For every item on your to-do list, ask yourself these questions: 

• Is this the best use of my time?
• Is this going to help me reach my goals?
• Will I do it?
• Can someone else do it? (Just because it needs to be done does not mean YOU have to do it. Relinquish a little bit of control, if possible, and make life easier on yourself! If you delegate most of your list and only do what your good at or enjoy doing a lot more will get done!

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What would be more helpful on Mother’s Day than to have the whole family pitch in…literally! Now is one of the times your kids will be most likely to lend a helping hand. For example, spend 15 minutes on a family “discarding” session and get rid of the pesky junk mail and unneeded school papers that have been piling up on your counter.

Check out these 12 Tips for Making Your Life Less Stressful and More Productive:

1. Clutter becomes invisible – Organize the top of your desk:

• “In Box” for papers you haven’t looked at (not a place for postponed decisions).
• “Out Box” for things you need to take someplace else.
• “File Box” for papers to file in places you can’t reach from your desk.

2. Continually eliminate clutter from your life. Practice “Discard”. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst possible thing that can happen if I didn’t have this?” If you can live with your answer, toss it!

3. Sort papers/e-mail using The 4 D System:

• Discard, Delegate
• Do It Now
• Define Action
• Organize files into two types:
  • “Reference” files (things you don’t know if you will need, but are afraid to toss). Remember 80% of what we file we never look at a second time…
  • “Action” files (things you need to do or delegate).

4. “Reference” files can be found in 5 seconds or less using The Paper Tiger Software, or by creating an excel spreadsheet, which turns you filing system into a finding system.

5. Using the 80/20 rule and work the first 96 minutes of your day on the most important projects.

6. Utilize a database program, such as Outlook, Act, Goldmine for storing names and contact info.

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Here’s what one reader had to say, “”This is one of the best and most comprehensive summaries of LinkedIn resources I have seen. Excellent work! So many college students and young professionals are either not yet aware of LinkedIn’s potential, they’ve never heard of it, or they think it’s for more experienced people. Couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

Thanks to Jasmine Hall for sharing this excellent resource with us. Check it out in its original context here: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/05/07/the-new-networking-ultimate-linkedin-guide-for-2012-grads/.

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When we don’t have time for something, we just defer it.  David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done (GTD), calls those items Someday/Maybe Items; I call them “the things I’d like to get done if I had more time to get things done”.

The best way to get to those “I’ll do them later” items according to David is to set “ticklers”, ticklers are reminders or triggers that you set to “pop” when you reach a certain date in your calendar or when a certain condition or pre-requisite is met.

The problem with ticklers is that we treat them most of the time as mere suggestions, giving them less authority than “must do” actions.  But, at least for me, they still carry the same amount of guilt when I fail to get them done.  It’s not fun to review your tickler file only to reset your tickler to another future date, knowing full well, they most likely will never get done.

So how can you use those ticklers to really get those Someday items done or alternatively label them as non-important to ease our guilt trips?

#1 Put a self-destruct date on it

An excellent method I use to unclutter my lists is by putting a “self-destruct” date on them that once reached, removes them from my lists for good!

An unexpected thing happened when I started to use the self-destruct date on actions, I completed more “maybe” items because of the “pending doom” aura they had over their heads…call it the adrenaline rush you get before the gallows, you don’t want to see that item disappear into the abyss so you do everything you can to at least begin it.

Once the ball is rolling, it’s a normal action/project and should be treated that way.

#2 Create decision catalysts

On top of connecting my ticklers to the calendar, I like to connect them to a physical trigger, what I call anchors.

Action anchors are events, people or conditions that once met, transfer the Someday item to my action list. For instance, I have a fly fishing trip on my someday lists but I know that I’m looking to go with at least one friend.  The anchor to make this happen is finding a friend to join me.  By anchoring that friend to the fishing trip, it helps trigger a conscious decision to go fishing once I find the right friend to join me.

So anchor Someday items to certain situations or people and see them get done.

#3 General = Fail | Specific = Win!

Spending more time with the kids or adopting a healthier way of life is a description of a task that will never see the light of day.  Why? Because it is too general!

Of course you’d like to spend more time with your kids and eat healthier, but those future projects require you to break them to smaller bite-sized actions, (…no pun intended).  When the time comes to put your money where your mouth is, you won’t know where to start and therefore, you won’t start.

Try to break “spending more time with the kids” to:

-  Pick them up from school instead of them taking the bus;

-  Go with them to the movies every other Tuesday;

- Play soccer with Johnny on Saturdays.

The more specific the Someday/Maybe list items are the higher your conversion rate will be.

The most important thing to remember about your maybe items is to sleep on them, and never lose sleep because of them…the best way I know to do that is to get them done!

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What is “workshifting” and how can it help you?

“Workshifting really makes a difference – not just to employees, but to companies as well. It offers a unique ability to improve work-life balance and to provide a level of flexibility that may not have been attainable with the more traditional work style of the past. I am really pleased to see more businesses globally are embracing mobile work styles, as it will change the way we work and the way we live.”

View the entire article by Seamus King in its original context here: How Workshifting Can Save a Relationship and Benefit a Career

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Our language determines our perception of objects and events around us; it’s our consciousness expressed.  We use our language to categorize, distinguish, and create our personal universe, inner and outer.

Some languages are structured around quite different basic words, nouns and adjectives…as a result; they project a very different picture of reality.

The way we portray an object or an interaction, labels it in our conscious mind and helps us process it faster.  It reduces “brain strain” by using autopilot for certain actions…the problem begins when that autopilot is fueled with negative language.

When you talk positively you get excited, your body fills itself with serotonin and adrenaline and you raise your chances to succeed!

