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

Time is money.  Guess which group of people utters this phrase most frequently?  Commissioned salespeople.  Hands down.  It’s almost a rite of passage that you can’t be a salesperson unless you rinse and repeat daily.  Salespeople know how to turn time into money: spend a majority of time on selling activity, namely generating leads, business development, and follow-up.  Simple.  What makes it so hard?  All the non-selling activities that need to be done. 

I believe many salespeople have lost sight of the value of their time.  They run for coffee, socialize with friends, check the latest blog postings, schedule personal appointments, surf the web…all which tends to increase when a sale is made…as if now they can relax a bit. 

As a salesperson, if you really want to get clear about if the activity you’re currently working on is worth your time, figure out how much your time is worth.  Then you can objectively ask, “Is what I’m working on right this minute generating the sales goals and income targets I’ve set for myself?”

So let’s do a little bit of math. 

1. How much do you want to earn this year? (Ex: $80K)
2. If you’re lucky enough to have a base, subtract that out to get your target earnings. (Ex: $80K - $10K = $70K)
3. To realize those target earnings, how much would you have to sell to achieve it with your commission structure?  (Ex: at 7% commission, you’d have to sell $1M)
4. How many weeks do you work after you subtract out vacation? (Ex: 52 weeks minus 2 weeks of vacation = 50 weeks)
5. Divide your annual sales goal by the number of weeks you’ll work to arrive at your weekly sales goal. (Ex: $1M / 50 = $20K)
6. Divide that by the number of days you work each week to get your daily sales goal.  (Ex: $20K/5 = $4K)
7. IF you could meet that goal each day, how much would an hour of your time be worth?  Divide your target earnings from #2 by #4 to reach your weekly income target. (Ex: $70K / 50 = $1400)
8. Find your daily income target by dividing by the number of days you work each week. (Ex: $1,400 / 5 = $280)
9. Figure out your hourly income target by dividing that figure by how many hours you work each day (Ex: $280 / 8 = $35).�
10. Lastly, determine your to-the-minute rate by dividing by 60 (Ex: $35 / 60 = $.58). 

Now you start to ask yourself the tough questions.  If time is truly worth money, is what you’re doing this minute worth $.58?  Is five minutes of your current activity worth $2.91?  If an hour goes by, did you produce $35 of value?  If someone were watching, would they reach into their pocket and pay you $35 for what you just produced?  My hope is that by tying the clock to your pocketbook, you might be more aware of the time…and money…that slips by when wasted.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time®.  She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. 

Receive a free eBook “111 Ways to Improve Your Personal Productivity“!

I’ve worked full-time from my home since 1992 and can’t imagine doing it any other way. Whether you work full time out of your home, occasionally telecommute, catch up on work in the evening, or run a household, you need some sort of dedicated “office” space in your home. Offices can serve as the family computer center, a place to do paperwork, and the occasional work-at-home office.

The first big question is where to locate your home office. Until the last few years, most builders didn’t catch on to the popularity of a built-in home office. If you have a computer, you probably need more than an antique writing desk in the living room. But if you only use your “office” to pay bills, write letters, and return phone calls, you can get away with a corner of the kitchen.

In most homes, extra space is difficult to come by, so you’ll need to get creative. I’ve seen people attempt to use a hallway, part of a bedroom, and even a closet. However, it’s difficult to work while children are running around you, you see your bed and think about napping, or when it’s too cramped. So I’ve always commandeered the “formal” dining room or living room—no one ever used it anyway—so it’s wasted space. Or perhaps you can steal the guest room.

