Tag Archive for: productivity tips

4 Ways to Escape a “School’s Out” Mentality

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Summer family jump

Summer family jump (Photo credit: Evil Erin)

Summer is here and it can be hard to escape the “school’s out” mentality.  Co-workers are leaving for vacation, and the office is slowing down. The sun’s out and all anyone wants to do is head to the beach or camp out poolside. It’s easy to start counting down the days until your own vacation.

This can be tempting, but we can’t spend the whole season with our minds somewhere else — unfortunately! It’s important to keep a good balance between your work and the rest of your life, especially in the summer.
Here are 4 ways to stay focused when it matters:

5 Reasons to Say No and Get More Done

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NO!

NO! (Photo credit: guercio)

Everyone wishes they had more time — more hours in a day and more days in a year. Who would have thought that making more time for yourself could be as simple as saying “no?”  Yep — that one word will give you your life back.

It’s easy to agree to a coffee break or to see that movie your friend has been obsessed with for weeks. But its important not just to say “yes” as a default answer. Do you really want to drop whatever you’re doing to get coffee? Or just not say “no” to a friend? We all end up saying “yes” to things we don’t actually want to do.  Then you don’t get to do the things you really want to do.  Of course, there are some things that you just can’t get out of.   Read more

Join My Virtual Meetup

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L is for Lists

L is for Lists (Photo credit: Swiv)

Since starting my Meetup group Lists & Libations in NYC I’ve gotten a lot of requests to organize a virtual Meetup.  So I’m hosting one tonight for all the people who aren’t in NYC or can’t make our in-person Meetups.

There are 3 spots left in our Google+ Hangout tonight.  If you’re interested in tonight’s theme: “Common List-Making Mistakes,” please signup and join us!

If there’s interest — I’d be happy to host more of these virtual Meetups so we can chat face to face!  Hope to see you tonight.

6 Productivity To-Don’ts

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Some of my favorite productivity tips include:

  • Making a to-do list
  • Taking breaks
  • Bribing yourself with manicures and ice cream

But sometimes the secret to being more efficient is knowing what NOT to do. I’ve compiled a few productivity to-don’ts that will help you get more done. Read more

A List Built For Two

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I’m mostly a solo list maker. I document daily to-dos, goals and task checklists. But from time to time I share a list with my husband or friends to be more efficient. My husband and I both add to our grocery list throughout the week. And my friends and I share lists about things we want to talk about or make sure we do. I haven’t used this technique at work yet but as my guest blogger Kirsten Bischoff, founding partner of HATCHEDit.com, tells us — sharing makes you more productive.

A List Built For Two

by Kirsten Bischoff

An individual’s approach to list making is almost as unique an identifier as their fingerprints. After all, every brain works in a unique way. Lists can be rigid and precise, or completely abstract; they can be well laid out plans or vague strings of abbreviations. So the challenges when two people get together to create a list (or lists) can seem insurmountable. Read more