"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." -- Hans Hoffman, American abstract painter "As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness." -- Henry David Thoreau "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." -- Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher We've all heard the lifestyle guru's favorite mantra: "Simply, simply, simplify," after that paragon of simplicity himself, Thoreau. That's actually pretty good advice, and not just for your personal life. Simplifying has its place in the office as well; in fact, it may be more critical there than elsewhere, since it's another part of the grand mosaic that results in … [Read more...]
Productivity Minute Video: Lurking Stressors
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) talks about lurking stressors and how they affect our productivity. (C) 2011 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
The Productive Entrepreneur: Run Your 1-Person Business Like a 3-Person Business
While it's wonderful not to have to worry about the drama or indignities of the typical corporate job, as a "solopreneur," you face certain difficulties that larger businesses don't—not least the fact that you have to wear all the hats at once. Obviously, that's not an impossible task; at last count, there were about 20 million single-person businesses in the USA, accounting for a whopping three-quarters of all businesses. This does not, however, mean that it's easy. If you expect to succeed as an entrepreneur, hard work is a given. Now, we've all heard the business cliché "Work smarter, not harder"—and while that statement does hold a grain of truth, you actually have to do both. True productivity means working hard by working smart, using every business technique you can implement as … [Read more...]
Office Productivity: How to Turn an Unproductive Day Around
"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." -- Ovid, Roman poet "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers, American humorist. "Oh that it were my chief delight/To do the things that I ought!/Then let me try with all my might/To mind what I am taught." Jane Taylor, English poet Inevitably, you'll experience days when time just seems to run away from you, or you hit an invisible wall and can't get past it, or accomplishing anything is like pulling teeth: laborious, slow, and painful. Maybe you're distracted, or you feel a bit under the weather, or you're just mad at the world. Whatever the cause, it adds up to "one of those days" when nothing of value gets done. You don't have to accept that. Here are a few things … [Read more...]
Increasing Productivity: Five Things to Do at Work Every Day to Boost Productivity
"Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort." -- Paul J. Meyer, American businessman "There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back." -- Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, authors of Peopleware. "Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible." George Claude Lorimer, American pastor Are you working at your maximum level of productivity? That's a question some people don't like to hear; they get all prickly if you even suggest that they're doing less than their best at all times. But as a productivity expert, I know how easy it is to get overwhelmed by minutiae. It happens to the best of us. I imagine you've probably … [Read more...]
Productivity Minute Video: Increasing Productivity: Complete the Task in Less Time
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) gives advice on finishing tasks quickly. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
Productivity Minute Video: Working on Mundane Tasks
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) shares tips on completing mundane tasks. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
Taming Your Inner Perfectionist
"A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he has done." -- Cardinal John Newman, British Clergyman "I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it." -- Anne Lamont, American author and political activist "People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it." -- Edith Schaeffer, American author As Voltaire once pointed out, "The perfect is the … [Read more...]
Business Productivity: For Executives – Attitude
"It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude." -- Zig Ziglar, motivational expert "Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you are right." -- Henry Ford, American industrialist Your Attitude is your state of mind toward the world around you—the precious combination of motivation, drive, and proactiveness that help define who you are. If you want to succeed in the workplace, you need to ensure that the sum of those factors is positive, so that your Attitude can pull you forward, rather than drag you down like an anchor. You must be willing to look beyond (or around or under) the expected, and take steps toward achieving what you find there. Not only will such an outlook help you achieve the improbable on a regular basis, it'll help you get through … [Read more...]
Business Productivity: For Executives – Organization
"Ignorance is not bliss. It's fatal. It's costly. And it's for losers. You either get organized, or get crushed." -- Donald Trump, American businessman One of the Six Keys of workplace competence is Accessibility: your ability to organize the inputs and outputs in your work life, so that you can easily locate data in any medium—whether it's in paper files, on your computer system, on the company Intranet, or distributed in your team members' heads. Given the fact that modern workers are constantly bombarded with data and communications, just being able to access information efficiently can enhance productivity to a surprising degree. At the C-Suite level, Accessibility morphs into Organization…and from a productivity standpoint, it's more important than ever. Organization means more … [Read more...]
