Ian McKenzie of Ian’s Messy Desk gives “Tips for leaving a good out-of-office message”. Goes over all the things and out of office message should have, including the dates you will be gone and who/how to contact in case of urgency. http://www.ismckenzie.com/tips-for-leaving-a-good-out-of-office-message/

Jason Womack of Your Best Just Got Better writes about what can happen when you’re with the right people in his post “Are you “sitting”with the right people?”. Jason writes about how when you have a group of creative people together in one place, you never know what will come out of it. http://www.jasonwomackblog.com/working_outwhile_youre_ou/2009/06/are-you-sitting-with-the-right-people.html

Jason Echols of Black Belt Productivity writes about “What’s In Your Book?”. Jason talks about how his notebook has become something which symbolizes things he cares about or that are important, even to his family while reflecting on an instance of a conversation with his wife- leading him to realize that sometimes writing down what is important to family members helps make them feel they are important to him. http://blog.blackbeltproductivity.net/what-is-in-your-book/

Michele Connolly of Get Organized Wizard writes about re-organizing your New Years Resolutions in her post “Getting Organized Quick Tip: How To Make SMART New Year’s Resolutions – Any Day Of The Year!”. Michelle talks about the SMART goal planner and strategy. http://www.getorganizedwizard.com/blog/2009/07/getting-organized-quick-tip-how-to-make-smart-new-years-resolutions-any-day-of-the-year/

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Productivity Recap- Friday July 3rd/09

Dragos Roua of Edragonu writes about how the first things you do in the morning will effect the mood of the rest of the day and how to create a successful, peaceful morning routine in his post “The Morning Phrase”. He writes about how to find a phrase that when you speak it in the morning will help you lead a content and productive day. http://www.edragonu.ro/the-morning-phrase/

Ralph Jean-Paul of Think Simple Now writes about how to bounce back from a series of bad luck in his post “Overcoming a Rough Week”. Includes tips on verbalizing the issues, and the ant philosophy. http://thinksimplenow.com/motivation/overcoming-a-rough-week/

Dava Navarro of Rock Your Day writes about ” The 5 People Who Secretly Control Your Life”. This post discusses the time when you come to the realization that your personal preferences are largely based on what other people view as acceptable and what it means to set your own standards for yourself. This begins by identifying the five people who influence you.
http://www.rockyourday.com/5-people-who-secretly-control-your-life/

Ian McKenzie of Ian’s Messy Desk shares a “10 Point Self-management Checklist”. Includes setting personal penalties, using a timer, and having someone hold you accountable. http://www.ismckenzie.com/10-point-self-management-checklist/

Sheen Online posts about how the new Google Wave will affect the internet in the article “12 Reasons Why Google Wave Will Change The Web.” From Real time messaging to the new spell check “Spelly” this article gives opinions on the features of Google Wave that will change how we do things. http://sheenonline.biz/2009/06/12-reasons-why-google-wave-will-change-the-web/

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Productivity Recap- Friday June 26/09

Web working is not for everybody. Those who do it tend to have traits and personalities that fit the web working life. For others, it means making sacrifices they don’t want to make. “I don’t really understand why people would like to work at home. It’s like reducing to the minimum (almost nothing) the barrier between professional and private life,” comments Chris on Georgina’s recent post, “How To Ask the Boss If You Can Work Remotely.”

In interviewing people in web working careers, one fact is clear: Many of us share similar specs beyond motivation and organization. I asked some web working colleagues what it takes to make a successful web worker. Do you have the right components to become a fine-tuned web worker machine?

Read the article “Minimum Specs for a Successful Web Worker Machine” for the rest of the suggestions.

