Tag Archive for: productivity

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

Makeover Your Home Office

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Have you started spring cleaning yet? I went through my closet this weekend and got rid of 20 pairs of shoes. I’m not even exaggerating. It was ridiculous. But I feel much better now that the task is complete…and excited to replace some of those shoes. When I spring clean, I start off decluttering the drawers and closets then begin general cleaning stuff that I don’t do enough.

But spring cleaning doesn’t apply to your home only. Don’t forget your office too. Whether it’s at home or in an office — an organized desk can send your productivity soaring.

Recently the folks at Manilla.com came to me with a dilemma. A comedian/actress named Jo had let her desk mess get out of hand. She wasn’t even able to use her desk anymore and had moved over to her dining room table to get work done. Except — her productivity suffered so they called me in to do an office makeover. Check out this video for a look.

Fill Your To-Do List With Fun

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430213_10152769872390193_743900261_nThe “real” to-do list in this photo inspired me and I wanted to share it with you.  Check it out — it lists things that you should really have on your to-do list — like:

  • Sing
  • Smile at strangers
  • Eat ice cream 
  • Laugh 

I’m all for a list that looks like this one!  It’s much more fun than one goes on and on about responsibilities and tasks. But both are equally important.  So how about for every task related to-do you add to your list — you also add a fun one?  I’m going to try it today.

Start Next Year’s Taxes Today

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Tax

Tax (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Tax day is here! So you’re either cringing and cramming to get your return in on time or you’re sitting back, sighing a breath of relief that you’ve already gotten your money from the government. Whichever category you fall into — this post is for you.

Be Prepared

I’ve spoken about Evernote before because I think it’s a great tool for keeping organized and remembering everything you need to in one place. It’s also fabulous for keeping track of your tax information.

I used it this year and it really helped to keep me on track. Next year you should try it too. Starting now though will keep you less stressed when tax time comes around again. Here’s what I did:

1. Make a notebook in Evernote called “Taxes”.

2. Create a note that lists out all the documents that you will need to collect for next year’s taxes. That’s all the 1099 forms for each of your accounts and employers. Put a checkbox next to each so you can check them off as you get the correct paperwork.

3. Throughout the year put notes and receipts in this notebook for tax writeoffs.

4. When you start getting 1099 forms back later in the year — scan them into this folder.

5. Once you get all your information together — do your taxes! Or send off all the forms to your accountant.

That’s it. If you just take the extra step to be a little bit ahead of the game you won’t be scrambling this time again next year. Think of all the time and money you’ll save! Let me know how you keep track of your tax information.