The Productivity Pro

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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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

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The holidays are over, the snow doesn’t seem so pretty anymore, and we’re all ready to see some sunshine again.  This is the time of year when even on those really dreary days it’s important to remember that spring is right around the corner.  If you aren’t careful, it is much too easy to end up in a late winter slump, which can cause good sprits and productivity to go right down the drain.

Take heart!  Long days and beautiful weather will be here again before we know it.  And in the meantime, there’s plenty we can do to get the most out of short winter days and long winter nights.

Listen…

(C) 2009 Laura Stack

http://www.TheProductivityPro.com

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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 12-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 below for a few ideas to get you started.

www.TheProductivityPro.com

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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?

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