Productivity Blog Archive
Checking Email on Vacation Just Isn’t Productive
If you know my work, you know I'm no fan of checking email on vacation. A recent email exchange I had with a friend reminded me why this is such a damaging habit. Me: When can you get this done? Friend: I’m on vacation, but maybe tomorrow. Friend, on a new topic: See...
How to Stop Procrastinating and Improve Productivity
Note: This post was updated on January 3, 2020. Have you been struggling with how to stop procrastinating? If so, you're far from alone. Up to 20% of people may be chronic procrastinators. And almost all of us struggle with procrastination at one time or another. ...
How to Set a Company Email Policy That Improves Productivity
Do you have a company email policy? If not, a recent study out of Virginia Tech University suggests that you should create one. The study found that even the expectation that an employee will have to deal with after-hours emails creates anxiety for both the employee...
Looking for a Productivity Speaker? I’m a Certified Speaking Professional
Are you a member of your industry association? A couple of years ago, I (re) joined the National Speaker's Association. We didn't have a local chapter where I live in Austin for many years, but then some of my friends and colleagues restarted the chapter here. It took...
After-Hours Email Solutions
In last week's post, I shared some new research regarding the problems of after-hours email, and also offered some solutions. Today I wanted to share a short (5-minute) excerpt of a corporate training I recently delivered that offers additional solutions. To be clear,...
After Hours Email is a Bigger Problem Than You Think
In my work with hundreds of companies and thousands of people in the last 16 years, I recognized an issue with regard to corporate communication; specifically after hours email. The pace and timing of email can have a damaging affect on productivity and on the culture...
What is Attention Management and How Can It Help You?
You’ve probably been introduced to the idea of attention management before now. The phrase existed before I began using it. At that time, however, it was not used in relation to productivity. It was not used in a way that was relevant or important to our everyday...
Email Overload? Here’s Why You’re Drowning – and How to Fix It
Do you dread even opening your inbox? You're not alone. Most of my clients are perpetually drowning in email. In my training programs, I provide a 4-step strategy to overcome email overload. Here's an overview of that process. You Aren't Filtering Chances are, your...
How to Prioritize
You probably know the big stuff you're supposed to be getting done. But what's often less clear is how to accomplish your work priorities when there are all sorts of other, urgent (or seemingly urgent) demands on your time. This comes down to a question of how to...
This Popular Step to Manage Email and Texts Isn’t Enough
Your job involves an overwhelming amount of communications from others. Managing email and texts is a vexing challenge. So you take a cue from what you've observed others doing. You add a line to your email signature saying "I check my email infrequently, so if your...