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Tips for Web-working Success

Laura of I’m an Organizing Junkie shares helpful tips for sticking to your plan and getting things done in her post “Procrastination Habit Breakers”. Tips include setting a timer and choosing the best time of day for you to work well. http://orgjunkie.com/2009/06/procrastination-habit-breakers.html

Ibrahim Husain of Stepcase Lifehack writes about keeping your social media activities under control in his post “Managing Your Social Network Addiction”. Includes tips on tracking your time online and making a point to reach out to your friends and family over the phone and in person. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/managing-your-social-network-addiction.html

Jason Echols of Black Belt Productivity writes about how to get back into the schedule of work after a break or vacation in his post “Managing…”The Day After”” . Talks about how to handle the full inbox and sorting things by importance. http://blog.blackbeltproductivity.net/managingthe-day-after/

Dave Navarro of Rock Your Day writes about standards, and how your personal standards can help and hinder you in his post “Why You Do What You Do (And Why It Should Scare You)”. http://www.rockyourday.com/standards/

Ian McKenzie of Ian’s Messy Desk writes about how to remember peoples names in his post “6 Tricks to Help You Remember Names.” Includes using their name often in conversation and word association. http://www.ismckenzie.com/6-tricks-to-help-you-remember-names/

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Productivity Links- Thursday, June 18th/09

Productivity Future Vision
Microsoft’s long-term productivity vision explores how we will create and share content; collaborate across teams, organizations and networks; and gain contextually relevant insights based on preferences and intent. Each scene showcases real technologies being explored by Microsoft teams and partners and others in the industry. To see current prototypes we are exploring, go to www.officelabs.com.

Productivity Future Vision

If you are reading this in a feed reader and do not see the video, click the title. Also, it requires silverlight.

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Microsoft’s Vision of Future Productivity

Part of good productivity then, is looking at life as a marathon and planning for a longer period of time.

There are several ways to do this:
1. Know what has to be done (and when): A marathon runner has to know her track. You have to know what needs to be accomplished so that can you have the proper
strategy.

2. Know where you want to be: You can have more than one goal for running a race. Some people run to win, some run to finish, some run for the exercise. Why are you running the race and where do you want to be at the end?

3. Know what is important: Again, part of the strategy aspect. What steps will get you where you want to be?

4. Don’t panic: Once you have an idea of what needs to be done, there is a tendency in many to say “Holy [favorite expletive], I’ve got a lot to do” and just start diving in. However, this is not always the best course of action. You have to keep your strategy in mind and not overwork youself in the beginning only to be exhausted later.

5. Sprint only when you have to: There are times when you are focred to sprint and other times when it makes sense to do so. However, this should be a strategic decision you make, not something you do as a matter of course.

6. Don’t be afraid to recover: After a good bout of sprinting, feel free to take time to recover. Trying to be productive for the long haul means and you may
need time to catch your breath.

7. Understand the REAL consequences: This sort of falls under the don’t panic rule and the strategic plannning. As you decide what to do and when to sprint, understand the real consequences of completing a task or leaving it unfinished. In some cases, you may WANT to have something finished, but the consequences of doing something else (or not doing it) may be too great. Be honest with yourself and know that most things can wait a few days or weeks to get finished while only a small handful cannot.

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Productivity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Almost everyone would love to take advantage of ways to boost their brain power and become smarter, no matter how smart they already are. Below are 25 scientifically proven ways you can do just this. From surprising activities such as watching TV or riding a motorcycle to brain-healthy nutrition choices, try a few of these ideas and see if you notice any improvement in your intelligence.

What You Can Do

These activities all offer ways to improve your cognitive abilities, so pick up a crossword puzzle, drink some water, and listen to some music to make yourself smarter.

1. Watch specific types of TV shows. Outlined in the book Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson, TV shows that include certain elements such as many overlapping plot strands, a relatively large number of primary characters, moral ambiguity, and no narrative hand-holding produce benefits for the views that build intelligence. Some examples of these types of shows include E.R., Alias, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, and 24.

