The following is a guest post by Jen Lamb. Jen writes for No Hype Time Management and is passionate about time management techniques and productivity.  She wrote this at the kitchen table with her favorite pen nearby… the PC in the office isn’t good for creativity.

Your Routine Matters

I first thought about habits influencing productivity when I read Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art.”  As a writer, he has a very specific routine that he goes through every morning to get in the “zone” to write. Reading about his routine, down to a special name tag that he pins on his shirt, jump-started me in identifying my own time management and productivity habits.

Isn’t it interesting that many of us have routines for being productive? I produce my best work on my laptop in two locations, my bed (it has to be made before I open the laptop) and at the kitchen table. Even though I have an office with a PC and back porch with comfortable chairs on it, they don’t produce the same results.

Specific items are also a part of my routine: a notebook, 3-ring binder of organized notes, a current magazine (headline inspiration) and my lucky pen.

Intellectually, I know that these are just artifacts that don’t affect the quality of my work. However, when I try to produce without them it never works out. The funny thing is, I type my work, I don’t even use the pen except to jot random thoughts down!

A few ideas that help promote productivity:

• Routine – You have a routine to get ready for bed. You should have a routine for getting down to business.
• Your Happy Place – You may not be able to influence where your desk is at work, but you can move things around on it (bring your favorite pen!) and make your space conducive to concentration.
• Get Focused – Once you go through your daily routine that sets you up to get down to business, don’t stop and do something else, stay on track and finish what you start. If you have several stops and starts, you lose time every time you mentally reset your routine.
• Remember “Why” – Remember not only what you sat down to do, but why you’re doing it. The bigger picture and purpose allows you to stay focused on getting through it.
• Knuckle Down – The most successful people don’t wait for inspiration to strike, they act and inspiration follows. Your book won’t write itself, your house won’t clean itself, and your job doesn’t do itself.  You get yourself in gear and start, and excellence creeps in while you’re at work.

Consistency has a powerful effect on your life and, just like the tortoise and the hare, results happen when you consistently make an effort to get better at something.  You’ve read about the one-hit wonders who had actually been toiling away for 10 years before they were “discovered.”

When you have a consistent routine for doing something important to you, a way to set yourself up mentally to approach the task, your results will speak for themselves.

Don’t get down if life is a broken series of accomplishments building upon each other, it’s important to hone your technique for producing your best work.  Once you’re in the habit of practicing your craft after mentally setting yourself up for success, and do this consistently, your productivity will soar.

Because you’re wasting less mental energy trying to create inspiration to do a task, and more energy actually creating, inspired work tends to sneak up when you least expect it.

Question: What is your best routine for productivity?

Is Your Workplace a Productivity Obstacle Course?

Does your company waste your employees’ time?

Good leaders remove the obstacles from the path of their team.

Similarly, good companies remove the productivity barriers preventing their workers from getting their jobs done.

Does you company clear the way?

Or does it constantly throw new challenges that impede productivity?

30 Ways Your Company Is Wasting Time

Here are 30 Ways that your company is wasting your employees’ time:

