Category: productivity in the workplace

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procrastination Productivity productivity in the workplace Time strategies

Picking Productivity – how to dull the shiny objects

Last month, we really focused on focusing. Are you focused yet?

 

This is a core principle of productivity. It is the most simple concept, yet the most difficult to achieve. There are, quite frankly, too many diversions and distractions in life. This has been true thoughout history, and is “more true” than ever with the unceasing reality that is electronic connectedness. We are re-wiring our brains, and while I am not suggesting we revert to 1962, I am submitting that focused effort gets the job done.

 

NOTE: On November 2, I will be offering a webinar (you have to pay for this one) through Lorman.com. It’s called “Where Did the Time Go? 5 Ways to get a Lot More Done in a Day.” here’s a preview of the content: Click to view

 

Now, you are probably wondering what you can do, like, now, or perhaps, like yesterday. I have wonderful news: I’m going to start right here, right now. We shall continue on this Path to Productivity Bliss on 10/2 (the free Q&A with me) and as of right now, here comes a tip!
From Procrastination to Productivity: Today’s tips:
  1. Take a break. Ask yourself, am I really procrastinating, or am I taking a break? I myself take breaths, breaks, breathers between sessions. Some healers bring out the sage. While I don’t use sage, I do “reset” my brain (versus endlessly slaving away, telling myself “I need to be more productive; I cannot leave my desk!”
  2. Analyze your breaks: Here’s how to tell if you are procrastinating or if you are taking a break: you are being mindful. My mentor coach tells me that when finds herself cleaning toilets, she knows she’s procrastinating. When I have a long conference call and take a walk into the kitchen, look at the sinkful of dishes then start cleaning the whole kitchen, YES I am procrastinating. When I set the timer for 5 minutes, do as many dishes as I can in that 5 minutes then get a drink and return to work, I am taking a break.
  3. Listen to music: I listen to Pandora radio when I am being creative. They help my brain focus and stay on task so I don’t get sidetracked. What works for you?
Remember, procrastination is not all bad. The mind is not meant to be always on/always up. It requires the ebb and flow for optimal results. Treat your life as a giant experiment and be gentle with yourself.
You are amazing!
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AD/HD file systems Get Organized More time in my day prioritize procrastination Productivity productivity in the workplace project systems Time strategies

An Easy Way to be your Best Self

Most people I run into say they’d like to be more productive. So, I offer a magic pill for $9.95. I’m kidding, of course.

…Do you ever beat yourself up for not being perfectly productive 100% of the time?

The first step (really) in the ABCs of Productivity is to Accept your reality. This means you must accept yourself. To accept yourself, you must understand yourself. Here’s a snippet entitled “Understand Thyself” from a recent workshop: CLICK HERE

Once you do two things, (1) accept yourself and (2) understand yourself, the stage is set. You are getting closer to being “100% productive.”

In this article, we’ll review the four steps to take you through this self-discovery process. By taking the time to complete this process, you’ll be rewarded with a renewed self-understanding, setting the stage for personal and professional growth and productivity. For you readers who are ready to start achieving, please Contact Me and set up a complimentary Discovery call to eliminate those productivity gremlins for good.

Ready? Let’s get started right now with step one, which is a 4-part question:

Step One: Ask yourself, when are you at your best? (note: This is something most of us never consider. Yet, when considered and followed, a BIG DIFFERENCE can be seen.)

– What time of day do you have the most energy?
– How much rest and/or sleep would you have had?
– What foods would you have eaten (or avoided)?
– What would your family relationships look like?
This may seem simple, and not really related to productivity or achieving more. You may have been looking for that magic pill. It may surprise you to learn that while STRATEGIES are important, knowing where you are at a baseline is critical.

Step two: How are my current work systems doing? What is working great, and what could use some upgrading? Systems to consider: calendar, correspondence, task management, file management, priority management, long range planning.

Step Three: Dare to detail your TRUE desires (know thyself)! With this exercise, you have permission to think big, be brave, and be bold. If you don’t stretch you may never grow. So go ahead and ask yourself…if I am REALLY TRUE to myself….
– What does my work look like?
– What is my life like?
– What qualities do my clients have?
– How do I feel?

Step Four: What do you think might be preventing you from achieving the desires you just outlined above?

Bonus Step: Do something- anything- no matter how small- today. What one tiny step can you take to achieve your true desire? For example, if you think you might want to someday get your Master’s at the local college can you spend 15 minutes at lunch perusing the fall offerings?

I hope this article helps you understand yourself.

To get the most benefit, and fill it in yourself. Refer to it daily, just for 5 minutes. Remember, what you do every day shapes our future. Success, then, is a habit. Remember, your coach and accountability person are just a call or email away!

