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It’s All Urgent! Six Ways to Prioritize When Everything’s a Priority

Posted on 01/13/2015 by ·
It's All Urgent by Laura Stack #produtivity

"Action expresses priorities." -- Indian statesman Mahatma Gandhi. As Scottish poet Robert Burns pointed out in his poem "To a Mouse" in 1785, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!" In other words, no matter how carefully you plan, things still go wrong. Among the most important schemes of the modern office worker, and therefore those most likely to "gang agley," are our priorities. Most of us compile exhaustive to-do lists and make serious efforts to triage our schedules, but sometimes priorities collide in ways we don't expect. A specific project may come due earlier or later than expected, conflicting with existing priorities; an emergency request may also raise its ugly head, or a superior might … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: , ,

The Link Between Persuasion and Productivity

Posted on 01/12/2015 by ·
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? Why Communication Fails and What to Do About It! by Dianna Booher #communication #productivity

The ability to persuade is essential in virtually all fields. My mentor, Dianna Booher, has just published a new book called What MORE Can I Say? Why Communication Fails and What to Do About It, which presents nine principles of persuasive communication essential for anyone hoping to change someone’s mind or actions. I’m pleased to provide the following exclusive guest post on how you can make your communication more productive. The Link Between Persuasion and Productivity By Dianna Booher Change usually involves a period of chaos until people struggle through it to success. Solutions are seldom pain free. Even the world’s most powerful software requires a learning curve. Influencing people to take action—whether to buy your product, accept your recommendation, or change their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,

Five Things Your Coworkers Wish You Knew

Posted on 01/06/2015 by ·
Five Things Your Coworkers Wish You Knew by Laura Stack #productivity

"There's no "I" in team." -- Classic American teamwork slogan. "No, but there's a 'me' if you move a few letters around." -- Sarcastic response. When was the last time you worked completely alone, with no one to help you? Unless you're an impoverished artist starving in a garret somewhere, the answer's probably "never." No matter what our career tracks or work disciplines, nearly all of us depend on other people to help and back us up. Even people who work far afield, like explorers and archaeologists, tend to work in groups or depend on a support team back home. Those of us who work in white-collar jobs rarely work alone. Even if you telecommute, you still belong to a team. As such, you and your coworkers will inevitably experience friction, whether you serve as team leader or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity · Tagged: ,

What Really Matters: Check Your To-Do List for 2015!

Posted on 12/30/2014 by ·
What Really Matters: Check Your To-Do List for 2015! by Laura Stack #productivity

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?"—American philosopher Henry David Thoreau. As we enter 2015, I’d like to pose a question to anyone reading this who feels a bit overwhelmed: how will you regain control of your time? I've spent most of my career providing answers to that question, in terms of time management, self-discipline, setting personal boundaries, intelligent use of new technology, flexibility, speed, and more. The answers are many and multifaceted, because there's no single solution... and there really can't be as long as society and technology continue to evolve. I'm not sure we'll ever completely test all the options. Strategies like task management, setting priorities, and boosting ROI are basic to this process, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Time Management · Tagged: , , ,

Sidestepping Micromanagement: How to Follow Up Without Being a Pest

Posted on 12/23/2014 by ·
Sidestepping Micromanagement: How to Follow Up Without Being a Pest by Laura Stack #productivity

"Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing." --Tom Peters, American business writer. If you've attained a management position, then you've certainly learned that you must delegate some or most of your work, to avoid being overwhelmed by your responsibilities. No single manager can do everything he or she is ultimately responsible for. Having responsibility for something doesn’t mean it’s your job per se—you just need to make sure it’s done. Take Merck's Roger Perlmutter. He’s in charge of the R&D Division that manufactures new drugs. He doesn’t invent the drugs. But he makes sure they are invented by people who focus on nothing else. His job is to cut out the fat that slows their production. When he took his position in 2012, he … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Leadership & Teamwork · Tagged: , , ,

