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.
NEW!
Streaming online learning library of Microsoft Outlook videos! Ten one-hour
modules available for 2003 or 2007—includes detailed workbook with screen shots
and step-by-step instructions!
Normally $39 each module. Special through December 2009: ALL TEN modules for
$319. Use code ALLTEN in coupon code. Pick Outlook 2003 or 2007.
NEW Monthly Poll
Answers to last month’s poll: What is
the one thing you want to do and haven’t been able to get to it? We
received 5 responses:
1. Get a grip on paperwork.
2. I would like to scan all of my family photos into the computer as a backup in
case of fire. It would also help to post them on my website, so I could share
them with other long-distance relatives
3. Develop the discipline to read 1/2 hour a day of professional literature.
4. Update my resume.
5. My weekly review.
Words of Wisdom
“We continue to shape our
personality all our life.” -- Albert Camus
“We know what a person thinks not when he tells us what he thinks, but by his
actions.” -- Isaac Bashevis Singer
“If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a
character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.” -- Andre Maurois
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.
The 12 Dysfunctional Personal Productivity
Personalities
Everyone has a productivity personality. It’s the collection of
strengths, weaknesses, and day-to-day habits that come together to determine how
a person works best.
I’ve written often about how important it is to get a handle on your own
personal productivity personality, but it’s important that you don’t stop there.
After all, most of us depend on others at some point in our day and the
individual work styles and attitudes of those around us can have a huge impact
on our own ability to get things done.
That’s why I put together a list of the 12 dysfunctional personal productivity
personalities. Hopefully this list will help you smile (rather than cringe) the
next time a coworker’s bad habits start to drive you up the wall. I’ve also
included some thoughts on how to deal with each of these pesky personalities.
So here they are, in no particular order:
1. Scrappers. The scrapper’s desk look like a modern art exhibit, covered
in scraps of paper and sticky notes. They write important notes on whatever is
close at hand, whether it’s a fast food receipt or the back of an envelope (a
scrapper’s favorite).
Handling the scrapper: You can’t force scrappers to adopt a comprehensive
planning system or put all of those little scraps into Outlook or a BlackBerry
(although you could try to coach them). What you can do is make sure that items
pertaining to your work don’t get lost in the shuffle. Send follow-up e-mails
detailing key meeting take-aways, check in before important deadlines, and never
fail to follow up on a delegated task.
2. Pilers. Pilers have a lot in common with scrappers, except it is
generally much more difficult to navigate your way through the piler’s office.
They keep everything and file nothing. There will be boxes on the floor and
every inch of desk space will be occupied by stacks of paper, generally piled up
to the point that an archeologist could use them to figure out what the piler
has been working on for the last five years.
Handling the piler: The best thing you can do for the piler is simple:
don’t add anything to the piles. Chances are that any document, book, or report
that you put in the piler’s hands is going to end up in heap someplace, where it
is probably as good as gone. Never hand your only hard copy over to a piler
unless you are ready to kiss it goodbye. Also, be sure to set clear deadlines.
Their idea of giving something a high priority is placing it on their (generally
largest) “immediate attention” stack. Don’t ask them to do something “right
away,” ask them to do it by a specific date.
3. Multi-taskers. Multi-taskers always have a thousand things going on at
once and generally take pride in it. They flit from task to task, getting many
things started but few things completed. And they often appear frazzled,
overwhelmed, and scattered.
Handling the multi-tasker: Always use caution when working with a multi-tasker.
He or she will rarely admit that they don’t have the capacity to take on another
task and can easily become distracted by competing priorities. Always
double-check, very directly, with multi-taskers to make sure that they can and
will do what is expected in an agreed-upon timeframe.
4. Interrupters. “Gotta minute?” It’s practically the interrupter’s catch
phrase. They will constantly show up at your desk, interrupting your day and
derailing your train of thought. Their interruptions are sometimes trivial and
sometimes relevant, but almost always ill-timed.
Handling the interrupter: You have to be honest on this one. If someone
asks if you have a minute, don’t be afraid to tell them you don’t. The more
cautiously you guard your own time, the more others will begin thinking twice
before asking for it needlessly. A polite response to an interruption is to
simply point out that no, you don’t have any time right now but would be happy
to meet later in the day if needed. Beyond that, a simple “Do Not Disturb” sign
can go a long way – just don’t abuse it.
5. Procrastinators. Some people seem clinically incapable of doing
anything before the last possible moment. They start things with just enough
time to squeeze them in before the deadline. You’ll also notice that
procrastinators tend to put off high-value (often challenging) tasks in favor of
more pleasant, less critical ones.
