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Time Management: Social Media Un-Productivity: How to Avoid Addiction

Posted on 06/23/2010 by ·

SOCIAL MEDIA UN-PRODUCTIVITY – HOW TO AVOID ADDICTION I’ve coined the term Obsessive Compulsive Social Media Disorder. Do you have it? Many people confess, “Facebook is my secret addiction. I’m obsessed! I don’t really know how to cure it, but I spend hours every day on Facebook, plus LinkedIn, Twitter, and all my other social media sites. I’ve not yet been able to monetize the results of this activity and am not really sure whether I am getting any business off of it.” It’s a common complaint. You absolutely need to have a presence in social media and spend time doing it; however, it can be a huge productivity drain if you are not careful. Here are a few tips to make it more manageable and more productive: 1. Do not leave your Twitter feed open and observe posts in real time. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance, Tools & Systems · Tagged: ,

Performance Improvement: Daily Routines and Morning Rituals

Posted on 06/21/2010 by ·

How would you describe your morning routine? Perhaps you get to work, fetch your coffee, line up your snacks, figure out what you didn’t do yesterday, catch up with your coworkers, post your social media updates, and check your email. Now what time is it? Lunchtime! And your energy is fading fast. So perhaps you got Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter updated, your favorite blogs read, and your email done…but you kept adding to your to-do list…and you didn’t accomplish much of anything significant. I’m issuing a productivity challenge for tomorrow: I dare you to break your typical routine. If you usually come in the morning and get a cup of coffee, I would challenge you to bring your coffee. If you usually open up your Outlook and check your messages, I would ask you not to do email first. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged:

Increasing Productivity: Reducing Your Reading Pile: Productivity Minute Video

Posted on 06/17/2010 by ·

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) shares tips and tricks on reducing the reading pile and keeping it under control. (c) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged:

Workplace Productivity: Protecting Yourself From Drop-In Interruptions

Posted on 06/15/2010 by ·

Protecting Yourself From Drop-In Interruptions 1. Set up a self-help center. If you have people walking into your office and asking for forms or answers to their questions, create an answer area outside of your office. You could use a document sorter, cabinet, or wall storage. Every time you’re asked for something, stock it in the self-help center. That way the next time someone comes in and asks for that exact same information, you can say, “Absolutely. It’s out there in the self-help center.” And guess what? Pretty soon people start helping themselves, saving you time. 2. Use an understood signal. Use an understood signal with the rest of your team that communicates “I am really up against a deadline right now. I would really prefer not to be interrupted. If there’s an emergency, come … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Performance · Tagged:

Free Webinar Sponsored by Day-Timer(R) – SuperCompetent

Posted on 06/10/2010 by ·

In partnership with our sponsor, Day-Timer(R), please join Laura Stack for a complimentary webinar based on her newest book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley, August 9, 2010). https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/178545971 This work culminates Laura's 18 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity and describes the six behaviors high-achieving employees demonstrate over their lower-performing peers. all of us must learn to be competent—and not Simply Competent—but SuperCompetent(R). In this competitive economy, just being able to do your job is no longer enough. Competence is expected; you’ve got to be SuperCompetent(R) to get an edge. Whether you’re an employee, an entrepreneur, a team leader, or all of the above, SuperCompetent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged:

Time Management: How to Say No Without Saying NO

Posted on 06/09/2010 by ·

HOW TO SAY NO WITHOUT SAYING NO: REFUSING REQUESTS WITH TACT AND GRACE 1. Try to negotiate. When someone asks us to do something, when do we assume they mean they need it? We assume they mean now. But that’s not always the case. Instead of doing a task immediately, try to negotiate. Can you extend the deadline a bit? Just ask, “Do you need that today? Or would Monday be okay?” You will often be pleasantly surprised. 2. Simplify. Can you reduce the scope of the task? Asking, “At what level of detail does this need to be done? Does it need to be to the second decimal place or can I just round a little bit?” Find out in advance. 3. Communicate. Simply be honest about what’s on your plate. Saying “Here’s a list of all the things I’m working on in priority order. Where would you say this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Performance, Time Management ·

Getting Things Done: Saying No Allows You to Say Yes: Productivity Minute Video

Posted on 06/07/2010 by ·

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), discusses how you can get more done by saying "no". (C) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Personal Productivity · Tagged:

Don’t Buy Laura Stack’s New Book!

Posted on 06/04/2010 by ·

I'm thrilled to announce the publication of my newest book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (John Wiley & Sons), on August 9, 2010. This work culminates my 18 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity and describes the six behaviors high-achieving employees demonstrate over their lower-performing peers. However, DON'T buy it! Yes, that's right--don't buy it--until August 9. If you purchase the book on August 9 from any online or retail bookstore and forward your receipt to [email protected], you'll receive bonus gifts from several speaking colleagues, such as Mark Sanborn, Roxanne Emmerich, Terri Sjodin, and: · Dianna Booher is providing a free eBook Write to the Point. Dianna Booher teaches you to write clear, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged:

Office Productivity: Go Over and Above What’s Expected: Become and Indispensible Assistant

Posted on 06/04/2010 by ·

GO OVER AND ABOVE WHAT’S EXPECTED: BECOME AN INDISPENSIBLE ASSISTANT 1. Identify tasks you are capable of taking over. Provide a list of tasks to your manager that you believe you are capable of doing. Start with the decisions your manager makes most frequently and repetitively. If she doesn’t like creating PowerPoint presentations or answering her email, maybe that’s something you can pick up for her. Anything she particularly dislikes is a great candidate for you. Doing her expense reports at the end of each trip might be a great way to help out. Take a look at recurring matters that she handles over and over again. Maybe she is a writer and constantly has to post articles to different blogs. You could learn how to do it and take over any time-consuming details. For example, when I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Performance, Personal Productivity · Tagged:

Time Management: Getting People Out of Your Office Quickly

Posted on 06/01/2010 by ·

Getting People Out of Your Office Quickly 1. Always choose to visit a colleague, if given a choice. When scheduling a meeting, you’ll have to decide where to hold the conversation: your office or mine? During a face-to-face conversation, it’s always better to go to them. Why? You can leave! If someone’s in your office in your comfortable guest chair, “feet up,” so to speak, it’s much harder to get them out of your office than to walk yourself out of their office. 2. Be honest. If they say, “Got a minute?” and you don’t, you can say, “Actually, I have my back up against the wall right now on a deadline. If it’s okay with you, can I call you back at 3:00?” And actually let them see you type the appointment in your calendar. They walk out feeling like I have an appointment! It lets them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance, Time Management ·