Here are four examples on how our language affects our actions…

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE IN ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT

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• The hot spot – what is the most frustrating space
• Start from the top floor and work down
• Start from the bottom floor and work up
• The most active room in the house
• What area will make the most difference for you?

It doesn’t really matter where you, start…the key is just to start!

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I was recently made aware of a great article, and thought all of you could benefit from reading it. Whether you’d like to improve your finances, home life, working habits or another area of your busy day, these ideas and tips from various “productivity experts” will get you motivated and moving down the path toward success.

View the article, “20 Impressive and Inspiring Productivity Experts on Twitter” here: http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/04/02/20-impressive-inspiring-productivity-experts-on-twitter/

Are there any other great productivity resources you’d like to share? We’re always looking for feedback!

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Eliminate stress by finding out how you work best!

One of the best feelings anyone can have is that “job well done” feeling, you know what I’m talking about, right? You did your best and everything fell into place, just the way you planned it.

One of the worst feelings you can have is that “I’m stuck and falling behind” feeling.

That feeling is extremely dangerous, once you lose confidence in your ability to perform tasks successfully; you encounter productivity’s number one enemy, stress.

Although a little amount of stress can be good for your productivity, a lot of stress can cause a meltdown and actual health problems. There are three stages to stress:

Alarm – the initial reaction, the stage in which you realize that you need to do something! Your body springs into action pumping adrenaline and cortisol into your system to support your brain’s high demand levels for reaction and alertness.

Resistance – if the task is prolonged in some way or if it’s a long term demanding project, your body tries to cope with the stress by providing more resources to try to adapt itself to the demands of that project, but your body cannot keep this up for long and its resources are gradually depleted.

Exhaustion – at this point the body had used all its resources and you start to feel the burn, your body got hit hard and you lose your ability to function normally (at least for a while), in some cases your body’s immune system becomes exhausted, resulting in actual illness.

To reduce the effects of stress on your body, you’ll have to get your stress levels under control in the first stage, once you’ll reach the second stage it’ll be much harder…Once you reach the third stage, you can kiss your ability to work goodbye.

To stop your stress levels from getting the best of you, you’ll need some good old fashioned O.R.D.E.R!

Every time I feel I’m slipping away I use the 5 stages of O.R.D.E.R to gather myself, get the job done and then decompress.

Organize – The first thing I do to organize my work by including all my tasks in lists and organizing them according to context, e.g., where you need to be in order to complete the task (no need to worry about your shopping when you are at the office).  It’s really important that you’ll have everything in one place that will centralize your work.

Recognize – This is where you’ll need to activate a few brain cells….Once everything is available to you in lists, prioritize all your items.  Recognize what might take large chunks of your time and prepare for it by adding support materials and people that that might help you complete tasks.

Delegate – Are you the right person for the job?  Get all the help you can on your upcoming projects by delegating certain tasks, use your colleagues, family and friends.  Be sure to communicate your needs to them properly.

Execute – Nothing will fall into place if you’ll wait for it, waiting for perfection is procrastinating and procrastinating creates even more stress.  Once you delegated, you must focus and perform your tasks, it’s as simple as that.  Everything will fall into place once you’re on the move.

Regroup – Finished? You’ll need to unwind a bit and then organize all your troops for the next set of actions.

ORDER is a simple technique that will help you to reduce stress levels while working.

…If you’re taking your first steps into working right and would like to achieve your goals without frying your systems, ORDER is the way to go!

Thank you to IQTell.com for this! View the article in it original context here: The Number One Enemy of Productivity

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What’s the common thread between Leonardo De Vinci, Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein?  We all know they were extremely creative people but is that it?  We probably know half a dozen people that are extremely creative…and although gifted, they have not achieved greatness.

Being creative alone just doesn’t cut it – you have to put “your money where your mouth” is and combine creativity with productivity.

So how do you do that? By studying how those three worked and interacted with their environment, I was able to isolate three distinct elements:

1# All of them shaped their environment to suit their needs

The more stimuli you surround yourself with, the more creative you are, right?  In one respect, yes, but keep in mind that stimuli can also destroy your productivity.  Make sure there is nothing that distracts you from the task at hand…The most creative people are often introverted, they’re open enough to communicate and explain their ideas, but they reach conclusions by themselves without any interruptions – solitude is a catalyst to innovation.

You are more than welcome to check Steve’s strange monk like behaviors, Albert’s “go into the cave to think” attitude, and Leonardo’s reclusive nature in their biographies.

2# The people they interacted with

Isolation gives you the ability to work but your interactions with people often spark creativity…your food for thought.

When it came to socializing all three were “mingling introverts”, learning from and exploiting the people around them to gain what they want, if it’s Leonardo’s court manors and his special relationship with Lorenzo Medici, Job’s up and down relationship with Apple’s co-founder Wozniak and Einstein’s disputes with Niels Bohr.

It’s important to interact with non-like-minded people because those interactions will inspire you on the “creative” and the “active” levels. They may know things you don’t and their different perspectives can ultimately help you tweak the way you work.

3# They all had a strong spiritual side that helped them unwind

Albert Einstein loved to play his violin; Leonardo De Vinci liked purchasing caged birds just to release them; and Steve Jobs was known for his Buddhist spiritual journeys and studies.

Unwinding is extremely important.  When you feel stuck and can’t create, the best solution is to step down for a little while and engage in something totally different.

Think about it this way…

Our neural networks run on electricity, electricity = energy…no energy means your network has no power and needs to recharge, got it? (Although this is not a scientific explanation, it always convinces me to unwind.)

So in conclusion, in order to create something new, you’ll need to control your environment, exchange ideas with people that think differently, and unwind when necessary…and when you think that you nailed it, strike while the iron’s hot, and make it happen!

We’d like to invite you to join our beta and spark your productivity with IQTELL!

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