Set yourself up for success. If you are going to be working from your home full-time, use this checklist to ensure you’re set up for success and maximum productivity:
• Where will you set up your home office?
• How will you modify the space to meet your needs?
• Can you lock the door? Can you lock the windows?
• Do you have sufficient lighting for that area?
• What office supplies you will need?
• Where are the electrical sockets located? Will you need additional power sources?
• Do you have enough storage space, such as a file cabinet, bookcases, credenza, closets, etc.?
• Where you will store back-up disks? Is the storage area safe from fire, flooding, etc.?
• If your home office is in the basement, and if the basement tends to get damp, do you have a de-humidifier?
• Do you have a personal computer that you already use at home? Will you need different software or upgrade the RAM? Will others need to stop using it for personal purposes?
• Do you have sufficient office equipment for your home office?
• Do you have a desk? Is it large enough to do office work?
• Do you need to have a modem installed on your home computer?
• Are there sufficient phone jacks in the area you’ve designated for your home office?
• Do you need a separate fax line, Internet line, and business line?
• Do you have voice mail or an answering machine?
• Do you have a smoke detector in your home office area?
• Do you have a fire extinguisher located hear your home office?

Regardless of whether you work full-time from home or a few times each month, your home office has some common requirements:

Furniture and storage
• A professional office desk and worktable
• Sturdy filing cabinets and drawer space for files. Invest in quality pieces that won’t fall apart.
• An ergonomically correct chair
• Bookcases or shelves to hold binders, trays, phone books, and reference manuals
• Stackable storage units that maximize your space vertically
• Large garbage can
• Supply caddy/accessories
• Stackable trays for “in” and “out” boxes
• A large, standing document sorter with slots for envelopes, fax paper, letterhead, etc., that fits under your desk for easy access.

Computer and peripherals
• A computer with lots of RAM, a large hard drive, and a DVD burner
• External back-up system (like www.godaddy.com or an external drive)
• DSL or cable or satellite Internet connection (no dial-up)
• High-security remote access to your offsite office computer (like www.GoToMyPC.com)
• USB hub such as Linksys 2.0, which has seven easy access ports to plug in your keyboard, iPod, PDA docking station, digital camera, USB flash drive, etc.

Software
• Spam filter, such as www.mcaffe.com
• Internet security and virus protection, such as www.norton.com
• Integrated contact management, such as ACT (my favorite) or Goldmine
• Fax within the computer, such as WinFax Pro
• Postage, such as www.stamps.com, www.pitneyworks.com, or www.dhl.com
• Accounting, such as QuickBooks Pro for business or Quicken for home only
• Email software, such as Microsoft Outlook
• Calendar, such as Microsoft Outlook, or a paper planner, such as www.daytimer.com/laurastack

Other technology and equipment for people who work at home
• A separate business phone line and fax line if you conduct business from home so your clients don’t get voice mail saying, “You’ve reached the Smith residence.”
• Wireless headset (I use GN Netcom plus receiver lift)
• Cell phone and PDA, which can be separate, but optimally a SmartPhone, which includes PDA and email access
• Pager or text pager (only if you’re required to carry one)
• High-quality laser printer, copy machine, and scanner (separately or all-in-one)
• Telephone with voice mail

Who knows…setting up a clean, organized, productive office space at home might allow you to consider more work-at-home or other home-based business opportunities.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  All rights reserved.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time®.  She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. 

Receive a free eBook “111 Ways to Improve Your Personal Productivity“!

Have you ever taken an honest look at how you are perceived around the office?  Your behavior, attitude, and reputation play a huge role in how you interact with coworkers and subordinates.  Others may listen to you because of your job title, but if that’s the only reason, you have a serious problem on your hands.

I’m not talking about superficial issues like dressing well or keeping a tidy office.  It goes deeper than that—to your attitude towards work and your attitude towards personal productivity.

Do you have a reputation of exceptional organization, follow-up, and time management? 

Or do people dread sending you an e-mail, because they know there’s a slim chance that they’ll ever hear back?

Is your desk a black hole, where papers and requests go in, but never come out? 

Does it take you thirty minutes to find something that you would expect someone else to find in thirty seconds?

