Turn up the heat to boost productivity
The No. 1 thing people complain about at work: the temperature. Researchers at Cornell University have found that warmer offices can improve productivity.
Category: Productivity
1-Minute Strategies: Jan. ’10
Hold a shorter, more effective meeting by remembering the three purposes for having a meeting in the first place: to inform, to gather input or to ask for approval … Read faster using this technique developed by reading expert J. Michael Bennett: rhythmic perusal … Try this remedy for a foul-mouthed boss …
Stick to your resolve
Keep those beginning-of-the-year resolutions with these tactics from organizing guru FranklinCovey:
Setting yourself up for action: 4 tips
What makes the difference between productive workers and those who simply think they’re productive? Doing vs. talking. Here are four quick tips on how to set yourself up for action: 1. Jolt yourself into action by trying something. 2. Prototype your ideas. 3. Replace update meetings with "huddles." 4. Create testaments to progress.
Create templates for everyday requests
Instead of reinventing the wheel every time you repeat a task, create a template and then reuse it. For years, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, has used templates to improve his productivity …
Managing your manager
When you’re thrust into working environments, you deal with all sorts of people on a daily basis. If you don’t get along with some of them, the hours can drag on. If these people are your bosses, the days can seem like torture. Here’s how to manage your manager.
Want to be creative? Ask 5 questions
As the person closest to your work, you’re also the best one to identify ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with your job—which is exactly what most C-suite executives and business owners focus on. Just because they don’t ask for your innovative ideas doesn’t mean they’re not interested. Get your creative juices flowing with these five questions:
Holiday parties on a shoestring budget
Lavish office parties are as distant a memory as mimeograph machines for most workers. This year, as companies cinch their belts a little tighter than usual, how are you handling the holiday office party? Administrative professionals weighed in with their suggestions on our Admin Pro Forum:
You’ve made a mistake, now recover
Stressed out, you say something you shouldn’t have. Or you overlook a detail that ends up dooming an entire project. If you’ve said or done something in the past year that jeopardized your career, you’re not alone. Here’s how to recover:
Fight clutter with an ‘action corner’
Question: “I have a new boss and she is so disorganized. She has piles and piles of papers and complains that she can never find anything. How do I get her to organize her desk?”