A holistic approach to increasing your get-up and go, from the productivity expert whose previous books showed people how to Find More Time and Leave the Office Earlier. If you want to be productive but are just too tired all the time, you need to read this book! Laura Stack combines invaluable insights and practical advice in this guide to becoming more energetic and more productive in every area of life. Stack describes the factors that contribute to low energy (the "energy bandits") and explains how to reduce their effects and build up or renew sources of positive force (with "energy boosters").
Find More Time. You can't add more hours to the day, but Laura will help you make the most of the time you have and get things done. Available now from Amazon.com.
Leave the Office Earlier, Laura shows you how you CAN get more done than you ever thought possible and still get home to your real life sooner.Available now from Amazon.com.
Here are the top seven responses from
last month’s poll: Complete this sentence: “I spend way too much time on…”
1. Email.
2. Watching television.
3. Searching the Internet.
4. Procrastinating on starting a difficult task or project.
5. Family concerns during my work day (way too many 9-5 tasks that only I can
do).
6. Scheduling meetings. It's close to impossible to get five or more attendees
that are available at the same time and the same date. I sometimes spend hours
to schedule one meeting.
7. Shifting my tasks forward instead of just getting them done...usually the
boring mundane ones.
“If you procrastinate when
faced with a big difficult problem... break the problem into parts, and handle
one part at a time.” —Robert Collier
“Do it now! can affect every phase of your life. It can help you do the things
you should do but don't feel like doing. It can keep you from procrastinating
when an unpleasant duty faces you. But it can also help you do those things that
you want to do. It helps you seize those precious moments that, if lost, may
never be retrieved.” —Napoleon Hill
“The finest eloquence is that which gets things done.” —David Lloyd George
quotes
Where in the World
is Laura?
If you're interested in bringing Laura to your organization to present a training seminar for your employees on the day prior or the day after one of these engagements below, please contact John Stack for special "piggyback" pricing.
Ten Reasons Tasks Never Move off Your To-Do List
(and how to fix it)
I recently surveyed my readers on the eternal question of
productivity: Why is it that some things on your to-do list never get done? Some
great responses rolled in, ranging from the classic (too many interruptions) to
the matter-of-fact (I don’t feel like doing it).
But as diverse as the responses were, it didn’t take long to see certain themes
emerge. Below are the top ten issues at the heart of the problem and some
guidance on how to deal with them.
1. You haven’t made the necessary decisions. Your to-do list should be
full of clear, actionable ideas—in other words, things you can actually do. If
you have a vague goal, like “Have a sale,” you’ve still got a lot of thinking to
do before you can hit the ground running and make real progress. Take a minute
to figure out exactly what you need to accomplish: What kind of sale? When will
it take place? What will it promote? Once the task is more fleshed out, you’ll
be more likely to make progress on it.
2. You haven’t talked to the people involved. Are you worried that you
don’t have the necessary support to make your idea happen? If you need buy-in,
go get buy-in. Chances are that your first step should be to pick up the phone
or schedule a meeting. Even if you don’t get the answers you want, at least
you’ll know where you stand. From there, you can move forward, adjust your
strategy, or simply move on. Wherever the idea ends up, at least it isn’t
festering on your list.
3. You haven’t done your homework. Perhaps you know you need to schedule
a teleseminar series, but haven’t gotten around to researching which platforms
are available. Figuring out the mundane logistics is now keeping you from making
an important decision. Carve out some time to do the legwork, or better yet,
delegate that part of the task to someone else. Once you have a better idea of
your options, you can focus on the real issue at hand.
4. You’re ignoring your internal clock. We spend so much time focused on
schedules and deadlines that we often forget to pay attention to our body’s
natural rhythms. Yes, your Outlook calendar might say that a block of work will
fit perfectly on Wednesday afternoon, but if that places your big task in the
middle of a low-energy period of your day, you don’t stand a chance. Keep your
daily energy levels in mind as you plan your day. Start high-energy projects
early if that’s when your concentration is at its best.
5. The task is unpleasant. The first step is admitting it! If you’re
being honest with yourself, you probably have an item on your list that hasn’t
been done simply because the task is unpleasant and you’d rather not do it. If
that’s the case, it’s time to get tough. Make a decision right now to either do
the task, delegate the task, or forget about it altogether. If you need to do
it, stop thinking about it and just get it done. If it can be delegated
effectively, go ahead and make arrangements with someone else. And if you’re
going to eliminate it completely, cross it off your list and for goodness’ sakes
move on already!
