Welcome to 3 ideas for 2 minutes –
Productivity Top Tips that give you time.
Favourite Read
Flex-Time Programme
HBR reports the impact of a flexible workingpolicy on a team at MIT School of Mgt. General expectations about time in office versus remote working were agreed. Cited as a success, principal benefits included: less time commuting meant less stress and fewer sick days,...
Mindfulness not Meditation
This NY Times piece shows how to use mindfulness at work. It states the difference between mindfulness and meditation - thinking versus lack of. Thinking at work is key - more clarity leads to better solutions. My favourite tip was using mindfulness to choose...
Using email
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this article by Derek Hadley on LinkedIn for its forward thinking angle on how we use email. It reminded me that we should be making email work for us, not the other way round. The main highlights for me were: Constant attention to email...
Wait but why?
This is an article that stopped me in my tracks last week with its focus on the quality of time we spend on the experiences and people that really matter. Definitely more about getting more done in life, not just at work, in itself making us more decisive about how we...
Addicted to Distraction
Are you Addicted to Distraction? The instant gratification of checking messages and social media is a feeling too good to ignore. This article is a personal account by CEO and founder of The Energy Project, Tony Schwartz. He describes his own experience and offers...
Ditch subjects for deadlines
Sort emails in folders? This Fast Company article will be an eye opener. It suggests only five email folders for any inbox. The big distinction is ditching subjects (e-folders usually titled by subject) for deadlines i.e. when you plan to process the email. Simple but...
French law no email after hours
French workers, in businesses with 50 or more employees, can now legally ignore work email after hours. Great news for wellbeing. The question is, do we need a law to get the benefits of an email hiatus? Or is it possible to be disciplined enough to create or own...
FT list of how to be productive
Jan 1st brought this idea-packed article in the Financial Times on how to have a productive new year. It shares tried and tested secrets from people who know how to get things done by balancing digital distraction and time for focused work. The value of a 15 minute...
Too busy for Christmas?
I was grabbed by Susan Carroll's piece on LinkedIn asking are we too busy for Christmas?At a time of year when we crave relaxation but fear idleness, it's easy to end up being busier than perhaps we should. Her story offers tips for doing less so we enter 2017 with a...
Seasonal productivity
Entrepreneur.com shares 5 tips to enhance business productivity this holiday season. Entrepreneurs and employees take note - although it seems like a short month, plan well to capitalise on opportunities to do good by colleagues and customers for a more productive...
Favourite Tool
Yoga Studio
I've always been aware of the benefits ofyoga - flexibility, relaxation, energy - yet I couldn't find time in my week to go to a class. Until now that is. Enter Yoga Studio, cited "the best yoga app out there." (MSN) From my experience so far, I tend to agree. It...
Meditation – Buddhify and Head Space
It sounds counter-intuitive but if we want to get more done it helps to pause every now and then to do nothing. Finding time to meditate at least once a day can work wonders for our productivity. Research-backed benefits include: reduced stress - calms mind and body....
7 min workout app
We know how important it is to get tasks out of our heads and onto a list. My favourite collection point is the Daily Dashboard but I've tried and am happy to recommend others - such as Todoist. It's easy to navigate and customise. Comes in an app and web format so...
Blinkist
Whatever the profession, we need to stay smart by expanding knowledge on latest thinking and ideas. Result? A stack of books we know we should read, but don't, because it takes time. I've found a wonderful tool called Blinkist that allows you to get smarter in...
RescueTime
Ever wanted to try a time audit? This tool could help. RescueTime collects data on how you spend your time digitally. This valuable information can then be used to limit time on applications or sites or block them altogether. A digital tap on the wrist reminding you...
Time App
This favourite tool is the brainchild of two teenage app developers fascinated by ways to help people stay focused on their work. Their app called Time – Beat Procrastination with AI is a colour coded timer that counts down to your goals - green means you're on track,...
It's important to limit time on tech yet the content available can be hugely beneficial to learning - when we have time to read it that is. To overcome this dilemma I use this brilliant app called Pocket - it takes anything you find online and saves it in an organised...
Look back, achieved & learned
In the spirit of getting things done, it's normal to want to keep moving forward. The tool I find invaluable at this time of year is taking time to look back. Pausing to reflect on what you've achieved and learned in the past 12 months can offer insights crucial to...
Distractagone
I was disappointed to find that a clever, yet simple device called Distractagone, to help combat smartphone distraction, didn't hit its funding target on Kickstarter. Nonetheless I think the concept is worth exploring - a lockable box on a timer, designed to hold up...
Evercontact
An up to date contact list saves time – accurate information, available when you need it. Maintaining the list takes time. I’ve recently started using Evercontact, a tool that keeps my contacts up to date automatically. It does so by analysing incoming email...
Favourite Experiment
Bite size chunks
How do you eat an elephant? In bitesize chunks of course! That's exactly the approach I've been taking to project work of late. I see the deadline in the distance. So tempting to do nothing and wait for a last minute dash. I'm finding I get more done, and it's much...
Time slots
When time is short and I need to get things done I've started converting whatever hours I have into half hour slots. Each 30 minutes I allocate to something I need to do including focussed work, messaging, personal chores and even lunch. I'm finding it helps me to...
Be accountable to others
During the past couple of weeks I've had more than one experience of the benefit of being accountable to someone else when trying to get something done. Be that getting fit, installing a new habit or business planning I found I was able to go further, feel...
A step too far – know your limits
STOP - if only I had! Instead I took a metaphorical fall, denting my productivity. While travelling last week I thought I'd use the chance to 'get some more work done.' Bad idea - sitting stooped over a laptop for 3hours meant my neck and shoulders seized up. Net...
Collection points – head for thinking
Our brains work best when they're allowed to think not crammed with lists of things to do. Most of us know that so we use diaries, notepads and digital devices to record tasks. Trouble is, information scatters and it's hard to keep track. I had this problem so I came...
Ditching subjects for deadlines
Inspired by Zac Hanlon's piece on deadline-driven email folders I gave it a try. Each time I process my inbox I decide what I'll actually Do - more than a 2 minute reply goes into a folder. I make time to process what's in the folders - email needs to be treated as a...
Activity log results
I started my time audit with a big dose of realism - how much time will I actually have this week to work? The answer, about 18 hours. Most intriguing was the breakdown by time spent Energising, Priortising and Focusing. Ratio worked out at 25:15:60. The big question...
Activity Log
In order to better manage time we need to measure it first. So says Laura Vanderkam in this week's FT article. My experiment for the coming fortnight is to do a time audit. I'll keep a track of what I actually spend my hours on and to see where the time vampires lurk....
Lemon water in the morning
The silly season causes havoc with established routines - late nights, rich food and more to do in less time - it's easy to feel off form and less energised than usual. To protect against this, there's one routine I'm determined to stay consistent with - starting the...
Invisible hashtags at end of emails
Ever lose time trying to find an email you sent?I do. Probably because the title is unintuitive, inherited from previous forwards or is one of hundreds to a particular person. A neat tip I've been trying is to include invisible hashtags at the end of the email and...