Tag Archives | information

Create Your Own Network

By on July 29, 2010 in Relationships

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want or what you need! Chances are good that you will get it and you might just help someone else out in the process.

My quick story: My regular readers know that my husband is deployed to the Middle East; that’s just background information. Last week I received an email from our local family services coordinator at the base that went out to all of the spouses/partners of the deployed service members. It’s great that we have communication from the base, but what was lacking was a community of support for the wives. No support network existed, so I suggested to the base that we start one, offered my assistance and they agreed.  Now we have our own network; a private Facebook group where we can share thoughts, concerns and ask for help from one another. We are growing quickly and are slowly developing a broader reach and a valuable connection. Who knows what may come of this; parenting help, career assistance, sharing of skills, mentoring and of course friendship.

Another result of this project was that I decided that more sharing of information and support was needed by military spouses as a whole and knew that I could fill that need. So, out of this experience came not only a new support network, but a new website – GuardWife.com – and a book on deployment from the family’s perspective is in progress.

Lessons learned:

  • Speak up and ask for what you want!
  • Chances are good that someone else needs the same resource that you are looking for.
  • If the network doesn’t exist; create it yourself.
  • If you find a need out there that is not being met; FILL IT!

You may be able to make money from your innovations and ideas or maybe not. You never know where they will lead you. The important thing is that your need will be filled and you will most likely have added to your network and helped others along the way.

If you want to read more on stepping outside your comfort zone, read Key Questions: What Are Your Limitations?

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Time Wasters: Top 5 things I Don’t Do That Increase Productivity

By on July 13, 2010 in Uncategorized

timeI don’t watch TV – Well ok, I watch a little, but in all honesty it is usually limited to 2 or 3 evening shows during the week and a movie with the kids on Friday night (which I often read during anyway.) If I have to exercise indoors, I will put on Morning Joe. That means I average 5 hours of TV watching per week; considerably less than the average American who watches 28 hours. Look at all of the time wasted!

I don’t play games on the internet – I limit computer usage to work, email and one hour of social media per day (that would be less if it was not necessary for business.) I do not surf the internet, play solitaire or Farmville on Facebook. That is not a productive use of my time.

I do not spend time gossiping around the water cooler (or over the “hedge row”)- This one is an easy one for me since I work from home and my water cooler conversations are limited to 140 characters on our Twitter account! Bonus: It also allows you to stay out of office or neighborhood drama.

I do not watch the news or read a daily newspaper – I know that’s blasphemous for some. Rest assured that I still know what’s going on in the world and my community. I do subscribe to RSS feeds and Twitter accounts from a couple of national news outlets and a couple of local ones as well. That allows me to get the news in real time and scroll through quicker to the items that interest me. I do subscribe to the Sunday paper which I thoroughly enjoy and immerse myself in the delight of the printed news, lifestyle and comics once a week.

I do not over-commit myself – I have learned to say no to activities that do not add value or are not the best use of my skills and time. For example I do not volunteer to work all school events, but I do the bookkeeping for the school PTO (It is easy for me with my business background and I can do it around my schedule, therefore it’s a good fit.) As an add on to this, I do not allow my children to over commit either, which makes for less stress and teaches them the value of making choices.

There were others that are on my list of “Don’ts,” but did not make the top 5. Watch for more time wasters in a future post…

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Ask Questions to Improve your Productivity

By on May 17, 2010 in Uncategorized

The only foolish question is the one that was never asked!

When you are in a new situation or circumstance, or when you are beginning a new project or working with a new client; the best way to increase productivity – your and everyone else’s is to ask questions. Some questions need to be asked of others and some of yourself. Ask, Ask, Ask until you are confident that you have a firm grasp. Do not wait until something goes wrong to ask for clarification!

Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. – Anthony Robbins

Possible questions to get you started:

  • Why are we doing this?
  • What is the desired outcome?
  • When is our deadline or when are periodic checkpoints?
  • What is my role?
  • Who is responsible or accountable for which tasks or projects?
  • Do we have metrics or some form of measurement?
  • What are the possible roadblocks or obstacles?
  • What are the available resources?
  • What is the level of priority of this project?
  • Who are the key players or participants?
  • What is the hierarchy?
  • What is the atmosphere like?
  • What is expected of me?
  • What is my role or “job”?
  • What do I need to be more comfortable?

Asking questions is a valuable tool in business and in life. We need to first be clear where we are going and what is expected of us before we can really accomplish anything. This often overlooked strategy can make the difference between success and failure.

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Invest in yourself

By on May 4, 2010 in Uncategorized

Invest in Yourself is one of the most important Golden Rules of Productivity.

Investing in yourself will yield the highest returns of any investment you have ever made. If you want to stay competitive or be at your most effective you need to keep learning and growing on a regular basis. In today’s world with the constantly changing technology, concepts and guidelines if you aren’t improving your knowledge and skills, you will be out-of-date in mere months. You have to stay current if you want to be the best – and I am assuming that you do or you would not be reading this blog.