6. The task is overwhelming. You don’t know where to start. Is there an
item on your to-do list along the lines of Complete Huge Multifaceted Project
XYZ? No wonder you aren’t making progress! The task it too big. Large or
complicated projects need to be broken down into manageable chunks or else
they’ll always take a back seat to the smaller, more manageable things on your
list. After all, would you rather spend the afternoon completing five smaller
items on your list or barely making a dent in one? By identifying a few key
steps, such as “Gather Project documents” and “Outline project scope,” you’ll
know exactly what needs to be done next and be less likely to hesitate as you
take action.
7. You are plagued with distractions and interruptions. Seemingly
innocent interruptions like checking e-mail, answering the phone, or chatting
with coworkers will eat your productivity alive. And although many of these
interruptions aren’t necessarily your fault, managing them is your
responsibility. Identify your time wasters and take immediate steps to correct
the problem. You might need to set regular times each day to check e-mail or
close your door to let coworkers know you’re temporarily unavailable. Not sure
where your time is going? Keep a detailed log for a few days and find out once
and for all.
8. You are constantly putting out fires. Does it seem impossible to
achieve any real long-term focus as you jump from one urgent, immediate priority
to the next? Good leaders understand how important it is to make time for true
high-value activities, even if they don’t present themselves as urgent,
deadline-driven issues. If you spend every day jumping from one issue to the
next, you might help avert disasters, but you won’t ever accomplish anything
substantive. Instead, focus on the cause of all those urgent interruptions. Do
they come from lack of planning, procrastination, or a team that isn’t empowered
to handle simple issues on their own? Once you address the underlying problems,
you’ll be able to focus your time and energy where it belongs.
9. The task requires a lot of work for little reward or recognition.
Recognition is nice, but don’t live and die by it. If the task is worth doing,
it is worth doing regardless of whether you will be recognized for the
contribution. If it’s not worth doing (but you have to do it anyway), just get
the darn thing done and move on to something more fulfilling. In the meantime,
your paycheck is your reward.
10. You day is overscheduled before you even sit down in the morning. You
schedule time and bend over backwards for everyone else…why don’t you do the
same for yourself? Make appointments with yourself and treat them with the same
level of importance as you would a meeting with a client or coworker. If you
know you need three hours to get something done, schedule three hours to get it
done. And I mean really schedule it. Put it on your calendar, eliminate
distractions, and treat the task with the same respect you would a one-on-one
meeting with a live person.
So there you have it: ten huge productivity bandits—decide which ones best apply
to you. Be relentless as you kick them to the curb and get those tasks checked
off your list!
Make it a productive day!(TM)
(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.
Ask the Audience
If you have a productivity dilemma, send your question to Becca@TheProductivityPro.com to get in the queue. What is your biggest time management frustration? What keeps you from doing what you know you should be doing? Our readers will send you advice.
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Reprint Information
All Articles (C) 1999-2008 Laura Stack. All rights reserved. This information may not be distributed, sold, publicly presented, or used in any other manner, except as described below.
Permission to reprint all or part of this article in your magazine, e-zine, website, blog, or organization newsletter is hereby GRANTED, provided:
1. The ENTIRE credit line below is present,
2. The website link to www.TheProductivityPro.com is clickable (LIVE), and
3. You send a copy, PDF, link, tearsheet, etc. of the work in which the article is used when published.
This credit line MUST be reprinted in its entirety to use any articles from Laura Stack:
** The above website link to www.TheProductivityPro.com MUST be clickable to receive permission to reprint the article.
Laura Stack, MBA, CSP
Publisher
Messages from Laura
June 2 is National Leave the Office Earlier Day! Pledge to work only eight
hours on Tuesday, June 2 (versus your normal 10-14) by
clicking here. You’ll
receive a FREE 10-day eCourse on “How to Leave the Office Earlier,” and will be
registered to win valuable productivity prizes from Day-Timer®! June 2nd was
designated as National Leave the Office Earlier Day in 2004 by Laura Stack, MBA,
CSP, bestselling author and a leading authority on productivity and workplace
issues. The annual event, which is officially listed in Chase’s Calendar of
Events, is intended to focus workers on improving their personal productivity
and asks them to commit to working no more than eight hours on that day. “The
eight-hour workday remains a myth to many working Americans,” says Stack. “But
by implementing some simple strategies and tactics, even the most overworked and
overstressed people can be more productive and shorten their workday and feel
good about it.” Visit
my website for a complete
media kit and
articles for reprint in your e-zine, newspaper, or website, as well as a
Workplace Flyer to post and a Letter to the Boss.
