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Productivity Coaching, Time Management Consulting and Leadership Coaching for business and nonprofits - get your most important work done. Collaborating with leaders and their teams to become more strategic, focused and productive. Leadership and Board Coaching, Strategic Planning Facilitation, Productivity Coaching and Time Management Consulting, Professional Speaker.
Productivity Coach, Productivity Consultant, Leadership Coach, Time Management Coach, Business Consulting, personal productivity, time management, nonprofit, board coach, collaboration, strategic planning, facilitation, change management, leading productive teams, project planning, board development, volunteer engagement, association management, workplace productivity, executive director.
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energy Tag

09 May

Posted at 00:16h in Envision Success, Planning Tools, Productivity, Time Management

We’ve all gotten pretty good at squeezing in an email, quick call, or text in a moments time, however when we have project work or multi-step tasks it a bit more complicated. Both productivity and performance improve when we are in flow.

Daniel Goleman, the Father of Emotional Intelligence, describes FLOW as a state in which people become utterly absorbed in what they are doing and their awareness is merged with their actions. He says “you know when you are in flow; work becomes easy, you lose track of time, you feel happy, and joyful, and productive.

It makes sense that we would want to create the flow state for when we finally get to doing our really important work. For the brain to engage, work has to be challenging enough to stimulate the brain. The challenge itself is energizing and motivating.

However, there is more we can do to propel ourselves into flow:

  1. Clearly define the goal and create an outline or plan. Being specific minimizes your getting off task.
  2. Create your optimum environment by eliminating distractions. This can mean no noise, white noise, music with words, or music without words. Wear headphones so people know not to interrupt you, close your office door (if you’re so lucky to have one), or find a secluded place to work.
  3. Clear the decks. While some people can jump in and “eat the frog”, others need to get the little nudgy annoying tasks off their plate so they can concentrate and be completely engaged.
  4. Block off enough time. Some people can work in micro blocks – 15-30 minutes, and the next day pick up right where they left off. Others need 2 or 3 or 4 hour chunks so they don’t have to waste time ramping up to get to where they were the day before.
  5. Build in accountability and feedback. Outside support often helps to stay on task.

 

When I dig into a task this is what works for me:

  1. I write out my goal and put it in front of me. Then I outline the steps to reach the goal, often on post-its, organizing the process. And, it helps me stay motivated when I can throw away a completed post-it.
  2. My optimum environment includes finding a quiet spot where no one can talk to me. I turn off my phone, ALL social media, and often the internet. I prefer to have either white noise or music without words playing in the background
  3. I clear the decks almost 100%. My desk surface only has the current project – nothing else.  My critical email are completed, my phone calls are made, and I try to have completed as many  little annoying tasks as possible.  This enables me to solely focus on the important work.
  4. I block out time in big chunks, preferably 4 hours. I waste too much time remembering where I was and getting back to that point if I work in lesser amounts.  If I am working on a presentation or something with lots of moving parts, I may block out the entire day.
  5. My accountability to myself is enough for me, so engaging others isn’t helpful, but many clients and colleagues do benefit from knowing they will be reporting in on their progress.

 

The one most important thing to know about flow is that it happens when we are working on things we love doing. What do you love doing?  How can you create your environment to get to do the work you love more?

12 Aug

Posted at 09:10h in Productivity, Time Management

August Calendar

It’s almost August and it’s been one heck of a year, not just for me but for so many friends, colleagues, and clients. Yet Tuesday morning beckons and I know that means it is time to write my blog post for the week.  Most of the time the words just pour onto the page.  Unlike some bloggers I don’t pre-write, my posts are inspired by my clients, my week, and my life.