1. Unnecessary Meetings - Give your employees the “Right to Decline” meetings that they feel they do not need to attend. You will quickly find out which meetings are worthwhile.
2. Wasted Training - Do you put your employees through worthless training? If your employees would learn more from YouTube, let them.
3. Red Tape - Is your company constantly implementing new red tape? Policies that make no sense or impede progress? Instead, try Blue Tape.
4. Expense Report Hurdles - I encountered one employee who had spent hours upon hours in audit because they had 2 client lunches in one day. How much did that cost the company?
5. Blocking Websites and Tools - Many companies are paranoid about the websites their employees visit. The try to block they ones they “think” should not be visited. More often than preventing trouble, this prevents your employees from getting their job done.
6. Providing Inadequate Tools - Times have changed. You cannot fail to provide your employees with adequate tools to accomplish their work. They will bring their own tools, if the ones provided aren’t getting the job done.
7. Preventing Workers from Working Remote - Get with the times. Preventing workers from working remote when possible is archaic. There are entire companies that are virtual. And worse, the companies that resist this are inconsistent in who they allow to flex. That doesn’t build company morale.
8. Too Much Email - Do you fill up your employees’ email inboxes with unimportant mail? I observed one company send dozens of emails about a new snack machine policy. Really?
9. Too Much Gossiping - Some would say that the employees are the ones wasting time gossiping. However, does your company bring the gossiping on itself? Bad leadership, secret information, and not doing what you say will lead employees to spend time at the water-cooler.
10. Benefits That Are a Burden - Companies are moving more towards “employee directed” benefit plans that cause workers unneeded burden, stress, and effort. Better yet, tell employees that it is made that way for them.
11. Unclear Directives - If you don’t clearly tell your employees what you want them to accomplish, it will be hard for them to get there. I have seen companies spend months (if not years) toiling towards a goal, only to find out they were going the wrong direction.
12. Unclear Company Goals - What does “win against the competition” actually look like? If you don’t tell your employees what success looks like, how will their measure their progress?
13. Too Many Rules. If you company rulebook looks like an encyclopedia, then you have too many rules.
14. Sending Out a 20-page Policy When a 1-page Will Work – Does your company write 20-page legalese documents with words that need to be looked up in the dictionary? How about a 1-page document that says, “Don’t do this or you will be terminated.” Many of these “policies” could be 1 sentence.
15. Meaningless Corporate Announcements - Stop force feeding employees information. Instead, set up self-service information sites.
16. Spam in Your Corporate Email - How come I can keep ALL spam out of my personal email at home, but most companies still allow dozens into their employees’ accounts?
17. Viruses In Your Network - Who let that thing in here? Really. Who let that virus in here? And of course, why weren’t we protected? Companies aren’t very productive when they are shut down for days because of a virus. Starts to make that IT “routine maintenance” look a little less daunting.
18. Meetings That Last 4 hours - Many companies have an expense policy that won’t let employees spend more than $15 on lunch, but yet they can call wasteful meetings that cost thousands of dollars.
19. Meetings With More Than 6 People - The next time your company has a meeting with 13 people in it, take the hourly rate of the employees and multiply by the meeting length. Then ask if the meeting was worth it. (Put #18 and #19 together for more fun!)
20. Crappy Work Environment - “Crappy” is a technical term for a dirty, poorly constructed, poorly lit, and noisy work environment. Does this sound like your office space? Now, I am not saying you need a juice bar and miniature golf in the hallways, but get the best, most productive work environment that you can afford for your people.
21. Insane Rules - Insane rules are ones that seem like some HR individual made them up just to mess with workers. See #3, except, these border on the insane. Every company has a few.
22. Lies - Don’t lie to your employees. Either they will waste time with bad information or they will sit around talking about how evil the company is.
23. Hiding Things - Think your employees don’t know the executives are sneaking away for an executive retreat? Think again. Don’t waste their time in gossiping. Tell them the truth.
24. IT Downtime - How often does the network or email go down at your company? Why has this become acceptable at many companies?
25. Not Listening to Those Doing the Job - Many companies waste time because they do not listen to their employees. This results in wasted effort, increased cost, and even employee turnover.
26. Doing Things the Way They Have Always Done - “That is how our client pitches have always been done.” How’s that working for your today?
27. Not Doing It Right the First Time - If you don’t do it right the first time, you’ll have to do it again. (If there is a next time for the company.)
28. IT Issues - See 5, 8, 16, 17, and 24. Enough said.
29. Wrong People - Does your company put people in positions that they don’t have skills for? Many companies resist addressing issues like this, however you wronged the individual when you put them in a position for which they were not qualified.
30. Not Letting Things Fail - Companies get better when they learn from failure. However, many companies fear failure and punish those who do. Some are so afraid of failure, that they will keep failed initiatives going for years just so they don’t have to call them a failure.

Clear The Way

Some of these may sound silly, but they happen all the time.

Don’t block your employees productivity.

Don’t put up unnecessary obstacles and complications.

Get out of your employees’ way.

And let them get their job done.

Q: What obstacles does your company put in the way of its employees?

Walk the talk.

A skill that has been lost by many.

Simply put, doing what you say.

Many people (and companies) these days seem to have forgotten this simple concept.

Instead, we live in a daily environment of broken promises, unfulfilled statements, and even outright lies.

Do you do what you say?

Walking the Talk

The “talk” is what you say you are going to do.

The “walk” is what you do.

