While we commend you for setting proper boundaries and not getting caught in digital quicksand, here’s a little digest so you can catch-up with Laura all in one place … what WILL you do with the extra time YOU have?

Productivity Pro® Blog

Leaders: Get More Done Through Others! How Micromanagement Can Kill Productivity & Creativity

Productivity Minute Video: Procrastination – Can We Talk About This Later?

SuperCompetent Speaking: How to Cram LOTS of Information in Limited Time

During Which Period of the Day DO YOU Feel Most Productive?

Facebook Fan Page

Laura Stack > I’m pleased to be featured with fellow National Speakers Association board member and legendary speaker Brian Tracy in the Success Magazine Audio Series “Boost Your Productivity.”

Laura Stack > You cannot do it all. The sooner you come to terms with this fact, the better off you will be.

Laura Stack > 10 Traits of Highly Productive People …which traits have you acquired?

Laura Stack > To remain consistently optimistic, learn to reframe challenges, change, and adversity as opportunities.

Laura Stack > Most people fail to recognize opportunity knocking because it comes in the form of hard work and commitment. The speaking profession is no exception…looking forward to being with my colleagues at NSA 2011!

Laura Stack > Time management is about making the most of the hours you have, not magically finding more.

Laura Stack > Be willing to reinvent yourself when your work environment changes. It may not be fun, but it is

necessary. What adaptation could YOU make today?

Laura Stack > Please enjoy these Organizing Freebies!

Laura Stack > The ONLY true failure is a failure to learn. Look over each failure, learn from it, and adjust for the future.

Twitter Feed

@laurastack :: Bosses, the employees who treat your business as if it were their own are the ones you want to hang on to.

@merylhooker :: In honor of @neenjames and @laurastack, I’m proud to announce my InBox is EMPTY. No, please. Hold you applause. #productivity

@laurastack :: Take personal responsibility for handling your time & productivity. Never lay the blame on anyone else.

@laurastack :: Someone’s bad mood or crotchety personality isn’t a reflection on you, always be your capable, competent, positive self!

@laurastack @turbosaleslady :: It’s so true! It just flew 20+ hours to get to Singapore and wrote a speech, an article, and a new MP3 program!

@laurastack :: These days, the novelty of speaking in person can go a long way toward building productive relationships.

@laurastack :: Successful individuals fail often, but instead of dwelling on it, they get up quickly and move on.

@laurastack :: Just because something has been done a certain way for years does not make it the best way to do it.

@laurastack :: “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” ~Robert Collier

@laurastack :: Refuse requests when appropriate; learn how to say no graciously. Remember, your time is limited.

@MeganWBrown :: Just wrote my personal mission statement. What a powerful activity. Starting tomorrow, it is central to my life. Thanks @laurastack!!

@laurastack :: Try not to micromanage subordinates. Trust them to do their jobs without constant oversight.

@laurastack :: Quit expecting things to just happen without action. You have to WORK.

Related posts:

1. SuperCompetent Speaking: How to Cram Lots of Information into Limited Time
2. Got Productivity? Two-Day Productivity Boot Camp with Laura Stack!

Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) talks about the importance of making decisions so your productivity doesn’t get stopped in its tracks. (C) 2011 Laura Stack, All Rights Reserved http://www.TheProductivityPro.com

Related posts:

1. Productivity Minute Video: Down Time Does Not Have to Be Wasted Time
2. Productivity Minute Video: Working on Mundane Tasks
3. Productivity Minute Video: Do Things In Order of Importance

“Accountability breeds response-ability.” — Stephen R. Covey

Once you reach the uppermost layers of management, Accountability becomes Efficiency—and as a C-Suite manager, one of your first tasks should be to implement Efficiency wherever necessary.

If you’ve made it to the C-Suite, you didn’t get there by accident. You were elevated to the position because of your demonstrated SuperCompetence in all aspects of your work life. It’s a truism that you can’t be SuperCompetent without having a highly-developed sense of Accountability; and as one of your company’s leaders, you’re a cornerstone upon which the entire organization rests. This means that you have to set the Efficiency example for your team to follow.

The buck stops with you because it has to; after all, where else can it go, when you’re sitting at the top of the heap? This being the case, all the factors that define this Key—quick, effective decision-making, accepting both credit and blame, streamlining your work processes, cracking the whip on yourself, eliminating time-wasters, everything—expand and take on more significance than ever before.

