The Productivity Pro® Blog by Laura Stack - Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

This article correlates to the fifth key in my newest book SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley), to be released on August 9: ACCOUNTABILITY. 

Accountability recognizes that “the buck stops here.”

SuperCompetent people mean what they say and say what they mean. They’re authentic, and other people know this and appreciate them for it—and also for their refusal to blame others when unforeseen circumstances trip them up. Their intense focus on their values is borne out in their demeanor and their sense of personal responsibility.

Accountability involves your commitment to yourself and others. It’s about the promises we make to the people who rely on us—and to ourselves. It’s about consistently hitting goals, meeting deadlines, fulfilling promises, and committing to teamwork.

The truly Accountable understand that in almost every circumstance, they’re responsible for who they are and where they are.

A high level of self discipline and Accountability can be achieved by consistently practicing the following precepts:

1. Take personal responsibility for handling your time and productivity. Never lay the blame on anyone else. Unless you live in a totalitarian state or are an indentured servant (unlikely), then when it comes to productivity, it’s all up to you. If something or someone gets in your way, it’s your duty to go around.

2. When a process seems unusually long and inefficient, do what you can to make it easier for everyone. Just because something’s been done a certain way for a long time doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it now. If you find a problem, step forward and fix it if you can—or offer a solution if you can’t.

3. Rather than waste even small amounts of productive time, get right to work. Breaks are necessary, but don’t overindulge in them. Self-discipline is important in any field of endeavor. Without it, deadlines get missed, you feel guilty—and guilt sucks the energy right out of you. Or you get fired. Or both.

4. When you have all the information you need to proceed, make decisions immediately. You have to make critical decisions quickly whenever it’s necessary and you’re empowered to do so. Don’t let worry or social inertia slow you down, because motion beats meditation every time if you have all the data you need.

5. Understand the difference between being busy and being productive. Don’t let little tasks keep you from getting things done. Most of us spend too much time tending to minor issues that other people can handle more cheaply and efficiently, and never have enough time to do all the really important tasks.

The SuperCompetent take charge of their own productivity because, ultimately, they realize that it all comes down to them. They accept the blame when it’s due, not just the credit.

They also do all they can to make things work better for themselves and others, and make every effort to become comfortable with making decisions, without letting the possible negative consequences paralyze them.

Personal responsibility is easy to observe in people who have it. Make sure people can observe it in you.

Make it a productive day! ^(TM)

(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.

How is your energy level after work? 

When you work hard all day long and come home exhausted, what is the first thing you want to do? For many people, it’s pick up the remote, sit on the couch, watch television, and just veg out.

Let’s discuss some alternatives, because the less you do, the less energy you are going to have. The more you do the more energy you are going to have. It’s one of life’s cruel ironies. Take exercise for example. The more you exercise, the more energy you have; the less you exercise, the less energy you have. Intuitively, we know this is true, but it is so hard to put into practice.

After you’ve worked hard all day, you come home to more…work.  This is the second shift—the one you don’t get paid to do. You need all the energy you can muster to make dinner, take care of kids, supervise homework, do laundry, clean the house, run errands, and do the myriad chores that make your world go around.

Instead of plopping down on the couch, try these ideas.

1. Don’t drive home. Just drive somewhere else—like to the gym. Sometimes when you are facing an evening of paperwork, bills, or more work after the kids are in bed, the gym could be the best productivity activity you do all day. Sometimes a little bit of exercise keeps your energy level humming through the early evening hours. And how do you feel when you’re done exercising—great!  We always remember how good we feel afterward, but it doesn’t always give us the motivation we need to do it again.

 Or instead of the gym, take a little detour to the park. Do you have a beautiful, open space where you can walk? A track? A path? A loop that you enjoy that gives you energy, that makes you feel good, and gets you out in nature? Or perhaps meet a friend and just ease into your second shift.

