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Category Archives: Productivity
If Not Talking on the Phone While Using the Restroom Impacts Your Performance
…you need either considerably more or considerably less fiber in your diet. I can only imagine the horror of the person on the other end of the line as you’re working through a problem and an automatic power flusher goes … Continue reading
Embrace Your Inner Lackey
Have you been given a crappy assignment? Is your job your field’s equivalent of disassembling the drainage pipes in the building and cleaning them? Is it beneath your skill set? Pride goeth before the fall. News flash: No one’s hiring … Continue reading
The “I don’t want to risk taking action” Blockade
Apparently, conventional wisdom has decided that if you don’t take action, you can’t be blamed for anything: Sure, you’re about to hit an iceberg. However, if you try to steer the ship, and it ruptures, you’ll be at fault. If … Continue reading
Creative Writing for Business
It seems like the greatest skill that many rely on to get through their careers is creative writing. Most jobs start with a resume, in which you may have to creatively explain how your dark periods, lack of qualifications, and … Continue reading
You Do This Well, But You Could Improve That…
The Problem Providing feedback that praises, and then offers suggestions for improvement. I’ve always wondered why such a method left a bad taste in my mouth, but I came across one possible explanation in The Paradox of Choice: Why More … Continue reading
The Collateral Damage of a Meeting
Meetings, much like 1-hour credit lab courses in colleges, carry a much higher price than their appointed time indicates. We’ve been over this before: A 15-minute meeting is more disruptive than a 3 hour one elaborated on the 15-minute meeting … Continue reading
Crash the Project Plan
Why in the world would you want to “crash” a project plan? The very use of the word “crash” seems to purvey a sense of doom. If you’re not familiar with the “crashing” process, it involves taking a current project … Continue reading
Be Open to Change!
“The only constant is change.” “Be open to change.” “Embrace change.” For those who work in small businesses or startups, these mantras probably aren’t necessary. When you’re breathing constant change, you don’t have to be reminded that it exists. No, … Continue reading
The Priority Queue, or Why the Low Priority Tasks Don’t Exist
A queue is wonderful thing… the next person in line gets the next available worker. However, in many situations, the first person in line shouldn’t always be serviced first, for example, in an emergency room: You can’t leave a person … Continue reading
Defeating the Clockwatching Game
Your rivals and managers in the office are playing a clockwatching game with you. Among their tools are: Email timestamps. Parking lot spots. People witnessing you walking in and walking out with your bags. Instant messages peppered through lunch hours. … Continue reading