This can be an overwhelming responsibility, the maintenance of which requires a rigid and consistent level of self-discipline—the kind that got you to the C-Suite in the first place. Yes, you’ve finally arrived, but this is no time to relax! I believe that some of the more spectacular corporate implosions of recent years have been caused by the breakdown of this Key at the C-Suite level. With a relaxation of Accountability can come complacency and self-indulgence. All too often, this leads to a disregard for corporate welfare…or, worse, an assumption that what’s good for you is good for the company, the kind of “le etat, ces’t moi” thinking that brought down the French Empire back in the 18th century. It’s also one of the fast-tracks to corporate ruin.

Like all the other Keys, Accountability is a tool; and the only purpose of a tool is to be used. In addition to keeping you on the straight and narrow, this particular tool enables you to infuse Efficiency into your entire organization. Properly applied, your high level of personal Accountability can permeate your entire team, creating an organizational structure founded foremost on personal responsibility. Because that’s what it comes down to: everyone, at all levels, accepting the responsibility for getting their own work done efficiently and effectively. This means learning to implement stringent self-discipline and a tight focus, and finding ways to work around distractions and bottlenecks. Pointing fingers helps no one, because the only thing that really matters is results.

Efficiency involves tightening up everything, from the shop floor to the highest levels of management. This involves clearing out deadwood, cutting costs, streamlining paperwork, bypassing (and ultimately eliminating) clogs in the process flow, and tweaking systems until they operate as flawlessly as possible. Like Organization, Efficiency may require imposition from the top down…and if you really want it to work, you’ll have to be ruthless about it.

Don’t institute change for change’s sake, but don’t hesitate to get the ball rolling when something can and should be done. Your ultimate goal is to create a culture of Efficiency, in which your sharpest employees naturally assess systems, processes, and individual tasks, and take the initiative to be accountable for them. If you can do that, your less accountable employees will either take up the gauntlet of Efficiency…or be squeezed out by the employees who do.

These days, “Operational Efficiency” is a popular buzz-term in business circles; and while it isn’t precisely the same as C-Suite Efficiency, C-Suite Efficiency can certainly help to bring it about. If you can inculcate everyone in your organizational tree with a high level of Efficiency, you can sharpen focus on the most important aspects of your business, which can’t help but spark innovation, drive growth, and increase market share. Productivity will soar, and your organization will make a bundle—because you’re doing things that most of your competitors aren’t.

It all starts with you and your personal commitment to Accountability in all its forms, which cannot waver. If you expect to raise the flag of Efficiency over your organization, and to reap all the benefits that result, then you’ve got to lead from the front.

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Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R) shares how to make mornings easier by planning at night. (c) 2010 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved

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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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http://www.theproductivitypro.com/newsletters/num115Dec2008.htm visit for full newsletter

Importance of Productivity during Down Times

In the summer of 1900…

• The average life expectancy in the United States was 47.
• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11, which was an incredible sum because the average American made .22 cents an hour, or about $400 per year.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores.
• There were about 230 reported murders in the US annually.

Amazing what a century will change. Amazing what a few months will change. Growth ends, recession sets in, the stock market stops booming, and companies go bust. The recession is impacting our clients in various ways: we’re hearing of layoffs, hiring freezes, reduced budgets, not rehiring for positions as people leave, go on maternity, etc.

Tough economic times are packing a one-two punch in the workplace.

First, everyone is forced to do more with less (POW!).

Second, you have to do it all while dealing with the nagging anxieties that come with an uncertain economy—threats of downsizing, bankruptcies, cost containment, you name it (POW, again!).

So how do we cope—as leaders and as productive employees?

To succeed and keep their doors open, companies must make more money but spend less money and create greater results with fewer resources. You could attempt to cut salaries, benefits, staff, costs, or the quality of your products—all poor options. A better choice? Increase employee productivity. If you have 10 people, and you can get them to improve their productivity by 10%, you just effectively added another staff person without increasing salary expense—a much more attractive response. To do this, your employees need your help.

First of all, get a grip on your personal negative feelings that result from your lack of control. You DO have control over your friends, your love relationships, and your career. You decide for yourself what’s right and what’s wrong, whether you should stay in this weekend or go out, whether to vote Democrat or Republican. You decide who to see, what to wear, what to eat.

