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

Pretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time. There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda.  So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify.  You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information.  As my 13-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information). If the 21^st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information. You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day. You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight. Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive on a continuous basis.  Imagine the time and productivity lost just sorting though it all! So why not join me and put yourself on a low-information diet? Make this the year that you say “NO MORE!” to the endless onslaught of time-wasting, productivity-eating, stress-inducing STUFF coming at you.  Listen to the full podcast episode

(C) 2009 Laura Stack.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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Like it or not, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are here to stay – and it isn’t just kid stuff anymore.  In fact, businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers. How do you keep it from sabotaging your productivity?

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Like it or not, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are here to stay – and it isn’t just kid stuff anymore.  In fact, businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers.

Where do you stand in this new phase of the internet revolution, which many techies are calling “Web 2.0”?  Perhaps you avoided it altogether…or you’re an addict…or you’re somewhere in between.

Like most technology, social networks and other social media tools are great resources but lousy masters.  You could spend all day hopping around to different sites, updating your information, and connecting with people all over the world.  But how does that add to your daily productivity?  

Since it’s a brand new year, let’s take a look at how you’ve been wasting time online.  Or perhaps you should be spending more time dipping your toes in the social media waters!

What is social media?

Don’t worry if you’ve never quite gotten your head around the term.  Even the experts don’t have a great definition for it.  Think of it this way: social media generally refers to web-based tools that help you connect with people and share information.

This means networking sites, such as LinkedIn and MySpace, as well as information sharing tools like blogs.   Social media is really about connecting people with one another and/or information.

What’s the point?

There was a time when social media was just a novelty—something that people did just for the sake of doing it.  The technology was new, and it was fun to connect with people and find new sources of information and new perspectives.  (It can still be a lot of fun!)

The explosion of blogging created an environment where anyone could be a publisher and share their ideas for little or no cost.  The advent of social networks gave individuals unprecedented access to one another; suddenly chatting with your old friends from college wasn’t limited to the class reunion.

And today, social media has evolved beyond being just a toy for tech-lovers.  As more and more people get involved and the concepts become more mainstream, social media has also become more useful as a professional tool.  For example, my favorites are:

• LinkedIn is a great site that allows you to create a professional profile and make business contacts online.  Most users see the site as a relatively no-nonsense one, which makes it a great resource for building professional relationships and for reaching out to people that you’d like to meet virtually.  I have 400+ contacts currently, all of whom I know personally and would do business with or refer to others.  You can view my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurastack.

• Blogs, such as TypePad or WordPress (part of your site or not), have become a great way to share your expertise with the world and build your personal or corporate brand.  My blog www.TheProductivityPro.com/blog allows me to share productivity news and insights in an impromptu, informal way.  That means my clients and those interested in productivity are more likely to be familiar with my work, my personality, and my qualifications.

• Twitter is a micro-blog, and has a concept that is perhaps the simplest of any of the social networking sites out there.  Throughout the day, you post the answer to a straightforward question, which is “What are you doing?” Your updates (“tweets”) are limited to 140 characters.  Others can elect to follow your updates and view your posts.  Because of the no pressure, minimal approach, you’d be amazed at how quickly you can build your network on Twitter.  It is a great, fast-paced way to meet people, keep up with your friends and colleagues, and build your personal brand online. You can follow my tweets at www.twitter.com/laurastack.

I could go on about the different platforms that are out there, but that really isn’t the point.  The thing to keep in mind is that there are a variety of sites available to you and that you need to pick and choose which make sense for you.  My favorite is LinkedIn, where I can ask people in my network for introductions to people in their networks.  I’ve gotten business from doors that have been opened by others for me.

Don’t spend a whole lot of time doing research or comparing sites.  Go with your gut and start exploring what is out there.  Some things you will like and see the value in, some you won’t.  The best way to figure out what’s what is to experiment a little.  These sites are extremely user-friendly and are designed to be intuitive.  Generally speaking the site will ask you for your information as you go and help you get started.  The best way to decide what appeals to you is to do some browsing online and try a platform or two to get your feet wet.

Laura, my feet are already wet.  Now what?

Once you have accounts set up on one or more social platforms, there are a few things to keep in mind concerning the day-to-day activities associated with staying connected online:

• Keep up with it.  Whether you are maintaining a social networking profile or your own blog, keep in mind that a neglected site gives a bad impression.  Especially when networking professionally, information that is inaccurate or out of date is going to reflect badly on you.  If people see, for example, that your LinkedIn page has been untouched for months, they just might assume that you are no longer a player at your company or in the industry.

• Censor yourself.  For whatever reason, the internet has an odd way of releasing people’s inhibitions, and often not for the better.  Especially if you are planning to tap social media for professional networking purposes, think about what you are putting out there!  You really need to look at every post assuming that it will be read by your boss, coworkers, clients, your parents, your kids—anybody.  If you already have a site that features some less-than-flattering content or images, now is the time to clean it up.  Need more convincing?  Social networks are increasingly becoming part of the hiring process at many companies.  What would a potential employer find out about you if they put their mind to it?  Would a prospect decide not to hire you based upon the attitude you exude on your page?

