Tag Archive for: productivity

Long-Term Thinking in a Short-Term World

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It’s so easy to get caught up in instant gratification – especially these days with social media!

But true success takes time. And to accomplish your goals, you need to be a long-term thinker…despite our short-term world.

Author, keynote speaker, teacher for Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Dorie Clark, joined me on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to discuss her new book The Long Game: Long-Term Thinking in a Short-Term World.

Together we broke down why long-term thinking is difficult in today’s world. And what you can do to adjust your habits and move your career forward.

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Producing Hybrid Meetings Like A TV Show

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It’s easy to waste time at in-person meetings. You wait for that last person to join when someone mentions an interesting TV show they saw. And before you know it, you’ve wasted twenty minutes of your allotted meeting time.

And with technical problems and losing meeting links, it’s just as easy to waste time on a video call.

So in our new hybrid-work world, how do you avoid wasting even more time as some coworkers will be in the room and some will be on video? And more importantly how do you ensure that you get what you need to done in an efficient way?

The answer: Start “producing” your hybrid meetings.

Working as a TV news producer for nearly two decades taught me to break down every event or meeting like a TV show. I work in three phases to keep things organized and running efficiently.

Here’s my producer breakdown for hybrid meetings.

1)Pre-production

During pre-production on a show, a producer is figuring out what and how things are going to happen.

For producing your hybrid meetings, that means defining the goal of the meeting.

Ask yourself: What needs to be accomplished in the time that you’re gathering? Who needs to be in the room? Who can join virtually? And who doesn’t need to be there at all?

And if you can, now’s a good time to make a plan for people who can’t attend, but need the information you’re discussing. (Because someone always cancels at the last minute.)

2) Production

During the show, a producer knows exactly what’s going to happen and who’s doing what. (And often has contingency plans for when things inevitably don’t go according to plan.)

For a talk show, like my live-streaming show, Inside Scoop, that includes: what I’m going to say, what promotional images will be shown, and what questions I’ll be asking my guest.

For your hybrid meeting, that list probably includes:

An agenda with what topics will be discussed.

How long those discussions should last.

Who’s sharing information and/or presenting anything.

This way everyone will know how to prepare and if they’re responsible for anything. You’ll also act as the moderator or have someone who will. It will be your responsibility to make sure to encourage and ensure that everyone has a chance to weigh-in or ask questions. Treat it as if you’re a television anchor moving the conversation along.

3) Post-production

Remember the plan I mentioned before? Now would be the time to execute it. Sending an email recap after the meeting is always a good idea.

This way if someone missed the meeting, the wifi cuts out, or someone zoned out (It happens to all of us!), the information everyone needs will be circulated.

It’s also a chance for you to send out action steps so everyone knows what to work on next. This is something you can also be writing down as the meeting is happening. I have a whole course on LinkedIn Learning all about how to take better notes. You can check that out here.

Happy Hybrid Meeting!

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Finding Time For Your Creative Projects

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Let me guess, there’s been a time where you’ve said, “Oh, I would love to…[fill in the blank with an exciting creative project here].

You thought about it. But you never actually did it.

Probably because it’s hard to carve out time for yourself to be creative!

I’ve written two books so I know it’s difficult. I had to be very regimented, create accountability and have a really good roadmap with coaches along the way to get it done.

On the most recent episode of my live-streaming show Inside Scoop, I chatted with author, editor, publishing consultant, book shaman, and writing coach Suzanne Kingsbury about Carving Out Time to Be Creative.

Because it’s not enough to just start your creative project, we want you to finish as well.

Here are six tips on starting and finishing your next creative endeavor.

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Habits in a Hybrid World

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For many of us, the disruptions in how we live and work during the pandemic provided perspective on changes we wanted to make in our lives. We started new projects, new hobbies, reconnected with friends, and, sometimes, we found ourselves in new ruts.

As many of us head back into the office full or part time (or permanently transition to working from home), it’s the perfect time to evaluate our current habits and cultivate new ones to add to our happiness and productivity.

