Watch this episode and learn why you have sticky notes all over your office. Figure out what sticky notes are good for and not good for. What do you do when you think of something you need to do?
(C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com
Everyone has stress! But is yours the good kind or bad kind? Positive stress can create improved productivity levels, but negative stress can cause performance to decline. Learn to diagnose your stress levels and determine the proper balance in your life.
Times are tough.
That means businesses everywhere are forced to do more with less. Budgets are being cut. Headcounts are being reduced. In many offices across the country, the only thing that isn’t being reduced is the workload.
It all comes down to finding ways to do more with less – more work with fewer people, bigger projects on smaller budgets.
Just remember that, historically, great opportunities have been found in times of great challenge and hardship. Now, as organizations and as individuals, we all have a (hopefully!) once in a lifetime opportunity to look a global financial crisis in the face and excel in spite of it.
So how do we survive and thrive in an economy that bites back? It’s time to take the gloves off and get lean and mean in 2009.
(C) 2009 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com
Listen Now:
Email, voicemail, and conference calls have revolutionized how we communicate in corporate America and around the globe. In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies depend on technology to link virtual teams across cities, states, and countries. Yet most companies don’t provide training on how to productively communicate with these resources.
Whenever I find myself on the receiving end of an email volley, in which an email has repeatedly gone back and forth, I will simply pick up the phone and end it right there. Some people don’t put enough thought into which technology they will select to effectively communicate their message. For any given purpose, one channel (or medium) will be more effective than another.
(C) 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.
www.TheProductivityPro.com
Like it or not, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are here to stay – and it isn’t just kid stuff anymore. In fact, businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers. How do you keep it from sabotaging your productivity?
Like it or not, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are here to stay – and it isn’t just kid stuff anymore. In fact, businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers. How do you keep it from sabotaging your productivity?
Like it or not, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are here to stay – and it isn’t just kid stuff anymore. In fact, businesses and individuals worldwide keep finding interesting ways to use social networks and other interactive online media to do some pretty amazing things – from building their brands to getting to know their customers.
Where do you stand in this new phase of the internet revolution, which many techies are calling “Web 2.0”? Perhaps you avoided it altogether…or you’re an addict…or you’re somewhere in between.
Like most technology, social networks and other social media tools are great resources but lousy masters. You could spend all day hopping around to different sites, updating your information, and connecting with people all over the world. But how does that add to your daily productivity?
Since it’s a brand new year, let’s take a look at how you’ve been wasting time online. Or perhaps you should be spending more time dipping your toes in the social media waters!
What is social media?
Don’t worry if you’ve never quite gotten your head around the term. Even the experts don’t have a great definition for it. Think of it this way: social media generally refers to web-based tools that help you connect with people and share information.
This means networking sites, such as LinkedIn and MySpace, as well as information sharing tools like blogs. Social media is really about connecting people with one another and/or information.
What’s the point?
There was a time when social media was just a novelty—something that people did just for the sake of doing it. The technology was new, and it was fun to connect with people and find new sources of information and new perspectives. (It can still be a lot of fun!)
The explosion of blogging created an environment where anyone could be a publisher and share their ideas for little or no cost. The advent of social networks gave individuals unprecedented access to one another; suddenly chatting with your old friends from college wasn’t limited to the class reunion.
And today, social media has evolved beyond being just a toy for tech-lovers. As more and more people get involved and the concepts become more mainstream, social media has also become more useful as a professional tool. For example, my favorites are:
• LinkedIn is a great site that allows you to create a professional profile and make business contacts online. Most users see the site as a relatively no-nonsense one, which makes it a great resource for building professional relationships and for reaching out to people that you’d like to meet virtually. I have 400+ contacts currently, all of whom I know personally and would do business with or refer to others. You can view my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurastack.
• Blogs, such as TypePad or WordPress (part of your site or not), have become a great way to share your expertise with the world and build your personal or corporate brand. My blog www.TheProductivityPro.com/blog allows me to share productivity news and insights in an impromptu, informal way. That means my clients and those interested in productivity are more likely to be familiar with my work, my personality, and my qualifications.
• Twitter is a micro-blog, and has a concept that is perhaps the simplest of any of the social networking sites out there. Throughout the day, you post the answer to a straightforward question, which is “What are you doing?” Your updates (“tweets”) are limited to 140 characters. Others can elect to follow your updates and view your posts. Because of the no pressure, minimal approach, you’d be amazed at how quickly you can build your network on Twitter. It is a great, fast-paced way to meet people, keep up with your friends and colleagues, and build your personal brand online. You can follow my tweets at www.twitter.com/laurastack.
I could go on about the different platforms that are out there, but that really isn’t the point. The thing to keep in mind is that there are a variety of sites available to you and that you need to pick and choose which make sense for you. My favorite is LinkedIn, where I can ask people in my network for introductions to people in their networks. I’ve gotten business from doors that have been opened by others for me.
Don’t spend a whole lot of time doing research or comparing sites. Go with your gut and start exploring what is out there. Some things you will like and see the value in, some you won’t. The best way to figure out what’s what is to experiment a little. These sites are extremely user-friendly and are designed to be intuitive. Generally speaking the site will ask you for your information as you go and help you get started. The best way to decide what appeals to you is to do some browsing online and try a platform or two to get your feet wet.
Laura, my feet are already wet. Now what?
