eTips

If you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder–and even if you don’t–get ten minutes of sunshine every day if possible. Getting outside, if only for a while, changes your perspective and reminds you that Spring is just a little ways away. A Forbes article Monday quotes me on this tip and more… The article

(This eTip brought to you by the Health link in your Productivity Chain.)

A survey of Human Resource managers found that 83% thought your desk reflected your professionalism. Not very orderly…not very professional. You won’t get fired for it, but clutter may limit your advancement–fair or not.*

Casey’s eTip: Clear the Clutter One Scrap at a Time
Piles and scattered notes reflect decisions deferred. To clear the clutter, decide the VERY NEXT ACTION for each item, one paper or post-it at a time. Put those actions on a list and the papers in the trash or the file drawer.

(This eTip brought to you by the Organization of Objects and Data link in your Productivity Chain.)

* Source:  2011 OfficeTeam survey (Spirit magazine, SWA, 2012-05, p. 36)

As soon as you end a phone call, email, meeting or conversation, identify your next action to push that particular matter forward. Do you need to make another call or email? Are you now waiting for someone else to act? If you can’t take the action immediately, write it down.

As soon as you end a phone call, email, meeting or conversation, identify your next action to push that particular matter forward. Do you need to make another call or email? Are you now waiting for someone else to act? If you can’t take the action immediately, write it down. One task at a time, you bring your projects to completion. (This eTip brought to you by your Task/Project Management link.)

Forget categorizing tasks or projects with A, B, C or D importance. Instead, keep it simple and apply the following phrase from novelist Shirley Conran: “First things first, second things never.”

Take a few minutes today to begin scheduling your holiday activities. Block time on your calendar and make project lists for…
* shopping (it takes time, even online)
* parties and events
* baking
* traveling
An ounce of planning prevents a ton of stress.

Here’s a strategy for those with ADD that can help anyone. Today’s interruption-rich workplace inevitably fragments attention, however long it naturally is. Special timers and clocks can focus your attention, grounding you in the reality of time. They help you ”manage” what you normally can’t see, touch or feel. Products like the Time Timer (http://www.timetimer.com/) make time more tangible, re-calibrating your inner clock, enabling you to make better decisions about how you spend your time.

The next time someone complains about you, your behavior, tone, whatever:
#1: Relax.
#2: Say “Tell me more.”
#3: Listen. Forget it’s about you and really try to understand his/her perspective.
#4: Say “Thanks for speaking up. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
#5: Think about it. Apply any feedback that can help you learn and grow.

To stop (or at least decrease) the junk email, you can:

1. Create a separte email account for online purchases: Then keep that account’s inbox separate from your phone’s main inbox (and update selected vendors with the new email address). Check the special inbox occasionally, but otherwise let it collect all the noise.

2. Unsubscribe from vendors’ mailing lists: Do this ONLY if you know the vendor is reputable, e.g., a store where you’ve made purchases. Otherwise, you’ll get more junk because the spammer knows your email address works. The unsubscribe link is usually at the bottom of emails.

Resources is an important link in your Productivity Chain. Resources may be people, equipment, software, and so on. The right resources enable you to make huge productivity leaps, shaving hours off your week and days off your year.
If you use Outlook, for example, make sure you have Outlook 2010. It’s year 2011 and some people are still using the 2003 version. Outlook 2010, like 2007, has a much better search feature, among other improvements.

Pull out the goals you set for yourself for this year, both personal and professional. Is that first goal still relevant? If not, discard. If so, how is your progress? What is the VERY NEXT ACTION you need to move the ball forward? Add that action to your task list. Then do the same for each remaining goal. It’s a productivity booster shot. (If you didn’t set any goals–or have any set for you–create some now while you have over half a year to achieve them.)

Some emotions make productivity plummet. If you feel sad, grieving, depressed, or ticked-off, the best way to feel better is to help another person. Do a secret kind act for someone TODAY. If s/he finds out, pick someone else to help. Be especially kind to that coworker who annoys you. Pay for the lunch of the stranger in the car behind you at the drive-through. When you focus on helping others, you end up helping yourself. And when your mood improves, so does your productivity.

If you allow a person, a behavior, or a situation to frustrate, annoy, or pre-occupy you repeatedly, you are giving away your power to that person, behavior, or situation. Take it back!
Change what you can (e.g., your attitude and actions). Accept the rest. Then turn your attention to some activity you enjoy. Your attitude and productivity will improve. Try it and see.

If you think you don’t have time to get enough sleep, exercise, nutrients, or relaxation, think again! Without these key fuels, your productivity engine will stall. And you don’t have time to be sick. Pick one way to care for yourself this week and do it.

When you set a goal this year, make sure it stretches you. Easy-to-reach goals are boring and more likely to be discarded. They almost imply that you can’t do any better. Challenging goals inspire and motivate. Even if you don’t achieve them fully, you will accomplish much in the attempt.

Use the calendar that works best for you–paper or electronic. (Ignore pressure to go to a PDA device if it’s not right for you.) Productivity depends upon comfort, simplicity and speed. Choose the system that helps you achieve the maximum of these for your needs.

Do you feel guilty about the stacks of reading you’ve neglected this year? Here’s a way to get over it.

Mark each newsletter, periodical, and other reading material that you think you “should” read. Mark it again each time you pick it up or THINK about it. When you have four marks on it, LET IT GO. Next week or month you’ll get another opportunity to read that periodical.

Don’t wait for the moons to align and your motivation to go into hyperdrive so you can go into an organizing frenzy. Instead, find a home for one thing RIGHT NOW. Then another. And maybe tomorrow, another. Bit by bit, you’ll be done.