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With a Nod to the Graduate: What They Don’t Teach You in Business School

Posted on 05/15/2014 by ·
With a Nod to the Graduate: What They Don't Teach You in Business School by Laura Stack #productivity

"The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective." -- Warren Buffett, American businessman and billionaire. I received my MBA in 1991 and can safely say I didn’t learn most of what I needed to know today. As valuable as a business degree is—and it had better be, at a cost of $100,000+ for a top-notch MBA—much of the business theory doesn’t apply to my world today. Business school is like classroom training: it provides you with the frameworks, ideas, research, awareness, and tools to ideally deal with the situations you encounter in the business arena. But it can't prepare you for “the real world” and the practical application of doing it behaviorally. In fact, you're meant to figure out quite a bit on your own. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged: , , ,

ACCO Brands, Branded Office Products Leader, Kicks Off Everyday Heroes Contest

Posted on 09/01/2010 by ·

ACCO Brands, a leader in office products through industry- leading brands such as Swingline, GBC, Day-Timer, Quartet, Wilson Jones and Kensington among others is scouring the country in search of Everyday Heroes.  What is an Everyday Hero?  It’s a person who knows how to use his/her office tools to make things run smoothly; a person to whom everyone turns to pull it all together in a pinch; an individual who quietly gets the job done – often without being recognized. Everyday Heroes can enter the contest now at accoheroes.com.  ACCO Brands will award a grand prize of $1,000 redeemable at office product dealers to one winner in each of three categories – business, home/home office and school.  Often, the hustle and bustle of everyday life overshadows difference-making contributions or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance · Tagged:

Business Productivity: Weekly Series on Denver’s Channel 7

Posted on 04/12/2010 by ·

Laura Stack is now presenting a weekly series, The Productivity Minute, on Denver's Channel 7 News. Each week she'll share great tips and tricks on how to be more productive at work and at home. View her introduction to the series: Special thanks to The Denver Channel for inviting us to be a part of their show. Be sure to tune in for future episodes! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Productivity, Performance · Tagged:

Top Ten Tips for a More Organized 2011!

Posted on 01/21/2010 by ·

Top Ten Tips for a More Organized 2011! By Laura Stack, MBA, CSP There will always be more things to do than time to do it. Working longer isn't going to save you. (I’d bet you’ve never gone to sleep at the end of a long day with everything on your to-do list completed.) To counter this never-ending battle, you’ll need to learn to be more efficient and get your work done in less time. If you can figure out how to be more productive during the day and achieve greater results in less time, you can leave the office earlier and get a life. Learn how to use your software. One of the many ways professionals waste time during the day is with Microsoft Outlook (or whatever email software you use). I estimate people waste 30 minutes to 2 hours a day with incorrect or inefficient information … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Performance, Personal Productivity, Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , ,

The Productivity Minute #10: The Bane of Sticky Notes and Scraps of Paper

Posted on 03/27/2009 by ·

Watch this episode and learn why you have sticky notes all over your office.  Figure out what sticky notes are good for and not good for.  What do you do when you think of something you need to do? (C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com … [Read more...]

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

Textmarks Tip of the Week

Posted on 03/02/2009 by ·

Did you know that you can subscribe my "Tip of the Week" via text messaging through TextMarks?  Get a productivity tip each week by signing up here: Get your own at TextMarks! … [Read more...]

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

Put a new spin on laundry

Posted on 11/30/2007 by ·

How do you keep up with your laundry?  I just heard from a reader who puts a load in before she goes to bed, throws it in the dryer on the way out the door to work, and uses the "touch up" feature when she gets home before folding.  By doing this every day, she always keeps up with her laundry.  She also recommended safety pinning socks together the minute she takes them off (she has a little basket in her closet), so she never has to search for and match socks.  What little tricks do you have for staying on top of the skivvies? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance, Performance, Time Management · Tagged: , ,

Pre-made shopping list

Posted on 11/28/2007 by ·

Ever want to buy healthy food at the supermarket, but you didn't have time to look in your recipe books and can't think of what to buy?  Get tired of writing the same basic items---eggs, bread, milk---on your list again and again?  Keep your kitchen well stocked by hanging a pre-printed shopping list on your fridge.  Print a stack of copies at the Self magazine site.  Stick one to your fridge each week and check off things as you run low on various items.  Then use the list to trigger your thoughts on buying healthy foods for lunches and dinners for the week. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance, Performance, Time Management, Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , , ,

Keeping Your Energy Up During the Day

Posted on 10/16/2006 by ·

I asked my newsletter readers "What do you do to keep your energy up during the day?" and received the following replies.  Please comment if you have a tip to add! Hi, I do little 'sprints' through out the day, especially if I am feeling tired. I will get up & run in place or walk quickly around the house for 5-10 minutes (I work at home) it gives me just enough of energy bursts to keep me going. Thanks, Misty Misty Kenner- creativity coach www.pictureperfectscrapbookco.com I live in the Midwest. I work for a larger company in a smaller town.  I am fortunate that the parking lot at work is not that large. When I feel tired, during my lunch break I will go out to the car (truck), recline the seat and catch a short "catnap".  15-20 minutes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance, Performance, Personal Productivity, Time Management, Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , ,

Delegate when someone else can do it better and faster and cheaper

Posted on 10/09/2006 by ·

I recently visited my grandparents (ages 81 and 86) and discovered a treasure trove of old family photographs.  Especially precious were the ones of my mother as a little girl (none of which she had seen before) and my great-grandmother, whom I vaguely recall visiting before she passed away.  With seven children, my grandparents had no idea how they were going to split them up after they passed, since many were one-of-a-kind.  My easy answer was to scan them, save them as .jpg files, and make CDs for each of my six uncles and my mother.  So I packed my precious cargo in my suitcase and headed home.  Then it hit me…what exactly did I get myself into?  I counted the photos: 282.  I quickly realized the huge time commitment and realized I was of course able … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance, Performance, Personal Productivity, Time Management, Tools & Systems · Tagged: , , ,