Six Signs It’s Time to Quit: How to Know When to Move On

Six Signs It's Time to Quit: How to Know When to Move On by Laura Stack #productivity

"I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."—Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers. Quitters never win. Winners never quit. We've had it drummed into us a thousand times to keep trying, to fail forward, to fail fast, that you really only fail when you quit, and that Thomas Edison never failed—he just found 10,000 ways that didn't work, etc. etc. I've said those things to my children myself, and for most business decisions, they're sound advice. When you quit trying, you disengage from your job. When that causes you to let productivity go into the toilet, then you really have … [Read more...]

Success and Life Balance

[TRANSCRIPT] If you really want to be successful, you have to touch home. You have to pay attention to the people who are right there in front of you. You have to love your work AND love your family equally. How do you have great satisfaction in both, without sacrificing one for the other? I love my career and try to work at my productive best. I’m always asking myself how can I execute, how can I leverage my time, and how can I focus on tasks that are central to my work and get rid of the extraneous things. How can I be disciplined, not procrastinate, focus on things in order of importance, or set boundaries with other people? By being productive in this way, I achieve the greatest results possible in the least amount of time. THEN I can get out of the office on time and go home to the … [Read more...]

Four Reasons Why Work/Life Balance is Still Valid

Four Reasons Why Work/Life Balance is Still Valid

"Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."—Dolly Parton, American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Recently I've seen a lot of "RIP Work/Life Balance" claims, arguing that the concept is dying, if not already dead. Some people state outright that you can no longer expect much of a personal life if you ever want to reach the C-Suite. Most, however, just claim there's simply no longer a reasonable difference between work and personal life. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, and related technology have made it possible for work to intrude upon your private life anywhere, anytime… so, they say, you may as well give up on the idea of having any sort of work/life balance. I'll concede that technology has blurred the line between work and personal life, so that work can … [Read more...]

Get Things Done Without Doing It Yourself

An efficient way to get something done is to NOT do it! How does that work? (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

What You Should Do First Thing In The Morning

What's the best way to start a productive day? Find out! (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. … [Read more...]

Rest Your Way to Success: The Value of Productive Relaxation

Rest Your Way to Success: The Value of Productive Relaxation by Laura Stack #productivity

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." -- Chinese proverb. When I first read that the average American worker left 9.2 vacation days unused in 2012—three more than the year before!—I was shocked, but not surprised. Even in the waning days of the Great Recession, workers were still overstretched. They worried about taking all the time they were owed, lest they be replaced with hungrier workers while gone. Even today, half of us expect to work during vacations, and a third of us eat at our desks. It might be nice to return to the old days, when office life seemed easier, but I doubt that will happen. The business world is normalizing at a new level, one based on agility, speed, flexibility, and on-the-spot execution. This means that things will never be … [Read more...]

The Mental Whetstone: Unconventional Ways to Hone Your Wits

The Mental Whetstone: Unconventional Ways to Hone Your Wits by Laura Stack

"Make sure you take the time to feed yourself with what your spirit has to offer." -- Darren L. Johnson, American author. No doubt about it: you have to keep your wits sharp to successfully lead a team. Some experts claim that doing tough mental exercises will help you sharpen your mind: the New York Times crossword, Sudoku, logic puzzles, reading, learning new tasks, taking classes, and so on. While there's nothing wrong with any of those activities, some scientists say these studies are flawed—the jury's still out on that. I tend to intuitively believe the studies that show dementia and Alzheimer’s have large genetic components, so I’m always eager to know how to keep my wits sharp. But the way I look at it, I’m getting plenty of mental stimulation from the challenges of running a … [Read more...]

Best Practices of the Resident Social, Child, and Family Coordinators

Best Practices of the Resident Social, Child, and Family Coordinators

I’d love to hear from the men on this one, but at least in my circle, why does it seem that the woman is the social coordinator in the family? I’m not kidding when I say my husband wouldn’t have any friends if it weren’t for me. We wouldn’t have any couple friends, either. I’ve tried to sit back and see if John would reach out to our couple friends to schedule a get-together. But even when he and the man in the couple are close, no dice. He’s perfectly willing to be told, “We have a dinner date tonight” and go with the flow. Kind of makes me crazy, but I do get to see who I want, when I want, so I’m not exactly complaining. BUT being social coordinator does put an extra responsibility onto my already-full plate. Here are a few ways I handle these responsibilities that might be … [Read more...]