The bottom line is that to be an effective leader and coworker, you need to be a good role model that others will choose to emulate.  Your employees and coworkers might pay attention to what you say, but they’ll ALWAYS pay attention to what you do.  You’re a role model—good or bad—through your image.

Take a personal inventory of how others see you in the workplace.  Your goal is to identify—and correct—your own personal productivity demons.  Need help getting started?  Begin by asking yourself these questions:

Are you the bottleneck?  The only thing worse than the person at the office who seems to do nothing is the person who tries to do everything. 

Say it with me folks, “I can’t do it all.”

The sooner you come to terms with that troublesome fact, the better off you’ll be.  In pursuit of being the undisputed office superstar, you may in fact be buried.  The more you try to do everything, the less able you are to do anything.

Sure, the business world can be demanding, but nine times out of ten, helplessly buried office workers put themselves in the overworked situation they’re in.  As a leader (and as a human being) you need to understand how to prioritize, which means understanding how to say “no.”

If you constantly accept additional responsibilities, without being able to keep up with what you’ve already committed, you will eventually be unable to devote proper attention to any one of your many duties. 

If you think that being overextended and perpetually frazzled sounds bad, imagine reporting to someone in that situation.  Being spread too thin generally leads to missed deadlines, poor response times, and a constant source of unnecessary stress.

Do your subordinates, coworkers—and yourself—a favor.  Keep your priorities focused and your schedule realistic.  You need to be able to work as hard for your people as they do for you.

If it takes you days to respond to a voicemail or weeks to review a proposal, you aren’t setting others up for success.  Don’t be the bottleneck!

Do you micromanage?  You have a staff at your disposal…so why are you still doing everything yourself?  The best thing you can do as a manager is to put people in place whom you can trust—and then trust them.

Always remember, however, that your way isn’t the only way and that sometimes “good enough” is, well, good enough.  Does that mean that you keep slack standards and let people get away with sub-par work?  Of course not!  It just means that you pick your battles and allow your team to do their jobs without having to constantly worry about your “helpful” interventions.

There will always be some things that absolutely need to be done a certain way and kept to a certain standard.  These are the tasks and priorities that you should keep a close watch on to ensure that they are completed properly. 

But what about the others?  Just ask yourself what would happen if a given task was completed adequately, instead of perfectly.  Or if a project was done correctly, although perhaps not in exactly the same way you would go about it if you were to do it yourself.  Most of the time, you’ll find that it really isn’t that big a deal.  In these cases, it is important to step back, let go, and focus your energies on more important initiatives. 

Is your schedule realistic?  Take a look at your schedule for this week.  Are you booked solid, running from one meeting to the next all day every day?

If you’re overbooked, not only will you leave yourself no time to accomplish important, high-priority tasks, you’ll also make yourself unavailable to your team.  It doesn’t do any good if a project is completed on deadline if it takes three days for you to have a moment to take a look at it.

Besides, what does it say about the value of your time if you are booking yourself silly day in and day out?  By accepting every invitation you receive, you are letting others control you time and determine your priorities.  That isn’t what leadership is about!

Don’t attend any meeting where the organizer can’t clearly articulate the objective.  And make sure that when you do attend a meeting, others understand why you are there and know what they can expect in terms of your involvement.  If you regularly find yourself in meetings “just in case” you’re needed, you aren’t placing much of a premium on your time. 

What are your other productivity demons?  Everyone has their downfalls, and the ones discussed above are just a starting point.  Take a good, hard look at yourself and come up with a fair assessment of the impression you give others at the office.  This is no time to tell little white lies or shy away from the truth.  The only way to fix the problem is to tackle the issue head on.

Whatever your demons are—too much socializing, excessive email surfing, time management problems, over scheduling your time, responding slowly to e-mail, dealing with personal issues on work hours, or procrastination—identify them and then work to put them to rest.

That’s the beauty of it.  You really can fix many of these problems right away.  If you’re honest with yourself, you know the right things to do.  You just need to listen to that nagging voice in the back of your mind and make it happen.

