Displaying All Posts tagged with Disruptions

Is Facebook Productive?

With today’s privacy “simplification” announcement over at Facebook which rolls out to all users over the next few weeks (unless you’ve recently quit…or you may not see if you are going to) , it rekindled an old argument: Is there is any productive merit to the web service?

A lot of users use the site to promote their blogs (WorkAwesome included) as well as to keep touch – and regain contact – with old friends. This can result in new opportunities and can be effective in keeping communication easy and centralized. Certainly birthday greetings have become simpler to send (and remember)!

Do you still use Facebook? If so, for what? Is it a productivity “suck” or tool? Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

is facebook productive, facebook and productivity, social prostitution india, is facebook product ive, how to be productive on facebook, how to be productive in facebook, how productive is facebook?, facebook usage and producitivity, facebook suck productivity, facebook productive

Pac-Man Eats Up Productivity

Mike Vardy 25th May Productivity 2 Comments

Last week’s playable Pac-Man game on Google’s home page (permanently playable here, by the way) may have been awesome for those nostalgic about playing the game – the iconic video game turned 30 last week – but it sure did sap the productivity out of the day for most.

A report by software firm Rescue Time (developers of time-tracking software) revealed that nearly 5 million hours of work time was eaten up by the little guy. Totally awesome in one way, not so much in another.

Admittedly, I played it for a spell once I came across the page. I was obviously not alone. How many WorkAwesome readers chased Clyde and the gang around?

UPDATE: The dollar value is in. Whoa. Click Here to Read Article …

Are You An Efficient Early Riser or Energetic Night Owl?

Mike Vardy 24th May Productivity 25 Comments

Some would say getting an early start on the day is the best way to go. You have the opportunity to get focused early on and tackle the day’s tasks and projects with little to no distractions. Then, when the rest of the world wakes up, you’re already a few hours ahead of the game.

Others profess that tackling the “have to’s” early on in the day allows you to do the “get-to’s” as the day draws to a close. Many people have had the day to allow ideas and strategies to percolate throughout the day and spend the wee hours making those ideas happen. In essence, they’re getting a head start as well – just really late the night (or early morning) beforehand.

Then there’s the ever-present question of when you need to be available to others, such as family, friends and colleagues. That plays into how you tackle your day just as much as anything else.

So, WorkAwesome readers, are you an efficient early riser or do you find you work better as a night owl? We’d love to hear from you! Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

why am i more productive at night, why do i work better at night, energetic at night, early riser or night owl, more energetic at night, early riser vs night owls, night owl to early riser, early risers vs night owls, im more productive at night, which person are you work better in day or night

Dealing With “The Impossible” At Work

Peter North 21st May Office Life 3 Comments

The novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a “satirical critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning.” The book is famous, unique and hilarious, but the term “Catch-22″ itself has become more popular than the book it came from. The phrase may seem old and obscure, but it’s still part of the English lexicon, and it’s been used most recently in popular TV shows like Lost and The Office. Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

impossible work, work with peter north, impossible work situation, impossible situation in the job, impossible working situation, it impossible to work with, new job boss asks the impossible, what is impossible in work place, when your boss asks for the impossible, impossible colleagues

Habits That Annoy Your Cubicle Mates

Ana da Silva 13th May Office Life 21 Comments

There are certain habits that one has at home that should not be brought into Cube Land. We all have our habits and though we may disagree on what’s acceptable in our personal lives, the workplace is a different story as there are certain things that just do not belong in it at all. There is always the problem with the exposed belly for example (or the butt cleavage!). Then there are those things that I had thought were even more obvious but obviously they weren’t. Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

annoying cubicle habits, cubicle mate, sharing a cubicle, smacking gum annoying, bad cubicle habits, exposed belly workplace, coworker smacking gum, annoying cubicle, talking loud at office cubicle to impress, annoying office mate

Handling Interruptions Realistically

Andre Kibbe 6th May Office Life 9 Comments

You’ve read the usual advice on career, productivity and self-development blogs when it comes to handling interruptions at work. Firewall your attention. Don’t check email. Stay off of Facebook and Twitter. All good suggestions, but they’re tautologies equivalent to saying that the best way to avoid distractions is to be undistractable. We’ve read that the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes, that it takes 15 minutes to recover from each interruption, that interruptions cost the country $12 trillion in lost productivity (the number fluctuates radically). We get it: interruptions are not welcome. Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

interruptions, handling interruptions, avoid distractions, work interruptions productivity, handling interruptions work, interruption at work, handling interruptions at work, interruptions at work productivity, interruptions and productivity, how long does it take to recover from an interruption

