The Productivity Pro

Around this time of year, everyone begins thinking about making resolutions and getting organized for greater productivity in the New Year. If I could pick a single goal for everyone, it would be revamping those time-sucking meetings!

(C) 2010 Laura Stack

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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.

(C) Copyright 2010 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.

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We all want to do our part to help the environment. But if you can give the Earth a break and increase your productivity at the same time, that’s a real no-brainer! Luckily, a lot of the things you can do to help sustain the planet can help sustain your productivity as well.

(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.

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Hopefully by now we all get it: this economy is challenging, things are changing, and everyone is looking for ways to do more with less. Unfortunately, as many companies struggle to adjust to this new reality, opportunities are being missed. Often we are so focused on stretching an organization’s financial and other resources that we become less effective in managing our human resources.

(C) Copyright 2009 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.

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When it comes to time management, social media can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can help you make connections and expand your professional network faster than ever before. On the other hand, you can dump countless hours into social networking sites and see little return on the investment. Here are five things you can start doing right away to help you use social media efficiently and productively.

(C) 2009 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com

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I asked readers to fill in the blank on our last monthly survey and received some great responses. There were tons of interesting answers, but it didn’t take long to start seeing some patterns.

(C) 2009 Laura Stack. www.TheProductivityPro.com

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One of the trickiest parts of leadership is finding a way to strike a balance between your employees as subordinates and your employees as real, live people.

Managing relationships with the people you work with (and for) is as important to your everyday productivity as it is to your career.

(C) 2009 Laura Stack.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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Technology has given us so many options when it comes to keeping track of our to-do lists—Smartphones, web-based applications, desktop applications, PDAs—but figuring out the best system for you can be a real challenge (and a frustrating one at that).

Interestingly enough, even with all the technology out there, informal research (mine and others’) still shows that when push comes to shove, most people still fall back on good old-fashioned paper.  In fact, a lifehack.org survey shows that not only do most people use a paper to-do list, but that paper is more than twice as popular as any other method listed!

Why is that?

Because we’re human.

Listen on...

(C) 2009 Laura Stack.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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Personal productivity is one thing. But once you take on leadership responsibilities, productivity is a whole new ball game. Suddenly it is no longer just a matter of being the best you can be, but of bringing out the best in those around you.

This can be hard! Priorities compete. Personalities conflict. And let’s face it: some folks just won’t always be as committed as you are to putting in a productive day’s work – bad days happen (even to the best of us).

So how do you go about creating a productive team environment that contributes not only to individual productivity, but also to that of the group as a whole?

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We’ve all been there. There’s mail piled up on the corner of your desk. You have 37 unread e-mails. The phone is ringing (not that phone – the other phone). And you’ll be lucky if you can get through three of the fifteen items on your to-do list.

Oh – and you have four hours of meetings ahead of you.

It didn’t used to be this way. The world has changed in the last decade or so. Has your approach to time management changed with it?

If you find yourself stressed out and frustrated every time you try to hunker down and take control of your time, there’s a good chance that’s because you need a new way to think about time management. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to force yourself to work within a system that just isn’t compatible with the pace of your day or the nature of your work.  Just like electronic organizers are perfect for some and others swear by paper planners, even the best time management system will fail if it doesn’t jive with the way you get through each day. 

If you’re looking for a productivity system that is compatible with real life, consider 4-A Time Management. By focusing on four key elements of productivity you can create a flexible, customized productivity strategy that is compatible with the fast paced demands of today.

(C) 2009 Laura Stack.  www.TheProductivityPro.com

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