Letting Go: The Benefits of Sharing Responsibility

Letting Go: The Benefits of Sharing Responsibility by Laura Stack #productivity

We've all encountered people who wield their power like a club, whether they work in corporate or government jobs. Until relatively recently, most organizations were hierarchical, and most lower-level workers had little power or autonomy. As new technology has loosened managerial control, this has eased somewhat. While workers exhibit a greater willingness and ability to execute strategy, managers nonetheless often remain reluctant to share responsibility and authority. It may be that in our secret hearts, we all believe the right thing to do is to hold onto all the power we can, especially as we rise into the executive ranks. When you were a kid, your parents probably made you share your toys. You may have done the same with your own kids. However, most people don’t want to share … [Read more...]

Controlling Your Inner Perfectionist

Laura talks about perfectionism. (C) 2015 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

The First 90 Days: Tips to Keep You On Top

The First 90 Days: Tips to Keep You On Top by Laura Stack #productivity #first90

In mid-January, LinkedIn's Amy Chen asked the columnists to answer a question: "What's your best tip for navigating the #First90 days on the job?" First, you may be wondering, why 90 days? Because that's a standard business quarter. Your superiors and coworkers will decide they have you figured out by then (even if they haven’t). This means you'd best impress them quickly; because as the cliché goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression. People are wired to assess others rapidly, so how you act and what you accomplish in your first weeks will establish their opinion of you, and that can be very difficult to change later. As much as you can and is made available, study your job requirements well before your first day, and be ready to jump in on the first day. Be … [Read more...]

Weeding Out the Inefficiencies

Laura shares ideas on getting rid of the little things that slow you down. (C) 2015 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

BIG News for authors, speakers, bloggers, coaches

Tribal 2015

I'm extremely excited to share some important news with you today. It's about an event that can be HUGE for you. It's a powerful three-day conference for tribe builders --- people who are agents of change and want to lead. If that's you, you're going to go CRAZY over this event. It's called TRIBAL. TRIBAL is the first-ever event of its kind, created exclusively for thought leaders, artists, speakers, authors, consultants, information entrepreneurs, political leaders, YouTubers, coaches, or any kind of agent of change who wants to lead a tribe and make a difference. The public announcement will happen in ten days. But I wanted my readers to have a shot at a special early-bird discount. Make the most of it, and bring the best members of your creative team (marketing director, … [Read more...]

Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning Tips with Laura Stack #productivity

Spring is the perfect time to clean up the clutter and dust that accumulates over winter and set yourself up for a productive remainder of the year! Tackle your project with the following three-step formula:         1. Get ready… Before you begin cleaning, get ready to tackle the clutter. Prepare for a spring cleaning spree. Start by labeling five large boxes: Put Away, Give Away, Store Away, Shred, and Trash. Select an area, such as a drawer, desk or room to organize first. Use a timer. Don’t view spring cleaning as an all-day task! Take an hour here and there to get the job done over several weekends. When you’re ready to begin, set your timer for 50 minutes. When it buzzes, use the last ten minutes of your organization session to handle the boxes: put … [Read more...]

Keeping Team Productivity Flowing

Laura talks about how to keep things moving in a team environment. … [Read more...]

Triaging Time: Four Timewasters that May Not Occur to You

Triaging Time: Four Timewasters that May Not Occur to You by Laura Stack #productivity

I'm a big believer in recovering lost time by killing timewasting behaviors, jettisoning useless tasks, and tightening work processes. But no matter how well you've triaged your schedule, you can probably do even more. That's because most of us engage in small, thoughtless actions or omissions that cost us time. Let's look at the worse time-nibblers you may still engage in. 1. Randomly checking email. Even if you've made a commitment to spend less time on your email, it's too easy to log on to see what's come in just before you knock off for lunch or take that much-needed break. Before you know it, you've lost 15 minutes. Clamp down on this temptation, unless you're expecting an important email that requires a prompt response. Spend time planning out a project instead. 2. Failing to … [Read more...]

Hard Work Versus Talent

Laura shares her thoughts on hard work versus talent. (C) 2015 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

Distractions and the Open Office Environment

Distractions and the Open Office Environment By Laura Stack #productivity

Many workplaces today feature more open spaces and smaller, and often shared, workstations. These open floor plans have become “the new normal” in many organizations. Some people speak of them positively, citing the ability to collaborate with coworkers and the creative feeling they can inspire. However, I hear just as many complaints about the walk-in visitors, interruptions, and noise level negatively affecting workplace satisfaction, productivity, and speech privacy. According to research from UC Irvine, office workers are interrupted once every 11 minutes, and it can take up to 23 minutes to get back to what you were doing before you were interrupted. The brain isn't a marvel of infinite capacity; we are, after all, only human, with all the limitations that implies. One limitation … [Read more...]