 2.  Stop feeling guilty when you take care of yourself or when you work out. Some people feel guilty if things are not going absolutely perfectly in all the lives of the people they love. They want to give their time and attention and energy to everything and everyone but themselves. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t have the ability to take care of others.

 3.  Find something you enjoy.  Move. Do not think of exercise as something you have to do, but something that will get you going, rather than sitting on the couch and letting your energy drain even further, falling asleep in front of the television and being exhausted by 8:00. What do you like to do?  Jump on your kids’ trampoline. Shoot some hoops out in the driveway. Practice Yoga? Find a sense of fun in your play that so many people are lacking.

 Bottom line: You must make time for yourself at the end of your workday. Renewed energy will give you a boost of productivity when you finally do get home and get to work, yet again.

 To find out more about The Productivity Pro®, Inc. or have Laura Stack speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please visit at www.theproductivitypro.com.

 Make it a productive day! ™

 © 2010 Laura Stack.   To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401 or visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

SOCIAL MEDIA UN-PRODUCTIVITY – HOW TO AVOID ADDICTION

I’ve coined the term Obsessive Compulsive Social Media Disorder. Do you have it?

Many people confess, “Facebook is my secret addiction. I’m obsessed! I don’t really know how to cure it, but I spend hours every day on Facebook, plus LinkedIn, Twitter, and all my other social media sites. I’ve not yet been able to monetize the results of this activity and am not really sure whether I am getting any business off of it.”

It’s a common complaint. You absolutely need to have a presence in social media and spend time doing it; however, it can be a huge productivity drain if you are not careful.

Here are a few tips to make it more manageable and more productive:

1. Do not leave your Twitter feed open and observe posts in real time.

There are a lot of 3rd party tools to help you sort through all the clutter and pay attention to the posts you really care about. I use www.tweetdeck.com and turn off all the alerts. The last thing you want when you’re trying to concentrate on an important document is for alerts to sound and text boxes to be pop up all over the place, distracting you from what you’re trying to work on. Use a tool that will help you consolidate all the information, keep up with favorite people and search terms, and reply to direct messages.

2. Get as much automatic linkage as you can get.

For example, each day I post the Productivity Pro Tip of the Day to Twitter. I don’t post these manually. I went to hootsuite.com, loaded 365 tips for the next year, where automatically, every day at 8:15 a.m., hootsuite posts that day’s tip to Twitter.

That automatically posts to my Facebook and LinkedIn. Everything has a dual purpose. You want to be able to post in one place and have it show up on another. When I post an article or video on my blog, it’s automatically cross-posted on my Facebook fan page.

3. Try to limit how many times a day you check your profiles.

See if you can get yourself down to checking/posting three times a day: morning, noon, and afternoon. I only check twice. I check once about 10:00 and once about 3:00. You have to figure out what the formula is for you, but always being on and never having more than a four-minute block at any one time to do your work is truly going to sabotage your results. Your goal with social media is to achieve maximum results in minimum time.

Get creative about how you can cure your Obsessive Compulsive Social Media Disorder. Here is to getting rid of the addiction!

To find out more about The Productivity Pro®, Inc. or have Laura Stack speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please visit at www.theproductivitypro.com.

Make it a productive day! ™

© 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved

How would you describe your morning routine? Perhaps you get to work, fetch your coffee, line up your snacks, figure out what you didn’t do yesterday, catch up with your coworkers, post your social media updates, and check your email. Now what time is it? Lunchtime! And your energy is fading fast.

So perhaps you got Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter updated, your favorite blogs read, and your email done…but you kept adding to your to-do list…and you didn’t accomplish much of anything significant.

I’m issuing a productivity challenge for tomorrow: I dare you to break your typical routine.

If you usually come in the morning and get a cup of coffee, I would challenge you to bring your coffee. If you usually open up your Outlook and check your messages, I would ask you not to do email first. If you usually get on Facebook and see how your peeps are, what they’re saying, and what they’re doing, then use that as a reward, perhaps at lunchtime—after you’ve accomplished that project you’ve wanted to do for so long but has been on the back burner due to “lack of time.”