Handling the procrastinator: Don’t let a procrastinator drag your project
team down. The best way to get out ahead of a procrastinator is to plan in
advance and evaluate results on an ongoing basis, not just when the work is
done. If your procrastinator is expected to deliver a weekly progress report,
they’ll be more likely to stay on track. Of course, you should probably steer
clear immediately before your meeting. That will be crunch time.
6. Socializers. Socializers waste inordinate amounts of time chatting
with coworkers and keeping up with the personal lives of everyone at the office.
They’re great at planning the company party, but tend to fall short in other
ways.
Handling the socializer: Socializers do what they do because they get
something out of it – interaction, stress relief, distraction from work,
whatever. If you don’t have anything along those lines to offer, they’ll lost
interest in you pretty quickly. You just need to be sure not to play along. If
you’re in the habit of nodding your head and smiling while others talk your ear
off, then you are part of the problem. Politely point out that you are trying to
keep your day on track and need to get back to what you were doing.
7. Meeting addicts. Some people apparently just love to call meetings.
Maybe they really enjoy the setting and the interaction or maybe it honestly has
never occurred to them that it is possible to get things done without putting
half the department around a conference table. Either way, the result is a lot
of time wasted by everyone involved.
Handling the meeting addict: First of all, don’t be afraid to decline a
meeting when it’s appropriate to do so. Simply state that you don’t feel your
presence is needed and ask that you be kept in the loop on any important
outcomes that might affect your work. Second, don’t be afraid to suggest an
alternative to a meeting. When you get the request, simply call the organizer to
ask if the matter could be handled by e-mail or conference call. In fact, you
might be able to resolve the issue on the spot and save everyone a lot of time
and disruption.
8. Crisis creators. We’ve all been there. A lack of planning by one
person leads to a crisis for everyone else. Even minor issues are exaggerated
into a full-blown disaster and everyone involved ends up feeling stressed and
drained as a result. Crisis creators seem to always be fighting fires and
coworkers are often dragged into the fray.
Handling the crisis creator: Unfortunately, we often have to step in and
help fight fires even if they aren’t our fault. If a certain individual is
constantly working in crisis mode, it is important that you don’t play into the
drama. Keep a cool head and don’t get overly stressed. Then, once the crisis is
resolved, insist on a debriefing meeting to figure out what went wrong. Once
crisis creators realize that problems aren’t going to be forgotten once the
crisis is over, they’ll be more inclined to stay out of trouble in the first
place.
9. E-mailers. They send an e-mail for everything. It doesn’t matter how
simple or how complicated an issue is, an e-mail message is the answer. They
never use the phone, they never walk across the hall to deliver a ten-word
message, and they usually LOVE the “Reply All” button.
Handling the e-mailer: Usually you won’t have much luck influencing the
e-mail habits of a colleague, although you can specifically request the
recipients do NOT Reply to All but respond to you directly instead. What you CAN
do is set clear expectations concerning your own use of e-mail. If you only
check your messages a few times each day, tell people that so they don’t expect
you to treat Outlook like an instant messaging service. People are generally
pragmatic about things and if e-mail isn’t a good way to get a response from
you, they’ll stop using it for everything.
10. Packrats. Packrats have never thrown anything away in their
professional lives. They don’t worry about the company’s records retention
policy, because they retain everything, no matter what. They are often
overwhelmed by their own treasure trove of obsolete documents, but will come in
handy if you ever need to take a look at the final report from that project that
was cancelled in 1986.
Handling the packrat: Packrats are sometimes highly organized creatures,
but are often more worried about the thickness of their project files than they
are about what’s inside. Never trust a packrat to manage priorities or to take
away the key points from any given interaction. Be direct about what you need
from them so you don’t end up with a ton of unnecessary research or extraneous
background information. Just the facts, please.
11. Perfectionists. By insisting on doing everything perfectly,
perfectionists generally fail to accomplish much at all. They can never finish,
because it “can always be better.” They work hard, but complete little.
Perfectionists keep meticulous meeting notes, promise the world during planning
sessions, and often seem to crack up just as the project is coming together.
Handling the perfectionist: When you are working with a perfectionist,
it’s a good idea to plan for frequent touch points throughout the project.
Rather than expecting to reconvene at the end, schedule several synch-up
meetings along the way. Define the level of expectation and the exact
deliverables. This will help keep the perfectionist working in manageable (if
imperfect) chunks and also give the person a chance to dazzle you with little
presentations throughout the project. Perfectionists just love that.
