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Entries Tagged as 'Personal Productivity Tips'

Improving Executive Function: How Time Management Systems Strengthen Performance

May 13th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Executive Funtion: assessing, prioritizing, assigning mental functions, tracking multiple activities, reflecting
These are all characteristics that a good executive performs daily. They are also the tasks that emanate from your brain’s prefrontal cortex. This region of your brain is the one that sustains the most damage from prolonged periods of stress.
In our fast-paced [...]

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Tags: Multi-Tasking · Personal Productivity Tips · Stress Management · Task Management · Time Management Strategies

Crisis Management: Project-Driven vs. Customer-Driven Settings (Part One)

April 25th, 2008 · No Comments

In a post that I wrote last week about crisis management, I presented some techniques for limiting the pressure of deadlines. Responding to this, one reader commented that it wasn’t useful advice for those “on the front lines who don’t have jobs that come with laptops, travel, and corporate jargon.”
I recognize that not everyone [...]

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Tags: Interruptions & Distractions · Office Productivity · Personal Productivity Tips · Work Life Balance

Using Technology to Help Your Child with Homework

April 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Do you know any time-challenged parents who want to help their children use time productively? There is no question that kids can spend multiple hours per day on the internet, often to the detriment of homework. YouTube is one of the favorite spots.
Now there is another site growing, called TeacherTube, based on the [...]

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Tags: Changing Times · Home Productivity · Personal Productivity Tips · Work Life Balance

Avoid Crisis Management with These Simple Daily Schedule Changes

April 18th, 2008 · 3 Comments

“Your lack of planning should not be my emergency.”

Have you ever wanted to say that to someone?
Could you be guilty of frequently interrupting others with a “Now!” issue?

There is no question that crises do arise from time to time, issues that require everyone to change focus. However they tend to occur much more [...]

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Tags: Personal Productivity Tips · Planning · Task Management · Time Management Strategies

Benefits of Accomplishing Your Biggest Tasks First Thing in the Morning

April 1st, 2008 · 4 Comments

There is an old adage that says if you eat a frog first thing in the morning, the rest of your day looks pretty easy. If you have two frogs to eat, pick the biggest, ugliest one first. Your personal “frog” is the project or activity that:

Yields the most benefit for you in [...]

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Tags: Personal Productivity Tips · Planning · Procrastination · Time Management Strategies

Dreaming About Work

February 12th, 2008 · No Comments

51% of small-business professionals end up dreaming about their work.
Of those 51%, 70% turn their work dreams into action items upon waking.

The above study was commissioned by Staples, the office supply store. If you are one of those people who dream about your work, you might suddenly find yourself jolted awake at 2 [...]

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Tags: Personal Productivity Tips · Task Management

Searching through Your Electronic Documents

February 8th, 2008 · No Comments

“Help!”

I often lose documents on my computer.
I don’t know how to set up an electronic filing system.
I can’t find information on our network that someone else created.

These are common cries when I visit companies and assess their current productivity levels. For the most part, electronic filing systems have never been set [...]

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Tags: Computer Productivity · File Management · Personal Productivity Tips

Holding onto Distractions and Interruptions

January 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

It is a common refrain: “I’d get something done if I weren’t always interrupted and distracted.” There are tools and techniques that help you manage your daily schedule better and get more productive work done. However even when someone is familiar with the processes, they may still not be utilizing the concepts. [...]

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Tags: Interruptions & Distractions · Personal Productivity Tips · Procrastination

The Industry of Organizing Your Life

January 16th, 2008 · No Comments

Getting organized has become a $6 billion industry. The concept is not new, but the tools to make it happen keep evolving. No longer are you faced with the choice of storage containers in blue or clear plastic. You can now choose your materials, from bamboo to sea grass.
Do you want [...]

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Tags: Organizing Tips · Personal Productivity Tips

Another Time Robber: Medical Identity Theft

January 9th, 2008 · No Comments

Your medical card is a million-dollar credit card.
We have all heard so much about identity theft and what a nightmare scenario can result. Besides credit issues, countless hours are consumed trying to correct the damage. Those hours eat into work time as well as personal time. In addition, there is worry about [...]

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Tags: Personal Productivity Tips