This post was updated on April 29, 2021 Conventional wisdom says that checking email first thing in the morning hijacks your productivity for the day. But if you don’t check it, maybe you’ll miss an important change to your schedule or a critical piece of information....
attention Archive
Why Time Management Training Is Holding Back Your Team
This post was updated May 17, 2020 Leaders know that one of the most challenging aspects of their role is managing and developing people—identifying gaps in their skills, and helping them to fill those gaps. And, given its historical popularity, when they determine...
10 Strategies for Managing Stress in the Workplace
This post was updated on February 27, 2020. For reliable productivity, quarter after quarter, year after year, it’s important to have strategies for managing stress in the workplace. Stress is an unavoidable part of our lives. Sometimes it’s just everyday stressors...
How to Stop Procrastinating and Improve Productivity
Note: This post was updated on January 2, 2023. 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. ...
Distractions Steal More Than Productivity
I've written before about how distractions and the failure to practice attention management take a toll in the workplace. In my latest article for Harvard Business Review, I expand on those themes: Distractions aren't just detrimental to our work. They are also making...
Tackling Distraction With ‘The Innovation Show’
Distraction is the No. 1 enemy of productivity. I talked about how to strengthen your battle plan against it during my recent interview on The Innovation Show. Hosted by Aidan McCullen, The Innovation Show is a podcast for forward-thinking leaders, entrepreneurs and...
Podcast Preview: Knowledge Workers’ Productivity
If you're a leader, do you manage with the wellbeing of your knowledge workers' brains in mind? I talked about why this is essential during my recent interview with Andrea Simon for the On the Brink podcast. Andi is a principal and founder of Simon Associates...
Why You Don’t Need More Time Management Tips
My latest article for Harvard Business Review is based on something that happens to me a lot as a productivity trainer: Executives want me to teach their team time management tips and techniques to help them be more productive. But, in talking to them, it becomes...
What Your Brain Needs to Be Productive
If you're a knowledge worker, your brain is the tool of your trade. To be productive, you have to take good care of it. If you manage knowledge workers, this means that part of your job is creating a workplace that keeps their brains happy. I teamed up with Dr. Edward...
Sneak Peek: My New Guide to Corporate Productivity
Today, the nature of work has been upended. So what are the new rules for cultivating corporate productivity? I explore that question in my brand-new book. It's called Work Without Walls: An Executive’s Guide to Attention Management, Productivity, and the Future of...