I will be on QVC between January 1 and January 8, 2009, selling my new Productivity Pro(R) branded Day-Timer.  In preparation, I’m conducting a brief survey about the to-do list habits of the typical person.  When you think of something you need to do, what do you usually do?  Please visit the survey on my LinkedIn page and respond to one of five choices.  Thank you for your assistance!

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I found this article at BNET.com very interesting.  Separating hours on the job from results has been a boost to productivity in many situations.  Outside of the service based or retail environments, should our productivity be based on hours spend on the job, or on what is accomplished?  Some companies, like Best Buy, have implemented the Results-Only Work Environment or “ROWE,” and finding success.  When I chat with audience members after giving a keynote speech, they tell me about coworkers who spend 10-12 hours a day in the office and get nothing done.  That’s because being physically in the office has little to do with productivity.  Some people can be there ten hours a day and get virtually nothing done, while others can accomplish great amounts of work in just a few hours.   Part of the trick to getting a ROWE culture to work is figuring out how to measure results.  Some business results are easier to measure than others, such as number of orders processed, or increase in revenue.  In a 2006 article in Business Week, Best Buy reported a 13%-18% increase in orders processed by people who worked out of the office most often.  Businesses moving towards the ROWE culture are not only reporting increased productivity, but are also reporting lower employee turnover.  As companies work to adjust to the “Gen Why” workers and their styles, it will be interesting to see how many companies move towards this.  (C) 2008 Laura Stack. 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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A recent article in the June/July edition of Working Mother magazine pointed out that “Men contribute more to household work and child care than they did 45 years ago – by a large margin.”  While this may be true, a recent study, Married Parents’ Use of Time, 2003-06, posted by the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that there is still a gap. 

The study shows that married fathers spend an hour more at work than married mothers on average.  Married mothers had increased likelihood of providing care to the family’s children than married fathers by 21%.  On an average day, married mothers working full time are 25% more likely to spend time on household activities like cooking, yard care and cleaning than the married fathers working full time. There is also an imbalance of leisure time among married men and women who work full time.  On average, the men got close to an hour more of leisure time per day than the women.

What does this say about how men and women use and place value on their time?  Many complain about the uneven division of labor, but some are proactively trying to change it.  The Web site Equally Shared Parenting authored by Marc and Amy Vachon who have been featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Today Show and NPR.  In reading their site and various articles on this theme, a common thread is some women’s challenge with letting go and letting their husbands do things their own way.  Hmmm…there might be some truth to that.  Maybe you just need to decide – is it more important for the time to be more equal or more important that the laundry is folded “just so” or that the dishwasher is properly loaded?  What standards are you willing to shift in order to make time spent on the business of raising a family more equal between partners?

Will everything ever be 100% equal?  Probably not.  The key is that both parents continue to work together to find the right fit for their family.  Not happy with the division of labor?  Keep talking!
(C) 2008 Laura Stack.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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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?

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The results from the Gallup Organization’s annual Work and Education survey show the average American averages 46 minutes commuting to and from work in a typical day.  If you take out those who work at home, the average increases to 48.1 minutes per day.  However, if you have above-average income and work more than 40 hours a week, your commute is greater than the average, and so is your stress level.  Since the advice "move, earn less, and work fewer hours" doesn’t work, let me instead give you some ideas to make your commute more productive, efficient, and stress-free:

Use the phone. Now I’m one of those people who get aggravated while people are chatting away on their cell phones while driving…generally because they’re not, well, driving. Many people have no idea how slowly they’re going while they’re on the phone. Plus talking on the phone has proven to be unsafe, and many states have passed ordinances against it. Often, you’ll see someone pulled over to the side of the road to make a call.

That being said, you can get a hands-free phone installed, which uses a mounted phone and speakers. Many phones, like the Treo 650, use Bluetooth technology, which allows you to wear a wireless earpiece and talk hands-free. By using these safe options, you can still use your phone to call clients or catch up with friends and family while still keeping your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

Clear your brain. Basically, use your morning commute as a warm up to your day. On the way to work, do whatever helps you focus and arrive at your desk raring to go. For mass transit travelers, that may mean reading the daily paper with a cup of coffee. Drivers may like to listen to news radio for their daily summary.

Bond with your family. While driving together to “away” games or a relative’s house, you can sing songs, quiz your child on his spelling words, play “I spy” or another travel game, or listen to stories. When your eyes are on the road, your child may feel more comfortable than usual bringing up a touchy subject, so be available to just listen as well.

Shift your schedule. If you frequently get stuck in traffic, consider changing your schedule slightly to hit the road slightly before or after the rush, and use the time on either side to organize your day.

Use a voice recorder. I knew a professional speaker who wrote an entire book by talking while driving. She clipped a microphone on to her shirt and talked into a recording device (there are many available). Then she simply had those tapes transcribed, hired an editor to clean it up, and printed it at www.instantpublisher.com. She has published a book at the rate of about one a year using this method. Other people get voice recorders (Radio Shack sells a good one) with several minutes of tape and dictate their letters while on the go. If you’re blessed enough to have an assistant, he or she can type your letters from the recording. Some cell phones also have recorders built into them, so you can make your to-do list or remind yourself of things as you think of them. Do NOT, under any circumstances, attempt to write while driving unless you’re completely stopped.

