“A wind that blows aimlessly is no good to anyone.” –Rick Riordan, American novelist. While you may not see it as the Holy Grail of your working life, personal productivity is a significant determiner of how you're doing in your career. But it's easy to get stuck in a rut, lose traction, and spin your wheels. Sometimes, gaining awareness of what saps your productivity is the hardest part, when you’re not sure what’s wrong in the first place. If you're having trouble identifying your productivity blockers, consider these seven common ones: A negative work atmosphere. We've all heard stories about a "can-do" attitude breaking records and overcoming expectations. How many times have you heard that about a "can't-do" attitude? Never. One rotten apple really can spoil the whole … [Read more...]

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” –Michael Korda, English-American writer and former editor-in-chief at Simon and Schuster. Lest you defer your dreams until they "dry up like a raison in the sun," per Langston Hughes, set time limits on them—this turns them into goals. But even then, it's not always easy to stay on track. As John Lennon put it, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Life can easily derail your goals, no matter how well-arranged or honestly intended. In your working life, goals are essential to maintaining and maximizing productivity. It's easy to get so busy just doing that you look up and realize the brass rings you're ostensibly reaching for seem as far away Saturn's rings. There are many reasons this may … [Read more...]

“Be careful how you are talking to yourself, because you are listening.” –Lisa M. Hayes, American advice columnist.  Your life may not have theme music, but you've probably got a little voice guiding your actions: sometimes a conscience, cheerleader, harsh critic, a chief adviser, and occasionally a real Debbie Downer. Psychologists refer to this narrator, which began with you talking your way through tasks as a kid, as self-talk. Self-talk begins overtly, out loud, before it "goes underground" to become silent, or covert. But even the overt variety never really goes away. We all still occasionally mutter things like, "All right, here's how I'm going to do this…" or tell ourselves aloud, "Okay, that was stupid." Self-talk is always there, always kibitzing, sometime a friend but more … [Read more...]

“You may think it is a waste of time to delegate because you feel you can do a better job. But no matter how good you are, you will need your team’s help to get things done effectively on a consistent basis.” – Deena Anreise, American business writer. We all know that delegation is one of the most effective ways to boost your productivity and succeed in your job, whether you're an executive, manager, or non-supervisory team member. Well, we should know this, but when we get caught up in the hustle, it's hard to remember the rules of engagement for the business world. Delegation requires careful handling to achieve true effectiveness. Thoughtless or unwise delegation can hurt team productivity, if for no other reason than that the fabric of interpersonal trust holding together a team … [Read more...]

“Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” – Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. "The Rock," American actor.   To some people, doing the same thing day in, day out is the epitome of boredom. It allows no room for spontaneity, and on the face of it, may hinder the growth necessary for you and your organization to thrive. I would disagree to some degree—routine gives comfort. Without consistency, you might never get to work at a predictable hour, maintain exercise routines, or complete all your work in a reasonable amount of time. There’s a big difference between rote, robotic, mindless activity and mindful consistency: productivity using repetition and consistent processes, overseen by thoughtful consideration. At the … [Read more...]

“Happiness does not come from doing easy work, but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” – Theodore Isaac Rubin, American psychiatrist and author.   We all love to feel like winners, which may be why the new app "I Done This" has become popular recently. Rather than acting just as an electronic to-do list, it also emphasizes what you’ve already accomplished. This is especially effective on the team level, where it demonstrates the truth of the "many hands make light work" axiom and keeps teammates from accidentally doubling up on the same task. Many workers tend to overestimate what they can do during a work-day, so they make much longer daily to-do lists than they should. This can damage your productivity in … [Read more...]

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” – Peter F. Drucker, Austrian-American business expert and productivity guru.   What is productive work? Simple: work that helps you reach your goals. But sometimes, you may wonder if your work is really making a difference. Perhaps minor tasks have overtaken your focus. Perhaps you’re procrastinating. Perhaps you’re living in your inbox. A recent poll of 1,987 U.K. workers revealed they did productive work for about 2.5 hours a day on average. RescueTime's study of 225 million hours of worktime in 2017 produced the same figure for users worldwide. Most of rest of the day was wasted with busywork and other unproductive activities. How can you tell if you're gunning for the global average for … [Read more...]

“Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be solved, differences resolved. It is a type of confidence.” – Bernard Beckett, New Zealand author.   Writers often compare business to a competition, or to war itself, the ultimate competition. I've done it myself many times, for good reason. In business as in war, you're competing with others for limited resources. If you're able to secure those resources long-term, you can thrive. Business is less rough on its contestants and civilians than war, but it can be just as ruthless in its way. Carving out a market share and then holding it against all comers isn't easy. It requires constant work and a steady resolve, so it's no wonder so many military terms … [Read more...]

“All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.” – Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, and inventor.   The to-do list is a basic tool of time management, and nearly everyone uses one to some extent. We all know they work best when they include fewer than eight or ten items: ideally a couple of high-priority, high-impact tasks supplemented with other "want to do" tasks. Despite our best efforts, however, "task creep" invades our lists, and often we add more and more items, taking on additional projects that require daily allotments of our time. Eight or ten becomes 15 or 16, and suddenly the to-do list becomes impossible to complete. This requires you either to divide your time into ever-finer increments per task, work late to fulfill those … [Read more...]