Displaying All Posts tagged with time management

To Thrive or Survive – Working Under Pressure

Have you ever heard someone say that they “work best under pressure”? It sounds like such a positive thing to say about your work habits. But, what if instead of “working best under pressure” they mean that they work only when under pressure, or that they even require pressure to get any work done at all?

Suddenly, it doesn’t sound like such a great way to describe yourself. Do you want people to get the impression that they need to pressure you in order to get you to increase your productivity? If so, get ready for an unnecessarily stressful work experience.

Instead of claiming to “work best under pressure”, consider the opposite: Present yourself as a “self-starter” who needs no pressure, prodding, babysitting, or queuing of any kind to get their work done. The term “self-starter” is just as clichéd, but at least it’s not suggesting to your peers that they have to nag you nonstop to get your best efforts.

Now if you truly do thrive under pressure, then by all means seek it out. But if not, do yourself a favor and find a tactful way to say, “I can handle pressure, but I don’t require it to excel.” Click Here to Read Article …

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Breaking Bad Habits

Habits aren’t always bad, but the word just seems to conjure up thoughts of things that aren’t particularly good for us.  There are “challenges” all over the web that try to help you break these habits but there are also those that try to instill good ones.  These challenges can come with weekly or monthly timelines (such as 30 Days of Creativity or the Jerry Seinfeld-inspired Don’t Break The Chain), and even make you accountable to not just yourself but others as well (The Power of Less Challenge would be an example of this).

What bad habit would you like to break?  What good habit would you like to begin?  Let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

The Productivity Rule of Three

Being consistently productive is hard work and it takes a lot of discipline to maintain.  There are tasks and projects coming at you from colleagues.  We all run the risk of information overload thanks to websites, RSS feeds and – most recently – social media.  Even if you have a system in place there are times when it is going to seem impossible to keep up with everything.

So don’t.

If you can get three big things done per day (Leo Babauta refers to them as MITs or Big Rocks), then you’re winning.  You’ll most certainly handle little things here and there that you come across throughout your day – routine stuff – but if you decide that you must get three big things done every day, you’re being really productive.  Be sure to prioritize them accordingly, otherwise you’re going to be doing some tasks that may not move you forward as much as others might.  The mind works well with the number three.  Two seems easy and four seems a bit daunting, but three is like Baby Bear’s porridge…just right.

This isn’t anything new, of course. Productivity experts have been preaching this in some form or another for years.  We just tend to forget about it every once in a while.

So if you find that you’re getting caught up and your wheels start spinning, just roll up your sleeves and do three big things.  You’ll end up doing bigger things down the road if you do. Click Here to Read Article …

Are You Quitting Facebook?

Facebook has its benefits.  It creates a connection of sorts, reconnects old friends and is an excellent social media tool.   But it is also a productivity killer when overused.  Between email, Twitter and Facebook you can seem to be doing a lot without really doing anything at all.

May 31st was designated as the day that everyone who was going to quit Facebook would band together do so.  Ideally, this would drive a point home that solidarity can make a huge impact (and some would say to get Facebook to think twice about privacy issues) on how the site goes forward.  Then again, it might just be that not many people know about the significance of the day at all…

So, have you quit Facebook?  Will you?  Are you going to be part of the crowd that does it en masse?  Tell us in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

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Looking Back and Looking Forward

Looking Back and Looking Forward

The weekend is a time to take care of yourself – whether it be catching up on household projects, spending time with family and friends or taking the time to rest and simply enjoy the fruits of your labor.

It is also a time to reflect on the week gone by and prepare for the week ahead.

Since you were a child you have (likely) known that you should look both ways before crossing the street.. You should treat your planning in a similar manner. Look both ways before going ahead. Know where you have been and where youre headed – or like to be headed.

Looking back on your past successes and shortcomings will work for you going forward. The weekend is the perfect opportunity to take the time to do that.

Failing to do so may not be as destructive as what could happen if you cross a street without looking…but it can definitely make for a less productive week. Click Here to Read Article …

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Working for the Weekend?

Not that silly of a question,  really.

Even if you put in a 9 to 5 work week, it’s entriely possible that it doesn’t end there.  Some people work straight through the week.  Some take other days off during the week because they can simply get more done on the weekend.  Others have part-time passions that they pursue on what would normally be considered “days off” – myself included.

So do you work over the weekend?  Do you put in a full day when you do?  Leave a comment to let us know! Click Here to Read Article …

How to Time Your Tasks

You’ve likely heard about The Two Minute Rulewe’ve even discussed it here at WorkAwesome recently.  Keeping track of how long it takes to do tasks is important, as is keeping tabs on your time so you don’t spend too much time on anything that doesn’t require it.

How do you keep tabs on your time?  Here’s some helpful links to get you started: Click Here to Read Article …

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5 Really Productive People

This is a list of the top 5 productivity pundits, in no particular order.  When you’re not reading up on it here, you can either check them out at their respective websites (or just read here and we’ll cite them when applicable).

  1. David Allen – Creator of Getting Things Done.
  2. Merlin Mann43Folders founder.  Mind you, his focus is now on creating stuff as opposed to advising on ways to do just that.
  3. Seth Godin – He ships, ready or not.
  4. Leo Babauta – Simply and effectively – with a certain amount of zen – he gets things to done.
  5. Scott Belsky – CEO of Behance and founder of The 99% Conference…he’s penned a book on Making Ideas Happen.

I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t mention that there are oodles of other really productive people – and they help others do the same.  We’re here to help to help you be awesomely productive as well – and we’re going to continue to do it in the most awesome way we can. Click Here to Read Article …

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