However, you have VERY LITTLE control over the government, economic policy, the rise and fall of the stock market, Mother Nature, international events, and even your company direction. Changes can often disrupt your life and force you to change your plans. Often there is little you can do and yet you are overwhelmingly affected by it. Accepting what is means realizing you can’t control certain things and to stop trying. You can sit around and wonder, “Oh, my gosh, how is this going to affect me? What if I’m next to go? How will I pay the bills? I’m going to be a bag lady!” You stew and worry and literally make yourself sick.

These things will happen. They just will. You will get no warning, and nobody will prepare you. And that’s frustrating. Because people will tell you to “reach for the stars—you can achieve whatever you want!” But they don’t mention you might get hit by a comet in the process.

It’s time to accept the things that you cannot change and focus on the things you can. What can you do?

Give yourself a break. Try to stay positive, despite the doom and gloom. Overdosing on pessimistic, overly dramatic news coverage is just going to weigh you down with bad thoughts—not good for those looking to clear their heads and get things done! It’s important to be informed about what is happening in the world, but you definitely don’t want to overdo it.

For months now, we’ve been bombarded with bad economic news every time we turn on the television or pick up a newspaper. No wonder everybody seems to be in a rut. Follow the daily news as much as you need to so that you feel in the loop and understand the issues that affect your industry. Other than that, it might be time to shut off the TV and catch up on some fun reading or spend some more time with family.

Know your job. Seems like this one should be a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how often our responsibilities can change and evolve without our even knowing it. Small incremental changes in how employees or departments do business can add up over time, leaving groups of people that work hard, but aren’t contributing to business objectives as effectively as they once did.

For example, in an effort to provide an exceptional level of service, you might find yourself doing work that is below your pay grade. Maybe you end up doing a large portion of the administrative work associated with a project that needs your input. Consider the value of your time!

Make sure that the things that occupy your time are worthy of your talent and expertise and hold your staff to the same standard. With any project, you should be able to look at the time spent, multiply by the pay rate of the ones doing the work, and still feel that your resources were well spent.

If you’ve got a $40,000/year employee stuffing a bunch of envelopes (even just that one time) or a six-figure manager assembling an important presentation page-by-page, then that work becomes awfully expensive!

These examples might seem outrageous to you, but believe me, it happens all the time. Never make the mistake of treating your time like it’s free. Time and other resources are limited, and we need to treat them that way.

As your company and your department are undoubtedly being asked to do more with less, now is the time to step back and take stock of the type of work you’re doing. Many times roles and responsibilities change, but job descriptions do not. As a result, we end up drifting away from core priorities and towards dong work that, while challenging, doesn’t really meet the organization’s immediate needs.

Now might be a good time to step back and ask that all important question: “Why am I (or we) doing this?” If you can’t answer that, or the answer doesn’t make sense, it’s time to purposefully make a change.

Break habits, build systems. Every office that has been around for any length of time has certain unwritten policies and procedures that exist simply because “we’ve always done it that way.” Now is a great opportunity to analyze your existing business practices and find opportunities to break the bad habits that may be bogging your operation down. Take you entire department for example. Do you and your people have a clear idea of your area’s specific responsibilities? Do you have the confidence and determination to say “no” when someone is asking you to do work that is outside your scope of responsibility?

Perhaps over the years your group took on the responsibility of coordinating quarterly meetings with senior managers. It might have made sense for you to be doing the legwork then, but now that the work has become routine, is it really the best use of your talent and resources?

That’s just one specific example, but there are many more out there. Usually, these are the kinds of tasks and responsibilities that make employees want to ask the all-important “Why am I doing this?” question. Rather than spend another day mindlessly plowing though projects that may or may not be a good use of your time, force yourself to take a hard look at what you are doing and why you are doing it.

If you had to pick three tasks or responsibilities that should be the top priorities for your department, what would they be? Once you know, evaluate how much time and energy is dedicated to those things. You might be surprised at how much time we can spend doing things that aren’t even close to the top of that priorities list.

It isn’t always easy to say “no,” but fortunately, that’s where your systems can come in. As you work to create smooth, efficient systems to do work within your department, you can give yourself some ammunition to fend off others in the company that might be inclined to slide work onto your plate where it doesn’t belong. If you don’t have firm policies and procedures in place to identify who should be doing what, it is much more difficult to make the case for “no.”

Analyze your relationships with other departments. Have trouble turning down work coming from other areas of the company? Now is a perfect time to start fresh and rebuild your department’s boundaries. In a frank and honest way, simply explain to others that in light of the current economic situation, your group has taken a critical look at its daily operations and needs to decline certain types of requests in order to build efficiency.