Make it a productive day! ™
© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time®.  She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. 

Receive a free eBook “111 Ways to Improve Your Personal Productivity“!

Time is your most valuable possession. What tasks do you devote the most energy to every day? You may be working hard to climb the big ladder of success, but you’ll waste a lot of energy (and time) if you discover it’s leaning on the wrong wall. An intense, personal commitment to achieving your goals gives you the vigor you need to move forward every day.

Try these time management tips on for size.

1. Practice purposeful abandonment. If you have too much on your plate, get rid of anything that doesn’t meet your objectives or have long-term consequences for your work. Your only other option is overwork and flagging energy.

2. Get some help. Don’t try to do everything yourself, especially if you’re running a business. Hire someone to deal with all the repetitive or minor tasks anyone can do, so you can get the important work done.

3. Focus on value. Work when you’re at work: don’t check your eBay listings, surf the Internet, or answer your private email. Otherwise, you’re robbing yourself of your precious, irreplaceable minutes.

4. Outsource to a third party. If you’re overloaded with tasks that someone else can do more cheaply, then by all means hire someone to do them. Specialist websites like Elance.com can be lifesavers in such a situation.

5. Do one thing at a time. Even if you’re good at multitasking, do just one thing at a time. Otherwise, you’re giving each task less than the attention it deserves, and it’ll take you longer to get things done.

6. Be disciplined. When you promise someone you’ll complete a task by a certain timeframe, do you do it? Or does the deadline slip past, with you muttering to yourself, “Stupid. What’s wrong with you?” Guilt sucks the energy right out of you, so avoid it by forcing yourself to get your work done on time. 

7. Make some progress. Don’t just maintain the status quo; work to get something done every day. Understand the difference between maintenance and progress, and make sure there’s some forward momentum to at least some of your tasks.

8. Realize that your to-do list is never going to end until you’re dead. You’re not going to get it all done; there will always be more things to do than time to do them in. It’s called life. That’s okay; what would you do with yourself if your to-do list did end?

When you work on a task, your capacity to work on other tasks will slowly decline.  When your energy is depleted, you don’t work well until you catch your “second wind” and your energy is replenished.  So you must select tasks purposefully, making sure the most important things get the lion’s share of your energy and attention.

(c) 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Unfortunately, not all of our tasks excite us, so spending energy on them feels wasteful.  If an activity’s not challenging or offers no reward, motivation is difficult. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could complete your tasks more efficiently, so you’d have energy to spare? Well, I can help you with that.

1. Get your domestic duties done. Develop an evening routine, and make sure everyone in the family takes part. This will help you retain your sanity, happiness, and energy level, and teach other family members to respect others’ boundaries.

2. Enlist help with meals. Cooking dinner every night can be a real grind. Cook more than your family will eat so that you can browse on leftovers some evenings, and teach your children how to cook — they need to learn anyway.

3. Divvy up chores. Every single member of the family should contribute to household chores, as age allows. Try not to make chores gender-specific. Girls should know how to mow the lawn, and boys should know how to cook. These are basic life skills that they’ll need as adults.

4. Communicate clearly. Clear communication is vital, because it’s a time- and energy-saver. Don’t assume that you know what someone means when they’re assigning you a task. Ask questions, clarify, and challenge unrealistic deadlines.

5. Focus on what’s important. Don’t be a perfectionist, and don’t perform menial
tasks that someone else can do more cheaply. Do first what’s due first, try to resolve small items quickly, and don’t spend too much time on low-priority items.

6. Transform your outlook about necessary tasks.  If you dread something, you’re likely to put it off — which can be disastrous if that task is absolutely necessary. Do what you can to make it easier, but if you can’t change the situation, then change your mind. 

7. Don’t procrastinate. Force yourself to complete your work quickly, even if you hate it or are afraid you’ll have nothing to do later on. The reward is the freedom from the stress that not doing the work was causing you.

