Tag Archive for: reduce stress

The One Thing That Will Make You More Productive All Day

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Breakfast

Breakfast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I like to take my time in the mornings. I like to wake up early and slowly get ready. Having a relaxed start makes my whole day feel more serene. An important part of my morning ritual is breakfast. I always leave it until last, in case I’m running late and then I can just eat breakfast at work.

Now normally I read the news on my iPad while I eat. However, I often find myself getting sidetracked and taking longer than I planned.  You know, checking Facebook, emailing an interesting story I’d just read to a friend, checking Twitter, paying a bill that I just remembered about, etc.  So instead I decided to try something a little different.

I just ate. Nothing else. Read more

4 Office Fixes to Supercharge Your Productivity

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English: 's first

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of the common ideas on productivity are speculative. That’s why I don’t believe there is one right way to be productive, just what works for you. However, I wanted to share with you some productivity science.

I’ve written before about how stimulating your senses and changing your environment can make you more efficient. There has been a huge focus on business productivity in recent times which is why the services of absolute performance have been lauded for the way they have revolutionized efficiency in an online format. Well, researchers have been looking into new ways to help us get more out of our time.

Below are some of their top tips: Read more

10 Activities to Reward Yourself the Right Way

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Reward yourself the right way with thisI’m going to let you in on a little secret.  I’m a huge procrastinator and sometimes the only way I can get anything done is with a reward.  You know — a light at the end of the tunnel type thing.

If you have nothing to look forward to, your workload can quickly overwhelm you. So I’m a big fan of rewarding yourself after completing a time-consuming task.

However, it’s also important that the reward matches the progress that you’ve made.  So if you spend 20 minutes replying to your emails, you probably should treat yourself to a marathon Netflix binge.

But put a limit on it.  Will you watch 1 episode of House of Cards or 2?  If you plan out your reward in advance – it will be much easier to stick to it and get back to work.

There’s the thing though — a reward doesn’t have to take hours to be effective. There are some quick ones that will do the trick just as well.

Here is my list of small rewards you can treat yourself to without feeling guilty:

  1. Make a cup of tea.
  2. Go for a walk for 15 minutes.
  3. Listen to your favorite song.
  4. Watch a cute animal video for 4 minutes.
  5. Send a silly text to your friend.
  6. Eat some dark chocolate.
  7. Go on an adventure via Periscope for 10 minutes.
  8. Look up something you want to buy online for 15 minutes. (But don’t actually buy it until you’ve finished all your to-do’s for the day!)
  9. If you like to exercise, you could go for a quick jog or do some 10-minute yoga.
  10. Read a chapter of a good book. (Sign up here for a free chapter of Listful Thinking!)

How do you like to reward yourself?

Be More Productive with a 15-Minute Vacation

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photo credit: Nicole Rouyer Guillet

photo credit: Nicole Rouyer Guillet

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.

The most productive people know the importance of taking a break. In fact studies show that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one’s ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. This is a productivity tip I talk about in my book, Listful Living.

But what do you do with you break? Some go for a short walk, others make a cup of tea – but what about something a bit different? Today I’m going to show you how to take a 15-minute vacation and feel rejuvenated and re-energized.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Go onto Google and choose the street view.
2. Type in your favorite city or a place you’ve always wanted to visit.
3. Use the Google navigation tools to take a stroll around and enjoy
4. Walk down the Champs-Élysées in Paris or relax on the beach in Bali!

Another great way to take a virtual vacation is to use the app Periscope.  If you haven’t heard it’s a new video streaming app that I’m totally obsessed with. Download it and you can watch people live streaming from their phones all over the world. Just recently I watched someone walk along the Great Wall of China. It’s so much fun and a great way to reward yourself after some hard work!

What do you like to do on your break?

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.

My Favorite Trick for Saving Time & Money

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trick

Do you know exactly what’s in your kitchen? Or in the drawers of you desk? Over time – both at work and at home we tend to accumulate more then we use.

Did you know delving into the back of your pantry could save you time and money? How many times have you gone to buy something from the store, not realizing you still had some at home?

Get to Know Your Kitchen Again

This week I encourage you to reacquaint yourself with your kitchen to start.

Make a list of everything you have in your inventory. I’m talking about paper towels, maple syrup and even olive oil. Then when you do your weekly shopping you will have an idea of what you already have on hand.

You probably won’t spend anywhere near as much on groceries rebuying stuff you already have. Come on, we’ve all done it! It’s also a good time to get rid of old and expired food.

Optimize Your Desk for Efficiency

I also recommend taking a look through your desk at work. You’ll be surprised how much you can accumulate that will get in your way of being efficient. You might even find that file you’ve been looking for! I have lots of extra papers and pens that I never use. They just take up space and I always have to move them out of the way. Go through and take a look at what you have on hand as far as supplies go. And make sure to refill anything you need to do your job better.

This tip can also be applied to your inbox too. If you’re constantly sending similar emails, keep a saved draft version so all you have to do is edit the details and resend. It will cut down on time spent crafting emails from scratch.

What are some of your time and money-saving tricks?