"Batch." When you hear that word, are you thinking chocolate chips? Because I sure am, but thinking past the next batch of cookies, you’ll find that batching is a highly useful tool that can help you be more productive in your work or personal life. Batching refers to grouping like tasks together and doing them all at once. For example, productivity experts routinely advocate planning all your errands together so that you aren't wasting gas or time making multiple trips. … [Read more...]
What's round and red and productive all over? A little tomato timer task master that is the heart of popular productivity booster, the "Pomodoro Technique." Yep, that Italian tomato that makes delicious marinara is also making people more productive -- 25 minutes at a time. … [Read more...]
After all that preparation your community service activity is over! Whether it met your initial expectations or not, any effort you made should be classified a success because it is more than was done before! And your first step should be to congratulate YOURSELF on a job well done! But some top level evaluation can help make subsequent efforts even more successful -- no matter where you are starting. … [Read more...]
In most company cultures, people are motivated by a spirit of competition. Last week we looked at ways to start a charity endeavor within your company -- a proven way of raising company pride and internal spirit. But what if you threw a party and no one came? This week we'll look at ways to increase awareness and participation. … [Read more...]
Want to improve company morale AND do something good for your community? If your company doesn’t have an organized community outreach program established, pioneering one can be an incredible way to foster engagement as people from different departments and with different skills all work together toward a common cause. … [Read more...]
It's Girl Scout cookie time. And Little League plant sales. And dance studio wrapping paper. Do you have kids who are dying to sell something and think your workplace is the answer to their Trump-ian dreams? Or are you the one constantly feeling like someone else is hitting you up to buy their dear darling’s magazines and cookie dough? … [Read more...]
It's true. I'm a bit of a digital hoarder. Guess what? I am in no way alone. With the advent of cheap, easy storage, more and more people are saving files, photos, movies, documents and of course…emails! Every year in January, Google promotes an annual “Clean Out Your Inbox Week.” And I think it’s a darn fine way to start the new year! … [Read more...]
So the new year has dawned and with it, your lofty "resolutions." This year I’m going to lose weight! Become witty! Earn more money! Impress my boss! Boy, as you sat around the fire on New Year’s Eve, or on Jan. 2 when you were back at your desk, those sounded so great, so noble, so ambitious. Until a week or so in, when you thought, hmmmm. How exactly would I meet those resolutions? And how would I know when I arrived? … [Read more...]
The gifts are gone; the treats are tasted, the greetings are given. It's that lull between Christmas and New Years, when not much is going on at most workplaces, and yet someone has to be there to "mind the store." Many offices close up altogether in that week, but that's not always feasible -- especially this year when Christmas falls on a Tuesday. I mean let's face it; most workplaces can't be shuttered from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. … [Read more...]
It’s hard to find an area more fraught with potential angst than gift giving. And if it’s treacherous to buy for your family and friends who love you anyway, gift giving at the office can be downright terrifying. Many offices discourage gift giving, and that’s probably smart. Or they organize a “Secret Santa exchange” and call it good. … [Read more...]
