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6 Things To NOT Do When You Are Trying To Be Productive
“Being productive” is a relative idea, I know. For example, having coffee with a friend is actually extremely productive…for my soul. However, this is not what I am referring to here. You need to sit down and get to work. You need to be alone and not be distracted. What do you do? Here are things you should not do when you really need to get things done and be productive: 1) Do NOT Check Facebook. Turn off your social media notifications. That little buzz notification can kill your productivity and send you into a rabithole of distractions. 2) Do NOT Check Email. Remember, email is not your job. It is…
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Try Batching to Increase Your Productivity
You just got into the office. You have a busy day ahead of you. Emails to read and reply to, voicemails to respond to, projects to work on, errands to run, meetings and multiple interruptions. How are you going to get it all done? Your head is spinning, just thinking about everything you have before you. When should you do each? How do you plan out the day or week? Instead of just taking things as they come, I’d like to suggest making a plan. More importantly, try batching similar activities rather than allowing them to interfere with one another. Checking your email multiple times an hour, while working on…
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Go Have Coffee
Generally speaking I am a productivity focused workaholic. I like people. I just like tasks also. Not sure if this is possible, but I think I am a task-oriented extrovert. One of my favorite things in the world is to check something off my list. However, I do recognize that people are more important than tasks AND I need people in my life. Being alone, working hard all the time, is not healthy for me…or you. I have a friend named Xander. One of my favorite things is grabbing coffee with him. Of course, I’m drinking tea, but you get the point. I enjoy “having coffee” with a lot of…
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Productivity Tip: Waking Up at 3 a.m.
As I write this post it is 4:45 a.m. I have been awake since 3:00 and probably have not used my time very well. Just wanted to share some lessons learned. I got up at 3:30 and the past hour and fifteen minutes has been used surfing the internet from one idea to another. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. Much of it has been work related, but at the end of it all, I don’t have anything accomplished. So next time I wake up at 3:00, I am going to try doing the following: 1) Develop a quick plan for the next few hours. 2)…
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Sometimes The Most Productive Thing To Do Is Rest
This past week my plan was to rest. I intentionally chose to not publish any blog posts, to take it easy and spend time with family. Then towards the end of the week I was going to get a head start on this next week by working in the mornings. Well, I finally caught the cold going around in our family. The voice in my head said, “See this is why you don’t rest. Now you are going to be behind because you didn’t work when you were healthy.” Do you ever tell yourself this lie? So I was stuck in pickle. Do I rest some more or do I…
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Holiday Productivity Tip: Rest
It’s important to rest. It’s important to rest. It’s important to rest. I’m working on actually believing this. There is something in me that equates rest with laziness. Can you relate? Probably some deep insecurity I have. The fact is, that we all need to rest. A friend of mine once shared with me the importance of having periods of rest, rhythms annually, monthly, and weekly that include rest. This particular person takes a day off each week. Crazy! I know. So I come, as a fellow struggler in this area, to say to you this week, “You need to take a break.” So spend some time doing things that…
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2015 Goals: Get Specific
Have you started moving toward your goals for 2015? Previously I posted getting started with your 2015 Goals and making those goals SMART. Alright, time to get specific with some next steps to get from A to B. Goal: Lose 20 lbs by October 1st, 2015. 2014 Current Reality Very light morning exercise daily for 15 minutes. Limited desserts. Mostly drink tea (no sugar) and water. Drink some smoothies each week for lunch/dinner. 2015 Changes Continue morning exercise as is. Run 3 times a week. Start light on this and build up. No desserts. Only drink tea (no sugar) and water. Drink 3-5 smoothies a week for lunch/dinner. March 1st, see…
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Now Make Your Goals SMART
Previously I shared my plan to start my goals for 2015 this week. I left you with the assignment to narrow down to 1-3 of your own. Did you do it? Here is one of my 3 goals: Lose Weight. I have another personal goal and just one professional goal. I’ll stick to talking about losing weight for the purposes of this post, though. I have a good goal, but it has a couple problems. How will I actually accomplish this goal? Also, how will I know I have accomplished this goal? When will I know I’m done? I need to make my goal what Michael Hyatt calls SMART. Specific Measurable Actionable…
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Let’s Get Started Today
New Years Resolutions…they are coming. You know you are going to come up with something. Then a week later, you will have already fallen off the wagon. Let’s try something different. Instead of starting January 1st, let’s start today, December 1st. What are some goals you might have for the next year? Why not get started on them now before all of the pressure of New Years gets here? I’m starting today because I actually want to achieve my goals, not just be part of some manufactured experience that last a few weeks or days. Are you with me? Okay, here are 3 steps to get you started. 1) Decide…