Five Ways to Tap into the Psychological State of Flow: How to Get into the Zone and Stay There

Tap Into State Of Flow

"It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were."— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Hungarian psychologist. Have you ever gotten into a project so deeply and focused on it so intently, that you looked up to discover several hours had passed? You accomplished a great deal, and the time seemed to fairly fly by. We even have sayings about this phenomenon: "Time flies when you're having fun," and "I'm on a roll." But psychologists don't take such occurrences lightly. They've put a lot of time and effort into studying this occurrence and have a name for it: "the state of flow." When you achieve a state of flow, skill merges with practice and preparation in an almost magical way. (<---Click to Tweet) … [Read more...]

The Increasing Demands Of Work

TRANSCRIPT The bar keeps going up. Customers are more demanding, we found that out. Your internal customers are a little more demanding now. Remember when we were in hotel rooms and there didn’t used to be coffee makers. Do you remember those days? Remember the first time you went to a hotel room and there was a coffee maker! I remember the first time this happened to me. I didn’t even drink coffee but I made it because it was so cool. Look at that, coffee. Now, if you go to a hotel today, and there is not a coffee maker, now what do you think? What is wrong with this place? I can’t believe they don’t have a coffee maker. So, the bar used to be here, no coffee maker. And, then you got a coffee maker. What’s this called? Perceived satisfaction. Now, here’s the bar, coffee maker. You go … [Read more...]

Five Reasons to Set Impossible Goals: Don’t Be Afraid to Push Yourself Too Hard

Five Reasons to Set Impossible Goals by Laura Stack #productivity

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."— Sir Arthur C. Clarke, British science and science fiction writer. If you never dare to dream the impossible dream, you'll never know how much you can achieve. We all know this in our hearts, but many of us never apply it to our work lives. There's a saying that goals are just dreams with deadlines; so why should you ever hesitate to set impossible goals?  (<-- Click to Tweet.) No matter how impossible they may seem, goals offer solid targets for you to shoot at. They also stitch together intention, planning, ability, talent, execution, process, teamwork and more into a fabric of productivity you can constantly and consistently tweak higher, through the application of more and newer … [Read more...]

How Do You Know When You Are Being Productive

How Do You Know When You Are Being Productive Podcast by Laura Stack

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...]

Do Not Overload Yourself

Do Not Overload Yourself

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...]

Do Things In Order of Importance

Do Things In Order of Importance

How do you decide which task to complete first? (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Create a Process to Simplify the Task

Create a Process to Simplify the Task

Productivity expert Laura Stack shares ways to simplify tasks. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Working On Mundane Tasks

orking On Mundane Tasks by Laura Stack #productivity podcast

Laura Stack shares tips on completing mundane tasks. (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Can Money Buy Time?

Down Time Doesn't Have to Be Wasted Time

Can Money Buy Time? Absolutely! (C) 2016 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

Stand Up for Your Team: 3 Ways Leaders Put Their Teams First

Stand Up for Your Team - 3 Ways Leaders Put Their Teams First by Laura Stack #productivity

No doubt you've seen too many self-serving maneuvers over the years to be surprised when a leader slinks off into every-man-for-himself territory. So why not surprise your team by facing your in-house rivals like a team player? Keep these things in mind when the going gets tough. 1. Present Your Needs Clearly. Who gets the resources he or she needs: the shrinking violet or the fighter who asks for them? Too often, I've seen people curse the darkness when they could just flip the light switch. If you don't get what you want, ask for it. See your superior(s) and outline your needs, especially if you've just landed something new and urgent. Don't make demands, but don't shy away from your duty to provide for your team, either. At the same time, make sure those you compete with for … [Read more...]