Instead, bring a timer from home (preferably an egg timer that you can dial that makes noise when it goes off) and set it for two hours. Sit down, open up Microsoft Word (or an Excel spreadsheet or PowerPoint show) or any other application except Outlook or Internet Explorer.

Work on a task for two hours straight, literally. See how your day goes after that.

To find out more about The Productivity Pro®, Inc. or have Laura Stack speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please visit at www.theproductivitypro.com.
Make it a productive day! ™

© 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved.

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) shares tips and tricks on reducing the reading pile and keeping it under control.

(c) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved

Protecting Yourself From Drop-In Interruptions

1. Set up a self-help center.
If you have people walking into your office and asking for forms or answers to their questions, create an answer area outside of your office. You could use a document sorter, cabinet, or wall storage.
Every time you’re asked for something, stock it in the self-help center. That way the next time someone comes in and asks for that exact same information, you can say, “Absolutely. It’s out there in the self-help center.” And guess what? Pretty soon people start helping themselves, saving you time.

2. Use an understood signal.
Use an understood signal with the rest of your team that communicates “I am really up against a deadline right now. I would really prefer not to be interrupted. If there’s an emergency, come on in and interrupt me. But I’m trying to get ready for a meeting in 15 minutes.”

This signal could be a Do Not Disturb sign. Maybe police tape across the door. I’ve seen people wear orange armbands or different color hats. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as everyone on the team is familiar with the signal and respects it. Of course you can’t wear your hat all day. You have to abide by the spirit of the signal, but this technique will reduce the amount of interruptions.

3. Set up appointments.
When someone drops in to your office to discuss a client file or an upcoming project, your brain may become completely wrapped up in something totally different. So requesting “Hey, can I call you in thirty minutes? I’ll wrap this up and will be prepared to discuss your project at that time.” That way you can finish what you’re doing, get prepared for the new appointment, and speak intelligently without being rushed.

4. Set aside some down-time with your team.
Get together with your team and agree on certain times of the day to work, such as 9:00 to 10:30 every day. Agree that you won’t drop in on each other, call each other, or hold meetings. We will simply work. Reserve a 90-minute period of time for no interruptions and head-down focus time.

5. Create set office hours.
Block out your calendar and schedule fixed office hours, where you’ll be available for interruptions. In the same way college professors have “office hours,” you could designate times you are ready and available for drop-ins. Outside of those periods, you’re there, but you’re busy working.

For example, my travel agent doesn’t book tickets on Mondays. Guess when we call? Tuesday through Friday. You might think people wouldn’t abide by this, but they will. Come up with your hours, perhaps 9:00-11:00 and 1:00-3:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Print out your calendars. Post them where people can see them, and they can sign up for times to come and discuss particular issues with you at that time.

6. Schedule regular check-in times with your manager.
What if your manager is always in meetings or traveling? When she is back in the office, you’re tempted to grab her and rattle off the 17 questions you’ve been saving. Instead, use a log to keep track of all the things you need to discuss. Schedule a set time each week to get together and discuss everything at once. Perhaps it’s going to be at 8:00 AM or 1:00 PM or both. But you know that you’re going to have a period of time that you’ll be able to cover all your questions. That way, rather than interrupting nine times and asking one question each time, you can interrupt one time and ask nine questions.

7. Revise your office configuration.
Consider your office configuration and desk arrangement. If you face a hallway or a busy traffic area, you’ll look up as people walk by. If someone catches your eye, smiles, and says, “How are you?” Boom! You just bought yourself a ten-minute interruption. The better way to face is with your back to the door, so you are less likely to be distracted by those random drive-by visitors.

8. Screen your calls.
Okay, admit it. When the phone rings, how many times have you looked down at the Caller ID, saw who was calling, and let it go to voicemail? We’ve all done that!

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is often a good idea to use technology when you are working on deadline, or you’re trying to get your manager out the door for a meeting in 15 minutes. It’s a good idea to let that call go.

