The time-waster meeting is a common fixture in offices across America. The reason, says Reid Hastie, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, is that we’re not thinking about and valuing our time the right way.
Cut back on workday spending … Keep your mind primed for work by clearing away the cobwebs … Know the right way to vent to relieve stress … Think “ABB” or “always be briefing” … Uncover wasteful spending with creative thinking.
What makes the Internet useful is also what makes it so undeniably distracting: There’s no end to what you can find online. Luckily, a few browser add-ons that work with Firefox can help make web surfers more productive (all available at
addons.mozilla.org).
Your boss just can’t seem to get it together when it comes to managing his or her time? Your boss is always late for meetings, can’t seem to make decisions quickly and doesn’t churn out projects in a timely manner. In short, he or she is making both of you look bad. What can you do?
Create a cheat sheet for emergencies and leave it on your desk … Monitor spending with online tools … Reach out to someone who has been laid off … Be a valuable connection from the moment you invite someone into your LinkedIn network.
If you manage other assistants, you may be craving higher productivity from your team. If you’re a savvy people manager, though, you don’t want to saddle your strong performers with an extra layer of stress. Consider these three approaches.
Like a professional basketball player performs a ritual before a big moment—say, bouncing the ball exactly six times before taking a free throw—such routines can boost your own productivity by minimizing the variables that distract you. Instead of winging it, make up your own rituals …
Save time by storing “canned responses” on Gmail for commonly asked questions … Halt interruptions by giving your physical space a makeover … Turn voice-mail messages from your mobile, home or work phone into e-mail messages … Earn the mantle of “too valuable to lose”…
The same tactics you use at work can help you get everything done at home. Some people, however, leave their work skills at work. What they should be doing, experts say, is setting goals, outsourcing tasks and reviewing performance, just like a workplace manager.
Executives say their lunch breaks have dwindled to 35 minutes and they work through lunch, on average, three days a week.That means many admins likely feel compelled to forgo lunch, working through lunch or shortening lunch. To take back the shrinking lunch break, OfficeTeam offers these tips.
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