What does investing in yourself look like? It does not mean that you need to be perpetually enrolled in higher education, though that is an option if it appeals you. Learning and growing can take many forms. It may be as simple as having subscriptions to trade publications – either in print or online – to stay up on new trends. The caveat there is that you must actually read them! You may attend conferences, workshops or other forms of training, take online webinars or read current books in your area of expertise. You may work towards an advanced degree or certification. Any knowledge or skills that you can acquire can help you grow.

This is not just limited to your business skills either. If you want to take a writing course at the local college or learn photography that’s fine. Maybe you want to hone your musical skills or become a gourmet cook. All of these skills help you to stretch and grow as a person and can be easily transferable no matter what you do in your “business” life. Your mind stays sharp, your comprehension of current trends and conversations increases, your confidence rises and your proficiency in areas such as analysis and problem-solving also improve. Knowledge and growth will help you become a more valuable commodity in any area.

To read more about the other Golden Rules of Productivity click here.

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Tame Your Voicemail

By on April 28, 2010 in Technology, Work

Do you suffer from voicemail dread? I know, voicemail is an integral part of your communication system, but it can often be very frustrating. Phone tag, cut-off messages, long-winded messages and my personal favorite – the guy who talks like an auctioneer and even after listening to his message 5 times, you can’t decipher his phone number!

Here are some tips to make using voicemail easier:

  • Use integrated voicemail  – your voicemail is sent to your email account as an audio file, so you don’t have to dial in every  time.
  • Check your voicemail at scheduled times – just like you should be doing with your email. It can be anything from once per day to once an hour – whatever works for you.
  • Make sure you listen to all of the messages before responding because often there is a follow-up message.
  • Have your calendar and your action or task list available so that you can write down names, numbers and actions to be taken immediately – or at least a piece of paper to write them on if you are going to transfer them to your phone or computer.
  • Consider responding via email rather than a call back to avoid phone tag or getting stuck on the phone.
  • If the conversation is not going to be a quick one, try writing down the topics you want to cover or questions to be asked.
  • Delete all the old voicemails after you have listened to them so that your mailbox does not get full.

You can save so much time to use for more productive activities if you can trim some voicemail time from your busy schedule!

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Windows of Creativity Can Boost Productivity

By on April 15, 2010 in Creativity, Energy, Time

If you are like most people, you hit the ground running. You dive right into email and returning voicemails and then your day seems to be overtaken by information overload. You spend all day in reactionary mode – responding to what’s thrown at you. That does not leave time for inspiration, planning, goal setting or creativity. The most prolific creators and productive influencers have a practice of blocking out time each day for “thinking.” Such a simple idea, but so often overlooked. We need to allow time to; envision goals, create new ideas, do research, digest trends, news and information and other types of free flowing contemplation.

Although this is geared towards professionals, it can apply to anyone. Even if you are a SAHM – do you take time to think about what you want, your dreams and what happens “after?” Proactively blocking out time for creating and absorbing – rather than just responding – is a key tactic of productive professionals.

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Improve Performance by Joining a Group

By on April 8, 2010 in Energy, Life Balance, Work

For the next two days I will be away from my office, first attending the WISE Symposium and then in an all-day team meeting with two groups of very inspiring peers. Though the settings and formats, even some topics are different, the result is the same. Every time I come out of one of these sessions, I am completely energized; overflowing with ideas and information, ready to try out new strategies and different concepts. This started me thinking about the value of learning from and building relationships with other members in your industry, mentors and newbies as well as complementary products and services. Especially if you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur, work at home or even stay at home with children(that’s work too) you may not take advantage of these types of opportunities. You really are cheating yourself out of an entire set of valuable resources!

Research what groups, events or organizations exist that you can network with and gain information and support from. Places to look:

  • An industry or trade organization(local or national)
  • A career specific support group(i.e. writer’s forum)
  • A mentoring group (like SCORE)
  • Sign up for a class to further or refresh your skills
  • Find a non-career networking group(book club, play group for SAHMs)

Any forum or setting where you can exchange ideas and get honest feedback is definitely a good investment of your time. I might just come back with some new productivity strategies to share! Stay tuned….

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GTD Practices – Processing

By on March 17, 2010 in Uncategorized

This week we continue the ongoing series on GTD practices with a discussion on processing. If you are not familiar with the GTD concept, read my GTD overview. Also, as a reminder, if you missed part one in the series last week on the process of collecting or capturing, I highly encourage you to start there first.

In a broader sense, this step of processing encompasses clarifying objectives or outcomes and the decision process behind determining what is a project vs. what is a task and if each item is actionable (more on organizing and actions next week.) This concept might be easier to understand and implement by following the work-flow diagram below. In this case a picture may indeed be worth a thousand words.

To jump-start your GTD routine and clarify the method further I highly recommend listening to the GTD Best Practices of Processing podcast from David Allen the creator of the GTD system.  David and some members of his team share tips and strategies for processing, including keys for getting to inbox zero, why things get stuck, the process for deciding and more. Even more crucial they discuss how this process works when you are managing a project or as part of a team.

As with any other routine or skill, this process does get easier and become almost automatic with time and practice. Please share any tips or comments you might have on how you are using this system. Stay tuned for next week’s discussion on the process of organizing…..and in the meantime check out the related posts on the GTD system.

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