TODAY’S THE DAY!!! Laura Stack’s latest, extraordinary book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (John Wiley & Sons), was released in bookstores TODAY, AUGUST 9! After almost 20 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity, Laura Stack reveals the six behaviors high-achieving professionals demonstrate over their lower-performing peers. Today is the day to purchase SUPERCOMPETENT and receive the valuable free bonus gifts listed at http://supercompetentbook.com/bonuses.php, as well as hundreds of dollars in valuable bonuses from her sponsors listed at http://supercompetentbook.com/sponsors.php. What should you do? 1. Purchase your copy of SuperCompetent TODAY from any retail or online store: • Amazon • Barnes & Noble • … [Read more...]
Your Days of Being Simply Competent Are Numbered! Learn to be SUPERCOMPETENT, Starting Today!
Business Productivity: Stop Procrastination in Its Tracks!
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried. -- Anonymous This week, I'd like to discuss a form of self sabotage that I see all too often: procrastination, the fine art of putting things off. And off, and off, and off…. We've all let things slide when we shouldn't have. It's not always about forgetfulness, or overwork, or even laziness. In fact, some of the worst procrastinators are busy professionals who are otherwise successful in the workplace. Ultimately, all procrastination does is generate anxiety and negativity. So why do we hobble ourselves this way? The reasons are rarely clear-cut, but often they consist of some mix of the following: • Lack of self confidence • Uncertainty • Excess perfectionism • Distractions • Fear (of the unknown or a negative … [Read more...]
Business Productivity Video: Handling Your Paperwork
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) shares tips on managing all the paper that comes across our desks. (c) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved … [Read more...]
Performance Improvement: How to Empower Your Employees…and Yourself
In the high-octane world of modern business, you hear a lot of theories about what it takes to increase employee productivity. Empowerment is one of the philosophies discussed most often, especially as it relates to the corporate team environment. The idea is simple enough: by implementing practices that help employees feel confident, capable, and in control of the outcome of their work, they feel empowered to do that work effectively and without excessive oversight or micromanagement. Ideally, this ensures commitment to the company's core mission and vision, which results in greater productivity over the long term. That's the theory, anyway. But as any scientist will tell you, all that really matters is how well a theory stands up to testing. If it's a dud, a few experimental runs out … [Read more...]
Time Management: Video: What You Should Do First Thing in the Morning
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) Talks about finding the best use of your time in the morning. (c) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved … [Read more...]
SUPERCOMPETENT KEY #5: ACCOUNTABILITY
This article correlates to the fifth key in my newest book SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley), to be released on August 9: ACCOUNTABILITY. Accountability recognizes that "the buck stops here." SuperCompetent people mean what they say and say what they mean. They're authentic, and other people know this and appreciate them for it—and also for their refusal to blame others when unforeseen circumstances trip them up. Their intense focus on their values is borne out in their demeanor and their sense of personal responsibility. Accountability involves your commitment to yourself and others. It's about the promises we make to the people who rely on us—and to ourselves. It's about consistently hitting goals, meeting deadlines, fulfilling promises, and … [Read more...]
Workplace Productivity: Protecting Yourself From Drop-In Interruptions
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...]
Time Management: How to Say No Without Saying NO
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...]
Getting Things Done: Saying No Allows You to Say Yes: Productivity Minute Video
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...]
Office Productivity: Go Over and Above What’s Expected: Become and Indispensible Assistant
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...]
