Archive for the ‘General’ Category
June 13th, 2011 | 
Author: When used appropriately, email is an incredibly useful communication tool. But, like me, many of us feel overwhelmed by the amount of mail that we receive and need to respond to.
However, there are ways to manage your email so that you’re more productive. We’ll explore strategies for doing this, so that you can get on with the real work at hand.
Key Points:
- Most of us feel overwhelmed by email. Although it’s a great communication tool, more often than not it’s overused. By managing it effectively, you can significantly boost your productivity.
- To gain control of your inbox, start by checking and processing email only at certain times during the day. If you’re concerned about the delayed response, let people know that you don’t check your email constantly.
- Also, try to keep your inbox as clear as possible. Organize mail using folders like “Action”, “Waiting” and “Archives”. And when you do check mail, use the two minute rule – any email that can be read and responded to in two minutes or less should be handled right then.
- You can also reduce your incoming mail by asking people to send you less, and by advocating effective email and communication strategies in your organization.
Posted in 
Imagine that you work in a classic autocratic organization, and your boss follows every little rule. He oversees each detail of every project and task – and he seems to believe that you and the rest of the team are incapable of performing without him help at every step.
This, in turn, has created an oppressive and discouraging work environment. Productivity is low, and many people have left to go to organizations that are less controlling and more empowering.
Does your boss watch over everything that you do?
So how can you improve your situation? How can you get your boss – and perhaps your organization – to trust you more?
Working in a micromanaged environment isn’t easy. I ‘ll highlight the disadvantages of micromanagement, and I’ll explore what you can do if your boss micromanages you.
Do you get excited about everything you need to do? Or do you sometimes need a bit of help to get started, never mind getting the task done?
Maybe you’re continuing to ignore those overflowing filing cabinets, instead of taking some time out to reorganize them. Or, you’re avoiding that difficult conversation with a person who is always late, choosing instead to tolerate the tardiness. Perhaps you keep rearranging your priorities, so that the tasks you hate stay at the bottom of the list.
The longer you delay doing something, the more stress and pressure you’re likely to feel. After a while, you may even start to lose confidence in your ability to complete the task at all.
Many of us sometimes need help getting motivated. And it can be very frustrating when we know we have to do something, but we just can’t get around to making a start. So how can we motivate ourselves to do these things?
Do you waste much time during your day due to disorganization?
Perhaps you spend 5 minutes searching for a misplaced file, another 5 looking for an email detailing an important meeting, and perhaps 10 minutes more finding today’s to-do list, lost in the piles of papers on your desk. Before you know it, you’ve spent an hour throughout the day looking for things you can’t find. And that’s just one day! Imagine how much time you’re losing each week, each month, and each year!
Many people struggle with disorganization. And, while some think they can succeed amidst the chaos, this disorganization can end up costing a high price. Disorganization can hold us back from getting the promotion we’ve always wanted. It can block our creativity, add stress to our lives, and prevent us from being as productive andeffective as we could be.
New Year, time to think, time to check out if our goals were accomplished. But it is important, be prepared for the new year… So, I would like to share some ideas to be ready.
1. Set smaller goals with smaller steps
Gradual small steps motivate people toward larger change.
If you want to lose weight, for example, change small aspects of your eating pattern. Resolve to have a salad tomorrow for lunch, and then do that for a week.
Write down the steps you want to take in a datebook to make it concrete, and reward yourself for making the individual changes, she said.
Let’s say you want to work on being more optimistic this year. Nolen-Hoeksema recommends imagining what you would be like if you were optimistic. Imagine yourself going through a day at work if you were optimistic and confident, then write that down in great detail.
Now, you have specific aspects of that ideal of optimism to work toward. Pick one thing that the optimistic you is doing that you’re not, and start working in that direction, she said.
2. Frame your goals positively
Despite the proven health risks of certain habits, such as smoking, thinking about a habit in the negative will not help you nix it. Studies have shown that it’s hard to get motivated about avoiding cancer, but easier to think about smelling better and saving money as reasons to quit smoking.
So, if you want to quit doing something, think about the positive aspects of not doing it. And make sure you reward yourself for sticking to the plan along the way.