Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), talks about planning your day to make the most of the time you have. (C) 2012 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
Personal Productivity and Strategic Career Planning
Posted on 05/22/2012 by ·
"You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." -- Yogi Berra. "Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." -- William Jennings Bryan. "The secret of achievement is to hold a picture of a successful outcome in the mind." -- Henry David Thoreau. Your company has a strategic plan for success. Do you? You should, if you expect to maximize your personal productivity and create success in the long term. Business is no place for flying by the seat of your pants. While you'll want to exercise flexibility in your career, moving forward without a firm destination in mind wastes time and energy, and it may leave you too unfocused to accomplish much of … [Read more...]
Personal Productivity as a Habit
Posted on 05/18/2012 by ·
By this point in your career, you've most likely figured out the basic requirements for achieving workplace productivity. No doubt you have a good idea of how to manage your time, set goals, break big tasks into smaller ones, prioritize your task list, keep your email inbox empty, shake off procrastination, and dodge perfectionism. In other words, you've learned the principles of high performance. But knowing what to do doesn’t matter if you don’t do it: day in and day out, in all circumstances, even when you don't feel like it. Fortunately, human nature serves you well here. Once used to a task, you can generally shift into a semi-automatic mode that allows you to perform the task efficiently, without having to constantly remind yourself about what comes next. Having a routine saves … [Read more...]
Delegating to Providers Inside and Outside the U.S.
Posted on 05/17/2012 by ·
These days, the ability to effortlessly send data just about anywhere in the world makes international business much simpler and more profitable than ever before. One result is that national borders don't mean as much as they used to; and therefore, offshoring—i.e., delegating specific business functions to service providers in other countries, where labor is cheaper—has become a common practice. Who hasn't contacted a call center and ended up talking to someone with a melodious Indian accent? Offshoring represents a natural evolution of business in the global village. But don't forget the benefits of "inshoring": i.e., outsourcing business functions to providers in your own community, or at least your own country. I don't mean to belittle offshoring by any means; it certainly has its … [Read more...]
Effective Teleconferencing Tips for Virtual Teams
Posted on 05/15/2012 by ·
Effective Teleconferencing Tips for Virtual Teams: Following the 3P’s for Success Your marketing team is based in Chicago; you work from your office in Denver; and the team works from field sites all over the globe. You need to connect voice-to-voice to discuss next quarter’s sales efforts and don’t have the budget to travel to a central location. Teleconference, to the rescue! Conference calls can be a great way to connect virtual teams from around the world. They are less expensive than face-to-face meetings, can often take less time, and allow teams to communicate more informally, ask questions, and solve problems better than email. Holding one should be a no-brainer. What can be so hard about a group of people talking on the phone? All you have to do is connect everyone on … [Read more...]
How do You KNOW When You’re Busy?
Posted on 05/09/2012 by ·
I've come up with a few questions that you can ask yourself to see where you stand: Are you productive -- or just busy? Watch out for this one, because it's an easy trap to fall into. Everybody likes to look busy. Some workers make a career out of it while actually accomplishing very little in the average day. People zoom around the office, guzzling coffee and stomping back and forth to the copier; they scatter paper across every inch of their desks; and they furiously clack away at their keyboards while they talk on the phone. Busy, busy, busy! But having lots of plates spinning at once doesn't necessarily mean anything was accomplished. We all know what it's like to have a really busy day, but still feel like we've accomplished very little and were unproductive all day. Set your … [Read more...]
Poor Communication Can Kill Personal Productivity
Posted on 05/07/2012 by ·
"What we've got here is a failure to communicate." -- Actors Strother Martin and Paul Newman at various times during the film Cool Hand Luke, 1967 "It seems rather incongruous that in a society of super-sophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners." -- Erma Bombeck, American humorist. "Communication—the human connection—is the key to personal and career success." -- Paul J. Meyer, American motivational guru. Most people just don't talk anymore. Oh, we blather on about this and that, but too often we don't actually communicate. Even in our private conversations, it sometimes seems like too much effort to say more than the bare minimum; and of course, really getting into a conversation takes away from our limited store of time. How ironic that in the … [Read more...]
Do You Have Written Goals?
Posted on 05/04/2012 by ·
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), discusses the importance of having written goals. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
Time Management Skills: a Quick Review
Posted on 04/26/2012 by ·
"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." -- M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled. "Time is the scarcest resource of the manager; if it is not managed, nothing else can be managed." -- Peter F. Drucker, Austrian management guru. "Make use of time; let not advantage slip." -- William Shakespeare, British playwright. Time management. You can't escape the topic when discussions turn to personal productivity, for a very good reason: time management forms the skeleton upon which you build your productivity. It underlies all productivity programs, whether group or individual. Without at least rudimentary time management skills in play, you may stay constantly busy, but you probably won't get anything … [Read more...]
How Communication and Connection Boost Employee Productivity
Posted on 04/24/2012 by ·
One of the trickiest parts of leadership is finding a way to strike a balance between your employees as subordinates and your employees as real, live people. Read on for some important points to keep in mind as you work to build relationships with those around you. Not a leader? I hope you’ll read on anyway. Managing relationships with the people you work with (and for) is as important to your everyday productivity as it is to your career. Teach people how to treat you. You know how you want to be treated. But do you actively take the steps to make sure it happens? Always think about the precedents you are setting as you interact with other people – whether you work with them every day or are meeting them for the first time. If you let others speak to you disrespectfully or … [Read more...]
