Without a plan, life just sort of happens to you. But with a plan, you'll make sure your daily activities support what you want to create next week, next month, next year…until, at the end of your days, your activities have contributed to creating and living a successful life. Your plans should be purposeful, so your life moves in the direction you desire, based on your ideal vision for yourself. These tips can help you get there. 1. Have a personal mission statement for your life. You need an essential, written document that helps you make decisions about the way you spend your time and evaluate your choices. This is who you are, and what you're all about. 2. Maintain a list of your life's goals and dreams. Take each dream and phrase it in the form of an objective statement -- and … [Read more...]
Do You Work to Live or Live to Work?
Workplace balance is tough to achieve, because most employees have a real commitment to both their jobs and to their families. They love their work lives and their personal lives, often with equal vigor, and don't want to give up either. But many professionals find it difficult to participate fully in one area without sacrificing the other. If you have trouble with your personal/professional equilibrium, then these ten tips are for you. 1. Allocate time according to your values and the top priorities in your life. Assess whether you're spending your time in ways consistent with what's important to you. Other people should be able to look at your life, observe what you do, and tell what you value. 2. Achieve your ideal life balance. This is one place in life where you shouldn't … [Read more...]
You Can’t Be Productive if You Don’t Take Care of Yourself
How healthy are you? How good do you feel? How much energy do you have throughout the day to accomplish the things you want to? Recent studies have shown that we have the potential to dramatically affect productivity by paying closer attention to our health. In other words, when you feel good, you can accomplish more. You can get on the road to healthier productivity by adopting these tips. 1. Get adequate sleep each night, so you're not sleepy during the day. Sacrificing sleep is actually counterproductive, so experiment until you find the amount of sleep that works best for you, and stick with it. Don't nap during the day, either. 2. Get sufficient exercise. Getting 15-30 minutes of exercise every day is crucial to maintaining your energy level. The less active you are, … [Read more...]
Deadlines Are Fallin’ On My Head: Easing the Stress of Daily Work and Life
The "faster, cheaper, do more with nothing" approach has created a workplace in which workers are always in high gear. Ironically, this work style usually increases stress while reducing productivity. If you find yourself whizzing along out of control without any idea of how you're going to make it though the day, use these tips to gently apply the brakes. 1. Determine the sources of your stress. Identify and work to eliminate things that trigger stress reactions and drain your energy. For example, limit your time commitments, stop worrying, and avoid stressful, demanding relationships. 2. Take personal responsibility for your own stress level. Stop believing you have no control over your stress. Ultimately, you're responsible for how your life turns out. Refocus your … [Read more...]
It’s About Time
Its About Time Pareto is very busy in the sales world. You know the 80-20 rule. In this case, it means that only 20% of salespeople spend 80% of their time on selling activities. Are you in this group? See if you recognize yourself. If not, here’s how you can join the group. Put your fingers on it fast. Laura Stack is a professional speaker and author of Leave the Office Earlier® and Find More Time. She sees several time wasters that cost salespeople valuable selling time. One of the biggest time wasters is lacking a system to track client history. The system should include notes on conversations that took place, with whom, and when they took place. Stack says, “To be truly organized you should be … [Read more...]
Lean and Mean in 2008: Go on a Low-Information Diet
Pretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time. There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda. So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify. You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information. As my 12-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information). If the 21st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information. You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day. You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight. Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive … [Read more...]
Should You Make New Years Resolutions?
I'm not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. Frustrated by bad habits like smoking, overeating, being disorganized, or not exercising, many of us vow to change and make a New Year's resolution. "This year, I'll walk on my treadmill three times a week," we pledge, and by May, it's gathering dust down in the basement. Defeated, many people give up further attempts to change. Most of us don't have a clue how to make a reasonable resolution, which is why most of us fail to keep the ones we make. We set high goals for ourselves, and then wonder why we never attain them. So we either stop setting goals (never a good choice), or make resolutions that are ridiculously easy to keep. Making a decision to change just because it's New Year's Day isn't … [Read more...]
BeMoreProductive.com is Funny, Funny, Funny
Okay dear readers, you know I would NOT normally write about anything that I consider a waste of your precious time. But since only productivity enthusiasts read my blog, I know you will appreciate this. Even though it's out of character for me, I am recommending you take a stress break and waste a good ten minutes watching Nick Pudder's gag videos on how to be more productive. I'm still laughing. It's Dilbert in real life! … [Read more...]
Take an End-of-Year Look at Your Productivity Habits
The end of the year is a classic opportunity to look back over how things have been going and look forward to see how they could improve. January brings that fresh start that we all long for – let’s make the most of it! Think of all the things that drive you crazy – the biggest obstacles to your personal and professional productivity. For sanity’s sake, you might have chosen to pick your battles and resigned yourself to some pretty ridiculous productivity drains over the years. Maybe you decided that a staff meeting at work will always be a waste of time and have given up the good fight on making it better. Or it might be as simple as giving up on making it out the door with a decent breakfast in your belly. Not this year! Let’s take 2008 by storm and reexamine the way we get … [Read more...]
Walk while you work with a treadmill desk?
Okay this is just a little funny but maybe a step in the right direction. You know how your bottom gets numb if you sit at your desk in front of your computer too long? Now Steelcase has come up with the "Walkstation," which allows you to walk while you work, co-designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine. I've heard of whistle while you work, which is entirely possible, but I'm just not sure how this concept will work. If I'm walking, how am I going to be able to keep my hands in one place to accurately hit the keyboard keys? And how will my eyes adjust to what I'm typing on the screen if my head is moving about even slightly? I don't see this as something you would be able to use in your main office space, as you can't walk for 8 hours … [Read more...]
