![Do Not Overload Yourself](https://theproductivitypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/work-management-907669_1280-300x196.jpg)
It's not productive to take on too much. How to keep from overloading yourself. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
It's not productive to take on too much. How to keep from overloading yourself. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
TRANSCRIPT Whenever you feel really frustrated by something that you're spending your time on, it is just dragging down your productivity and it is a very inefficient type of process, you've got to say to yourself "Ain't nobody got time for that." I was working for example with Sherwin Williams. They have given me permission to share this story. In Atlanta, the VP had hired me to come in. He was the district manager and had area managers. They manufacture, and distribute and sell paint as many of you probably know. And, he was explaining about their leadership asking for a weekly report that he had to send each week, what they called their WAR weekly activity report. Kind of catchy, right? And, he had to get the input from his five area managers in order to create the report with the … [Read more...]
"Before someone can treat you like a doormat, you have to lie down first."— Dear Abby, American advice columnist. One thing we often forget about teamwork is that you don't have to like everyone on your team to work effectively with them. It helps, but in any group, you'll probably find someone who rubs you at least slightly the wrong way. One of humanity's greatest strengths, however, is ability to put aside our differences to further a greater cause—whether that means building a wall 13,000 miles long or building a world-class corporation. You'll almost always have coworkers you simply don't like (click to tweet). This doesn't mean they can't do their jobs well; we've all known curmudgeons who were geniuses, or smug apple-polishers who did award-winning work. Indeed, high talent … [Read more...]
Ultimately, boosting productivity boils down to building and honing efficient workflow processes that automate and routinize tasks, projects, and services. Luckily for us, our rapidly converging computing, communications, and time-management technologies can't help but yield rational work processes that repeatedly raise the bar on productivity. It's enough to make you wonder how we ever did without our electronics. The truth is, those of us who remember the pre-computer era recall it as a period of slow if steady productivity, when there was often no point in hurrying. The system constrained us to the point where 9-5 workdays and five-year plans still made sense. This might sound like a Golden Age of office work… but don't let the nostalgia fool you. The slowness of it all … [Read more...]
How do you decide which task to complete first? (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
Ultimately, boosting productivity boils down to building and honing efficient workflow processes that automate and routinize tasks, projects, and services. Luckily for us, our rapidly converging computing, communications, and time-management technologies can't help but yield rational work processes that repeatedly raise the bar on productivity. It's enough to make you wonder how we ever did without our electronics. The truth is, those of us who remember the pre-computer era recall it as a period of slow if steady productivity, when there was often no point in hurrying. The system constrained us to the point where 9-5 workdays and five-year plans still made sense. This might sound like a Golden Age of office work… but don't let the nostalgia fool you. The slowness of it all frustrated … [Read more...]
"If you have a dream, you can spend a lifetime studying, planning, and getting ready for it. What you should be doing is getting started." Drew Houston, American entrepreneur and founder of DropBox. In recent years, it's become almost impossible to do the long-term planning corporations were once famous for. Oh, you can do it, but the business world moves so fast and changes so rapidly, a traditional three- or five-year plan can derail within months. I've discussed this topic in detail numerous times in recent articles, blogs and books. But most of those writings have been at a high managerial level, when in fact this inability to plan ahead affects us all at a more granular, personal level. Not only can companies no longer effectively plan for the long-term, neither can teams or, … [Read more...]
Productivity expert Laura Stack shares ways to simplify tasks. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
"In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer." -- Albert Camus, French writer. As the mercury begins to rise in earnest at the end of Q1, the American worker's thoughts turn fondly to fun in the sun… and you know what that means. Soon, you'll face one of the great banes of business performance: the dreaded summer slump (click to tweet). With upcoming vacations to serve as slow-downs, the season isn't likely to serve as a shining beacon of productivity for your team. Instead of agonizing about the inevitable decline ahead, think long-term. Sometimes you just need a break before you break. Often, by the time May rolls around, we've had it up to here with the bustle of post-holiday catch-up, juggling the new work that pours in during the … [Read more...]
Laura Stack talks about getting things done more efficiently. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
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