This Is How To Be Productive: 5 New Secrets Proven By Research Want to know how to be productive? Create goals, make a plan and execute. We all know this is a good idea… and it never, ever seems to work. It’s like simplifying boxing down to “Just go into the ring and punch the other guy until he’s knocked out.” So let’s ask a different question: what’s stopping you from being productive? Whenever you’re not getting stuff done (or not getting the right stuff done), ask which of these 5 is the problem and apply the solution… Problem 1: Priorities Sometimes you do get a lot done… but they’re not the right things. Whenever you hear or say, “I don’t have time” — it’s a lie. You need to be realistic. Ask yourself, “What’s important?” And this is where procrastination can help. There are three variants of procrastination, depending on what you do instead of working on something: you could work on (a) nothing, (b) something less important, or (c) something more important. It’s not a question of objective important/not-important. So how do you implement this?
How to Think When I applied for my faculty job at the MIT Media Lab, I had to write a teaching statement. One of the things I proposed was to teach a class called “How to Think,” which would focus on how to be creative, thoughtful, and powerful in a world where problems are extremely complex, targets are continuously moving, and our brains often seem like nodes of enormous networks that constantly reconfigure. In the process of thinking about this, I composed 10 rules, which I sometimes share with students. I’ve listed them here, followed by some practical advice on implementation. 1. Synthesize new ideas constantly. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Two practical notes. The second practical note: I find it really useful to write and draw while talking with someone, composing conversation summaries on pieces of paper or pages of notepads.
10 requirements of the perfect manager If you could hire your next boss, what selection criteria would you use? Alan Norton shares a make-believe want ad aimed at finding the ideal manager. Haven't you wished at least once that you could hire your next boss? You might win the lottery, buy the company, and do just that. One of the wonderful things about being a writer is that I don't have to win the lottery for my daydreams to become reality. 1: Be a "people person" Norxodd is people and we are looking for managers who like people. 2: Be visionary Can you see the future? 3: Be a good communicator You should be able to communicate effectively using all methods, including visual presentations, public speaking, email, teleconferencing, and face-to-face. All information at Norxodd is shared equally among all employees. 4: Be technically proficient The products we create at Norxodd are technically complicated. 5: Put your employees' needs first 6: Encourage teamwork Teamwork is important at Norxodd. 7: Lead by example The bottom line
Advice: These Are Andrew Carnegie's 10 Rules of Success 25 Google Drive Tips You’ve Probably Never Heard Before | Process Street Recently I moved over from Dropbox to Google Drive and found a few unexpected benefits. At first I had a little trouble managing the space since the 1TB on my Google Drive was bigger than my HDD, but after I got that sorted I started to learn some of the deeper features of Google Drive, some of which are pretty cool. Below is a list of the top tips and tricks I have learned from playing with Google Drive over the last few months. Work Well with Others Google drive got it’s early breaks in the market by being far superior at collaborating with others than any other tool out there. Publicly Share Documents Not only can you share and collaborate with people you invite, but you can also make documents public. Control Access Levels for Security Just because you want to share and work with others, doesn’t mean you necessarily want people messing with yo sh*t. Chat While Collaborating Search by Person Enhance your Experience with Add-Ons Don’t forget the Apps Use Drag and Drop to Upload
6 Things Every Manager Wants from Employees Each job comes with its own set of requirements, but there are a few universal things every manager looks for in an employee. To impress your manager and earn a reputation for excellence, make sure you're delivering these six items. 1. Results are the number one way managers judge their employees. Get stuff done. 2. Managers want employees who play well with others and don't cause interpersonal issues. We all have that colleague who irritates us, or moments when we're tempted to engage in pointless gossip. 3. The Greek playwright Euripides said, "The wisest men follow their own direction." Managers want employees who show initiative and don't have to be told exactly what to do every time. 4. Managers want employees who are candid about the issues they see in the organization. No manager wants a good employee to leave over a problem the manager didn't even know existed, or to find out about a giant roadblock and then learn that the entire team knew about it for months. 5. 6.