Once you have accounts set up on one or more social platforms, there are a few things to keep in mind concerning the day-to-day activities associated with staying connected online:
• Keep up with it. Whether you are maintaining a social networking profile or your own blog, keep in mind that a neglected site gives a bad impression. Especially when networking professionally, information that is inaccurate or out of date is going to reflect badly on you. If people see, for example, that your LinkedIn page has been untouched for months, they just might assume that you are no longer a player at your company or in the industry.
• Censor yourself. For whatever reason, the internet has an odd way of releasing people’s inhibitions, and often not for the better. Especially if you are planning to tap social media for professional networking purposes, think about what you are putting out there! You really need to look at every post assuming that it will be read by your boss, coworkers, clients, your parents, your kids—anybody. If you already have a site that features some less-than-flattering content or images, now is the time to clean it up. Need more convincing? Social networks are increasingly becoming part of the hiring process at many companies. What would a potential employer find out about you if they put their mind to it? Would a prospect decide not to hire you based upon the attitude you exude on your page?
• Limit your social networking at work. The internet is one of the biggest enhancers of productivity in our lifetime, but it is also one of the biggest productivity drains. Social networks are no exception. Make sure you keep your social networking—whether that means reading blog postings, updating your profiles, or checking out other people—under control. Set proper boundaries for yourself. Some people simply can’t do this and waste inordinate amounts of time on social sites each day, leading some companies to block websites such as myspace.com. It really doesn’t take that much time to sit down once or twice a day to check in on things and make sure your communication is up-to-date, but it is extremely easy to find yourself wasting half the day doing it. There is limitless information out there and millions of people available to meet and interact with. Be sure to keep a handle on how much time you’re spending.
• Limit your social networking at home. Just by the nature of the beast, even if you use your social networks primarily for professional purposes, you’re going to end up having some fun, too. Just remember that even though there are countless interesting people out there in cyberspace, there are a handful of much MORE interesting people right under your nose, in your very own home. Don’t neglect the real people in your life because your busy interacting with the ones on your computer screen.
So get out there and start communicating. Once you’re up and running, see where it takes you! Just don’t let it take you out of the productivity zone.
Make it a productive day!tm
(C) Copyright 2008 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. www.TheProductivityPro.com
Working long hours and feeling like you aren’t accomplishing enough? Are you ready to learn to be more productive? Laura Stack is presenting her flagship productivity class at a rare public seminar in Denver on Tuesday, December 9, 2008!
Here is your opportunity to learn from The Productivity Pro® herself. Get the tools you need to become more productive at work so that you can achieve Maximum Results in Minimum Time® and Leave the Office Earlier®!
| Become a Productivity Pro(R) with Laura StackDate: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Location: Denver, CO, EKS&H Public Accountants
Nearest Airport: Denver International Airport Grab a colleague! Reduced rates are available when registering three or more people from the same organization. To register or view complete seminar information and objectives, click here |
With all the US Presidential election behind us, regardless of your political persuasion, let’s talk about the big message of the Obama campaign: change. If you want to become more productive, you’ll have to be willing to make changes and create new, positive habits and leave old habits behind. It is easy to become set in our ways and continue doing things the way we’ve always done them because, well, it’s how we’ve always done them. I’ll take a line from Dr. Phil and ask “How’s that working for you?” Content, satisfied people are not apt to make changes. After all, if everything is going along swimmingly, what’s to change? But people and organizations must continue to change for things to improve. If your relationship with your significant other never changed, it would never grow stronger over the years. If organizations didn’t change, the buggy whip industry would have died if it didn’t become the transportation industry. If the company you work for doesn’t change, you should be very, very worried.
How do we get ourselves in the mindset where we are ready for change? People are ready for change when the pain of not making a change outweighs the stress of actually taking the action to change. Some people just naturally are go-getters and constantly seek ways of being more productive while most people need a little more motivation to change. If you’re the latter, take some time to think about why you want to change. I talked before about finding your “why.” Once you’ve done that, it’s time to actually take the steps to make changes.
Don’t try to change EVERYTHING right now. Pick a couple of things to work on over the next 21 days. Make a concerted effort each day related to that habit you want to break or create and in just three short weeks, turn around and look at how far you’ve come. Each time you take a step in the right direction, it will become easier to do more and eventually be as productive as you desire to be.
(C) 2008 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com
Humor in the workplace is a productive thing, according to Psychologist Maren Rawlings from Swinburne University of Technology. In a recent study, Rawlings “found a direct correlation between the climate of good humor in a workplace and employee satisfaction.” Previous research found a link between job satisfaction and productivity, so the logical leap is that humor is good for productivity. Of course this doesn’t mean we can spend our entire days cracking jokes, but it says to me that we can lighten up and laugh a little. Rawlings also noted “If employers take measures to encourage a positive humor climate in the workplace, they are more likely to retain their staff.” Keeping the staff you have rather than experiencing turnover is clearly more productive than re-hiring and training new folks.
Find creative ways to lighten things up around the office. My assistant told me of a place she used to work where the Sales Director hung a punching bag in the doorway to his office so that his sales reps could take out their frustrations on it. The same Sales Director, when sales were dragging, decided that if sales were dragging, it was time to have sales “in drag”…so the reps came to the office the next day in gender-bending outfits. Everyone laughed and had a great time, and my assistant tells me they hit a sales record that month. It is no big secret that when people are enjoying themselves, they can get more done and stay positive about what they are doing. Have some fun at work. It’s allowed, really!
