Forget multitasking: the real skill you need to compete in the business world and in life is efficiency. The ability to pick up new tricks and hacks quickly but effectively is priceless. This list of 100 awesome cheat sheets can help you to learn and do everything in less time, from working on your blog or designing a web page to losing weight and growing your own herb garden. … [Read more...]
Workplace efficiency: 100 Awesome Cheat Sheets to Learn and Do Everything in Less Time
Posted on 04/29/2009 by ·
The Productivity Minute #11: How to be Unproductive
Posted on 04/22/2009 by ·
If you were actually trying to be unproductive, what would you do? If someone were watching with a video camera from your ceiling, what behaviors would you change. Laura Stack dishes about participants in her time management seminars telling their secrets of how they waste time. And how their images of an unproductive day often resemble their actual days! (C) 2009 Laura Stack. https://theproductivitypro.com … [Read more...]
Connecting with People: Relationships are Productive!
Posted on 04/17/2009 by ·
One of the trickiest parts of leadership is finding a way to strike a balance between your employees as subordinates and your employees as real, live people. Managing relationships with the people you work with (and for) is as important to your everyday productivity as it is to your career. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com Listen Now: Powered by Podbean.com … [Read more...]
Increasing productivity: Paper or Plastic? Managing Your To-Do Lists
Posted on 04/03/2009 by ·
Technology has given us so many options when it comes to keeping track of our to-do lists—Smartphones, web-based applications, desktop applications, PDAs—but figuring out the best system for you can be a real challenge (and a frustrating one at that). Interestingly enough, even with all the technology out there, informal research (mine and others’) still shows that when push comes to shove, most people still fall back on good old-fashioned paper. In fact, a lifehack.org survey shows that not only do most people use a paper to-do list, but that paper is more than twice as popular as any other method listed! Why is that? Because we’re human. Life doesn’t always happen when you’re sitting in front of your computer. We sit in meetings. We leave the office and go home. We travel. … [Read more...]
The Productivity Minute #10: The Bane of Sticky Notes and Scraps of Paper
Posted on 03/27/2009 by ·
Watch this episode and learn why you have sticky notes all over your office. Figure out what sticky notes are good for and not good for. What do you do when you think of something you need to do? (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
Free webinar by Laura Stack and Day-Timer on April 7, 2009
Posted on 03/26/2009 by ·
Register today for a free webinar on April 7, sponsored by Day-Timer. Find a system that works for YOU! Create a completely personalized planning style. How do you make the best use of paper and electronic planning methods? The simple answer is “it depends.” How do you describe yourself? What are your preferences? What does your work require of you? What are your work and home environments? Do you travel? This webinar will discuss the fundamentals of an organized, effective time management system and help you design one that perfectly meets your needs. Objectives: Understand the advantages and disadvantages of handhelds and paper Identify what frustrates you about your current system Test to see if you're more inclined to plan on paper or electronically Evaluate your time … [Read more...]
Microsoft Outlook Virtual Training with Laura Stack
Posted on 03/19/2009 by ·
Announcing The Productivity Pro® Microsoft Outlook virtual training series! Attend “live” training with Laura Stack, a Microsoft Certified Specialist in Outlook, from the privacy of your home or office. I’m going to present ten modules covering various aspects of Outlook step-by-step. This isn’t just computer training. It’s real-world, reality-based workflow processing that helps you actually be MORE productive with Outlook, instead of wasting hours every day playing with it. I estimate most people know 10-20% of the capacities of Outlook. Even if you think you’re an “expert,” you’ll be shocked by what you don’t know you don’t know. I’m making each one-hour webinar very affordable at $39 per person. If you attend all ten, the price is discounted to $349 per person. If for some reason you … [Read more...]
Recessionary Productivity Strategies: How to Get Lean and Mean in 2009
Posted on 03/10/2009 by ·
Times are tough. That means businesses everywhere are forced to do more with less. Budgets are being cut. Headcounts are being reduced. In many offices across the country, the only thing that isn’t being reduced is the workload. It all comes down to finding ways to do more with less – more work with fewer people, bigger projects on smaller budgets. Just remember that, historically, great opportunities have been found in times of great challenge and hardship. Now, as organizations and as individuals, we all have a (hopefully!) once in a lifetime opportunity to look a global financial crisis in the face and excel in spite of it. So how do we survive and thrive in an economy that bites back? It’s time to take the gloves off and get lean and mean in 2009. Here are three simple … [Read more...]
The Productivity Minute #8: Channels of Communication and Unproductive Email
Posted on 03/03/2009 by ·
Email, voicemail, and conference calls have revolutionized how we communicate in corporate America and around the globe. In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies depend on technology to link virtual teams across cities, states, and countries. Yet most companies don’t provide training on how to productively communicate with these resources. Whenever I find myself on the receiving end of an email volley, in which an email has repeatedly gone back and forth, I will simply pick up the phone and end it right there. Some people don’t put enough thought into which technology they will select to effectively communicate their message. For any given purpose, one channel (or medium) will be more effective than another. (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights … [Read more...]
Textmarks Tip of the Week
Posted on 03/02/2009 by ·
Did you know that you can subscribe my "Tip of the Week" via text messaging through TextMarks? Get a productivity tip each week by signing up here: Get your own at TextMarks! … [Read more...]