• Limit your social networking at work.  The internet is one of the biggest enhancers of productivity in our lifetime, but it is also one of the biggest productivity drains.  Social networks are no exception.  Make sure you keep your social networking—whether that means reading blog postings, updating your profiles, or checking out other people—under control.  Set proper boundaries for yourself.  Some people simply can’t do this and waste inordinate amounts of time on social sites each day, leading some companies to block websites such as myspace.com.  It really doesn’t take that much time to sit down once or twice a day to check in on things and make sure your communication is up-to-date, but it is extremely easy to find yourself wasting half the day doing it.  There is limitless information out there and millions of people available to meet and interact with.  Be sure to keep a handle on how much time you’re spending.

• Limit your social networking at home.  Just by the nature of the beast, even if you use your social networks primarily for professional purposes, you’re going to end up having some fun, too.  Just remember that even though there are countless interesting people out there in cyberspace, there are a handful of much MORE interesting people right under your nose, in your very own home.  Don’t neglect the real people in your life because your busy interacting with the ones on your computer screen.

So get out there and start communicating.  Once you’re up and running, see where it takes you!  Just don’t let it take you out of the productivity zone.

Make it a productive day!tm

(C) Copyright 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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John discusses an interview he had with Laura Stack The Productivity Pro®, Inc. on her 6-D email approach.

“Imagine this; you are deep in thought, tackling an important project, you are in the zone – then…’ding’…the echoing sound of your email inbox, that’s right, you’ve got mail.  Your thought process screeches to a hault, your mind shifts, you think ‘nah, I’ll check it later’, but what if it’s important?  What if it is crucial information?  Or, what if it’s an amazing discount offer from your favorite online retailer…?  Doesn’t matter, you’ve now lost focus on the task at hand and reach for the mouse.  How many times does this occur throughout your day?  I bet it happens often enough, that if you added up all of the diversion of time wasted you could calculate that into money lost…”

Read more…The 6 D’s to having your inbox make you money

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Social networking is all the rage today.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace – the list goes on.  It seems like everyone has one or more of these services, but how many people are thinking about how it can affect them professionally?  And how does it affect your productivity?

In terms of your professional image, there have been many news stories and articles about people getting fired or not getting hired for jobs because of the things they post on their profiles.  In one of my time management seminars, a participant told me she didn’t hire an applicant because she researched his social sites and saw that he “wanted to do as little as possible for as much money as possible.”  If you want to keep your social networking just "between friends," pay close attention to the privacy settings on sites like Facebook and MySpace.  The safest bet is to assume that anything on the internet can be fair game; however, you can minimize your risk by making your profiles private or "friends only."  Be careful what you write and post, even when making comments on others’ pages.  Think about whether you want what you’re about to say in the virtual public record for all time. 

That said, social networking can be a useful tool in developing relationships and marketing yourself.  I’m using LinkedIn to build relationships and network for new business.  I already have over 250 connections and many recommendations.  However, keeping up with your networks can becoming all-consuming and almost addictive.  I know several people who admit to being Twitterholics or check their pages on different sites continually throughout the day, which has far-reaching productivity implications.  If all day you sift through information on websites, read your blog postings, keep up with all your social networks, and wade around in your email in-box, when are you actually going to get your WORK done?  I check my social sites once each day and only after all my key priorities for the day are completed (generally in the afternoon).  I suggest you set some appropriate boundaries around your usage of social networking and then apply some good old-fashioned discipline to make yourself stick to them.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.

www.TheProductivityPro.com

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Times are uncertain. The news programs and websites are all gloom and doom, full of distractions with the financial “crisis” and the upcoming elections. How do we stay productive when Chicken Little is screaming “the sky is falling”? Turn it all off, at least for a while.  Stay off the news websites during the work day. Schedule yourself for some time to read up on the candidates, ballot issues and news that is important to you, but outside of that, turn it off. Keeping the TV on and constantly being on news websites is information overload that creates undue stress. What’s going to happen is going to happen and you watching it unfold on CNN is not going to change anything. What we CAN do to help is to stay productive so that our businesses and households are as healthy as they can be. “But, there are things in the news I want to read/see,” you say? Then create a Google alert at www.google.com to search for for news, articles and blogs on the topics you choose sent straight to your inbox. That way you avoid the clutter on the front page of MSNBC or CNN which can distract you from the tasks at hand. I’m not saying it is not important to remain informed about what’s happening in the country and the world. We just need to control the time we spend on news and television. Our productivity boosts when we are healthy and not over-stressed about things we cannot control. So, skip the news tonight and go for a walk with a loved one.

