Productivity
Productivity Coaching, Time Management Consulting and Leadership Coaching for business and nonprofits - get your most important work done. Collaborating with leaders and their teams to become more strategic, focused and productive. Leadership and Board Coaching, Strategic Planning Facilitation, Productivity Coaching and Time Management Consulting, Professional Speaker.
Productivity Coach, Productivity Consultant, Leadership Coach, Time Management Coach, Business Consulting, personal productivity, time management, nonprofit, board coach, collaboration, strategic planning, facilitation, change management, leading productive teams, project planning, board development, volunteer engagement, association management, workplace productivity, executive director.
-1
archive,paged,category,category-productivity,category-3,paged-13,category-paged-13,bridge-core-3.3.1,qode-page-transition-enabled,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode_grid_1200,footer_responsive_adv,qode-theme-ver-30.8.1,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.9,vc_responsive

Productivity

14 Jan

Posted at 09:42h in Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Tech & Digital Clutter, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

Many people use their email signature as a way to communicate credentials, contact information and marketing links. Sometimes people include an inspirational message. These are all great uses…but there is more you can do.

Most email programs provide an option for multiple signatures. Some people use this feature to change between business and personal signatures. This of course is helpful. But imagine the possibilities if you used these signatures to communicate information you use all the time.

The best way for me to explain this is to share what I do. If I find that I’m sending the same information in emails over and over again, it is worthwhile to turn it into a signature (I actually put the body of the letter into the signature.) Then when I need to send that email, all I need to do is change to that particular signature, add the salutation (Dear Jane), make a few personalization tweaks, and hit send.

Here are the signatures I use:

  • Coaching – is used when replying to a client interested in coaching
  • Ellen – is for when I just want my name
  • Ellen Faye Organization – is my full blown signature with all the bells and whistles
  • Ellen Personal – is for personal correspondence with my home phone #, etc.
  • Ellen Short – is essential information used for business
  • Mom – is for my kids… (says…Love, Mom)

This super useful tool saves me a great deal of time. Check out the signatures feature in your email program to see how you can benefit. Questions – post them as a comment on my blog and I’ll get back to you right away.

07 Jan

Posted at 08:43h in Focus and Prioritize, Productivity

“NO” is the most powerful productivity tool ever!  As the new year is upon us, with all our new goals and aspirations, it is easy to get caught up in the vortex of hoarding opportunities.  With the myriad of information and prospective “things” we can do with our time, money, and energy staying focused is … hard.

To effectively evaluate if you should say “YES,” getting clear about what is important is critical.  (Check out my 10 Minute Goal Setting Blog Post if you need some direction with this.) Remember, that when you say “YES” to one thing you are saying “NO” to something else.  Your resources are not endless!  Filter questions include:

  • If I say YES to this opportunity, what will I be saying NO to?
  • Will saying YES help me achieve something valuable, useful, or important?
  • Will saying NO be a relief?

Once you are clear with what’s important saying “NO” becomes much easier.

12 Nov

Posted at 09:54h in Focus and Prioritize, Organize to Thrive, Productivity, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

Last week I wrote about setting up your to-do list by priorities so that you didn’t have to copy the same information over and over again.  This concept captures the new way of managing time.  The reality is that no matter how hard we work or how organized we are, we can no longer get everything done.  When planning how to use our time I have found it most effective to group my to-dos into priorities.  Many time-management gurus have their own methodology.  Mine is a hybrid – based on what I’ve seen WORK with clients over the past 12 years.  As with everything I do, it’s easy, because we’ve learned – if it’s not easy it doesn’t happen.

Critical – must be done today before I leave the office or go to bed

(more…)

05 Nov

Posted at 10:29h in Focus and Prioritize, Organize to Thrive, Paper Management, Productivity, Tips for Easier Living

I received a question from one of you this week.  JW writes: I am a true list maker. I make a “to do” list every single day. Only problem is that I use several different types of note pads and don’t throw the list away each day. (some days I’m better than others).  Therefore, I have various lists on kitchen counter, desk in my office, night table. Then I spend a few minutes each day merging the lists, etc. I realize it’s a definite waste of time and was wondering if there are others like me.

(more…)

29 Oct

Posted at 09:58h in Focus and Prioritize, Productivity, Time Management, Uncategorized

As we go through our busy days we are pulled in many directions.  Deciding what actually priorities are, isn’t as easy as it sounds.  Is it working on the project plan for your team/boss/self?  Is it attending another meeting?  Is it making time to exercise or getting to your child’s concert on time?  Is it choosing to answer the phone or the emails?  It is truly hard to decide.

Interestingly enough, the word DECIDE comes from the Latin word decidere, which literally means to cut off (from de- + caedere to cut).  When you decide to do one thing you are CUTTING OFF the opportunity to do something else.   No wonder this is difficult!

To help you DECIDE what your priorities are, I recommend creating a filter list.  Run your options through the filter and see which items are big enough to not fall through.  Here is the criteria I use for my “Must Do Today” filter:

If I don’t do it today:

(more…)

08 Oct

Posted at 08:24h in Focus and Prioritize, Productivity, Tech & Digital Clutter, Tips for Easier Living

Imagine every email is a phone message you had to return! I suspect that means you are spending your entire work day on the phone and not getting to your important work. If you put your email responses through the same filter as your phone call responses you’ll reduce the volume and focus on the most important messages. 

  • You may think it’s polite to answer each and every email – but it’s not. Email etiquette suggests you only respond when useful.
  • When you see a big list of people who are copied, it’s ok to take people out of the response list if your response isn’t relevant to them.
  • It’s ok to decide that an email string isn’t a top priority and delete it. Remember, only you are in control of how you use and manage your time.

And don’t forget that your email inbox isn’t a storage location. If you don’t need the email anymore, file it, or even better – DELETE it!