It's easy to feel busy. How do you know when you are being productive? (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
Eliminating Low Value Business Activities
Posted on 06/30/2016 by ·
TRANSCRIPT We’re critical to the growth of our businesses. I mentioned that I had a little newsletter. I used to do that newsletter monthly. It was a good newsletter. It took me a day to write it. I had an original 2500 word article in there. I did tips. I did polls. We did hot links. It was an amazing newsletter. And, a day out of my life once a month would go into the production of that newsletter. And, about two years ago I got the flu and I rarely get sick but, I was out, I was down and I told my staff, I just can’t do it. I just can’t do it this month. We’re going to have to skip this month’s newsletter. I know we’re going to hear it. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. “Laura where’s your newsletter. I didn’t get your newsletter.” Guess how many people noticed? Three, out of a … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Bring Productivity Out of Chaos: Mourn Change, But Move On
Posted on 06/28/2016 by ·
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new." – Dan Millman, American writer and philosopher. By now, you've no doubt realized a basic fact of life: the only constant in the business world is change, especially as we hurtle full-throttle into the New Millennium. Ironically, most of us prefer things to remain the same. Change forces us to learn and do new things, stealing our time and making us expend energy—two resources often in short supply. As a result, many of us mourn change, because it often wrecks our comfortable lives and carefully laid plans. But you can't stay stuck in the past, and you can't sit beside the graves of your old processes while the world passes you by (click to tweet). Do it too long and you disengage … [Read more...]
Laura in the Media
Posted on 06/23/2016 by ·
Forbes: 3 Productivity Secrets From Small Business Leaders The Times of India: Work so you can leave the office earlier every day SelfThrive: 9 Productivity Experts to Follow on Facebook The Business Journals: How to maximize efficiency and productivity … [Read more...]
Five Ways to Maintain Your Most Important Asset: YOU!
Posted on 06/21/2016 by ·
"I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival."— Audre Lorde, American writer and civil rights advocate. In your rush to adopt the latest tools to maximize your productivity, you may have forgotten to take care of your greatest asset—the one you got free at the beginning of your career. It's unusually durable and self-repairing; with even minimal care, it can last for decades. With moderate care, it'll last even longer. While it comes more or less for free, you do have to maintain it, making sure you give it the fuel and preventative maintenance it needs to work at maximum efficiency. No, I'm not talking about the company car. I'm talking about you. As long as you get it the few things it needs in the right … [Read more...]
Do Not Overload Yourself
Posted on 06/17/2016 by ·
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...]
Spotting Job Productivity Killers
Posted on 06/16/2016 by ·
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...]
6 Ways to Succeed Despite Unpleasant Coworkers
Posted on 06/14/2016 by ·
"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...]
Taming Workflow Processes: Xerox’s Productive Innovations
Posted on 06/10/2016 by ·
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...]
Do Things In Order of Importance
Posted on 06/10/2016 by ·
How do you decide which task to complete first? (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]