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EpS Events Get Organized GO system More time in my day prioritize Productivity productivity in the workplace Time strategies

Did someone say “interruptions”?

early bird speaker
early bird speaker

Recently, I had the true pleasure of presenting one of my signature talks, “4 Ways to Produce More While Staying Sane” to a fine group of Human Resource Professionals at the Granite State HR conference in Manchester, New Hampshire.

 

Here’s a INTERRUPTION STOPPER snippet from a workshop I gave to the VT Recreation and Parks Department, click here.

 

One issue that everyone related to – loud and clear- was the apparent disconnect between “saying no” (i.e. not being interrupted) and providing excellent customer service.

 

When most people “want something”, they want it immediately. Few have the self-discipline to add it to a list or to a schedule, and then wait for the right time. Now, if a person has sliced his finger and blood is gushing uncontrollably, immediate action is the only choice.  Most questions are not blood gushing, hospital-rushing ER questions, but, they are treated this way.

 

The late Steve Covey called this living in Quadrant One, “Firefighting.” Our instant-messaging, texting, constant-scroll email culture has exacerbated this issue many-fold. This immediacy becomes our normal, and we no longer have the ability to discern immediate needs from everything else.

 

What’s the issue? Well, there is no issue if you are an ER technician or a firefighter. That’s your job! If, however, you are a MANAGER then this can pull you off track again and again until you find yourself (metaphorically) in Kansas, asking, ”how did this happen?” The answer is…inch by inch.

 

The good news is that you can take back your work life. This workshop is jam packed with tips and strategies, but here are some to get you started:

  1. Work on one thing at a time.
  2. Establish a daily default priority.
  3. Ask your interrupter, “can I get a headline?”

 

These all sound so simple. Ask yourself, are you doing all three? If not, why not? Well, because it’s Not Easy! Here’s a little more about each tip:

  1. One thing at a time: The power of focus is not to be underestimated. At this workshop, we did an exercise proving that working on more than one thing at a time reduced participants’ productivity by OVER HALF. Would you like to double your productivity? Try doing one thing at a time. I dare you.
  2. Daily Default Priority: I know you will do more than one thing in a day. You’ll do a lot more. But how often have you had “that project” that you’ve managed to…skirt around again and again? Keep it simple, keep it clear, write it down, do this exercise every morning and every night. Commit to doing that one thing. And you know what? It WILL get done!
  3. “Can I get a headline?”: This is a great response to all those people who ask the dreaded question….”Got a minute?” That minute turns into an hour- or more -when you then need to do the follow-up, right? And what happened to the project on which you were working? When you ask this question, it causes the interrupter to think before throwing information or questions at you. One s/he summarizes, you can then decide, do I ask him or her to return later, or, is this issue more pressing than my current work? There is POWER IN THE PAUSE.

 

The three tips will get you started back down the path to productivity, taking back control of your workday. Contact me today if you’d like to learn more about how she can infuse motivation, participation, and productivity back into YOU and/or YOUR TEAM. I’d be honored to help boost you to levels you never dreamed possible.

 

With warm regards,

Carol

Your Productivity Coach

 

book-carol-now

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Evernote More time in my day productivity in the workplace

Less Mess, Goodbye Stress

How many hours per day, or per week, do you or your employees spend looking for documents (electronic or hard copy)? Studies vary, but the average is 1.8 to 2.5 hours PER DAY. Wow.

Often, the documents being sought are “locked in silos” such as your email, a file folder that keeps co-workers guessing, or…on your desktop (electronic or on that “piece of furniture”).

What if there was a simple way for your team to:

• Collaborate without email?
• Find what each other is seeking, quickly?
• Access this information anytime, anywhere, from any device?

Evernote Business answers those three wishes. And more.

If you or your company seek a relatively low-cost solution to your informational collaboration/location needs, it’s time to consider Evernote. If you are a team of two people or more, you’ll want to consider Evernote Business. If you are losing paper, losing notes, and losing what you should have remembered, you are losing productivity. That’s where Evernote Business can help. It’s not the ONLY such tool out there…but Evernote works very well with many other apps you are likely already using.

So, what is Evernote Business?

 

• Evernote is an online (or offline) notebook.
• Evernote does NOT data-mine, for example, like Google does. Evernote makes their money through paid subscriptions. Your information is yours alone. If you choose to share it, you may… or you may not.
• If you wish to collaborate effectively (and almost effortlessly) you should consider Evernote Business.

How do I get set up?

 

To start using Evernote, you must set up an account via Evernote.com. At its base level, it’s free. The Premium level is $5 per month, per user. The Business level is $10 per month, per user.