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25 Scientifically Proven Ways to Make Yourself Smarter

Tamara Baruhovich of Ian’s Messy Desk posts about the steps you need to take to make success a regular thing in his post “How To Make Success A Habit” With information on developing real desire to staying positive. http://www.ismckenzie.com/how-to-make-success-a-habit/

Paul Dickinson of Lifehack discusses “Five Ways To Set Your Goals In Stone”, with tips on how to realize your goals and staying motivated. Includes using visual stimulation and leaving yourself notes everywhere. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/5-ways-to-set-your-goals-in-stone.html

Dragos Roua of eDragonu writes about the ADD method in his post “Assess, Decide, Do” . ADD is a new Life Management Framework which discusses the three stages of getting things done which we all go through, and how to keep yourself on track. http://www.edragonu.ro/assess-decide-do/

Tina Su of Think Simple Now writes about the four steps to relaxing and feeling at peace in her article “How To Quiet Your Mind”. The four rules are: 1. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. 2. Don’t say to anyone unless you can say to everyone. 3. Don’t say inside, what you cannot say outside. 4. Don’t say unless it is true, useful or kind. http://thinksimplenow.com/clarity/how-to-quiet-your-mind/

Easton Ellsworth of Visionary Blogging writes about the 9 areas you can improve your blog in his post “Blog Improvement: Do You Know These 9 Key Areas?”. Includes traffic improvement, SEO ( search engine optimization) and design improvement. http://www.visionaryblogging.com/blog-improvement-overview/

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Productivity Links- June 12th/09

The podcast is about 28 minutes long, we would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects:

Saying “No” to New Commitments

Are there activities in your life that you wish you were doing but didn’t have time to do it? Time on projects that you want to do on but can’t? Time with friends or family? Time with yourself?

If this sentiment is strong with you, then you most likely are saying “yes” to too many commitments. Realize that when you say yes, you are saying “no” at the same time to all the other possibilities that were your options without realizing it.

When you say yes at work for a task, you are saying no to other tasks that may be more valuable to you and your company. When you say yes to working late, you are saying no to either your friends, family, or yourself for personal time. Since you’re already saying no to something all the time, the key is to learn when to say no.

There is an art to saying no… here are seven ways of saying no to a new commitment:

1.Be Honest: Typically this is the simplest and best approach. If they know the true reason why you aren’t saying yes, then they can judge whether to approach you for the next situation, which actually might be for a good opportunity where you would want to say yes to.

2.Refer to someone who can say yes: Point that person to a direction (another person, another approach) where they will have a better chance of finding a yes. If you are a person who can redirect someone to an effective alternative, you will still be considered valuable.

3.Letting the other person say no for you: Watch out for being passive-aggressive, but you can describe your situation. If you know that saying yes in this situation is saying no to a more important situation, then just present your case and let the other person say no for you.

4.Not now, but later: The word “maybe” is sometimes a good euphemism for “no.”

5.Circumstances: Sometimes it’s not a choice at all… you have prior commitments, or conflicts of interest, or whatever. Circumstances are saying no, not you. Make sure it’s legitimate though, since integrity is also important.

6.Be Polite: If none of the above options are viable, then a polite “no” should do the trick. You risk the chance of being perceived as an unhelpful person, but sometimes you simply have to politely say no without going through the messy details of the other approaches.

7.Be Blunt: This is the tactic against the persistent salesperson. Sometimes the emphatic “no” is the only “no” they’ll hear.

This post material originally shared by Al at 7P Productions at Productivity in Context.
Please leave a comment.

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Productivity and Saying No

Instead of taking an extra fifteen minutes, give an extra fifteen minutes.

Over the course of a year, if you were to show up fifteen minutes earlier and stay fifteen minutes longer, you’d have 120 more hours of productive time. That even allows for four weeks of vacation!

This doesn’t have to be work. It really depends on your objectives. You may get home fifteen minutes earlier, put an extra fifteen minutes into studying for that certification you want, or work on building relationships for an extra fifteen minutes a day.

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Little Things Make a Bigg Difference