Posts filed under ‘productivity’
I’d cite studies and research and books I’ve read on the power of napping, but why? If you have the afternoon “foggies” and are having a hard time concentrating and being motivated to work, take a 15 minute break, find a tree outside (if it’s nice) or a quiet closet somewhere, or go to your car, and take a nap. Preferably with your legs elevated.
It’d be helpful if you had your boss’s permission, especially if you work in an office, but I guarantee you you will be more focused and productive the rest of the afternoon.
Or, you can be proactive about this and do it over your lunch break if you have a conscience (or employer) issue with doing this during work hours. You might even get to use your couch or a bed as an added bonus.
(And yes, that’s my adorable toddler daughter. She’ll probably hate me for this someday)
As a follow-up to my “empty your inbox” folder, I thought I’d respond to a question in the comments with another post.
I struggle with how to file things for my work email because there are so many moving pieces that require attention. I’d be interested to hear what you have as your folder structure for filing things.
Everything useful I know about e-mail management I learned from Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero. Learn this. Over time this has evolved for me.
Read the rest of this entry »
An interesting question came up in my “empty your inbox” post.
Similar to a messy inbox, my new distraction is unread tweets in tweetie. How do you handle twitter? Do you put it off until certain times or keep up with it all day?
Simple answer: I don’t. Twitter is an information luxury to me. You don’t NEED to keep up with it.
If you do (for some reason) want to keep up with a certain set people, a certain topic, etc, download TweetDeck, and set up some searches and groups. Easy.
For awhile, before I realized that I didn’t HAVE to keep up with Twitter, I had several searches and groups set up that kept me organized:
- A search for my username. This replaced my “replies” column as it would also show when anyone mentioned me outside of a reply
- A search for the topic du jour. This changed from time to time.
- A group called “close”. This was a very stripped down group of people whose tweets I (for whatever reason) wanted to keep an eye on.
- A group called “local”. This was a group of people I was likely to encounter in “real life” who would probably ask me if I saw their tweet. I paid closest attention to these.
Hope that’s helpful.
You will probably not question the fact that e-mail causes you stress. Anecdotal evidence, nascent research, and my own personal experience is saying that it is currently one of the greatest causes of stress in the workplace. I have a suggestion.
It’s not the email itself that causes the stress, it’s the fact that you don’t handle it correctly. I have a few simple tips for you being master over your inbox, rather than your inbox mastering you. And trust me, I probably get more email than you.
Cardinal rule: You MUST keep your inbox empty. Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Boyink has a great post with tips for working from home. Worth a read if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so. He has a nice summary paragraph at the end:
If you’re lucky enough to be able to work at home, don’t make it just a little mini office away from the office. Life’s too short to replicate the creativity and soul-sucking office environment in your own home. Work in your PJ’s, work odd hours, play music at high-volume, have a movie on while you work—do anything just to remind yourself that by being at home your life is a little less like Dilbert everyday.
Otherwise what’s the point?
Great post Mike.
Digital Designer, Developer, & Strategist
Matt has been creating Web sites for a decade, playing nearly every role on a Web team at least once. A love for art, a knack for code, and a love for people have fueled his career.
Matt is the Sr. Web Manager for Desiring God Ministries. More importantly, he is a Husband, Father, Musician, and Jesus' friend.
Matt writes about technology (of all kinds), productivity, and sometimes theology. Read more about Matt here.