9. Hide.
That’s right – hide. If you have a pressing deadline and just simply can’t stop getting interrupted, go somewhere people can’t find you. Find an empty conference room or use the office of a coworker who is on vacation. Go down to the cafeteria or the library. If nothing else, pick up your laptop and head off to Starbucks or work from home, where people can’t find you. At least then, you can plow through a project without being interrupted.

To find out more about The Productivity Pro®, Inc. or have Laura Stack speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please visit at www.theproductivitypro.com.
Make it a productive day! ™

© 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved.

In partnership with our sponsor, Day-Timer(R), please join Laura Stack for a complimentary webinar based on her newest book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (Wiley, August 9, 2010).

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/178545971

This work culminates Laura’s 18 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity and describes the six behaviors high-achieving employees demonstrate over their lower-performing peers.
all of us must learn to be competent—and not Simply Competent—but SuperCompetent(R). In this competitive economy, just being able to do your job is no longer enough. Competence is expected; you’ve got to be SuperCompetent(R) to get an edge.

Whether you’re an employee, an entrepreneur, a team leader, or all of the above, SuperCompetent will give you proven methods to reach your and your team’s maximum potential and achieve breakthrough results. You’ll get to your productive best by mastering six keys to peak performance:

1. Activity: the value and importance you place on your work
2. Availability: your ability to master your schedule
3. Attention: the capacity to focus intently and concentrate on tasks
4. Accessibility: the ability to organize the inputs and outputs in your life
5. Accountability: the extent to which you take personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes
6. Attitude: your motivation, drive, and proactiveness

Register today – space is limited!

HOW TO SAY NO WITHOUT SAYING NO: REFUSING REQUESTS WITH TACT AND GRACE

1. Try to negotiate.
When someone asks us to do something, when do we assume they mean they need it? We assume they mean now. But that’s not always the case. Instead of doing a task immediately, try to negotiate. Can you extend the deadline a bit? Just ask, “Do you need that today? Or would Monday be okay?” You will often be pleasantly surprised.

2. Simplify.
Can you reduce the scope of the task? Asking, “At what level of detail does this need to be done? Does it need to be to the second decimal place or can I just round a little bit?” Find out in advance.

3. Communicate.
Simply be honest about what’s on your plate. Saying “Here’s a list of all the things I’m working on in priority order. Where would you say this one falls?”
When you manager gives you a task, you can give an estimation of the deadline and the due date that you can have it returned.

4. Reduce quality.
What do I mean by reduce quality? It involves asking if the task can be done at 85% rather than 100% perfect. Ask what level of perfection is required here? Do you need me to spend two hours crossing every T and dotting every I? If so, I’m happy to do that. Or do you simply want me to get it out the door in five minutes?

5. Delegate.
Usually you’re the delegee. But you could try to get someone else to help you. You could form a committee. You can call in some temporary help. You could outsource it. So ask specifically, “Can I get help on this? Or do you want me to do this myself?”

6. Streamline.
Do it a little more efficiently. Can you change the process? Ask, “Can we skinny this down a bit? Rather than doing this report once a month that takes me four hours, can I do an executive summary once a quarter? That would only take me two hours.” Much more efficient.

7. See what can be eliminated.
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What would happen if this just didn’t get done?” What a great productivity concept! “If I didn’t do this at all, would anybody notice?” Great question. If the answer is no, see if your manager would let you skip it.

8. Get creative.
How else could you meet this request? Figure out an alternative way to get the result, other than the way it was originally outlined. Say, “You know, it might be more efficient if I had access to your calendar, rather than sending you an e-mail every time I want to put a phone call on your calendar.”
Your manager can grant you Editor permissions for her calendar, so you can schedule appointments directly for her.

9. Can you try partial delivery?
Ask the requestor, “Can I do a piece now and a piece later? I complete this portion immediately and give you the rest next week, if that’s okay?” Meet the immediate need and work on the rest when it’s not pressing.

