Join Me Tonight For a Call

speekJust wanted to remind you all that I’m doing a live call tonight to help you get more done! If you have an endless to-do list sitting in front of you — listen up. You do not have to do all the things on that list. It’s true! Give yourself a break and get a little help. I’m talking about outsourcing your tasks to get someone else to do them for you so you can get your time and your sanity back.

Just because you CAN do all the things on that list, doesn’t mean you HAVE to do all those things yourself. There are major benefits that come from having an extra set of hands.

If you’d like ideas on what exactly you can outsource from your to-do list and how to get it done cheaply — join me and Speek’s Chief Operating Officer, Konrad Waliszewski, for a virtual fireside chat on Speek:

When: Wednesday, September 10 at 8:00 PM Eastern

Where: www.speek.com/SpeekOut Read more

Boost Your Productivity in Just 15 Minutes

yogaWe’ve all been there, working on a difficult project where everything seems to take so much longer.  Or a Monday morning when our minds are just moving a little slower.  What you really need is something to help kick start your energy.

Here are some quick things you can do in 15 minutes or less to make you more productive and help you get motivated:

10-Minute Yoga –  Exercise is a great way to stay healthy, reduce anxiety and  elevate your happy hormones.

Listen to Music – According to a recent study listening to music for 15 minutes can not only helps to improve your mood, but it also increases your creative problem solving abilities and task performance. So next time you need to brainstorm ideas – plug in your headphones and put on some of your favorite tunes!

Add a plant to your desk – Plants can help to liven up an otherwise dull office, and studies show that productivity can increase by up to 15% when plants are introduced into the workplace. This is most likely due to the perception of improved well-being. As well as the calming effect that plants and greenery naturally have on humans.

Go for a Walk – Like yoga, walking can help to boost creativity and mood, but an article in The New Yorker claims it goes beyond that. Writing and walking use similar parts of our brain. When we walk, we are surveying the world around us and constructing a mental map. This mental exercise can help us to organize our thoughts and come up with a plan of action.

Sniff a Lemon – It’s true — Scent Psychology finds the scent of lemon sends your concentration and energy skyrocketing.  It can also calm you down without making you less alert. So start using all those senses to get stuff done. 

What are some of your quick tips for boosting productivity?

Go on a ‘Fake-ation’ and Get More Done

vacationThe week before you go on vacation is filled with excitement, tension and anxiety as you rush to get all your work done before you go. For some, that last-minute panic is the only thing that can inspire them to get completely caught up on your work. So why not use the “vacation feeling” to get more done? If you want to catch up on your back log at work just act like you’re going on vacation so you can stay laser focused.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

Clean up & Close up – Make a list of everything you need to get done. Think about all the odd jobs you haven’t gotten around to finishing. If you know there’s something you’ve been putting it off, best to get it over and done with and then you really can relax over the weekend. Read more

Celebrity Bucket List Wishes

English: Ellen DeGeneres in 2009.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The past few weeks I’ve been doing a contest with SkinnyScoop.com where you can win a chance to have a productivity session with me and a $50 Amazon gift card! All you have to do it share you bucket list on Skinny Scoop before September 5th. To get you motivated to share your bucket list I’ve created a list of celebrities who have talked about their own plans.

 

Jim Belushi, Actor

“I’d love to do Broadway one day. I’ve done Broadway, but I’ve never opened my own show on Broadway.” Read more

Getting Rid of Writer’s Block is as Easy as Baking a Cake

English: A chocolate cake decorated with icing...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are all writers in some form or another. Some of you will have your own blog or journal, or maybe you’re a student writing essay after essay.  Even office workers write emails or send out a few tweets here and there. I’ve been fortunate enough to never really suffer with writer’s block.  Not that often, at least.  It can be difficult to break out of though.

Here’s a checklist of tricks to try when writer’s block pops up:

1. Bake a cake – I’m not kidding, baking a cake (or any other sweet treat) is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Thinking about your ingredients and what your going to make helps to distract you from the problem at hand and gives you something else to focus on. Once you’ve put the cake in the oven, go back and look and your work with fresh eyes.  You’ll probably find what was missing before. Plus you’ll have something tasty to eat once you’ve finished your work! (My intern Nicole has found this method to work time and time again!) Read more