(C) 2008 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com

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Why is productivity important?  More importantly, why is productivity important to you?  There is not just one pat answer to this question.  My “why” is likely different than your “why.”  One of the keys to productivity is finding YOUR “why.”  For most people, an external reason like “My boss expects more of me” is not always the most motivating factor.  For me, getting to the heart of why I do what I do is most motivating.  Is the need to be more productive exciting and motivating to you, or does it drain and exhaust you just thinking about it?  If the latter is true for you, perhaps you haven’t gotten clear on why being productive is important.

It all comes down to your personal goals and what you want the picture of your life to look like.  Sure, you may need to be more productive at work to make your boss happy or boost company revenues.  How can you turn it around and make it important to you personally?  If time with your family is what motivates you, make getting things done at work about finishing that project on time so that you can enjoy your weekend free from work stress. If making more money is what drives you, give yourself achievable daily or even hourly goals of what you need to accomplish to make those extra sales.  Search yourself and find what truly motivates you, then try to relate each task to a goal you have set for yourself – not a goal someone else has set for you.  For example, if you are in sales, your organization sets a sales goal for you.  Absolutely do your best to achieve that – but at the same time make it about you.  How many sales do you need to earn the commissions to take that family vacation or buy that fabulous pair of shoes?

It’s only human to be motivated by what feels good.  Use that.  What makes you feel good?  Know that each task you accomplish, however difficult or dull, gets you closer to that great feeling.  Figure out how productivity relates to your personal goals and the quest for it becomes exciting, rather than overwhelming.

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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It happens all the time.  You just want to get some brief information to someone but when you call you get sucked into a long conversation.  Sometimes you don’t WANT the person to answer their phone – you just want to leave a voicemail.  It’s nice to catch up, but what if you just need to pass on some information and get to the next task?   Well friends, someone has come up with a solution for this problem!  Check out www.slydial.com. It lets you just leave a message – simple as that.  It is a free service, and they do offer some premium services for a fee.  It is well worth checking out. 

While on the subject of voice mail – here’s a quick tip.  Before making a call, jot down the bullet points you want to cover.  This way you have an outline for the call, or if you do get voice mail you have a simple list of what you need to cover.  It will save time and help avoid rambling messages. 

Make it a productive day!

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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I’m the Day-Timers community expert on productivity.  So I asked them to put a brief survey on the Day-Timers Web site, asking, “When you think of something that you need to do, what do you usually do?”  In this day and age of technology, the surprising answer was overwhelmingly “Write it down.”  To date, 55% of respondents chose this option over others.  This demonstrates that even with Blackberries, Outlook, cell phones and web based to-do lists, we still need and use paper and planners. 

Picture this…you’ve dutifully put all of your information, appointments, phone numbers etc. into your Outlook and synced the information with your handy-dandy Blackberry.  All is well. You hop on a plane for a business trip, Blackberry in hand.  You’ve arrived at the Miami airport and whipped out your electronic device.  The problem is, you forgot to charge it and the battery is dead.  What is the client’s phone number?  What was your hotel confirmation number…and was that appointment at 2:00 pm or 3:00 pm?  The beauty of a paper planner is that paper doesn’t crash.  Better yet, it’s much easier to jot down a note on a daily to-do list than pull out your handheld, turn it on, click around, and type a note on that tiny keypad with all those little drop-down boxes.  A Day-Timer is a tried and true tool that won’t let you down.  Try my own line of Productivity Pro® branded Day-Timer for handheld users.  Even if you write things down temporarily, you can always enter the data when you’re back at your computer.  Much easier than tapping.  And it’s much more organized than having little scraps of paper and sticky notes all over the place because it’s too difficult to use your handheld for data entry.

Don’t get me wrong, I think technology is terrific.  I use it on a daily basis, but I won’t be caught anytime soon without my Day-Timer.  It only takes one crash or glitch to realize how useful paper can be.

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

Keynote speaker, productivity trainer, author, spokesperson

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People love their Blackberries, no doubt.  A recent study confirmed this, according to this article on WCBSTV.com.  They may be terrific productivity tools for some, but at what cost?  The article by Scott Rapoport states “The study of 6,500 traveling executives says 35 percent of them would choose their PDA over their spouse.”  Wait a minute – people would choose a communication device over a loved one?  If this is true, where have we gone wrong? 

It is important to keep track of your business, be connected to your co-workers, clients and employers.  Blackberries certainly have made this easier, particularly for those who don’t spend most of their time in the office.  With this easy connectivity, are people losing the ability to know when to turn it off?  It would seem that technology is not only helping us be more productive, but is also blurring the lines between work time and off time.  Is it really more productive to have one foot in the working world and one foot on the home front at the same time?  I’m not so sure…

If we are always “available” via Blackberries, email, cell phones and pagers, are we truly focusing on our loved ones when we are allegedly “off” from work?  Can we really let loose and play if we’re always poised to answer the next email or text message?  Unless your connection to work means life or death, you CAN and should turn off and tune out when the work day is over.  Are we working to live, or living to work?

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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