The 12 Most Important Things I've Learned About Leadership “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” –Alexander the Great The quote provides insight as to why leadership is so crucial to entrepreneurship; the person at the top usually is the difference between success and failure. Most of us have encountered natural leaders -- people who instinctively do the right thing and effortlessly make average people into exceptional performers. But for the majority of us, leadership is something we have to work on. The million-dollar question is this: can leadership really be learned? In my experience, the answer is unequivocally YES. Related: The 3 Stages of Powerful But Simple Leadership 1. A reality for any leader is that many people need decisions from you, and if you can’t make them quickly your organization is going to suffer. Don’t agonize, over analyze or second-guess yourself. 2. As a leader it’s your job to drive change, not avoid it. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. John F. 9. 10. 11. 12. Ravin Gandhi
How to use search like a pro: 10 tips and tricks for Google and beyond | Technology Search engines are pretty good at finding what you’re looking for these days, but sometimes they still come up short. For those occasions there are a few little known tricks which come in handy. So here are some tips for better googling (as it’s the most popular search engine) but many will work on other search engines too. 1. Exact phrase The simplest and most effective way to search for something specific is to use quote marks around a phrase or name to search for those exact words in that exact order. For instance, searching for Joe Bloggs will show results with both Joe and Bloggs but not necessarily placed sequentially. The exact or explicit phrase search is very useful for excluding more common but less relevant results. 2. If exact phrase doesn’t get you what you need, you can specifically exclude certain words using the minus symbol. A search for “Joe Bloggs” -jeans will find results for Joe Bloggs, but it will exclude those results for the Joe Bloggs brand of jeans. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Why We Lose Our Days To Unproductive Tasks We have a range of exotic answers to the ever-burning question, how do we become more productive? Like by making your morning routine minimalist, turning your meetings into meals, and mastering the afternoon nap--though the secret to a most-productive day may be more simple: by ridding ourselves of unimportant tasks and replacing them with valuable ones. That's according to London Business School professor Julian Birkinshaw and PA Consulting Group productivity expert Jordan Cohen, who have spent three years researching how knowledge workers (mis)spend their time. As they say on HBR.org, a fear of missing out is keeping people mired: Our research indicates that knowledge workers spend a great deal of their time--an average of 41%--on discretionary activities that offer little personal satisfaction and could be handled competently by others. Why we can't give up tasks. And then there's peer pressure. Find the low-value tasks. How do you know which parts of your day can be dropped?
The Single Best Time Management Tip Ever Last Updated Apr 28, 2011 6:51 PM EDT I spent most of my life at war with time--and time usually won. I'd read every book and taken every course along the way, and with a few exceptions (like David Allen's excellent Getting Things Done), most of it seemed to rehash common sense. The feeling of being overwhelmed and underproductive was relentless. The big breakthrough came when I was first teaching at USC and a student with severe dyslexia asked for help. Here it is: work on a task in 20-minute increments, with absolute focus, and then put it down, over and over, until you're done. Alert your brain that a task is coming that will require its recall, creativity, and brilliance (yes, your brain is brilliant--thank your parents). There are several advantages to the Multiple Put Down technique. Here are some tasks that are perfectly suited for Multiple Put Down: writing a report, preparing a pitch for a client or boss, figuring out how to solve a tough problem.
Seven Habits Study Guide/Quick overview of the seven habits - Wi Be proactive, aka freedom to choose (take action and be responsible)Begin with an end in mind, aka choice (consciously plan out and visualize your actions)First things first, aka action (Organize and execute around priorities)Think win-win, aka respect (in negotiation, seek solutions that help both yourself and the other person)Seek first to understand, then be understood, aka understanding (in communication, listen actively before you talk)Synergize, aka creation (in work, open yourself to others to work effectively in teams)Sharpen the Saw, aka renewal (relax, rejuvenate, and revitalize yourself) Habit 1: Be proactive[edit] Take action and take responsibility. This is the basis of all further habits and a cornerstone of success. You will influence your life more than anyone else. Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind[edit] Visualize where you want to go. Habit 3: Put first things first[edit] Set priorities. We need to schedule our priorities. Habit 4: Think win-win[edit]
4 Constructive Ways to Deal with Criticism To live and be part of a community at work, home or school means we are sometimes told truths we may not like to know or hear. We get labeled for our shortcomings and judged on our failures and mistakes. While the temptation to block out the unpleasant feedback is strong, we stunt our personal growth and potential by doing so. It’s terribly hard to be on the receiving end of disapproval and negative appraisals, but if we succeed in building our strengths and managing our weaknesses, the world can become our oyster. Take time to cool down, set boundaries, and respond, not react. Disapproving woman photo available from Shutterstock Coaching Tools 101: The Urgent Important Matrix - What is it and How To Use it! Well, Former US President Eisenhower used this so-called “Eisenhower Principle” to organize his tasks. He is quoted as saying, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” It was Dr Stephen Covey (of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” fame) who took these concepts mainstream, calling it The Urgent Important Matrix in his famous book . Quadrant 1 – Crises or “Important AND Urgent” Tasks What: Tasks that fall into this quadrant include deadlines, urgent meetings, pressing problems, crises and fire-fighting. This can be anything from an overdue project or report to customer complaints, a severe bottleneck or broken business process right through to a burst pipe or a health issue like a toothache that hasn’t been dealt with! How we feel: When we spend a lot of time in this quadrant we become stressed and burned out. Action: Minimise the time spent in this quadrant by prioritizing, planning and delegating ie. spending more time in Quadrant 2.
PDCA PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) is an iterative four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products. It is also known as the Deming circle/cycle/wheel, Shewhart cycle, control circle/cycle, or plan–do–study–act (PDSA). Another version of this PDCA cycle is OPDCA. The added "O" stands for observation or as some versions say "Grasp the current condition." This emphasis on observation and current condition has currency with Lean manufacturing/Toyota Production System literature.[1] Meaning[edit] Continuous quality improvement with PDCA Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the expected output (the target or goals). Implement the plan, execute the process, make the product. Study the actual results (measured and collected in "DO" above) and compare against the expected results (targets or goals from the "PLAN") to ascertain any differences. About[edit] See also[edit]