I’ve talked before about Doodle, the great online scheduling tool. They are having a fun contest through November 12 “Meeting Nightmare Contest: Tell us about your worst scheduling experience and you could win a Samsung Galaxy and other nice prizes, and I get to be a judge!

Get your submission in for your chance for great prizes.

No related posts.

Slideshows featuring three of Laura Stack’s published works are featured at Slideshare.net and have received hundreds of views.  Get an overview of each of her books with tips from each chapter on how to leave the office earlier, find more time, and beat exhaustion!

No related posts.

Announcing a series of special public (open enrollment) seminars presented by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro, in Denver, Colorado!  Hold the date and make your plans now to fly out and attend one of these innovative, productivity-boosting sessions:

February 24, 2009: Social Media and Technology: Tips & Techniques for Increasing Efficiency & Productivity (half day)

http://www.csaenet.org/calendar/index.cfm?FuseCalendar_ID=307&CurntDate=2/24/2009&fuseaction=ShowEvent

March 18, 2009: Microsoft Outlook Tips and Tricks for Skyrocketing Your Productivity (2003 and 2007 versions) half day

http://www.theproductivitypro.com/s_publicworkshops.htm

April 24, 2009: Become a Productivity Pro! Mastering Personal Productivity (fully day)

http://www.theproductivitypro.com/s_publicworkshops.htm

No related posts.

Working long hours and feeling like you aren’t accomplishing enough? Are you ready to learn to be more productive?  Laura Stack is presenting her flagship productivity class at a rare public seminar in Denver on Tuesday, December 9, 2008!

Here is your opportunity to learn from The Productivity Pro® herself.  Get the tools you need to become more productive at work so that you can achieve Maximum Results in Minimum Time® and Leave the Office Earlier®!

No related posts.

Ever had an argument with a colleague about the commas in a sentence like the following?   The battery pack gives you several options:  6 hours, 4 hours, 3 hours and 40 minutes, 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Is that four options or five options?  A comma before the last and makes it clear.   But do you ALWAYS need a comma before that last and?  Answer:  No, the serial comma is optional.  But you’re always safe to use it for clarity sake—as illustrated in the “battery-pack” sentence.

Here are a couple tips to prevent grammar gaffes and save you a few minutes in reaching for a reference book:

• The assure/insure/ensure dilemma:  (All three words mean to give a guarantee—but they aren’t interchangeable.) Use assure only when you’re referring to someone talking or writing.  Use insure only when you’re talking about a monetary payment.  Use ensure for all other situations.
• Myself or me?  Wrong:  For prompt payment, send the invoice to Kerry or myself.  Right:  For prompt payment, send the invoice to Kerry or me.   Never use myself unless I or me is already used in the sentence; it’s used to add emphasis to those words.  (Example:  I told him myself.)
• To Capitalize or Not?   Think “brand name” or generic.  If the word under consideration is the brand name of something, capitalize it.  If not, don’t.  Example:  He works at Universal as a vice president.  He works at my company as a vice president.  Vice President Jim Tuttle works in my department.

Need more help?  Booher’s Rules for Business Grammar: 101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors  (McGraw-Hill) by Dianna Booher provides 101 more entertaining, brief chapters (most 1-2 pages) that focus on the common mistakes heard every day on the job.  The “memory tricks” at the end of each chapter solidify the rule for the next time and the next, saving you valuable look-up time!

(Another tip:  If you want to check for a skills gap in this area first, you can take a free online assessment at www.howsyourgrammar.com.)

No related posts.

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!

No related posts.

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?

No related posts.

A seminar participant shared a great trick she uses for those pesky salespeople who won’t take "no" for an answer:

<< We had an extension set up that goes directly to voice mail so when I get a sales call asking for my boss (I can always tell it’s a sales call), I just say one moment (they think they are getting through), and they are immediately directed to our message that states “Thank you for calling (XXX) Medical Corporation.  If you would like to mail us information regarding your company, our address is… or, if you prefer to fax your information, our fax number is…  Thank you for calling…"  I love it!! They may call me back but….they go right back into my magic mailbox. It works great because I don’t have to waste my time getting them off the phone. >>

Heather M.

No related posts.

Some of the most unenergetic employees I’ve met in my 15 years of delivering personal productivity seminars are tax auditors in an accounting firm during the off-season.  They are bored during most of the year and then worked to death during tax season.  This constant bouncing back and forth between underwork and overwork has really sapped their motivation and desire to devote energy to their work.  Conversely, the fall is the busiest time of my year, where there’s not much breathing space to be had until November. But I make sure to keep myself occupied productively when it’s slow; in fact, I look forward to those times.

If you are experiencing a slow time, don’t get bored or frustrated until things pick up again!  Take advantage of it and even things out.  Take the time to start those projects you’ve had on the backburner that "you never have time to get to" during the regular season.  Learn a new software package.  Organize your files.  Give away books you’re not going to read again.  Toss users manuals for software and gadgets you no longer own.  When the heavy workload hits again (and you know it will), you’ll be ready.  Shake thyself!

www.TheProductivityPro.com

No related posts.

An article in last week’s BusinessWeek magazine made me laugh out loud.  In an online study conducted from June 28 to July 5, 2007, BusinessWeek asked 2,000 Americans in middle management and above, 25 years and older, "Are you one of the Top 10% of performers in your company?  The amazing result?  A whopping 90 percent of managers think they are in the top 10 percent of performers at their workplace.  97% of executives, 91% of males, and 89% of females said yes.  Hello?  Can you say "denial"?

Obviously these ostriches have their heads in the sand.  While I laud confidence and a positive attitude, most of these people are statistically wrong.  So how would you KNOW if you were one of the top 10 percent of performers in your company?  What is the value of your contribution?  Leaders—you can’t manage what you can’t measure.  What are the critical success factors in your organization for each position and for the company as a whole?  What methods are in place to measure your peers on those factors across the company?  A little competition in the workplace between managers, salespeople, etc., can be healthy and will really show who’s producing in key areas (not just occupying space and staying "busy").  What are you really contributing to your company?

No related posts.