3 Ways to Improve Productivity

What are YOU going to do today?

Most people show up at work and immediately they are inundated with work. E-mail in box has 20 to 200 new emails. Your mobile has 10 to 50 text messages for you to respond to. Your boss tells you about 2 meetings you must attend you did not know about. As soon as you respond to the messages on your phone and in your inbox, another equally daunting number come in requiring your IMMEDIATE attention. There goes your day!

What got done? Yes, the messages got replies, but that is not the question. What of substance got done?

Unfortunately, most people today would say, “Little gets done of what is important and VERY little of what I WANTED to do.” So my question for you, What are YOU going to do today?

Will you allow the day to take over or will you take control of your day?  Do you want your life back?

Here are 3 of my 30 Personal and Professional Productivity Principles:

1) Plan your day before it plans itself for you. Start in the wee hours of the morning with some quiet time and then focus on what you need to get done. Make a list of at least 3 things you MUST do to have a significant day and do them BEFORE you answer emails or text messages. Will you upset some people? Probably. Will YOU be more in control? DEFINITELY! This is also a great career move.

2) Resist the temptation to let emails and text messages set your daily priorities. Set specific times for responding to them and stick to those times. Surprisingly, by not responding as quickly and by controlling your time, responding to fewer inquiries, you will start to receive fewer emails and text messages. Obviously, respond to your clients (internal and external) but be sloth to respond to B and C priorities.

3) Block 90 minutes a day for your A1 project and insist you are UN-INTERRUPTED. I refer to this as the 90-Minute Marvel. It will boost your productivity 30%.

Now that you’ve read this, what are YOU going to DO today?

Let us know if you’d like the other 27 principles.

Smile Makers: Who’s the boss?

It doesn’t matter how many times a married man changes jobs. He still ends up with the same boss.

Good Lord willing, we’ll be married 10 years this year. Our arrangement is, I make all the major decisions and my wife makes all the minor ones. So far, in 10 years, there has not been a major decision to make yet.

Stress is our bodies reaction to any demand placed upon it. So if you want to have a favourable reaction to the stressors in your life, here are 8 ways to reduce your stress.

1. Breathe. Take 8 deep breaths when you start feeling stressed. You will lower your heart rate and relax your mind and body.

2. Rub yourself the right way. Massage where you are most tense. Feet, neck, shoulders…as far as you can reach or touch. 2-5 minutes of self-massage can really make a difference in your tension.

3. Passion. Remember that making love with your spouse is good for both of you. I releases a whole pharmacy of positive chemicals into the bloodstream, boosting the immune system, lowering cholesterol levels and lowering blood pressure. It even burns off 600 calories per hour!

4. Forgive someone. If you harbour anger or resentment, it hurts you, not necessarily the person you are angry at. Forgive them and you can move on in your life and end up living longer. Note: THEY need not accept your forgiveness…that is THEIR issue.

5. Take a hike! Walk off your stress at lunch. I do this when conducting full day seminars. I eat with my participants for 30 minutes and then walk for 25, clean-up and the afternoon is always better. Also any exercise in general will strip away body tension and anxiety.

6. Nap. Cranky kids take a nap and wake up as human beings. When you get cranky, maybe you need a nap.

7. Relax with music. Put on the headphones to tune out the world or if no one is home, turn up the sound system and listen to some music you find soothing. Can be baroque classical or hip-hop if you find it relaxing.

8. Pray. The power of prayer is well documented to lower heart rate, calm your senses and help you find peace and tranquility in life. I START everyday with prayer, END every day with prayer, pray before every meal, every speech or seminar and before every major or stressful decision. When God is my pilot, being co-pilot is so much easier.

Open the paper today and what do you see? Page after page of arrows pointing ‘down’. The word ‘Bailout’ is every day terminology. Announcements of cutbacks, layoffs of THOUSANDS of people and stock /share market exchanges dropping in ‘free-fall’ mode. Story after story of doom and gloom. So how are YOUR stress levels these days and what are you doing about them?

If you are a regular reader, you already know the nature of stress: “Our body’s physical reaction to any demand placed upon it.” Stress is how we COPE with bad news and events in our lives. So the exact question is, how is your BODY coping with the environment around you?

Hopefully you are not stressed out. My bride and I lost quite a bit in our retirement portfolio and I was very stressed at first. Then I took a deep breath and reminded myself, it’s not my money anyway, it ALL is God’s money. I certainly will not take it with me after I die. That gave me a lot of solace.

Then I got proactive and started to look for alternative investments and investment plans. Can’t say we have a good plan yet, but the process is freeing. Any time we take action on our problems, our body’s tend to react better.

Finally, I reflected on what I DO have and I realised how wealthy I am. I have my bride, the 2nd best decision of my life. (As a Christian, accepting Christ into my heart and making him Lord of my life is #1.) I have my 3 kids. They are a perpetual source of joy and pride. I have my career… something I LOVE doing. I have been blessed with good business, so I have a sound way to make more money. And my health is great, another blessing from God, so what to worry about?

Now there is a solid peace about loses and a feeling of calm. That is coping with stress. So back to the original question, what are YOUR stress levels like these days and what are YOU doing about it?

God bless you and make it a fantastic day!

SMILE MAKER: Never underestimate the power of a woman!

Husband, “Darling, I don’t think you will ever be able to train that dog.”

Wife, “Don’t be silly dear. Remember how stubborn you were when we first got married?”