10. Redirect.
Send the task elsewhere if it truly doesn’t belong on your plate. If your boss has a computer problem, rather than crawling along on the floor checking wires, tell her, “That request actually goes through IT. I’ll make sure they know about this problem and schedule a time for it to be fixed.”
The point is to take as much as possible off her plate. Getting it handled doesn’t mean that you have to do it.

To find out more about The Productivity Pro®, Inc. or have Laura Stack speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please visit at www.theproductivitypro.com.
Make it a productive day! ™

© 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), discusses how you can get more done by saying “no”.

(C) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved.

I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my newest book, SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best (John Wiley & Sons), on August 9, 2010. This work culminates my 18 years of studying the art and science of personal productivity and describes the six behaviors high-achieving employees demonstrate over their lower-performing peers.

However, DON’T buy it! Yes, that’s right–don’t buy it–until August 9. If you purchase the book on August 9 from any online or retail bookstore and forward your receipt to Book@TheProductivityPro.com, you’ll receive bonus gifts from several speaking colleagues, such as Mark Sanborn, Roxanne Emmerich, Terri Sjodin, and:

· Dianna Booher is providing a free eBook Write to the Point. Dianna Booher teaches you to write clear, concise, compelling documents (email, sales letters, proposals, reports) quickly and get the action you want! Get this 48-page ebook to take the pain out of the writing process. Access quick tips to apply immediately to reduce your writing time and get your point across.

· Joe Calloway’s Becoming a Category of One redefined competition with its lessons on how to truly differentiate in a marketplace of sameness. In the revised and updated edition of Becoming a Category of One, Calloway rethinks, repositions, and reenergizes that message. A new chapter includes ideas from guest contributors Mark Sanborn, Larry Winget, Jim Cathcart, Scott McKain, and eight other experts on business and competition.

· Eric Chester is providing a FREE copy of his eBook Employing Generation Why, which is being called the quintessential guide to recruiting, hiring, training, motivating and retaining the emerging workforce.

Read about the book at http://www.amazon.com/SuperCompetent-Keys-Perform-Your-Productive/dp/0470599154 or at the bottom of this message.

I will send out reminders for the BUY DATE of August 9 to receive your bonuses! I’d welcome the opportunity to bring the SUPERCOMPETENT culture to your organization. Please email me at Laura@TheProductivityPro.com or call me at 303-471-7401 if you would like me to speak at an upcoming meeting or conference.

Wishing you a peaceful, productive summer!

Laura
SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best

To be successful in the business world and reach your full potential in life, it’s not enough to be simply competent. Our modern, super-competitive world is full of opportunities for the go-getter, but to take advantage of them, it’s essential to become “SuperCompetent.” The SUPERCOMPETENT person is one that companies fight to get, fight to keep, nurture as team players, and see as future leaders in their business growth.

But SuperCompetence isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something that you can learn, no matter where your strengths lie or what industry you work in. In SUPERCOMPETENT, productivity expert Laura Stack identifies the behaviors that build leadership skills, boost organizational efficiency, and blast high potential producers to the top of their fields. With Stack’s Six Keys, you’ll be able to consistently improve your performance, develop the confidence that will propel you forward, and achieve breakthrough results in your career.

1. Activity: The value and importance you place on your tasks and priorities

2. Availability: The ability to master your schedule and protect your time

3. Attention: The capacity to focus intently and concentrate on critical activities

4. Accessibility: The skill to organize your workflow and quickly find information

5. Accountability: The extent to which you assume personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes

6. Attitude: The intensity of your motivation, drive, and proactiveness

With worksheets and quizzes that help you evaluate your performance at every stage, and invaluable resources for further information, you’ll be able to integrate the Six Keys of SuperCompetence into your daily, weekly, and lifetime business practices. From the sales floor to the conference room, from board meetings to informal networking events, SuperCompetent enables you to build your focus, manage your resources, and maximize your ability to deliver at every level.