People love to talk the walk.

They love to tell you what they are going to do.

However, when it comes to actually doing, not many have the discipline or resolve to walk the talk. To do what they said they would.

Talking is easy. 

Doing is hard.

Doing what you said you were going to do… is harder still.

Do what do what you say you will?

Or do you do a lot of talking and not much follow-up?

Doing What You Say

We mislead ourselves. We mislead others.

Sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes on purpose.

Here are some tips to help you walk your talk:

1. Doing Instead of Talking - There is a time for talking, and a time for doing. Make sure you know where one stops and the other begins. Doing something now, is almost always better than doing nothing.
2. Say No – Instead of making a promise that you know you’re not going to keep, say “No” at the outset. This applies to the promises we make to ourselves, as well as others. Don’t make a promise that you know you can’t or won’t keep.
3. Consider Your Reputation – We all have a time management reputation. Do people view you as reliable? Do they know and expect that you will do what you say? Your actions determine how others view you and ultimately how they treat you.
4. Don’t Lie to Yourself – We often think the act of lying to ourselves is harmless. After all, we are not hurting anyone else. That is a shortsighted view. Your impact on yourself inevitably affects those around you. This is true at work, at home, and in your community.
5. Broken Promises – This is lying to others. Don’t do it. Once you start, it is hard to stop. Often people, and more often companies, don’t think that others will notice their unfulfilled promises. Nothing could be further from the truth. Others may not be telling you about your broken promises but they are aware. (See #3)
6. You CAN Change Your Talk - Often, people feel trapped by their statements. They say one thing and then circumstances change. That is OK. You can change your “talk.” The important thing is that you have to tell people.

Tell the Truth

Don’t tell me what you are going to do.

Instead, simply do what you say.

Tell the truth.

To your team. To you family and friends.

And of course, to yourself.

Question: What do you say you are going to do, that you don’t do?

But, I do predict that today will be filled with the normal last-minute tasks, fire drills, and unforeseen events.

So, how do you keep yourself from being swept away in the stream of chaos?

How do you remain calm while others are rushing and panicking?

There’s a Problem… Panic!

When things don’t go as planned, how do you react?

Are you the calm one who works to fix things?

Or the one running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling?

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

- Rudyard Kipling, If

I still vividly remember an incident that happened in my first consultant job after I got out of the Navy.

The story begins one day when one of the software programmers lost his mind.

He was screaming and yelling in his cubicle. You could hear it all the way across the office.

Other people were losing it too… simply because this individual was losing it. They were panicking because he was swearing and yelling.

On the flip side, I was kind of chuckling. I had heard worse across the dinner table while in the Navy. I walked down to see what was going on and how I could help.

Most people were scattering or hurriedly going the other direction.

Dave, the programmer, was physically and emotionally spent by the time I got to his cubicle. He was slumped in his chair. Most people had deserted or cleared the area. I think he was happy that I sat down. I am not sure I said anything, but he explained what had happened and how another individual had caused him to lose several days worth of work.

When he was done venting, we made a few jokes about the situation. There wasn’t anything to do except start again. We planned how we were going to reconstruct the missing work.

Within a week the project was not only back-on-track, but in better shape than before the incident.

How to Keep Your Head

Getting upset or alarmed can seem like natural reactions to a problem.

Here are a few tips to help you remain calm in the face of the storm:

• Don’t Panic – You are better able to find a solution if you aren’t panicking. If you can keep your head when others are losing theirs, you will be able to make a clear decision in the chaos.
• There Aren’t Many True Emergencies -  My time as a Naval Officer taught me about true emergencies. In the military, when there is a problem, people can get hurt or die. This is not usually the case when the office copier or email server goes down. Keep things in perspective. There are very few true emergencies in life.
• Less Talking, More Doing - Many people will spend time talking about the problem. Be the one that does something about it. I have seen executives talk about problems while their entire company burned down. Stop critiquing the fire and grab a bucket of water.
• Avoid the “Fight or Flight” - When you are stressed, your body will want to go into “fight or flight.” Your body was designed to keep you safe from danger, but its natural reflexes aren’t always the best solution against a project gone awry. Keep your emotions in check and ensure that your physical reflexes don’t make bad decisions for you.
• Head Into The Problem – While everyone else is running away, true leaders walk into a problem. Sticking your head in the sand only makes things worse. Instead of trying to ignore the situation, get to the heart of the issue as soon as possible. Only then can you address it.