Perhaps you need to apply a little systems thinking and rethink the flow of information. Is there a procedure in place for other business units to request your assistance or input? If there’s not, you’re probably being hit from all angles with requests that may or may not be the best use of your time. Diagram how work moves through your department. Where does it come in from and go out to other departments? Interview your internal customers and find out how you can provide value through reduced services. Can you provide a report monthly instead of quarterly? Can you cancel the weekly project meeting and get everyone to email updates instead? Question travel requests if you feel a conference call will do. One of the best ways to take stock of the situation is to survey your group, ask them what gets in the way of productivity, and to genuinely ask how they would redesign things if they could.

Find the bottom line. Right now, businesses everywhere are taking stock of their must-haves versus their nice-to-haves. From an organizational perspective, which are you?

Economic necessity can force budget cuts and cost containment that might otherwise be unnecessary. One way to prepare yourself for this reality is to make sure you have a good understanding of how you and your people contribute to the company’s bottom line.

Sometimes, it’s easy. If you work in sales, for example, the correlation between what you do every day and the company’s financial success might be very straightforward—my group sells our most profitable product, which makes the company money.

Sometimes that correlation is not so obvious. If you operate in a support role, like Human Resources, you may want to start looking at your various responsibilities and deciding which among them have the greatest influence on the company’s bottom line—either by somehow driving revenue or by controlling expenses. Perhaps you help contribute to developing talent within the company, which clearly has an impact on the overall success of the organization. Employee development always seems to be one of the first things to go during down economic times, but this is not the time to reduce training if you’d like to get more work from fewer people. Or maybe you’re managing clerical or administrative functions that would be expensive to secure elsewhere.
If you can’t draw a line from what you do each day to the financial well-being of the company, then it might be time to do some hard thinking. Your other contributions might be valuable, but in difficult economic times, corporate leadership often becomes must more focused on dollars and cents, for better or for worse.

Where am I going with this? If it isn’t obvious how your contributions benefit the company, be prepared to explain how they do. If you CAN’T explain why certain aspects of what you do are valuable, then it’s time to stop doing them.

At the end of the day, productivity is about more than getting things done. It’s about getting the RIGHT things done and getting them done efficiently.

Make it a productive day! (TM)

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

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The workplace is full of energy drains, even for people who work at home. You get caught up in the routine, and lo and behold, hours have passed — and you’ve expended precious energy without much return. If this sounds like your work life, maybe you ought to try a few of these prescriptions.

1. Speak up when you have too much on your plate.  If you’re overworked, you’ll eventually hit a point where your personal energy falls to nil and nothing gets done. Do what you can to streamline your work processes, negotiate deadline extensions, simplify your tasks, and delegate in order to get things done.

2. Be unavailable. That’s right. When someone says, “Do you have a minute?” it’s okay to say, “Not right now.” You don’t have to be rude or impolite, but you do have to be honest. Get over wanting to feel needed, or you’ll have no end of work.

3. Prepare to have a great meeting.  As vehicles for communication, meetings can be extremely valuable mechanisms for disseminating vision, crafting strategic plans, and developing responses to challenges and opportunities — so be ready for them. The productivity of any meeting starts before the meeting begins.

4. Create a meeting code of conduct. Chaotic, over-long meetings can leave you frustrated and with minimal energy. The next time you attend a meeting, request the opportunity to lead an exercise aimed at making the meeting more productive and less draining.

5. Schedule your interruptions. If your co-workers are constantly interrupting your flow of work, set up regular check-in times, or block out interruptible times when you can sit down and talk — and make yourself unavailable otherwise.

6. Challenge the status quo. If you find yourself following energy-wasting company rules you see no purpose for, ask why. The answer may simply be “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” If a policy’s senseless and you make enough fuss about it, you may be able to change things. 

7. Argue for the tools and equipment you need. There’s no reason you should have to make do with a shared printer down the hall. If you argue intelligently for the tools you require to be more productive, you just might get them.

8. Become more efficient and get things done faster.  Find ways to handle repetitive tasks more quickly, and look at how you can eliminate redundancy in your workplace. If you can lower your standards or take shortcuts without hurting your work quality — well, what are you waiting for?

Take a little time to figure out how to keep your typical distractions at bay, and prevent even minor disruptions and disturbances. If you want maintain your energy and get things done, learn to create situations that are suited to concentrated, focused work without interruptions. You can do this by eliminating your excuses, building barriers, creating preventive assertions, and challenging your own thinking.

© 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.

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