8. Work before play. Instead of doing the fun, easy, or trivial tasks first, do the hard ones. After you’re done, you can read a book, take a long hot bath, watch the sunset, or whatever it is you love to do. Having a reward waiting can help you get it done faster, because you have something to look forward to. 

Spending energy completing low-value tasks feels like a waste of time, but it’s as necessary to mop the kitchen floor as it is to buy groceries or enjoy quality time with the family. Learn how to do your chores quickly and efficiently, and you can better enjoy the rest of your life. 

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Isn’t it amazing how much energy you can spend stewing about things? If you get too agitated, you might be completely unable to focus on other tasks. If that’s the case, you’re no good for anything until you can calmly address the issue. You need to learn to create closure on the things that bother you, so you can get on with life. Here’s how.

1. Avoid energy vampires. Some people can drain your energy in five minutes flat. Stay away from people who constantly criticize you, who gossip and create drama, who are mean, or who are just incurably rude.

2. Be assertive in annoying situations. If don’t state your needs in plain English, you’re unlikely to get what you want. Being assertive isn’t the same as being aggressive; be polite, and let the people around you know you’re willing to help out by changing your own behavior if necessary.

3. Clear up nagging reminders.  If you’ve got to-do items that have been staring you in the face for months, set aside some time to tackle them and get them done. Leaving things undone can zap you with guilt that’ll drain your energy.

4. Don’t leave things half-done. Don’t quit halfway. Instead of letting postponed tasks leave you frustrated, set aside some time and plow through them until they’re done, so you can move on to more productive tasks.

5. Occupy yourself productively while waiting. It’s bad enough when we waste time, but it’s worse when someone wastes it for us. If you’re stuck waiting somewhere, use to time to edit, knit, pay bills, read — anything productive.

6. Don’t let boredom get the best of you. Are you doing the same boring things every day? If so, give yourself a shot in the arm energy-wise by jumping out of that rut with some new activities. Change your routine and live a little!

7. Look within for the source of your frustration. If you can’t pinpoint an exterior source of your irritation and frustration, look within, try to determine the source of the problem, and resolve it.

8. Set limits and boundaries with others. Learn to say no. Saying no isn’t about being selfish; it’s about setting healthy parameters for yourself and recognizing reality, and learning to protect your energy level, your health, and productivity.

It’s crucial to learn how to create closure on the things in your life that bother you. Do something about them. What are you tolerating?  When do you experience frustration?  What do you do when someone wastes your time?  All of those situations require closure, so you can direct your energy toward more positive pursuits.  

(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

You eat well, you get enough sleep, you exercise every day, but your energy’s at rock-bottom. Maybe it’s toward the end of the work day. Maybe it’s the end of the week.  Maybe it’s the first day of your menstrual cycle. Maybe your biorhythms are at a natural ebb. Or maybe it’s the dead of winter, and any sane mammal would be hibernating instead of driving to work while it’s still dark out. Whatever the problem, here are a few quick fixes that can help you get back on track.

1. Recharge regularly. If you’re staring at a computer all day, you’re probably not moving much — and lack of movement translates to lack of energy. Take a break and do something that gets you moving.

2. Get outside and get some sunshine. A lack of fresh air and sunshine deprives your body not only of fresh oxygen but also of Vitamin D, which is produced by sunlight falling on your skin. You need at least 10 minutes of sunlight a day.

3. Stretch at your desk. If your muscles are stiff, tight, and sore, that means they’re too tense. The more tension in your muscles, the less power you have, because tenseness impedes oxygen and blood flow, resulting in lower energy.

4. Strike a pose. Lack of flexibility can lead to lower energy. However, studies show that people who practice yoga are less anxious, have more efficient heart and respiratory function, and are more resistant to stress.

5. Engage in some silliness. If you take life too seriously, you’re setting yourself up for stress, depression, and physical ailments that can sap your energy. Instead, start a silly hobby, tell your co-worker a joke, or read a Calvin and Hobbes book.