Listen to books on tape. My favorite place to eat breakfast is a restaurant called Cracker Barrel…hash brown casserole, grits, and honey ham, baked apples…oh, sorry! The closest one to me is an hour’s drive away, so I don’t get to frequent it often enough because of traffic. But if you’re lucky enough to have one in your hometown or pass a sign for one along the road, STOP. You’ll notice that Cracker Barrel restaurants are always built right off an interstate exit. One of the founders’ core strategies was to make them easy on, easy off from the interstate. You could get to the next one on a tank of gas, refuel, grab a bite, buy what you need (and what you don’t need) in their little store, and get back on the road. Cracker Barrel has also came up with a clever book-on-tape program for frequent travelers. The next time you visit this restaurant, look for the spinning rack of tapes. You can purchase one audio book and, for a nominal fee, trade it in for another, anytime, at any other Cracker Barrel. Or you can get tapes and CDs from your local library before you go on a trip. You’ll notice that your perception of drive time is greatly reduced when you’re listening to an audio book. Your brain gets engaged in the story and time flies by. I have a friend who was planning an international trip, so she listened to French language tapes while in the car. Within three months, she learned enough French to get around nicely while there.

Carpool with your spouse. If you work roughly in the same area, hitch a ride with your sweetie! You can use the extra time each day to talk. While one person drives, the other can take care of miscellaneous family business on the phone. By the time you reach your door, the calls will be done and you can enjoy more quality time together at home.

Take the train instead. If you’re lucky enough to have a great public transportation system, use it! Of course, many professionals are forced into taking commuter trains because of traffic or distance or speed. But many people have told me they live for their train time because they can complete light paperwork, catch up on reading, pay bills, or just nap. By the time they arrive home, they feel rested and can settle into the second shift.

What are some other ways you take advantage of your commute time?

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A new study of 10,000 workers by Kenexa Corporation found that employees who telework from home at least on occasion were happy than those who had to put in "face time" every day at the office.  I hope managers who still insist on measuring employees by the hours in the office vs. results are reading this.  Just because they are in the office doesn’t mean they are producing anything of value.  You can have one employee work an eight-hour day and another work a twelve-hour day, and the eight-hour worker can be FAR more productive than the twelve-hour worker.  It doesn’t matter how long you’re there; it only matters what value you created in that time.  If one "loyal" worker toiled the office all day for 12 hours but played solitaire, bought plane tickets for a vacation, checked their fantasy football scores, and made personal phone calls all day, who cares that they were in the office!  I’d much rather let someone work from home occasionally and build loyalty and increase retention and measure that person based on what they produced.  Organizations that allow occasional telework allows them to recruit the very best talent.  In turn, employees give their best every day and are less likely to search elsewhere where this oppotunity isn’t provided.  With the tightening labor market, it’s imperative that leaders reassess their positions around working from home if they want to attract and keep the best workers.

As Mark Sanborn, bestselling author of The Fred Factor, wrote in the Foreword of my book Leave the Office Earlier:

“Too often leaders focus on input rather than output. There are times when arriving early and staying late are necessary, but the real test of an employee’s abilities and commitment is accomplishment. The proof is in the results, not the recorded hours.  Today, good employees refuse to sacrifice their family and personal lives on the altar of antiquated employer expectations. If you are a leader, face the facts: you are renting talent, not buying the hearts and souls of workers. You will either focus more on results and contribution and less on desk time or end up with a team of posers. If you are a valued employee, find somewhere to work where your contributions are recognized.”

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According to Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), mobile workers will account for one quarter of the world’s working population by 2009.  As a manager and/or as a organization, you must be able to hire the right people for this type of position, as not every person is suited.  Back in 2004, I identified the personality traits required people who successfully telecommute:

1.      Self-Motivated—Do you tend to get things going on your own, or do you prefer to be directed by others?  Are you the type that when someone says, “Here’s this project, go figure out how to do it, the deadline’s this,” you get it done.

2.      Disciplined—Do you have to push yourself to work your hours?  Do you procrastinate?  Do you stay strapped to your seat long enough to get your work done?  Can you stay focused despite distractions?  When you start a task, do you see it through to completion?

3.      Okay Working Alone—Do you require social contact to be happy?  Do you like your private time and space?  Do you feel comfortable working alone, or do you thrive on having frequent contact with others?  If you can’t be alone, you may have excessive telephone talking or run menial errands just to get out of the house.

4.      A Good Time Manager—Do you handle interruptions, visitors, phone calls, and email well?  Can you schedule realistically, prioritize correctly, and delegate appropriately?

5.      Likes to Control Own Schedule—Do you resent micromanagement?  Do you like having the flexibility to set your own hours?  Can you make quick decisions under pressure without consulting others?  You’ll be good at telecommuting if you can roll with the punches confidently.

6.      Organized—Do you like to start your workday with a clean, organized desk?  Being organized isn’t everything, but it’s very important when you work at home.  Unless you have an overabundance of space, having a place for everything will go a long way toward helping you maintain sanity in your work and personal lives.  Efficiency and organization will allow you to be more productive.

