Here we go again: another report showing us how much technology is going to save us time and reduce the American workweek. Didn't we hear this 20 years ago? How we would all have so much extra time on our hands due to technological improvements? That's just like the "paperless office," which of course is a joke, since we generate much more paper now than before the advent of the computer. A Gartner research report released on May 30 says that by 2015, workers will be working 20 hours instead of 40. It argues that workers are seeking a more fulfilling life balance and employers better catch on if they want to retain good employees. They sort of forget to consider that many people consider working an ecomomic reality and can't afford to drop … [Read more...]
Save hours of time every day: Stop watching so much television!
One primary television-watching energy drain is late night shows. Given our hectic schedules with running in the door to make dinner, running out the door to take the kids to soccer practice, and then running home to finally get the kids in bed, we literally have no time left for ourselves. We quite reasonably crave a little relaxation time, but all we have the energy to do is plop on the couch and turn on the tube. We tell ourselves, “I’ll only watch for 15 minutes, then go to bed.” But those alpha waves start humming, and Letterman is downright hilarious, and before you know it, 15 minutes have turned into two hours. So you get to bed by 12:30 a.m., and you have to wake up at 6 a.m. This pattern serves you a triple wallop. First, you’re going to … [Read more...]
3rd Annual National Leave the Office Earlier Day is June 1, 2007
I'm the proud founder of national Leave the Office Earlier day, named after my book of the same title, and the movement to tighten efficiency in the office in order to work fewer hours and get a life. This holiday is listed in Chase's Annual Events,and we are celebrating the 3rd annual event on June 1, 2007 this year. Normally it's June 2 (my birthday), but that date fell on a Saturday this year, so it was moved up one day. It asks participants to only work an 8-hour day and is intended to focus workers on improving their personal productivity. It's an opportunity for people to change work patterns, adjust priorities, and to discover how much more productive they can be in an eight-hour workday (sorry, no playing hooky or leaving early than you're supposed to allowed). If you'd like … [Read more...]
What color scheme is best for personal productivity: decorating your office for productivity
Investigate the link between color and worker productivity, and you'll keep coming across the name of Dr. Nancy Kwallek, Director of the Interior Design program at the University of Texas at Austin's School of Architecture. In a recent study, she had workers do mundane clerical tasks in offices with several different color schemes and discovered that white is absolutely the worst color for productivity—at first. After being exposed to an all-white environment for a while, most workers adjusted just fine. For those who could screen out their environment from the beginning, however, bright colors were more effective, since they seem to stimulate people in general. Those more easily distracted by the environment did better in rooms painted a cooler color, like blue-green. Ultimately, however, … [Read more...]
Best Practices of the Resident Social, Child, and Family Coordinators
I’d love to hear from the men on this one, but at least in my circle, why does it seem that the woman is the social coordinator in the family? I’m not kidding when I say my husband wouldn’t have any friends if it weren’t for me. We wouldn’t have any couple friends, either. I’ve tried to sit back and see if John would reach out to our couple friends to schedule a get-together. But even when he and the man in the couple are close, no dice. He’s perfectly willing to be told, “We have a dinner date tonight” and go with the flow. Kind of makes me crazy, but I do get to see who I want, when I want, so I’m not exactly complaining. BUT being social coordinator does put an extra responsibility onto my already-full plate. Here are a few ways I handle these responsibilities that might be … [Read more...]
Find More Time to Socialize: 8 Time-Savers for a Better Social Life
Here's a great article in Fitness Magazine.com on how to make time for your friends and family without getting overscheduled. Oh, wait! I'm quoted in it. :-) Enjoy! … [Read more...]
66 Rules to Boost Personal Productivity — Steve Pavlina
I recommend subscribing to Steve Pavlina's blog. He recently posted two fun articles on 33 Rules to Boost Your Productivity volumes 1 and 2 (66 total). His first tip "Nuke it" gives you a flavor of the list. (I call this one "Purposeful Abandonment"---it's an essential productivity tool---always asking yourself, "If I didn't do this at all, would anyone notice?") There isn't really any new thinking here (it's a compilation of common tips in book report style he's titled something different), but it's a good summary. Not all of his tips will work for you, of course, but approach it like a cafeteria: take what you like and leave the rest. … [Read more...]
Do allergies reduce productivity?
Now here's a pharmeceutical company selling non-drowsy allergy medication that came up with the 2007 Reactine Quality of Life Report and the impact allergies have on sufferers of the condition. Highlights from the report include: - Allergic and Unbearable. Three out of four Canadians with allergies say symptoms increase irritability and fatigue, and 55 per cent claim reduced productivity (housework; on-the-job, academia). - It's not in Your Head: And this doesn't come as a surprise to health experts. This season 71 per cent of health professionals agree allergies can regularly or often affect a person's … [Read more...]
Stop Being Late: Time Management for Tardy People
Here's a nice article on 5 Ways to Stop Being Late. Made me start thinking about punctuality. A quiet amusement of mine is to watch the expression of people who arrive late for my time management seminars. Tail between the legs, these people shuffle in sheepishly mumbling something about traffic, while their friends tease, “How can you be late for a time management class?” The number one complaint I receive from managers who hire me to coach their staff on performance is something around “the inability to meet deadlines, is always late, is constantly running behind, or he/she forgot.” There are actually three types of people I see: 1. “Late” people are typically perpetually late, for everything. 2. “On time” … [Read more...]
What To Do With Low Priority Items On Your To-Do List
You already know you should work on the most important things—duh—but are you doing it? The next big question becomes—what should you do with all the lower-priority items? Here are some questions to get you started thinking about what to do with the rest of your list: Can you give it to someone else to do? Your goal is to push the activity to the lowest pay possible without compromising the result. I used to pick up my mail every evening—an important task—and sort it and get it to the right people. Once I relinquished a bit of my obsessive control over the process, trained my assistant Dana how to do it, and resisted the urge to go to the mailbox at the end of the day, I saved about twenty minutes a day. She picks it up on her way into the office, and after several months, there hasn't … [Read more...]