With Evernote Business, you must select a person who will act as administrator for your company. This person will be your “batphone link” to Evernote support, to your Evernote Business Certified Consultant, and will be the person to whom you ask coordination questions. He or she will hold any standards you (should) develop for naming notes, etc.

Do not do a complete overhaul all at once. Rather, start slowly. Select one workflow where you begin using Evernote Business. See where the kinks are. Use this workflow as a way to “beta test” Evernote and as a “real life launch pad” to train your staff.

An example beta test could be creating a series of Evernote Notes in a Notebook for just one particular client or project. Add all project photos, emails, budget, whiteboard notes and ideas, meeting minutes, etc. into Evernote for that client only. You can then share the notebook with the whole team. You have the power to give each team member the permission to modify and view, or just view the notes.

What results can I expect?

 

Less email. Once people begin using Evernote as a way to collaborate, there is no need for back and forth email with different versions of documents.

Less to remember. Evernote has been referred to as a “brain.” Simply open it, type in a keyword, and it will show that keyword in tags, in images, in text (written OR typed–and yes, you read that correctly).

Your information can be accessed anytime, anywhere… even when you do not have an internet connection. Your synched notes are on the app residing on your device. They are also automatically saved back to the Evernote server, unless you specifically set the note up as NOT synced. On the road, on the plane, bumping into a client or prospect you did not expect– all is made easier through the power of Evernote.

Better team collaboration. When you are working on something, Evernote automatically shows “related notes” on the subject from your account, or from the shared notes within your team.

In summary, for best results, use it. Use it more. Use it for everything. Start collecting recipes with it. Use it for travel plans. Use it for business ideas and “somedays.” Photograph cards and watch them automatically prompt you to “LinkIN” with the contact. The more you use it, the better it is.

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AD/HD Get Organized prioritize productivity in the workplace

On-the-Wall Business Tip.

Want a Business organization and prioritization tip? Use Ideapaint on your wall.

Use this tip if you consider yourself a “visual thinker.” You might be a designer or artist. Idea paint is not paint at all; rather, it is a sealer that acts as a giant dry-erase board.

If you have ever had the occasion of “too many to-do’s” to the point of overwhelm, Ideapaint is a tool to help de-clutter your brain. And when your brain is de-cluttered, you feel better organized, can prioritize better, focus better, and get more done.

  1. The brain spill. Often, I will have “so many ideas” that they cloud my head. When this happens, I walk over to my ideapaint wall, grab a marker, and start writing. Soon, I will begin drawing arrows and charts and graphs and numbered priorities. The act of standing, drawing, and writing frees up my brain.

    prioritize in style
    Ideas and concepts redefined on your wall
  2. Use color to help prioritize on the wall. Once you “spill out” your to-do’s, you can start to see them more clearly. It becomes obvious which ones need to be done first, and which can wait. You can use red for your top 3, blue for everything else, for example. Things that are a lower priority can be grey.
  3. You can use this to organize your projects. My graphic designer used idea paint on his wall to organize his clients into “website clients,” “newsletter clients”, “social media clients”, etc. so that he could run through the list and remember various tasks and deadlines he had for each client. Yes, he could have done this via spreadsheet or through another method, but, having this on the wall was an easier way for him to “see” everything all at once and respond to his “visual thinking” tendencies.
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Get Organized More time in my day prioritize productivity in the workplace Time strategies Uncategorized

I’ve Motivated. I’ve Planned. Now it’s time to enjoy, right? So why am I so stressed out?

How to Enjoy the season while “winning” (getting your Most Important Things done)

OK so it’s…..December 13th? …And how many more “full weeks” (minus the parties, right?) in this year, ONE? What?
THIS MEANS WE ARE AT THE COUNTDOWN. What happens in the best sports games? It’s tight, it’s back and forth, and in the last quarter, maybe even in the last minute, the WINNER PULLS AHEAD.
Do you picture yourself as that winner? If so, try this strategy on for size, to kick it hard while enjoying your parties, guilt free.

*The power of One*
This week I met with a client who was feeling overwhelmed with the season. Does this sound familiar? Take all the “regular” to-do’s and add *holidays* onto it all and what results? Stress, overwhelm, guilt, money pressure. A strategy that worked for her is *the power of one*.

How it works:
1. Allow yourself a maximum of 15 minutes to write out all the to-do’s flying around in your head.
2. Quickly assess which one is the top priority.
3. Write that priority on an index card.
4. Put the rest away.
5. Focus on that one. Do not feel guilty. Just focus. Energy will return. You will watch it get done. It will matter. There will be closure. Do not look back.

But how do I decide on *one*?
1. Ask yourself, what will make the biggest impact on my life? (work, personal, whichever is more critical to you at the time)
2. If you need help deciding, remember, YOU are important. Put yourself first in this season of giving, so you can give even more.

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