12. Workaholics. The workaholic works an 80 hour week and never misses an
opportunity to remind you of it. Puzzling, though, is the fact that they seem to
accomplish less than others working half the hours. The workaholic typically has
no boundaries between work and home life.
Handling the workaholic: Remember that to a workaholic, “end of day” does
not mean five o’clock. Usually, it means “before tomorrow.” When you are
expecting something from a workaholic, keep in mind that you will likely see an
e-mail roll in at 10:45 p.m. Also remember that there is no sense of urgency to
a workaholic. Since they plan to be working into the evening anyway, they tend
to waste time during normal business hours. You can subtlety nudge them in your
direction by saying things such as “I’d like to have that by three o’clock so
that I can be out the door on time tonight.”
I have no doubt that at least a few of these 12 dysfunctional productivity
personalities will have you smiling and thinking of someone you work with. But
also keep in mind that each of us has a little of one or more of these
personalities in us as well. So as we work to deal better with our chronically
troublesome coworkers, we should also be willing to improve on our own little
areas of personal dysfunction. Now THAT is productivity improvement!
Make it a productive day!(TM)
(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.
Ask the
Expert
What is your most pressing productivity
challenge? Ask Laura your question about a tricky situation, and she will answer
in a future newsletter edition!
Click here
to submit your question.
Hello Laura,
I have been receiving your daily tips for some time now and they are excellent
help. I have a question for you but couldn’t fit it all on the website question
box!
I’m a reasonably organized person, 19 years old, and a sales & marketing manager
for a 10 staff Australian company. I’ve watched your intro video on the website
& noticed the section where you talk about having a "fast track life"! I
definitely have this problem. I’m always very busy but this is hindering my
enjoyment of life & I’m not getting far overall. I try & enjoy time at home but
can only think of what I should be doing to get somewhere, & the things I didn’t
do that day!! How do you suggest that I break out of this?
I had to finally accept that it’s okay to think about yourself and do something
simply for the pleasure of it. I put a “Laura play day” on my calendar every
month. I spend the day doing things I love, just for me: massage, manicure,
pedicure, lunch with a girlfriend. It’s not about being selfish; it’s about
self-care and energy replenishment.
Set aside time for yourself regularly and make it mandatory. Remember the Calgon
bath crystals commercial from the seventies? “Calgon, take me away!” Pamper
yourself. It never hurts to indulge yourself on occasion. Everyone needs a
little "me" time. Set aside “me” time every day. This should be time outside
of playing with the kids; luxuriate in this time after the kids are in bed.
If you have no choice but to enjoy “me” time when the kids are awake, draw firm,
healthy boundaries with family members about not disturbing you.
• Enjoy your favorite creative hobby, whatever that may be. Do woodworking.
Draw. Paint. Play guitar. Sing. Knit. Make crafts. Paint ceramics. Write in your
journal. Take photos. Work on your scrapbook.
• Indulge in some fun: Go fishing. Go golfing. Dance to upbeat music. Garden.
Play tennis. Play volleyball. Shoot some hoops.
• Luxuriate in relaxation: Read. Take a long, hot bath. Meditate. Do yoga.
Stretch.
• Stop planning. The next time you have a Saturday morning with nothing on the
calendar, leave it open! Schedule no chores or errands; resist organizing the
garage. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to do nothing and be
mindless.
• Make these non-negotiable events just like the other appointments in your day.
• Take a day off work and schedule an appointment at a day spa; plan to spend
the entire day there. Doing it on a Friday would be a great choice. Get a
full-body massage, herbal wrap, facial, manicure, and pedicure. Have someone
drive you home so you can retain your level of relaxation.
Book Laura
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.
Letters to the Editor
Hi Laura,
I DEFINITELY agree with your video (http://tinyurl.com/yf3btmn)!
Yes, it is a waste of time and like you said it rewards the NEW customers, but
says nothing about existing ones. Welcome to the real world. Check out the
specials with Comcast (for internet, cable or phone service) or Weight Watchers
and you will find their discounts are ONLY for new customers.
But now it's time to thank YOU. The three ideas you listed on your website that
helped me the most were to organize my purse, organize my computer files, and
add an electronic signature to my email. I can now restore my purse to order in
about 10 minutes because I have a category for each pocket.
My computer files are reachable in about 2 minutes because I use the same
categories all the time and make new ones when there are enough items to put in
it or it's a new subject.
