Time Management: The Productivity Minute #19: Business Processes That Make No Sense-United Airlines

Are your employees bogged down with business processes that make no sense? Laura gives an example of a United Airlines policy that not only inconveniences customers, but also wastes employee time. Eliminate business processes that don't make sense! (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. … [Read more...]

Microsoft Email: Public Seminar in Denver with Laura Stack

Please make plans to join me for a public seminar in Denver on November 3 on “Advanced Outlook Tips and Tricks: Discover Little-Known Techniques for Managing Your Workflow.”    Are you buried by hundreds (or thousands!) of email messages and spend hours every day in your inbox? If you have a hard time keeping up with your email, attend this critical half day of training with me. I'm a Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) in Outlook 2003 and 2007. I will demonstrate ADVANCED Outlook methods with my actual Outlook software and an LCD projector. This is not simple computer training—it is workflow processing—where you’ll learn to use Outlook to get more work done and increase your performance. Even Outlook “power users” will be amazed by how much they learn. NOTE: To reduce … [Read more...]

Microsoft Email: The Productivity Minute #18: Using Email Templates

Laura Stack talks about productivity with the Microsoft email program Outlook. Learn how to use signatures and email templates to save time and keystrokes. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

Precision Social Media: Efficiency Strategies and Tactics

Precision Social Media: Efficiency Strategies and Tactics

When it comes to time management, social media can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can help you make connections and expand your professional network faster than ever before. On the other hand, you can dump countless hours into social networking sites and see little return on the investment. Here are five things you can start doing right away to help you use social media efficiently and productively: 1. Separate your business life from your personal life. Not only is this a good idea in terms of maintaining professionalism and not boring your friends, but it also has big implications for productivity. If you comingle your personal social networking with professional social networking, you are basically inviting your friends and family into your workday and your clients into … [Read more...]

Increasing Productivity: What Is The Number One Time-Waster?

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey for 2008 has recently come out, and it holds some interesting statistics about the way Americans as a whole spend their time. A common frustration we hear from people is that there just isn’t enough time for what’s important. Looking at the survey results it would appear that watching television is the number one time-waster in people’s days. According to the survey, over 80% of people spend close to three hours a day watching television. The only other things American’s spent more time on were working and sleeping. If you’re looking for a quick fix for time issues, it’s a good idea to take an honest look at your leisure time and see if television is eating up a large portion of it. There’s nothing wrong with relaxing a bit at … [Read more...]

Expert Chat: Digital Quicksand: Time-Draining Habits in a Web 2.0 World

Speaker: Laura Stack (SL: LauraStack Ghost) Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker. Where: Sun Campus in Second Life (SLURL:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun%20Microsystems%201/141/132/23) When: October 13, 2009 - 9am SLT / PT (check your local time) Topic: Digital Quicksand: Time-Draining Habits in a Web 2.0 World Businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers. Like most technology, social networks and other social media tools are great resources but lousy masters. You could spend all day hopping around to different sites, updating your information, and connecting … [Read more...]

Work Life Balance: The Productivity Minute #16 Beating the After-Work Low-Energy Blues

Work Life Balance: Laura Stack talks about ways to maintain your energy after work. Keep up your energy so that you can enjoy your evenings and after-work time with friends, family and yourself. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

Increasing Productivity: The Productivity Minute #15: Back To School Goal Setting For Parents And Their Kids

Back to school goal setting for parents and their kids. How can we as parents help our children to be more productive? Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), talks about how we can be proactive and help our children plan for success in school. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]

Business Productivity: Learning in Tough Economic Times Pays Off for Many Organizations

In their recent study Learning in Tough Economic Times: How Corporate Learning is Meeting the Challenges, ASTD and i4cp report that in this economic downturn, more organizations maintained their commitment to learning, and that commitment correlates strongly with better performance in the market. These organizations are not only trying to survive the downturn, but also to emerge strong when the economy recovers. Maintaining the learning function helps the organization stretch the lean workforce, while keeping their workers prepared for the future. Download an Executive Summary of the report or purchase the full report from ASTD. … [Read more...]

Office Productivity: August Edition of The Productivity Pro(R) Newsletter

The August edition of The Productivity Pro(R) Newsletter has been released. In the newsletter you will find tips on office productivity, Laura Stack's latest article on Greensizing for Productivity and more. To view the latest newsletter, visit The Productivity Pro(R) August 2009 Newsletter, and to have the newsletter delivered to your email inbox each month, subscribe here. This month's newsletter includes a special coupon code for Laura's streaming online learning library of Microsoft Outlook videos. Ten one-hour modules available for 2003 or 2007—includes detailed workbook with screen shots and step-by-step instructions. Here's what some folks had to say about the Microsoft Outlook Training: I just want to say that Laura was terrific, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour presentation … [Read more...]