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...]

"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...]