How Will You React?

When you find yourself ready to lose it, take a step back.

Ask, “Is this truly an emergency?”

Keep your head when others are losing theirs.

And you’ll find that you are that much closer to a solution.

Question: How do you react when there is a problem? Are you able to keep calm or do you panic?

Today’s checklist is inspired by “10 Things To Stop Doing Now… To Get More Done!”

Here are 10 things that I am not going to do today…

10 Things Not To Do Today

1. Second Guess Decisions - Few decisions cannot be changed later if needed. Better to take action that wallow in inaction.
2. Waste Time at the Proverbial Water-cooler - Some people waste a large percentage of their day “chatting it up” in the workplace. Instead, get your work done, and get out.
3. Check Email 50 Times - I love it when someone asks, “Did you get my email?” Um, when did you send it? “Like 10 minutes ago.” No. No, I didn’t. Check email periodically when it makes sense in your schedule. And turn off those new mail dings and notifications.
4. Answer the Phone - I won’t answer the phone while in the middle of something, meeting with someone else, or especially if I don’t know who is calling.
5. Wait For the Perfect Plan - A good plan now, always beats a perfect plan next week. Circumstances are never going to be perfect. Don’t wait. (See #1)
6. Attend Unnecessary Meetings – Meetings are the single biggest time-waster in the workplace. Practice the “right to decline” when you do not need to be in attendance.
7. Work During Meetings – I will check my tech at the door during meetings. No open laptops. No phones or tablets. And no, you can’t work during my meeting either.
8. Put If Off – When it comes to the tasks I don’t want to do, I will adopt a “Just Do It Now” attitude. Do those unsavory tasks early in the day and get them out-of-the-way.
9. Take On Unnecessary Tasks – I will say “No” where appropriate to tasks that are outside my domain. After all, you can’t get your work done if you are doing everyone else’s job.
10. Start Before I Finish – I will complete tasks to done, before starting new ones. Better to have finished the few important ones, that to have started lots of little ones.

Question: What’s on your “not to do” list today?

Some days are overwhelming.

Some days come at us with a vengeance.

Too many tasks, too many emergencies.

How do you cut through the chaos to get to what is important?

Some days it seems that you need a laser to blast through all your tasks.

It’s All About Focus

Lasers are powerful because they focus an extreme amount of energy down to a small focal point.

This is good analogy for our productivity.

“To maximize your effectiveness, you must bring your productivity into focus on what is most important.”

If you bring your efforts to bear on the things that matter most, you will quickly find yourself cutting thought the chaff and getting things done.

Laser-Guide Your Work

If you don’t focus your productivity, you will not accomplish much. You’ll end up with 57 things started, and nothing done.

Instead, direct your efforts on to what’s most important.

Here’s “How to Blast Through Your Day Like a Laser:”

• Find Your Focus - Just like a laser needs to focus its energy, you must do the same with your efforts. Focusing on the smallest number of tasks will often product the greatest results.
• Blast Through Obstacles - Don’t let obstacles shut down your productivity. Most productivity-stoppers can be overcome with a little extra effort or strategy. Don’t let the walls keep you from your goals.
• Cut Though the Clutter - Some people may need a laser to clean up their desk. Take the extra time to clean up your work area. A clean workspace is key to getting important tasks done and letting you see your work.
• Destroy Fire Drills and Other Urgencies - Don’t let fire drills take you off task unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes a few minutes of laser attention can extinguish what appears to be an urgency, and you can return to the task at hand.
• Melt Through Resistance – People are attracted to those that are getting things done. Instead of creating friction with co-workers, melt through their resistance by getting things done. Soon you will see others wanting to participate in your accomplishments.
• Shine a Laser On What’s Important - A recent Harvard Business article suggested that using todo lists was a bad idea. I disagree. If you don’t know what you are supposed to be doing you, how are you going to do it? Inevitably, you will forget things. It is also difficult to prioritize when you cannot see all your tasks.
• Heat up Your Productivity - Action leads to more action. Heat up your productivity by building momentum. Completing a small, but important, task early can lead to increased success throughout your day.
• Laser-Guide Your Efforts - Don’t just flit from task-to-task or place-to place. Otherwise, you will suddenly find that the workday is over and you haven’t even gotten to what you intended to do that day. Go to your calendar and schedule time with your most important work.

