Its About Time Pareto is very busy in the sales world. You know the 80-20 rule. In this case, it means that only 20% of salespeople spend 80% of their time on selling activities. Are you in this group? See if you recognize yourself. If not, here’s how you can join the group. Put your fingers on it fast. Laura Stack is a professional speaker and author of Leave the Office Earlier® and Find More Time. She sees several time wasters that cost salespeople valuable selling time. One of the biggest time wasters is lacking a system to track client history. The system should include notes on conversations that took place, with whom, and when they took place. Stack says, “To be truly organized you should be … [Read more...]
Lean and Mean in 2008: Go on a Low-Information Diet
Posted on 01/16/2008 by ·
Pretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time. There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda. So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify. You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information. As my 12-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information). If the 21st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information. You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day. You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight. Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive … [Read more...]
What Does the Super Bowl Have to do with Time Management?
Posted on 01/07/2008 by ·
By studying the game of football, you can learn a lot about how to set and achieve goals and spend your time more productively. What does time management have to do with Super Bowl football? Everything! Football pros competing in the Super Bowl use great goal-setting techniques. By studying the game, you too can learn a lot about how to set objectives. Successful football teams devote a great deal of thought and time to planning how to move the ball down the field. And successful people devote time to planning what they’ll accomplish in business and in life. Ask the coaches who’ve led teams to the Super Bowl. They know you can’t win without a good game plan. The term “SUPER BOWL” describes nine components for making touchdowns in your life: S = Specific. Progress in football is … [Read more...]
Lean and Mean in 2008: Go on a Low-Information Diet
Posted on 01/06/2008 by ·
Pretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time. There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda. So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify. You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information. As my 12-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information). If the 21st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information. You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day. You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight. Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive on a continuous … [Read more...]
How to systematically organize and declutter any area
Posted on 01/04/2008 by ·
It always amuses me how many people get inspired to get organized come the New Year. It's as if 1/1 somehow had a magical connotation. What was wrong with 4/16 or 11/8? For whatever reason—POOF all of a sudden you're ready. But, hey, at least it's getting done, so bring it on. What you don't want to happen, however, is a massive shopping trip to buy bins, baskets, gadgets, etc., if you have no plan on how to use them and implement your system. Your new organizational tools can now create more piles and even more clutter. Clutter is not always a problem that can be solved by bins. That can make it even worse. Here's how I would systematically declutter an area. Get five sturdy boxes. Label them: 1. Put Away—items that are out of place and should be put away 2. Give … [Read more...]
Should You Make New Years Resolutions?
Posted on 01/02/2008 by ·
I'm not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. Frustrated by bad habits like smoking, overeating, being disorganized, or not exercising, many of us vow to change and make a New Year's resolution. "This year, I'll walk on my treadmill three times a week," we pledge, and by May, it's gathering dust down in the basement. Defeated, many people give up further attempts to change. Most of us don't have a clue how to make a reasonable resolution, which is why most of us fail to keep the ones we make. We set high goals for ourselves, and then wonder why we never attain them. So we either stop setting goals (never a good choice), or make resolutions that are ridiculously easy to keep. Making a decision to change just because it's New Year's Day isn't … [Read more...]
BeMoreProductive.com is Funny, Funny, Funny
Posted on 12/20/2007 by ·
Okay dear readers, you know I would NOT normally write about anything that I consider a waste of your precious time. But since only productivity enthusiasts read my blog, I know you will appreciate this. Even though it's out of character for me, I am recommending you take a stress break and waste a good ten minutes watching Nick Pudder's gag videos on how to be more productive. I'm still laughing. It's Dilbert in real life! … [Read more...]
TIME MASTERY: You Want it When?
Posted on 12/18/2007 by ·
Good time management brings the rewards of results, recognition, free time, clarity, and focus. It gives you a purpose in life, structure to your day, direction, and reduced frustration. It brings you to the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment. If life is running you instead of the other way around, then these time mastery tips can help you get the upper hand. 1. Manage your reading pile so it doesn't "mushroom." You can't possibly read everything you'd like to, so develop ways to tackle your reading pile and keep it down to a reasonable size. 2. Create systems for repetitive tasks. Put automated systems or processes in place so you don't have to do the same tasks over and over. If you can't, look for ways to do … [Read more...]
Take an End-of-Year Look at Your Productivity Habits
Posted on 12/11/2007 by ·
The end of the year is a classic opportunity to look back over how things have been going and look forward to see how they could improve. January brings that fresh start that we all long for – let’s make the most of it! Think of all the things that drive you crazy – the biggest obstacles to your personal and professional productivity. For sanity’s sake, you might have chosen to pick your battles and resigned yourself to some pretty ridiculous productivity drains over the years. Maybe you decided that a staff meeting at work will always be a waste of time and have given up the good fight on making it better. Or it might be as simple as giving up on making it out the door with a decent breakfast in your belly. Not this year! Let’s take 2008 by storm and reexamine the way we get … [Read more...]
How Do You KNOW When You Are Being Productive?
Posted on 11/30/2007 by ·
Well folks—here it is. I don’t know if you’ve been counting, but you are now reading the 100th issue of The Productivity Pro news"E"letter. How exciting! I spent some time going through the archives and simply could not believe how much time has passed since that first issue in 1999. I changed the name of my company, got married, and had two more children. But one thing that has not changed is my passion for personal productivity. It was then—and continues to be—my professional mission in life: to help people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it. Anyway, it got me thinking…with all of the tips and tricks that we’ve discussed (including tons of great reader suggestions), we’ve all hopefully learned HOW to be more productive, personally and … [Read more...]
