teams. The name comes from rugby (I guess) where it refers to the start of a new play. In the programming world, it’s a technique of coordinating a team’s work without a clear plan, working towards attainable short-term goals, and then repeating the process towards another set of goals – which I suppose… Continue reading

June 25 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: block, focus, goal, problem-solving, scrum | 13 comments»

GTD Refresh, Part 5: Building the Weekly Review Habit

At the very beginning of David Allen’s recorded lecture, Getting Things Done Fast, he tells his audience that the most important but single most difficult part of becoming more productive is making time every week for a weekly review. Most important because this couple of hours of “time out” once a week is where virtually all the GTD magic happens – it’s where we make sure… Continue reading

June 19 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: david-allen, gtd, gtd-refresh, weekly review, work | 22 comments»

Managing Your Social Network Addiction

Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Friendster, Tumblr, Xanga... the list goes on and on. And if you are any sort of tech savy, there is good chance you are a member of multiple social networks. Even I have accounts with at least 5 of these. While there is a lot to be gained by using these services, there is also a lot to be lost. In case… Continue reading

June 18 2009 | By Ibrahim | Tagged: addiction, distraction, social-media, social-networking, time | 24 comments»

Stripped GTD: 3 Habits That Make You More Productive

David Allen's Getting Things Done has been a huge help to me as I've created processes and systems for many of the things I do, be it writing, other work, or just budgeting my time so I can spend more of it doing the things I love. The problem with GTD, the snag I've hit time and time again trying to implement its practices, is that it's just so darn… Continue reading

June 15 2009 | By David | Tagged: gtd, notebook, organization, Productivity, review | 14 comments»

Unplug For Greater Productivity

We've all experienced those days when we sat down at our desk with a long list of things to do, and yet somehow hours later we realize that we haven't done much, aside from checking our emails 5 times, spending hours at Lifehack.org, and instant messaging everyone we know. For those days, when you can't seem to beat the buzz, the greatest possible way you can ensure productivity… Continue reading

June 11 2009 | By Ibrahim | Tagged: distraction, focus, paper, unplug | 16 comments»

5 Ways to Set Your Goals in Stone

Most of us set goals for our lives. Whether the goal is to climb Everest or to buy a pair of shoes, setting goals can sometimes seem like second nature to us. Even so, setting a goal doesn't automatically mean getting the result. Sometimes goals are gradually forgotten about and fade away into the back of our minds. Motivation is the biggest goal killer. When we first… Continue reading

June 8 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: achievement, desire, goal, motivation, passion | 15 comments»

GTD Refresh, Part 4: Getting Sorted

Last week, I talked about finally getting my projects in order. Of course, that’s not a one-time thing, but I’m not quite ready to talk about the process of bringing new projects into my lists just yet, whether “on-the-fly” or as part of my weekly review.

But getting a grip on my projects, both big (there’s a book proposal I want to write) and small… Continue reading

June 5 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: file, gtd, gtd-refresh, paper, project | 7 comments»

Nap time

Napping is one of the best, most underused tools for busy people. It is frowned upon by many people and is viewing as something for the elderly and children. Mention napping and you could be seen as lazy, depressed and unwilling to work. The majority of people experience drowsiness in the afternoon and notice their productivity and mood starting to slip and napping will help combat this. It… Continue reading

June 3 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: energy, nap, napping, rest, sleep | 20 comments»

GTD Refresh, Part 3: Projects

Months ago now, I announced I was going to “reboot” my GTD setup, returning as close to an “orthodox”, by-the-book GTD setup as I could manage. Out the gate, I started “off”, working not from tasks up but from the middle, David Allen’s 30,000 and 40,000-foot levels, by drawing up a mindmap of my areas of focus and my vision for myself in a few years time.… Continue reading

May 29 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: gtd, gtd-refresh, next-action, nozbe, project, task | 6 comments»

Dealing with Distractions

We each have many distractions that keep us from getting things done. I noticed a few prominent distractions in my life this week (Twitter and Digg are taking over!) and I felt that it was time to address the problem! I know that I am capable of getting things done and achieving things but I've noticed that distractions can get the better of me. When I've planned to research… Continue reading

May 25 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: attention, concentration, distractions, Productivity | 12 comments»

How to Be More Productive In Your Business

I’m frequently asked about productivity. My clients are often desperate to be more self-disciplined, less “lazy” (their word, not mine), and want to know how to get more work done in less time. As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you wear so many hats and have so many things to do, it often seems overwhelming. As a result, some just give up, while other work non-stop, perpetually feeling like… Continue reading

May 19 2009 | By Susan | Tagged: entrepreneur, home-based-business, Lifestyle, Productivity, small business | 6 comments»

How to Wake Up and Instantly Achieve Something Everyday

Imagine this: you wake up and you instantly achieve something. You complete a goal, you make progress, you build momentum and you build self-esteem. You make it part of your routine and achieve something everyday, instantly. All you have to do is tackle a goal when you wake up. Continue reading

May 15 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: achievement, goal, morning, Productivity | 34 comments»

Lessons from a Plagiarist

It happens every semester. Some student, thinking themselves very clever indeed, Googles up a WIkipedia entry, some obscure facts page from some obscure website, an essay from one of the plagiarism sites, or, one time, even one of my own papers, and hands it in as his or her own.

The smarter ones cut out the links and references to the site their paper came… Continue reading

May 13 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: dignity, ethics, failure, honesty, life-lesson, personal growth, plagiarism | 30 comments»

The Five Reasons Why You Are Not Fulfilling Your Potential.

Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. In the Western world most of us do moderately well. We get an education and a succession of jobs; we have some relationships that work; we are well fed; we avoid penury and destitution. We can take comfort in modest achievements. But for many people there is a nagging feeling that… Continue reading

May 12 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: achievement, comfort, discipline, fulfilment, goals, lazy, risk, self-belief, success | 21 comments»