Except today I’m stuck.  Maybe it’s how sad I am about the loss of Robin Williams.  Maybe it is because both my children are leaving for college on Saturday (sad, excited and super busy all at the same time), maybe it is because I need a vacation. I think that’s it. I have been reading all these great articles about how productivity improves with down time. This is what I’ve picked up:

  • Take true vacations: “If we can train ourselves to take regular vacations – true vacations without work – and to set aside time for naps and contemplation, we will be in a more powerful position to start solving some of the world’s biggest problems. (New York Times article on creative thought: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/hit-the-reset-button-in-your-brain.html?smid=fb-share)
  • Create and respect boundaries. “You cannot achieve your balance if you don’t respect the boundaries you have put in place. It will be hard in the beginning but you need to stick with it so you develop a routine and drive a culture and lifestyle of predictability. You will find that there is also something else you can do. There is always another email to reply to or a problem to work, but you need to PERSONALLY respect your boundaries. If you don’t then you can’t expect others to respect them.” (Entrepreneur Magazine article on Work-Life Balance: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235427)
  • Time off improves productivity: “The Greeks are some of the most hardworking people in the world, putting in over 2,000 hours a year on average. Germans, on the other hand, are comparative slackers, working about 1,400 hours each year. But German productivity is about 70% higher.”  (Economist Magazine article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/working-hours)

So, my productivity tip for the week is to take some down time.  Happy August, vacation, and napping.  Talk to you next week – then it’s VACATION TIME!

07 Jan

Posted at 08:43h in Focus and Prioritize, Productivity

“NO” is the most powerful productivity tool ever!  As the new year is upon us, with all our new goals and aspirations, it is easy to get caught up in the vortex of hoarding opportunities.  With the myriad of information and prospective “things” we can do with our time, money, and energy staying focused is … hard.

To effectively evaluate if you should say “YES,” getting clear about what is important is critical.  (Check out my 10 Minute Goal Setting Blog Post if you need some direction with this.) Remember, that when you say “YES” to one thing you are saying “NO” to something else.  Your resources are not endless!  Filter questions include:

  • If I say YES to this opportunity, what will I be saying NO to?
  • Will saying YES help me achieve something valuable, useful, or important?
  • Will saying NO be a relief?

Once you are clear with what’s important saying “NO” becomes much easier.

13 Aug

Posted at 08:43h in Productivity, Tech & Digital Clutter, Tips for Easier Living

Yes – actually we now have names for people who keep too much electronic information.  But, there is good news!  Unlike physical clutter where our space fills up and overflows, our computers can handle massive amounts of data.  Bad news is, just like physical clutter, it can negatively affect our quality of life.  Is this you?

  • You’ve missed an important opportunity because the email invitation was hidden among hundreds of unimportant emails
  • You’ve spent hours looking for a document you know you had but couldn’t find
  • Your computer is mired in so much muck that it no longer is the wonderful resource it once was.

(more…)

23 Jul

Posted at 08:18h in Focus and Prioritize, Productivity, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

Do you ever ask yourself how you can better manage your time?

If managing people is making choices about how to maximize their potential, than you can easily say that managing time is making choices about how to maximize its potential as well.

One of the most useful tools I have found to most effectively manage time is Pareto’s Principle.  Pareto was an Italian Economist who in 1906 observed that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the population.  From this comes The Pareto Principle, more commonly known as the 80/20 rule.  Simply put, 20% inputs yield 80% output

How does this help you manage your time?

Let’s look at 3 relevant examples:   (more…)

09 Jul

Posted at 08:47h in Envision Possibilities, Focus and Prioritize

Do you have goals?

Of course you do, but perhaps the question should be, “What are your goals doing for you?” If they are simply floating around in your head, they are probably just frustrating you, but if you take the time to do something with your goals, they can enrich your life.

Many people say they don’t use goals because it seems so complicated. Not so. Using goals to shape your life more the way you want it is really quite easy. Take ten minutes and you are on your way to accomplishing the things in your life that are most important to you.

Before you begin, it is important to review a few key terms relating to Goal Setting. A goal is an action statement that reflects a desired outcome. Life areas are areas you consider important in the balance of your life, i.e.: business, self, family, and service. The term measurable means quantifiable through time, quantity, result, or concept.

Action Plan for 10 Minute Goal Setting:    (more…)