Work Unplugged: Going Off The Grid

Mike Vardy 4th February Office Life 2 Comments

“Inaction speaks louder than words.” – Mike Vardy

I’ve always wanted to quote myself. Call it self-adulation or self-indulgence if you will, but there’s a truth behind it: not making progress on something often can’t be saved by reasoning or excuses. You need to see things through to the end.

Let’s face it…we are getting inundated with email, RSS feeds and other types of information on a daily basis – it seems never ending. Because it is. The web has opened up a floodgate of pertinent and trivial news stories that come at us from all angles, memorandums and tasks arriving in our email inbox at breakneck speed and an endless stream of voice mails begging for us to respond to thanks to that blinking red light on our telephones. I’m feeling overwhelmed just writing about it.

Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

working off the grid, how to work off the grid, work off the grid, off the grid work, do you steal yourself for something or steel yourself, off-grid in the digital worl, quotes on going off the grid, starting to go off the grid, unplugged off the grid, why go off the grid?

Full Engagement at Work

Andre Kibbe 22nd January Productivity 15 Comments

Most of today’s companies still value presence over performance. The amount of time employees spend in the office matters more than what they accomplish during that time. The expectation of putting in long hours, regardless of whether or not it’s warranted, breeds a habit of filling time by creating non-critical activities, drifting into excessive socializing, or getting caught up in trivial office politics. For those of us who actually want to be productive rather than busy, being surrounded by counterproductive behavior can be frustrating.

How do you replace busyness with productivity? One powerful way is by increasing your presence-to-performance ratio.

Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

engagement at work, full engagement, what is the benefit of recording productive and nonproductive time, engagement activities at work, benefits of recording productive and nonproductive time, What is the benefit of recording productive and nonproductive time if at all?, What is the benefit of recording productive and nonproductive time if at all, benefit of recording productive and nonproductive time, • what is the benefit of recording productive and nonproductive time if at all?, what are the benefits of recording productive and nonproductive time

Begin Your Work Day at the End of It

Andre Kibbe 15th January Productivity 13 Comments

One of the best ways to get more done every day is to make sure you get your most important task done first, from start to finish, without interruption. Focusing on that one task exclusively can be simple, but not easy. The problem usually isn’t lack of effort, but lack of clarity. How do you decide what’s most important?

Maybe that’s not the right question. Perhaps it’s not how you decide, but when. I’ll suggest that the one of the worst times to decide your top priority for right now is right now. It’s usually more effective to have already made your priority decisions beforehand. If this is true, then the best time to decide what your first task should be in the morning is the day before — ideally at the end of the work day.

Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

your working day, Take a bit of time settling in before starting my work tasks each day, When at work I Take a bit of time settling in before starting my work tasks each day Jump right in to my work as soon as I arrive at my job each day, *When at work I Take a bit of time settling in before starting my work tasks each day Jump right in to my work as soon as I arrive at my job each day, how do you start your day at work, When at work I Take a bit of time settling in before starting my work tasks each day, When at work ITake a bit of time settling in before starting my work tasks each dayJump right in to my work as soon as I arrive at my job each day, how to start a day at work, how to start your work day, at the end of the day

How to Stop Interruptions

Cubicle Curtis 28th September Productivity 8 Comments

We interrupt this productive work day to bring you this special message on how to avoid distractions.

Hey, you busy? Sorry to interrupt, but I have some ideas on what you can do about all those distractions and interruptions getting in the way of your work. Let’s review what’s keeping you from finishing that report.

Click Here to Read Article …

Popular search terms for this article:

how to stop interruptions at work, how to avoid interruptions at work, how to avoid interruptions, How do you manage changing priorities or interruptions to your schedule or job duties?, avoiding interruptions at work, stop interruptions at work, cubicle interruptions, cubicle cone of silence, avoid interruptions, time management distractions interruptions in a cubicle area