Another Great Way To Stay Productive

I love reading tips that help me to be more productive. I just read this tip at lunch about taking time at the end of your day and the beginning of your day to check in and focus in order to get not only more things done, but the right things done. I basically already do what's being suggested, but if you don't, take a few minutes to check it out and/or show it to your boss.

Advice On Learning New Things

I came across this post today via Lifehacker (I site I LOVE - if you haven't checked it out, you must) and it's well worth giving a few minutes of your time to read it. It was written by a young programmer, Matt Nowack, but the advice is valuable to anyone that wants to learn new things and challenge themselves.

Boss Dossier

I'm not including a link today, but instead sharing a simple, but really useful tip that I have always had success with as an assistant. From day one on a job, make sure to keep what I call a Boss Dossier. It's so useful to keep little bits of information that you will likely need again in a little password protected document, so that you don't have to ask your boss time and time again for the same information. If your boss always gets the same thing for lunch at a few places, write down the specific order with whatever preferences they may have (dressing on side, etc.) and then you will have an easy shorthand when they want to order or if you have to make a decision to get something for them and can't ask them because they are in a meeting. This is a simple idea and most people I'm sure already do it, but try it if you don't already, as it's an effective and simple tool.

The Art of the To Do List

Check out this great article from Lifehacker that gives tips on creating a To Do List in the right way, so that items are manageable, actionable and help you to move tasks forward. This can be helpful with work tasks and creative projects. Lifehacker is a great site, so spend some time checking out all the useful information they post on how to hack your life and become more productive.

A Peek at the Office of the Guru of Getting Things Done

I ramble on here all the time about how being organized is crucial. I truly believe it to be true. There are creative geniuses that can be messy and still come up with amazing work product, but I think if you can improve your ability to be organized by even a small amount, it will allow you to focus more on being creative and help you to do a great job at work. I have mentioned David Allen before on this blog, he's the author of the famous book Getting Things Done. This weekend I saw a brief video interview of him that features a look at his desk. It's worth checking out for some insight on smart ways to keep your desk in order.

Procrastination KO

It's unrealistic to think you won't ever procrastinate, but you can't try to put up a good fight. One blog I love and read often that discusses productivity is Zen Habits. He did a recent post on procrastination that is short and really worth reading.

Making Time To Follow Your Passion

Last post of the day and hopefully it's a useful one. I go on and on at times about being efficient and productive, but it really can make a difference between you getting things done and having time to work on your own creative endeavors and not ever getting to it. I really enjoyed this short podcast that had a few tips about setting aside special time (even if it is brief) during which you can't be disturbed when you are pursuing your passion.

The Cult Of Done & Inbox Zero

It's appropriate that I don't have much time to blog today and I'm posting about getting things done. I just feel extra pressure to be job searching super hard today. Being home is making me INSANE. I might not blog as much once I get a new gig, but I don't plan to let it go completely. Anyway, if you have a bit of time, two things that are worth checking out are below.

Today someone on twitter (yes I know I keep bringing up Twitter - get on there already and FOLLOW me :) mentioned this Cult of Done Manifesto. It's short and total genius, so it's a must read. It's all about letting go of all the stuff that stops you from actually getting things finished. I'm printing it out and reading it again, at least once a week.

One other thing I love that I might have mentioned before is this great talk by Merlin Mann (a productivity guru) called Inbox Zero. He gave the speech at Google and the video of it is here. The video is all about getting at your e-mail, handling or organizing it accordingly and not letting it bog you down.

Using An Online Stopwatch To Make You More Productive

I'm often looking for little ways that I can make myself more productive. One good way that many productivity experts always suggest is working in focused bursts of activity. I find that this tip actually works (for me at least). One good way to do is to have some kind of stopwatch or online timer at your disposal. I like this one best for some reason. I pick what activity I need to focus on in that moment and I set it usually for about 30 minutes or so and then when the timer beeps, I take a break for 2-5 minutes (also timed) to check e-mail, etc. I often find that sometimes I won't even need the break and I'll skip it, but knowing you will get one shortly allows you to focus on the task at hand. This might seem nutty and kind of simple, but I swear it works.