Focus Your Productivity

Don’t let your productivity spread itself out to any and all tasks.

Instead, focus your productivity like a laser.

Concentrate on the few important tasks.

Stay on target.

Cut through the chaos.

And soon you’ll be blasting through those tasks.

Question: What do you need to focus your productivity on today?

Photo credit Guitarfool5931.

We are a quick fix society.

We want immediate action.

We expect immediate results.

When we don’t get them, we complain. Often, we get upset.

Then we quit and move on to something else.

When Do You Give Up?

Too many people flit from one activity or goal to the next.

They want immediate gratification whether it is a simple task or a long-range goal.

Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. It’s not how you win.

To accomplish great things, you have to put in the work.

And then you have to put in more.

“Those who win are the ones who keep going, long after everyone else has given up and gone home.”

Most people are starters and stoppers.

They love to start new things, and then they hang it up just as quickly.

(Whether it is a new skill, a new workout program, or even a new job.)

Instead, you need to be a starter and a finisher.

Quitting Too Early

Why do you quit?

Because things are… Too hard? Too much work? Too much discomfort?

You have to be willing to go through, around, and over the obstacles in your way.

To paraphrase one of my mentors Randy Pausch…

The brick walls are there to make you show how badly you want something.

They’re there to keep out the other people.

Simply put, winners do the things that losers are not willing to do.

Winners put in the work. They do the practice. They have the discipline.

The others? They let the walls keep them out.

They quit too soon, often within site of the goal line.

They think that is good enough.

Don’t Stop Now

Those that “don’t give up,” know another secret.

In many of life’s most important things… there is no clear finish line.

You keep going. You keep doing the right thing.

And you keep winning… long after others have given up.

Question: Do you give up too early? What are you doing that you need to stick with?

Why do we put off the things that we say are the most important?

Why doesn’t our most crucial task get done? Or the thing that we have been meaning to do for months?

Eventually things catch up to us. Either there are consequences. Or we simply miss the opportunity to do them.

Whether it is playing with the kids. Starting a new career. Or simply telling someone we care about them.

Don’t put off the important things. You may not get another chance.

50 Things You’re Putting Off That You’ll Regret Later

1. Doing the #1 task on your todo list.
2. Making that phone call.
3. Getting the car maintenance done.
4. Fixing something that is out-of-order.
5. Going to the doctor.
6. Getting enough sleep.
7. Pursuing your dreams.
8. Reading a book.
9. Spending time with someone you care about.
10. Going for a walk.
11. Going to see the person you need to talk to.
12. Exercising.
13. Telling the truth.
14. Confronting something from your past.
15. Doing something for your future.
16. Saving money.
17. Learning something new.
18. Answering that email.
19. Getting your degree.
20. Working on your resume.
21. Finding a new job.
22. Doing something that you are passionate about.
23. Putting yourself first.
24. Getting a life… yours.
25. Facing a fear.
26. Starting your hobby.
27. Losing weight.
28. Taking time off from work.
29. Helping someone who needs it.
30. Appreciating your family.
31. Setting goals for yourself.
32. Testing and stretching your limits.
33. Eating a healthy meal.
34. Enjoying some quiet time.
35. Traveling someplace you have never been.
36. Doing something you have never done.
37. Talking to someone you don’t know, but want to.
38. Starting a new habit.
39. Stopping a bad habit.
40. Cleaning up your desk.
41. Donating something to charity.
42. Writing in your journal.
43. Going to see a friend.
44. Emptying the garage.
45. Talking the dog for a walk.
46. Playing with your kids.
47. Taking your spouse on a date.
48. Doing something on your bucket list.
49. Standing up for yourself.
50. Telling someone you love them.

Don’t Regret It, Instead Do It

There is never enough time to do it all.

Stop putting these things off today.

Do what you need to do. And what you have been meaning to do.

You might not get another chance.

Question: What’s on your list? What are you putting off?

Email has gotten out of control.

Doubt it?

Your employees are spending up to half of their day on it.