The electronic signature makes emailing easy to look professional. While I don't
use Outlook, I read your ideas and try to make them work for me.
I do live by my Excel files. I list our bills and amounts for each pay period;
it's like taking roll in school--I know when a creditor is late! I also balance
my checkbook using Excel (Help>Checkbook). The formula comes up and it can be
plugged in to the file. I use this to manage 4 accounts right now with a 5th one
to come soon.
All of this has allowed me to manage our finances and survive the deaths of 4
immediate family members (2 moms, 1 brother, 1 uncle) and more recently the loss
of my husband's job.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Karen
Time Tips and Tricks Offered by Subscribers
To be featured in this section of our newsletter
and get a free eBook with our thanks, send your productivity tip or trick to
[email protected] with “Tips and Tricks contribution” in the
subject line.
1. Be a Trend Spotter. When determining
your target audience, you certainly want to consider trends. A trend can create
an entire market, such as the trend toward both parents working outside the home
led directly to an explosion of products and services. A trend can even
serve as one of the factors you use to define your target market. Keep you eyes
and ears open to what is happening around you both locally and globally.
Searching through Twitter trending topics, with a hash tag (#) and your
subject will pull up exactly what you are thinking about and need help with.
Change happens all the time. Your job is to become and astute and savvy
detective who can sift through and separate that passing fancy from the next
important long-lived trend. Susan Friedmann’s latest book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target
Marketing” is full of clever, practical, and easy-to-use strategies to help
you get your message out to the right people, at the right time, and in the
right place. Buy it today at Amazon and get a Super Bonus Pack of
free stuff worth hundreds of dollars.
2. Prevent meeting scheduling madness. One task that's preventing people
from being more productive is scheduling meetings, and I wanted to tell you
about a scheduling tool called Doodle (http://www.doodle.com)
that's been created to help reclaim time and put an end to the endless back and
forth communication that has become normal when scheduling a meeting.
Registration isn't required to use the basic free service, so getting started is
quick and easy. To schedule an event, you just select some dates and times and
let the participants specify what works best for them. With a quick look, you'll
see everyone's availability and be able to make a final decision that satisfies
the entire group. Doodle is used worldwide by more than three million people per
month, and features like Outlook and Facebook integration help all of these
users in their quest to gain victory over meetings.
3. My colleague Randy Pennington has just released a new book with a timeless
message about achieving enduring success as a leader, On My Honor, I Will:
The Journey to INTEGRITY-DRIVEN® Leadership. This book shows anyone —
front line leader, CEO, parent, and community leaders — how to influence others
through a leadership style that models integrity, honor, and duty. Pennington
combines his extensive experience with examples from the best of America’s
distinguished leaders in business, government, and communities. Here is a book
that says a leader’s true strength is not in his or her position, intellect, or
determination. The leader’s who inspire and challenge us to be and deliver our
very best are distinguished by a reputation for integrity, duty, service, and
honor. This is the perfect book for everyone who wants to learn how to earn
respect, credibility, commitment, and trust as a leader. And, Randy Pennington
is offering a gift to say thank you for helping him spread the word that
integrity in leadership matters. Go to
http://www.onmyhonorbook.net and click on the button that says Gift with
Purchase.
Join me on November 16, 2009 for my webinar on Maximizing Your Productivity
with Technology: How to Use the Latest Tools, Templates, and Tricks. We’ve
become dependent upon computers, email, voicemail, the Internet, Blackberries,
PDAs, cell phones, and pagers. These devices connect us to the world of work.
Today, you must be technologically savvy. Technology can undoubtedly improve
your productivity, but it can make you LESS productive if you’re not careful.
This seminar discusses how to use the latest technologies to your advantage,
without letting technology take advantage of you. 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.
Click here for
more information and to register.
Join me and my new sponsor, Office Depot, along with Day-Timer, for a
complimentary webinar on December 15, 2009. Do you find yourself continually
racing against time? Do you feel that you have so much to do that it’s difficult
to get anything done? Managing time effectively is the key to managing your
individual performance. Time management is much more complicated than making a
list and checking things off. Learn how to set priorities and focus on what’s
truly important, plan and schedule your day, and organize your time management
system. Attend this special webinar with Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®, and
you'll learn how to achieve Maximum Results in Minimum Time®. Get your work done
efficiently and leave the office earlier!
Click here to register
now.
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Laura Stack. All rights reserved. This information may not be distributed, sold,
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Permission to reprint all or part of this article in your magazine, e-zine,
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