Recently, I sat down with Gretchen Rubin on LinkedIn Live’s Office Hours to discuss how we can use this moment of flux to make ourselves happier and more productive.

Here are a few ways to do that.

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The Power of Doing Nothing

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You’ve got work to-do lists, home to-do lists, personal to-do lists, returning-to-the-office to-do lists – the list of lists goes on and on. But how often is doing nothing on your to-do list?

It might seem counterintuitive, but adding nothing to your to-do list can help you become more productive.

On the most recent episode on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop, I spoke with Pandit Dasa, author of Closing the Apps in Your Mind and Urban Monk, mindfulness leadership expert, CEO, and former NYC monk  – who offered his insight on how doing nothing can help you accomplish everything.

1) Closing the apps in your mind.

This is more than just the title of Pandit’s book – closing the apps in your mind is a metaphor for why meditation is so important. When too many apps are open on your smart device it clutters the machine, slows down its functions, and drains the battery.

And your brain works the same way.

Taking time to breathe and do nothing increases your awareness of your own thoughts, which can help you let negative or unhelpful thoughts pass without judgement.

2) How closing out your apps helps you.

But why is noticing your thoughts and letting them pass so important? Pandit brings up a Psychology Today article which says we have thousands of thoughts in a day and all of them impact us whether we realize it or not. He goes on to say, every three or four seconds our mind opens a new thought tab, and even though we don’t remember all the thoughts, “it still exhausts us.”

Ever find yourself having an imaginary fight or preparing for a situation that might not even happen? Or worrying about something that happened in the past for a little too long? Only to realize you’ve lost a chunk of your day accidentally? That’s what happens when all your apps are open.

It’s easy to get distracted and sucked into a thought without realizing, the same way you can fall into an internet rabbit hole. And that really cuts into your productivity and stress levels, throwing your whole day off.

Pandit explained it perfectly, “A calm mind is a great foundation on which the rest of the day can be built.” And a calm mind makes for a healthier and happier mind and life. Taking the time to exist in the quiet, hear your thoughts, and let them pass, can help you stay focused in the present moment, increase your creativity, productivity, and decrease your stress and irritability.

3) Preparing to do nothing.

It’s easier to talk about meditation than to do it. Pandit recommends putting “yourself on the calendar.” Adding meditation to your to-do list is one of the best ways to ensure you do it (and don’t open more apps on your phone – or in your mind.)

And don’t worry, you don’t need to clear two hours every morning the way Pandit did during his days at the monastery when he was a monk. You just need to find a few minutes at a time that’s convenient for you. For some people first thing in the morning, for some before bed, and for others it’s the middle of the day. I like to meditate in the morning or else I find that I never get to it.

As Pandit reminds me, the most important part of meditation is doing it – not how long or what time you do it. Adding that if we don’t put ourselves on the calendar, “if we don’t prepare to do nothing, we’ll end up doing something, while we’re doing nothing.”

4) Is there a best way to do nothing?

There is no best way to meditate. Pandit suggests trying different ways and sticking with the method that works best for you. You can try taking a walk outside alone or with your pet, closing your eyes and paying attention to your breath before a big meeting, using apps like Calm, or simply putting your device away and looking out the window while eating lunch.

Don’t worry if you don’t feel the difference right away. Meditation is a practice – so it takes time and continuous practice to start noticing the effects. As long as your device is away, you’re focused on your breath. If, like Pandit, you ask your thoughts to “please stay in the waiting room” of your mind for a few minutes, you’re on the right track.

And if you’re not sure how to clear the time for meditation, check out my LinkedIn Learning course, How to Set Boundaries and Protect Your Time, which includes tips on how to prioritize your needs throughout the day.

It may feel a little strange to do at first, but a little bit of “nothing” can go a long way towards increasing your productivity and happiness. And who doesn’t want that?

You can check out our full conversation and kick start your meditation practice with a meditation led by Pandit here!

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? Click here to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

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