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Five Productive Ideas I Learned From Jason Womack

Posted on 03/17/2016 by ·
Five Productive Ideas I Learned From Jason Womack by Laura Stack #prductivity

I had the pleasure of attending a seminar today from a fellow faculty member of the Institute for Management Studies (my husband John Stack is the Chair of the Denver chapter), JASON WOMACK. Here are five awesome ideas I gained on how to boost your productivity: 1. If a meeting suddenly gets canceled, what’s the first thing you usually think? “Ooooh I can catch up”! Instead, Jason suggests you can never get caught up. Even if you “do email” all day on a Sunday, you’ll never get caught up. Instead, you should get ahead with any unexpected “found” blocks of time. Work on a long-term project and make progress—not just maintain. 2. Technology is massively key to personal productivity! Here are some great resources Jason offered: www.usemyiphonebetter.com and Speedkeys. Also use … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity, Time Management · Tagged: , , ,

April 18, 2016 Approaches: Tax Time Tips to Consider

Posted on 02/11/2016 by ·
April 18, 2016 Approaches: Tax Time Tips to Consider by Laura Stack #productivity

"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes."—Benjamin Franklin, U.S. Founding Father In the United States, we've been conditioned—individually and collective—to dread the approach of April 15 each year. In 2016, however, we have the gift of three extra days before our taxes come due on Monday, April 18, because Federal employees celebrate Emancipation Day (observed on Friday, April 15 this year), so they get the day off. Hooray! While I’m no tax professional, I do have my own experience as a small businessperson to guide me and pass on to others. First, make sure you shred no-longer needed paper files, especially if they've already been digitized. To make the job easier, use an automatic shredder like my favorite Fellowes 200C. My second tidbit is … [Read more...]

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Resolutions: Boosting Productivity in the New Year

Posted on 12/29/2015 by ·
Missing in Action: Coordinating with a Boss Always Out of the Office

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes." ― G.K. Chesterton, English writer and philosopher. Here is the bi-weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. This week on the Blog Resolutions: Boosting Productivity in the New Year I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to believe it's nearly 2016. Not so long ago—or so it seems—the Year 2000 was the epitome of the future, a delightful and distant date that seemed extraordinarily meaningful, since we were transitioning from one millennium … [Read more...]

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Texting: It’s Not Just for Fun Anymore

Posted on 11/29/2015 by ·

"Texting is fingered speech. Now we can write the way we talk." ― John McWhorter, American linguist and political commentator. Here is the bi-weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. Great News! Great news #1—Amazon.com is having a Cyber Monday sale on my new book, Doing the Right Things Right! If you pre-order the book now, and send your receipt to [email protected], you’ll get all these great pre-order bonuses and free resources! Great news #2—My publisher is sponsoring a complimentary webinar with Yours Truly on January 13 on Doing the Right Things Right! First 1000 get a seat! Feel free to … [Read more...]

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Where You Fit: Understanding Your Role on the Team

Posted on 10/12/2015 by ·
Where You Fit: Understanding Your Role on the Team by Laura Stack #productivity

"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." – Vince Lombardi, American football coach. Here is the weekly roundup of activity from Laura Stack’s blog, columns, podcast, and other featured articles. Scroll down to read the complete roundup of productivity resources to help you create Maximum Results in Minimum Time. This week on the Blog Where You Fit: Understanding Your Role on the Team In some ways, the modern workplace represents an odd bundle of contradictions. At one level, each of us focuses on our own careers, the goal being to work our way up the ladder until we reach a comfortable spot—or even the top. We expect others to see to their own well-being and careers. But on another level, because … [Read more...]

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

Email Communication and Etiquette: How to Use Email Productively with Your Team

Posted on 09/21/2015 by ·
Email Communication and Etiquette: How to Use Email Productively with Your Team #Productivity

"One look at an email can rob you of 15 minutes of focus." – Jacqueline Leo, American magazine editor and media producer. Email has revolutionized global business, allowing for detailed 24-hour communication where telephone communication isn't practical, freeing us from bending over backwards to match up times zones across a large planet. Most of the same people who understand its advantages probably also consider email the bane of their existence, since they receive hundreds of messages a day. Like most technology, email has proven a double-edged blade, its nearly miraculous advantages often offset by pure annoyance. With a few precautions and a modicum of care and protocol, email offers invaluable benefits for team communication ( ←CLICK TO TWEET), whether your team works together in … [Read more...]

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Happy (Work) Days: Appoint Yourself the Team Morale Officer

Posted on 08/24/2015 by ·
Happy (Work) Days: Appoint Yourself the Team Morale Officer by Laura Stack #prductivity

“I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance, but by our disposition." – Martha Washington, America's first First Lady. Few things are more depressing than working in an environment where the negativity just grinds you down. I suspect most of us have experienced this, and many still do; otherwise, the percentage of engaged workers would be higher. But does unhappiness arise from the job itself, or do the workers bring it with them? If you see work as a penance you must perform to pay the bills, you just might be the latter. Even if have a horrible job, remember: with few exceptions, you choose where you work. If you can't find anything else, … [Read more...]

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Using Stress Productively

Posted on 07/31/2015 by ·
Using Stress Productively by Laura Stack, CSP, ,CPAE

We all have stress. How can you make it work for YOU? Listen to this week's podcast by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro! (C) 2015 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Productivity, Podcast · Tagged: , ,

What If It’s You? How to Recognize If You’re a Productivity Killer

Posted on 06/15/2015 by ·
What If It's You? How to Recognize If You're a Productivity Killer by Laura Stack #productiviity

"A computer can be a useful and indispensable tool. But if we allow it to devour our time with vain, unproductive, and sometimes destructive pursuits, it becomes an entangling net." -- Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader. Let me ask you a simple question: are you worth your pay? In other words, do you deliver the level of productivity your leader and team expect of you, or do you drag down team productivity like a lead anchor? I know it breaks the rules to assume MY readers are anything less than competent... but if your team's productivity has been flagging lately, consider the possibility that the problem is you. You may not mean to damage productivity; but sometimes, things beyond your control—or that you've let slide—can hamper the productivity level you … [Read more...]

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Subconscious Self-Sabotage: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Posted on 01/20/2015 by ·

"Those who say life is knocking them down and giving them a tough time are usually the first to beat themselves up. Be on your own side." -- Rasheed Ogunlaru, British life coach and speaker. Have you ever figuratively shot yourself in the foot, by doing something so stupid it compromised your job or career? Do you ever feel like you're really two people, one driven to achieve, while the other holds you back, like an anchor buried in rock? Do you sometimes think you don't really deserve what you've accomplished in life—you're really a fraud who's always faking it—and people just can't tell? If you can honestly say no, then you're one of those rare people so confident in yourself, in where you're going, and your way of doing things—that you never have to worry this topic of … [Read more...]

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