What can we do to bring this productivity monster under control?

(Hint: We may have to go rogue on this one.)

Email Has Taken Over

Email is here to stay.

Despite our best efforts, it isn’t going anywhere.

Like the fax machine, we will still be using it in the year 2491.

I previously spelled out TMN’s 9 Laws of Work Email.

Today, I want to propose some radial ways to think differently about email.

After all, email has been superseded by new social tools and communications but it still seems to be stuck, well, in the 90s. (Not to say that there aren’t some positive email uses.)

So, how can we radically change corporate email to restore productivity to our workplace?

I have proposed 9 “rules” below to do just that. However, I want to preface them with the idea that they do not have to be hard and fast limits. Especially, if that helps us leave our comfort zones…

In fact, maybe emails should be flagged based on policy and reviewed similarly to expense report violations.

“Which costs a company more… a lunch expense overage or a rogue email that calls a meeting with 11 people?”

So, if we want to radically change email and how it works… what should we do?

9 Rogue Corporate Email Rules

Email is a sacred cow.

Some people love it. Especially those who abuse it.

However, here are some tough ideas on how to challenge email’s power in the workplace…

9 Rogue Rules to Fix Corporate Email

1. Timed Deliveries - People need to stop thinking of email as instantaneous. We cannot expect our employees to sit at their desk waiting for emails to arrive and immediately act upon them. Let’s limit delivery of email. If email is the new snail mail, maybe it should only be delivered once a day at a preset time. This would reset people’s expectation that others are going to read their email within minutes.
2. Limited Distribution - Set up corporate email accounts so that they can’t copy more than 3 people per message. Perhaps, vary this limit based upon position or seniority.
3. AutoClose Email Clients - Corporate IT seems to want to “auto do” all kinds of other things to our machines. Why not auto-close email clients after a few minutes of inactivity? (They could even call it a security measure.) This would eliminate unneeded email alerts and interruptions.
4. Limit Message Length - There is no need for a 3 page email. Just like Twitter, we need a strict character (or word) limit on our work emails. Maybe a 100 words per message.
5. Mandatory Spell Check - The fact that you wrote an email on your phone 15 seconds before walking into your lunch date doesn’t mean that others should have to slog through a poorly written message. Make spelling and grammar checks mandatory before messages can be sent.
6. No Signatures - We don’t need your contact information in every single email you send. Nor do we need to give out our contact info to every single person we email. Remove this functionality. If email messages are employees’ Rolodexes then it might be time for remedial organization training.
7. Black Out Hours - Turn off email delivery during weekends, holidays, and off hours. Employees can write email during off time, but they get queued until after the black out time. See Rule #1.
8. No Same Day Meeting Invites – Nothing is more disruptive that last-minute meeting invites. Companies should set their own minimum interval. One day notice? Perhaps, two or three.
9. Limit the # of Emails – Simply put, limit the # of emails that an employee can send in a day. (I once got 200 emails from one person in a day.) This would stop the email pushers and those who shuffle emails instead of doing actual work. There would literally be a few people who wouldn’t know what to do with their day!

Rogue or Right On?

Some of these may seem extreme.

Are they too radical? Or are we just clinging to our comfort zones?

Some companies are eliminating email altogether.

You have to wonder why we spend so much time on it.

So, let’s close the email and get some work done.

Is email a time waster in your company? How would your fix it?

The other day I questioned my 8-year-old son as to when he was going to do something that I had asked him to do.

He said he would do it tomorrow.

The next day I said, “OK. Are you going to do it now?”

He said, “I said tomorrow.”

I replied, “You said that yesterday. It is tomorrow.”

He said, “I meant tomorrow tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is Always Tomorrow

One of the most common white lies we tell ourselves is that we will “do it tomorrow.”

Amazingly, we often fool ourselves and others with this promise.

But, tomorrow never comes.

“Tomorrow makes promises. Only today can deliver them.”

If you want something done, you need to do it today.

So, what are you putting off?

And more importantly, why are you putting it off?

Make Tomorrow Today

Don’t fall for the “I’ll do it tomorrow trick.”

Keep yourself honest. Do it today, or don’t do it at all.

And of course, don’t try to win a logic debate with an 8-year-old.

What are you telling yourself that you will do tomorrow?