Okay this is just a little funny but maybe a step in the right direction. You know how your bottom gets numb if you sit at your desk in front of your computer too long? Now Steelcase has come up with the "Walkstation," which allows you to walk while you work, co-designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine. I've heard of whistle while you work, which is entirely possible, but I'm just not sure how this concept will work. If I'm walking, how am I going to be able to keep my hands in one place to accurately hit the keyboard keys? And how will my eyes adjust to what I'm typing on the screen if my head is moving about even slightly? I don't see this as something you would be able to use in your main office space, as you can't walk for 8 hours … [Read more...]
Eliminate interruptions for better concentration
Interruptions abound—a co-worker drops by to chat, the phone rings, and your boss sends you an email to handle something, pronto—all at the same time. With a flurry of activity, you respond to these various demands. All prove to be low priority, and an hour later, you return to your initial task, your energy waning. You decide you’ll work on the project in the afternoon, when your energy picks up again. Of course, after lunch, there’s some crisis, and after fielding a volley of phone calls and unscheduled visits from co-workers, the day ends, and the project is yet again unfinished. You’ve lost your momentum. Much like your car has to work harder to accelerate from a complete stop, so does your brain. Although interruptions are a normal (and … [Read more...]
Even Out the Underwork and Overwork Cycle
Some of the most unenergetic employees I’ve met in my 15 years of delivering personal productivity seminars are tax auditors in an accounting firm during the off-season. They are bored during most of the year and then worked to death during tax season. This constant bouncing back and forth between underwork and overwork has really sapped their motivation and desire to devote energy to their work. Conversely, the fall is the busiest time of my year, where there’s not much breathing space to be had until November. But I make sure to keep myself occupied productively when it’s slow; in fact, I look forward to those times. If you are experiencing a slow time, don't get bored or frustrated until things pick up again! Take advantage of it and even things out. … [Read more...]
Parents Want Help Helping Kids Learn Time Management
The back-to-school season is a time of change in a kid’s life. New schedules, new activities, new friends--both parents and children need to learn how to adjust to all the change. From the first day of elementary school throughout high school, kids have school assignments, sports, music and theater practices, social activities and home obligations thrust upon them with the expectation that they will magically know how to do it all. However, without the proper guidance and an easy-to-use system, it is easy for children and parents to get overwhelmed. In fact, in a recent DayTimers® survey on back-to-school resolutions, 72% of parent respondents said they wanted to improve their time management skills. And the best way to learn is to teach it. Teaching children time … [Read more...]
Setting and Succeeding at Back to School Resolutions
DayTimers Community productivity expert and author, Laura Stack, offers easy-to-achieve tips to help families succeed at making and keeping back to school resolutions. Back-to-the-Future. The first step in moving forward with back-to-school resolutions is to take a look back. What were the situations from the previous school year that could use improvement? Did your child often miss the bus? Did they have a hard time making the honor roll or even passing grades? Was everyone too busy to sit down for dinner together? Once you figure out what areas need improvement, it will help set goals for the upcoming year. Talk to your children. Whether your school-age children are in elementary school or high school, talk to them about areas they would like to see change, both personally and … [Read more...]
Use laughter to boost your productivity and reduce stress levels
Have you ever had a day that had so many things go wrong, that it eventually started to be downright funny? Your toast burned. Irritating. Your seven-year-old couldn’t find his other shoe, making him ten minutes late for school and you late for work. Irritating. You dropped your briefcase, and the quarterly reports you printed for this morning’s meeting fell in a mud puddle. Irritating. At lunch with a new client, you shake the mustard bottle, the cap comes off, and a big glop of mustard flies right into the middle of your forehead. Hilarious! This is the stuff comedies are made of! Your entire morning is fodder for a sitcom. I was giving a seminar at an environmental engineering firm and was told a story of an engineer … [Read more...]
Time management joke on tracking time via time sheets
With my thanks for the laugh to Golden Jokes for this great joke on tracking wasted time on a time sheet: Dear Staff, In an effort to maximize productivity in our department I will be implementing a tool used in many industries. You will be tracking your time working on certain activities and sending me a time sheet weekly showing me how your time has been spent. Attached below is a sheet specifying a job code list based on some observations of employee activities. Please begin using this job code list immediately and let me know about any difficulties you encounter. Thank you. Your boss. Code Number Explanation 5316 Useless Meeting 5317 Obstructing Communications at Meeting 5318 Trying to Sound Knowledgeable While in a Meeting 5319 Waiting for Break 5320 Waiting for … [Read more...]
Workers’ Average Commute Round-Trip Is 46 Minutes in a Typical Day
The results from the Gallup Organization's annual Work and Education survey show the average American averages 46 minutes commuting to and from work in a typical day. If you take out those who work at home, the average increases to 48.1 minutes per day. However, if you have above-average income and work more than 40 hours a week, your commute is greater than the average, and so is your stress level. Since the advice "move, earn less, and work fewer hours" doesn't work, let me instead give you some ideas to make your commute more productive, efficient, and stress-free: Use the phone. Now I’m one of those people who get aggravated while people are chatting away on their cell phones while driving…generally because they’re not, well, driving. Many people have no idea how slowly they’re … [Read more...]
Teleworkers happier than office dwellers, study finds
A new study of 10,000 workers by Kenexa Corporation found that employees who telework from home at least on occasion were happy than those who had to put in "face time" every day at the office. I hope managers who still insist on measuring employees by the hours in the office vs. results are reading this. Just because they are in the office doesn't mean they are producing anything of value. You can have one employee work an eight-hour day and another work a twelve-hour day, and the eight-hour worker can be FAR more productive than the twelve-hour worker. It doesn't matter how long you're there; it only matters what value you created in that time. If one "loyal" worker toiled the office all day for 12 hours but played solitaire, bought plane tickets for a vacation, checked their … [Read more...]
Being Productive While Working Out of a Suitcase
Not everyone has the natural ability to live out of a suitcase or do business from a laptop bag. However, with a little practice, you can learn how to make the most of your travel time. It’s amazing what you can get done when you put some miles between yourself and the usual distractions of everyday life.So how do you make the most of your time away? Here are some tips that work for me. I hope a few of them will help you become as efficient when you’re away from the office as you are when you’re there.Pack efficiently. It all starts with being organized and thinking ahead. Did you ever stay up half the night packing and spend an entire trip frustrated, exhausted, and wondering what it is you forgot? Don’t let it happen again. It’s pretty rare that a trip will pop up at the last minute, but … [Read more...]