6. Try some aromatherapy. Recharge your energy by jolting your sense of smell. Keep small bottles of invigorating scented oils like lavender, lemon oil, orange, and spearmint at your desk, and take a whiff when you’re feeling down.

7. Try some ancient exercises. One way to avoid modern-world burnout is to be willing to try something old. Ear rubs, acupressure, and deep breathing can all help you release some of that pent-up pressure that can lead to energy loss.

8. Feel good in your skin. Ditch clothing that makes you uncomfortable; that’ll only lead to irritation and associated energy loss. Wear sensible shoes, avoid ties, try colorful clothing, and if you’re a woman, go braless occasionally — every hour you wear a bra makes it more likely you’ll end up with breast cancer.

So open your mind and get out the door; take a deep breath and strike a pose; or act like a kid and laugh ’til it hurts.  These tricks also come in handy for an energy boost during your mid-afternoon break, or when you’re trying to get off the caffeine roller coaster. 

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

When you don’t feel well, you have lower energy, and it’s hard to be productive. Therefore, it’s important to take good care of your health, to get regular check-ups, and to investigate chronic conditions you’ve resigned yourself to.  Given how quickly medical science advances, it’s a good idea to check into the possibility of new treatments on a regular basis.

Follow these tips, and you may end up feeling better than you have in years.

1. Practice good self care. Line up your routine checkups, screenings, and exams, especially if you’re over 40 or suffer from a chronic condition. When did you last have a physical? Schedule future reminders in your calendar and stick to them.

2. Take care of your teeth. Good dental hygiene can add years to your life. Periodontal bacterial by-products resulting from poor dental care can enter the bloodstream and travel to major organs, setting off other problems.

3. Treat your cold. Instead of toughing it out and showing up for work anyway when you’re sick with a cold, stay home and treat your symptoms; otherwise, you’re likely to infect other people. Ask your doctor for a prescription for Zicam, which is effective against cold symptoms.

4. Disinfect your environment. A weakened immune system due to an infection can leave you listless and susceptible to opportunistic illnesses. Decrease your likelihood of illness by keeping your work area clean. Wipe it down with disinfectants on a regular basis, and don’t eat at your desk.

5. Have more sex. Spending quality time between the sheets can lower your stress and improve your immune system. Orgasms may also relieve headaches and menstrual symptoms, and people with a good sex life also seem better able to ward off colds and depression.

6. Laugh! Laughter really can be the best medicine. Laughing can build levels of the antibody IgA, the body’s first line of defense against germs. If you get sick a lot, maybe you’re just not laughing enough.

7. Don’t give up on fighting chronic pain. Consistent physical pain can really sap your energy. Instead of just putting up with it, check with your doctor to see what your options are. Don’t take “you’ll have to live with it” as an answer.

8. Clean the air. If you don’t have allergies, but you’re sneezing a lot, your nose is running, and your eyes are watering, call an air duct cleaning company and have them do a thorough cleaning to remove any contaminants in your HVAC system.

Learn to take personal responsibility for taking care of any health problems you suffer. Don’t wait for something to feel “wrong” before you get it checked out. Identify the wellness issues that are affecting your energy and causing you to feel poorly, and address those issues aggressively.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

PACING:  Plug Me In

Even if you start out the day with plenty of fuel, you may eventually feel that energy slipping away. You can be zipping along just fine, then — Boom! — you hit what sports enthusiasts call “the wall.” How well you handle your energy budget will determine whether you break through the wall and move on to the rest of your day, or just bounce off and slog through the mental mud. Try these tips to stay on the straight and narrow.

1. Stand instead of sit. You’re not designed to sit for hours on end. Work regular physical movement into your work day, especially if most of your work is conducted at a desk. At the very least, stand up and stretch occasionally.