Boosting Willpower: Getting a Handle on Your Compulsive Behavior

Posted on 12/16/2014 by ·
Boosting Willpower - Resisting the 3 o clock dance party by Laura Stack #productivity

"Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive, no matter what they feel, by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt, or fear." -- Dan Millman, American author. Did you know that you have a limited supply of willpower—and that when you use it up, it's gone until you replenish it? That's the conclusion of Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. in "The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What We Can Do to Get More of It" and Roy F. Baumeister in "Willpower: Rediscovering The Greatest Human Strength,” who have studied the issue. Believe it or not, even something as simple as deciding between a pumpkin spice latte and a Frappuccino, or what you want for lunch, can use up part of your day's limited supply of willpower. Interestingly, your willpower also … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: , ,

It All Comes Tumbling Down: How Much Is Too Much?

Posted on 12/09/2014 by ·
It All Comes Tumbling Down by Laura Stack #Productivity

"A man's gotta know his limitations." -- Clint Eastwood as "Dirty Harry" Callahan, Magnum Force. Have you ever watched someone juggle chainsaws? I have—my speaker friends The Passing Zone do it several times a week. Scary right? I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, would you? But in fact, you already have been, at least in a sense, if you're in a position of any authority at work. The difference is that this crazy duo juggles dangerous objects for fun, as you may have seen on America’s Got Talent. You might have a job with one big responsibility (a single chainsaw), such as a bodyguard (protect someone), lifeguard (keep people from drowning), grocery store bagger (pack up groceries), or personal assistant (make someone’s life easier), but they're uncommon—especially in the business … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: , , ,

Timesaving Technology Tools

Posted on 12/02/2014 by ·
Timesaving Technology Tools by Laura Stack #productivity

With so many gadgets, applications, software, and devices available to us today, it’s hard to know which ones are truly timesavers, and which ones are a waste of time (technology toys versus tools). Since I’m frequently asked what the Productivity Pro recommends to save time, I wanted to share a few timesaving technology tools for you to explore: 1. Decrease keystrokes with shortkeys. ShortKeys is a Windows text replacement utility designed to help you type faster and more accurately. You basically create abbreviations for words, phrases, and paragraphs you use frequently, and the software types them out automatically. I’d estimate it saves me 15 minutes a day! To use it, you define a “shortkey” in place of a longer text string, such as TVM for Thank you very much. Now instead of typing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Get Right To It: Open the Seal of Hesitation!

Posted on 11/25/2014 by ·
Get Right To It: Open the Seal of Hesitation! by Laura Stack

"He who hesitates is lost." -- Old saying, common to many cultures. We've all been there, perched on the edge of a project, ready to dive in...but for some reason, we just can't. We're not psychologically ready. It's not always about procrastination or perfectionism, the dreaded Ps that often undermine Productivity...though often they contribute to the hesitation. Part of it may be fear of the future or of failure; some may be uncertainty about whether it's the best path. Whatever the cause, the end result is that we stand frozen on the edge of a precipice, like a newbie skydiver hesitating at the hatch of the airplane. And like one of those skydivers, we may have to be pushed to get us out the door. But hey, as long as you've packed your chute right and keep your wits about you, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity · Tagged: , , ,

Get Your Neurons in Gear: How to Think Faster

Posted on 11/18/2014 by ·

"Think fast!" — American saying, usually accompanied by something thrown at the recipient Did you know that smart people actually think faster than “regular” people do? That's the conclusion of a 2009 twin study at UCLA that scanned specific parts of the brain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The smarter the person, the faster the mental speed. For me, this begs the question: does being smart make you think faster, or does thinking faster make you smarter? The jury's still out on that, but I suspect a bit of both. Intelligence does run in families, but plenty of people without profound mental gifts have proven they can learn to think faster. Everyone wants to think faster, right? We may not end up rivaling Hawking or Einstein in terms of sheer brainpower, but we can certainly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: ,