Monthly webinar series! Next webinar JUNE 22, 2009: Staying on Top of the
Inbox: Control, Organize, and Communicate Efficiently with Email. 9:00 AM
Pacific/10:00 AM Mountain/11:00 AM Central/12:00 PM Eastern. If you keep more
than a screen shot of email in your in-box, you need this program! Email has
become the productivity bane of modern corporate employees, the ball-and-chain
that keeps them stuck at their desks for hours every day. They wade around,
desperately trying to sort, respond to, and organize messages. Pending items
fall through the cracks. Email for long-term projects sit in the inbox and
collect dust. Employees hit “Reply to All” to 17 people and create hundreds of
“Me too!” responses that add nothing to the conversation and waste everyone’s
time. ENOUGH! Take this course and get and stay on top of your email, once and
for all. Only $29 per person! (You can still buy the discounted package of all
ten: you’ll get a link to the recording of those that have past. For more
information and to register
click here.
To be featured in this section of our newsletter and get a free eBook with our thanks, send your productivity tip or trick to Becca@TheProductivityPro.com with "Tips and Tricks contribution" in the subject line.
1. Can you imagine waking up on Monday morning
and having the inspired thought "Thank God It’s Monday"? And, having everyone on
you your team wake up feeling the exact same way? Wouldn’t it be great if
everyone woke up feeling inspired and ready to take on the world with enthusiasm
every day of the week? My colleague and bestselling Author, Roxanne Emmerich has
transformed hundreds of workplaces across the country consistently getting
revenue and bottom line impact for many companies that is nothing short of
miraculous. Most of her clients are having record quarters while their
competitors are posting record losses! To jump start your inspiration and
reignite your passion, buy Thank God It’s Monday! When you buy the book, you’ll
receive lots of cool gifts from friends who are helping promote the book by
entering your receipt number. Visit
the Thank God it's Monday site here.
2. When I take an online course, like at HP, I always print out the lessons, the
assignment and the quiz and then I put them in binders (under certain categories
such as digital photography, creativity, etc. I also have certain binders for
each topic. That way I can always refer back to them if I need some sort of
answer. I put the articles I really want to keep in sheet protectors so they
will keep forever and are much easier to flip through. You just have to make
sure you don’t get too many binders and keep just what you want. I also get
binders with the clear overlays and insert my own personally made inserts and
binder sides. I just go to HP or Avery.com. Etc. and print them out and insert
them. It is so easy to keep them organized and they look professional. I use
binders for many things. I make one for my Mother who is 88 and have emergency
numbers, our family’s phone numbers and any things she really wants to keep such
as recipes, Heloise columns, favorite letters, etc. It’s helpful to have them in
one place for her since she can’t remember where things are. Thanks again for
the course. I really enjoyed it and am employing my information into my
computer; a very good idea for me since I love computers. --- Zoe L. Berryman
Laura in the News!
What's Keeping You at the Office (9 Tips to get home quicker) “Don't focus
on catching up,” says Laura Stack, president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc. and
author of Leave the Office Earlier. “You will never catch up. There will always
be more things to do than there is time to do them.”
Are You Ready to Leave the
Office Earlier? | Team Taskmaster | BNET
BNET's CC Holland brings managers the tactics and tools they need to inspire
productivity, teamwork, and collaboration.
America’s Most Productive
Companies - Our 2009 research is the most comprehensive study of human
capital productivity of its kind, covering almost 14 million people in over 1600
companies and 175 industries. (study attached in PDF)
Have Laura speak to your company, conference or organization. How do you know if Laura would be perfect for your next event, meeting, or training? View the "Laura Stack Is Perfect For This Group" fact sheet.