7.      Comfortable with job requirements—Do you know how to do your work?  Are you off the learning curve?  Can you handle your tasks without a lot of direction?  Are you committed?  Do you thrive on a sense of accomplishment from having done a good job?

8.      Can balance work with rest of life—Do you have workaholic tendencies?  You must be able to know when to close the office door and when to get down to business.  Can you draw good boundaries with family and friends but resist the urge to wander into your office every evening until 10:00 p.m., ignoring your kids and family?

9.      Self-confident—Do you feel you could do anything you set your mind to?  Do you believe in your abilities to make things happen?  Since your coworkers and manager won’t be there to praise you, can you be your own best cheerleader and support yourself?  Are you generally an optimist?  Can you laugh at stressful situations to cope, or do you typically give up?

10.  Thrives on risk and uncertainty—Do you feel okay about stepping out of your comfort zone to take risks?  Are you a go-getter?  An adventurer?  Willing to put your all into your passion?  Working at home involves risk with relationships…can family members respect your efforts to work at home?  Will there be turf wars?  Will your image suffer at work?  Will you be looked upon as a slacker?  These are all big question marks when first starting out.

11.  Seeks support and advice from others—Do you know when to ask for help or support?  Are you a perfectionist and try to do everything yourself?  Successful telecommuters know their limits, and they know when to ask for help.  Being at home can wear you down.  It’s easy to take on too much if you’re not careful.  It’s tempting to work 12 hour days because you’re getting so much done.

12.  Good communicator—Telecommuters need to develop good working relationships with a variety of people: their customers, co-workers, boss, and family members.  To make this arrangement work, you’ve got to keep everyone in the loop and constantly informed.

Now a new study by Cisco identifies the psychological profile and communications resources required for successful mobile workers. Guess what?  They cite the same factors: extroverted, resilient, creative, independent, and disciplined.  A successful manager of mobile workers needs to trust their folks and enable them to manage their own workload, emphasizing results and deliverables rather than hours and “butts in seats.”  Managers can’t treat mobile workers the same way they treat fixed-desk, office-based workers.  If management doesn’t understand how to handle their folks or recruits inappropriate personalities, the business will potentially miss out on the benefits offered by mobile workers.  The right amount of communication—not too little and not too much—will avoid feelings of isolation or micromanagement.  Make sure these people have a high level of connectivity and can be productive wherever they are—taxi, home, plane, hotel, or airport gate.

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I have a friend who jokes there are always three people in her bed: herself, her husband, and her Blackberry.  I was in California last week on vacation with my family and witnessed people typing away on their Blackberries while at Disneyland, with their children tugging at their pants legs, asking to go see Cinderella.  I was presenting a seminar yesterday, and one participant kept looking up to say, "Would you repeat that"? not because I wasn’t clear, but because she wasn’t paying attention to me—you got it—checking her email during class.  Examples abound but the bottom line is Americans are addicted to email.  Slaves to the Send/Receive button, countless workers sit at their desks, waiting for the next Desktop Alert, beep, cursor change, envelope in the system tray, whatever trigger prompts their Pavlovian response to interrupt whatever they are doing and check it.  And unopened email!  A present—for me!  Someone loves me.  Many workers allow themselves to get sucked in the email vortex for an entire day and not actually complete any work.  And then we blame the sheer mass for sucking all of our time, rather than acknowledging the reality: you are controlled by your email. 

A new study released July 26 by AOL in partnership with Opinion Research Corporation reveals that more Americans are using portable devices to email around the clock from virtually anywhere—even in the bathroom and at church.  Even more dangerously, 53% of respondents admit to tapping away *while driving.*  Some other interesting statistics:

* 83% of email users are checking while on vacation;

* 59% of those with portable devices are using them to check email every time a new message arrives.

* 43% of users keep the device nearby when they are sleeping to listen for incoming email.

*  15% describe themselves as "addicted to email" (really? only 15%?)

These statistics are just sad.  AOL was extolling this like a virtue, of course, that you can stay connected anywhere, anytime.  I think it’s a dangerous message.  We’re teaching people that in order to be productive and be a valuable worker, you have to be "always on," give up your private time, and check email at all hours of the night.  Portable devices are very convenient when you’re traveling for business, sitting on an airplane, in a taxi, driving as a passenger in a car with nothing better to do, at a business conference to stay in touch with the office, waiting to pick you kid up from soccer, etc.  There are certainly and definitely valuable uses for handhelds and they can be quite handy.  But be very careful about throwing yourself upon the altar of email addiction and sacrificing the quality of your life balance and time with your loved ones. 

The big differentiating factor is control.  If you shut your Outlook down completely for an hour, would you be able to resist checking?  Can you turn off your device for two hours while having a nice dinner with a spouse without thinking about it constantly?  Would you get hives if your Blackberry wasn’t charged?  Do you feel like the world is going to end?  I’m not here to judge you and neither should anyone else—only you know—intuitively—whether you have a problem.  Time to control yourself rather than letting technology control you.  If you think it’s bad now, just wait to see what happens in a couple years.

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