2. Give yourself a break. Failing to take breaks can affect your short-term energy and long-term health. Take a few minutes off from the grind occasionally so your body can restore your strength and energy.

3. Walk around on your breaks. Instead of drinking coffee and reading the paper while on break, walk around a bit. This lets your body process glucose better, giving you a burst of energy that’ll kick in about the time you get back to work.

4. Try creative desk energy renewal strategies. Jobs requiring an intense focus can be intensely draining. Take an occasional break and renew yourself through meditation, deep breathing, prayer, stretching — whatever works for you.

5. Find an encouragement partner.  If you’re stuck with a boring task, find someone you can call up when you’re temporarily burnt out. You can perform the same function for your partner; encouraging them can keep you on track, too.

6. Watch your posture. Don’t slouch. Doing so uses up more energy than sitting up straight, and can also stress your musculature and skeleton. Getting a good, ergonomic chair can go a long way towards maintaining your proper energy level.

7. Pace yourself. Remember, you’re not a machine; don’t squander your energy early in the day, or you’ll fade by mid-afternoon. Rest is as important as hard work for achieving anything of consequence in a decent amount of time.

8. Respect your biological cycles. No matter what you do, you’ll go through energy cycles during the day. Circadian rhythms, sleep cycles, hormone cycles, and similar biological clocks can all conspire to rob you of energy. Instead of trying to work through the low cycles, take a few minutes off to revamp your energy level.

No matter how often you might wish otherwise, you’re not a robot and can’t go non-stop, especially if you’re desk-bound for most of the day. Occasional breaks are necessary for mental and physical health. You need to get up and stretch your legs, to get your heart pumping and your blood circulating — or you just may start feeling rusty!
© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

If you want to be like the Energizer Bunny and keep going and going and going all day long, you need to supercharge your metabolism — the cellular process by which your body converts food calories into energy. This isn’t necessarily easy, and it requires an understanding of your own biochemical makeup and metabolism. Here are a few ways you can get started.

1. Practice the power of eight. Boost your body’s metabolism by exercising vigorously, lifting weights, eating 5-6 small, healthy meals a day, keeping yourself hydrated, and cutting back on stimulants.

2. Keep your glucose level up. If your blood sugar level drops too low, you may end up becoming tired, weak, hungry, nervous, and anxious — and worse, incoherent. Keep quick energy sources close at hand, just in case.

3. Get yourself checked for diabetes. If you’re constantly hungry, chilly and fatigued, you may be suffering from diabetes — a metabolic inability to process glucose properly. Go to a doctor and have a blood test done.

4. Schedule your meals. If you eat irregularly or only when you’re hungry, you’re likely to destabilize your blood sugar level. Always eat breakfast, never skip a meal, and consider eating numerous small meals instead of three big ones.

5. Eat high energy foods. Trim “sleepy” foods, like pasta, bread, bagels, muffins, and cookies, out of your diet where you can. You’re better served eating high-energy foods like meat, raisins, Concord grapes, bananas, and broccoli.

6. Pep up your metabolism. If you’ve got a ho-hum metabolism, try eating foods that can help speed it up. Spicy foods and green tea have both proven effective at boosting the metabolism; green tea extract offers the most bang for your buck.

7. Cut the caffeine. Caffeine may give you a quick burst of energy, but you could pay for it later with high blood pressure, insomnia, stress, and addiction. If you can’t give up that daily Starbucks run, at least cut back from venti to grande.

8. Boost your intake of calcium, iron, and magnesium. These three minerals are absolutely essential to bone, blood, and mental function, so you should eat foods that are rich in each. Failing that, take a good multivitamin daily.

The rate of metabolism varies from person to person — among other things, gender, age, amount of muscle mass, and how much you exercise will all affect your metabolic rate –but that doesn’t mean you can’t tweak it for maximal performance. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll have your metabolism revved up in no time.

© 2008 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations. Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces. She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004). Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M. To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com <http://www.theproductivitypro.com/> to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.