Good time management brings the rewards of results, recognition, free time, clarity, and focus. It gives you a purpose in life, structure to your day, direction, and reduced frustration. It brings you to the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment. If life is running you instead of the other way around, then these time mastery tips can help you get the upper hand. 1. Manage your reading pile so it doesn't "mushroom." You can't possibly read everything you'd like to, so develop ways to tackle your reading pile and keep it down to a reasonable size. 2. Create systems for repetitive tasks. Put automated systems or processes in place so you don't have to do the same tasks over and over. If you can't, look for ways to do … [Read more...]
Take an End-of-Year Look at Your Productivity Habits
The end of the year is a classic opportunity to look back over how things have been going and look forward to see how they could improve. January brings that fresh start that we all long for – let’s make the most of it! Think of all the things that drive you crazy – the biggest obstacles to your personal and professional productivity. For sanity’s sake, you might have chosen to pick your battles and resigned yourself to some pretty ridiculous productivity drains over the years. Maybe you decided that a staff meeting at work will always be a waste of time and have given up the good fight on making it better. Or it might be as simple as giving up on making it out the door with a decent breakfast in your belly. Not this year! Let’s take 2008 by storm and reexamine the way we get … [Read more...]
How Do You KNOW When You Are Being Productive?
Well folks—here it is. I don’t know if you’ve been counting, but you are now reading the 100th issue of The Productivity Pro news"E"letter. How exciting! I spent some time going through the archives and simply could not believe how much time has passed since that first issue in 1999. I changed the name of my company, got married, and had two more children. But one thing that has not changed is my passion for personal productivity. It was then—and continues to be—my professional mission in life: to help people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it. Anyway, it got me thinking…with all of the tips and tricks that we’ve discussed (including tons of great reader suggestions), we’ve all hopefully learned HOW to be more productive, personally and … [Read more...]
Put a new spin on laundry
How do you keep up with your laundry? I just heard from a reader who puts a load in before she goes to bed, throws it in the dryer on the way out the door to work, and uses the "touch up" feature when she gets home before folding. By doing this every day, she always keeps up with her laundry. She also recommended safety pinning socks together the minute she takes them off (she has a little basket in her closet), so she never has to search for and match socks. What little tricks do you have for staying on top of the skivvies? … [Read more...]
Pre-made shopping list
Ever want to buy healthy food at the supermarket, but you didn't have time to look in your recipe books and can't think of what to buy? Get tired of writing the same basic items---eggs, bread, milk---on your list again and again? Keep your kitchen well stocked by hanging a pre-printed shopping list on your fridge. Print a stack of copies at the Self magazine site. Stick one to your fridge each week and check off things as you run low on various items. Then use the list to trigger your thoughts on buying healthy foods for lunches and dinners for the week. … [Read more...]
Get out of your meeting—make your cell phone ring
This is hysterical. Have you ever been sitting in a boring meeting, wishing you had a reason to excuse yourself? Or on a disasterous blind date, looking for an escape? Before a potentially draining engagement, visit PopularityDialer.com. Schedule a free call to your cell phone at a designated time and specify a conversation: boss, cousin in need, friend, etc. The recording actually pauses for your end of the conversation. You'll be out of there in no time. … [Read more...]
Walk while you work with a treadmill desk?
Okay this is just a little funny but maybe a step in the right direction. You know how your bottom gets numb if you sit at your desk in front of your computer too long? Now Steelcase has come up with the "Walkstation," which allows you to walk while you work, co-designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine. I've heard of whistle while you work, which is entirely possible, but I'm just not sure how this concept will work. If I'm walking, how am I going to be able to keep my hands in one place to accurately hit the keyboard keys? And how will my eyes adjust to what I'm typing on the screen if my head is moving about even slightly? I don't see this as something you would be able to use in your main office space, as you can't walk for 8 hours … [Read more...]
Eliminate interruptions for better concentration
Interruptions abound—a co-worker drops by to chat, the phone rings, and your boss sends you an email to handle something, pronto—all at the same time. With a flurry of activity, you respond to these various demands. All prove to be low priority, and an hour later, you return to your initial task, your energy waning. You decide you’ll work on the project in the afternoon, when your energy picks up again. Of course, after lunch, there’s some crisis, and after fielding a volley of phone calls and unscheduled visits from co-workers, the day ends, and the project is yet again unfinished. You’ve lost your momentum. Much like your car has to work harder to accelerate from a complete stop, so does your brain. Although interruptions are a normal (and … [Read more...]
Handling vendor phone solicitation with a magic mailbox
A seminar participant shared a great trick she uses for those pesky salespeople who won't take "no" for an answer: << We had an extension set up that goes directly to voice mail so when I get a sales call asking for my boss (I can always tell it’s a sales call), I just say one moment (they think they are getting through), and they are immediately directed to our message that states “Thank you for calling (XXX) Medical Corporation. If you would like to mail us information regarding your company, our address is… or, if you prefer to fax your information, our fax number is… Thank you for calling…" I love it!! They may call me back but….they go right back into my magic mailbox. It works great because I don’t have to waste my time getting them off the … [Read more...]
Get Ready for Tax Time…in October?
“What? Laura, you’ve got to be kidding! You want me to start thinking about tax time in October? Halloween hasn’t even passed yet.” That’s precisely the reason. Once my kids’ third favorite holiday is over at the end of this month, all minds will be focused on the holiday season. Thanksgiving will come and go, then the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza season will go by in a flash, and then it will be the New Year. Once again, you’ll be stressed out and scrambling trying to get everything pulled together. Why not start getting organized for tax time now, before the flurry of wrapping paper hits? By putting yourself in tax mode nice and early, you can DRAMATICALLY reduce the amount of stress in your life down the road. Imagine kicking back with your refund already in hand (yes, the early bird … [Read more...]