Organization How I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

You would think I would not be so busy these days. I'm looking for a job and not at one -- but somehow between my job search, this blog and finishing up a tv spec, I don't seem to have that much extra time on my hands. The key thing to utilizing your time wisely is being organized. I'm a bit mental in that department, but in a good way. I LOVE organization and I use a ton of tools to keep things from slipping through the cracks. Below are some ideas and tools you can use to make yourself into an organizational superstar.

1) Keep some kind of To Do List. You would be amazed at how many people don't do this! I literally don't know how I could sleep at night if I didn't. There are so many options you can utilize, here are just a few:

A) Go old school (especially if you are short on time) and use a pen and paper. I often do this if I am not right by my computer or my iPhone (honestly the thing is pretty much attached to my hand, but that isn't the point). I sometimes will do this just to get the thought out of my head and put it into another format later.

B) Use some sort of online or computer related To Do List manager like Vitalist (this is the one I prefer) or Remember The Milk (both have a free and paid version). Gmail now has a tasks function that you can use, read about it here. If you want to use something more simple, take advantage of the functionality of your online calendar from Google (I prefer this one), Yahoo or whatever one you use. On most online calendars you can set it to send you reminders via text or email. People are always astonished that I never forget birthdays, but the online calendar is what makes this possible! All you have to do is set the date for yearly and a reminder 2 weeks before (to get a gift or card) and then the day of and you are all set. If you use Outlook often and like it, I'm pretty sure it has a To Do List or To Do Bar, so try that.

C) If you spend all day out and about on your Blackberry, iPhone or some other device, the majority of them have some sort of to do list on them. Also a few of the to do list online programs like Vitalist have apps for the iPhone and other devices.

2) REMINDERS, REMINDERS, REMINDERS!!!!! I could not be as efficient and on top of stuff as I am, if I didn't utilize the idea of reminders. I constantly leave myself post-it notes, set reminders in my to do list or calendar to email me or even intentionally leave things in my line of sight, so I won't forget (this is shockingly effective). One great inexpensive item to buy that can help you remember things just before you walk out the door is this Don't Forget Door Hanger that you can put things in. I don't have this, but I might need to buy it.

3) Study others who are productive. I'm enough of a dork that I actually read blogs about productivity and well, I'm, uhhhh - PROUD of that. Two productivity blogs that I find interesting are Zen Habits and 43 Folders. The Guru behind 43 Folders has a great video presentation he gave at Google about how to get your email Inbox to ZERO, so you aren't constantly behind AND yes, I said ZERO. I swear it's worth watching. There are many great books about being organized, but one of my favorites is Getting Things Done by David Allen.

4) Make your resources searchable. I have TONS of resources about travel, gifts, restaurants and all kinds of other stuff. I'm always looking for new ways to access this information more easily. One thing I started doing last year was using a new site called Evernote. I love bookmarks and I have tons of them broken down into so many folders and subfolders it would make your head spin, but I was finding at times that I needed a solution that was more visual and that is where Evernote comes in. The best way to explain it is that it is sort of like keeping a collection of visual bookmarks, but you can also incorporate pictures and text and other items into it. Also the entire thing is searchable - even the text on a label in a picture of a bottle wine you take, for instance. It's amazing and I'm not doing it justice, so read a review of it here or listen to the CEO explain the product in this video that is under a minute.

5) Set up some kind of a filing system and as much as you hate it, FILE sometimes. To be honest, I like setting up systems more than I really love to file, but it's necessary. If you have a system set up and at least a basket to put items that need to be filed in - that's a start. Try to get yourself on a schedule if you can (maybe add a calendar reminder :), but don't beat yourself up if you get behind. Face up to it and do it and you will be so much happier when it's done.

The bottom line is that all of these ideas work when they are put into practice. If you aren't organized now it might take a bit of time, but I promise it will be worth the effort. The thing you need to figure out is what kind of system works best with your job, life and the way you think and then build it around that.