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Interview: Productivity Tool

2009 by 8 Comments
tool-tall

In our interview series we asked a number of people the following: What do you feel is your most important productivity tool?(1532) The metaphorical axe - no bit of software or technology would help me if I didn't know how to constantly remove anything from my life that is getting in the way of living in a balanced and productive manner. Joel Falconer (rss) The word "No". I am getting really good at establishing boundaries and saying "No". "No" is probably THE most difficult thing for anyone, like me, who is interested in everything, loves talking with people, and has no internal time clock.  I love generating ideas and options.  I truly do not naturally like to say no … [Read more...]

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Interview Productive Work Zone

2009 by 8 Comments
workspace-main

What is your most valuable tip for getting into your productive zone for working? (190) Definitely keep a clean desk and inbox. Before I leave work for the evening, I clean off my desk. When I get to work every morning, I always have a clean desk. The only stuff that can be found on my desk are projects that require action that day. The same can be said for my inbox. Every evening I clean it out. The next morning only contains emails that I'll read/work on that day. Michael Morton from Marketing Monster (rss) Pavlovian conditioning. Here's where procrastination can really hurt you in the beginning. If you go into your home office (or cubicle or whatever) and do nothing, that's … [Read more...]

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Inteview: Biggest Productivity Challenge

2009 by Leave a Comment
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What is your biggest challenge to productivity and how do you overcome it? (671)  That is the question we asked a number of bloggers and here are their answers. As a student, I was a master of procrastination, running down the clock as long as I could before beginning a project. What resulted was strong work and ridiculous levels of self-induced pressure. (I suppose that's the academic version of living on the edge.) The strategy that I now like to call granularity helped me to overcome my tendency toward procrastination, by making it possible to see a large project as a matter of many smaller, more manageable tasks. Michael Leddy from Orange Crate Art (rss) My biggest challenge … [Read more...]

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Interview: Successful Habit

2009 by 4 Comments
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What productive habit do you feel is most responsible for your success? (960) Getting started. It's only by getting started that you progress and learn simultaneously. Lodewijk van den Broek from How to be an Original (rss) For many things, I find that the first 10 minutes are the most difficult. Habit: Having a second reason to do something important. Since none of us can change the amount of time we have (24 hours a day flat), the only way to be more productive is to extract "more value" out of every hour. Suppose you can find a second reason to do something important, you immediately found a way of getting more out of the time you assigned to engage in that … [Read more...]

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Personal Development: How important is college?

2009 by 12 Comments
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The role of a college education has changed over the years. To get an idea of how people view the importance of college I asked a number of bloggers:  How important is a college education? (4039) I get this one a lot given that I teach at a university.  It's very difficult to give a general answer, because it really does depend on what one is getting a college education for and how they go about getting it.  The most valuable component of a college education is that it gives students a chance to reevaluate themselves outside of both the historical family context, which has a tendency to rely heavily on tradition, and the business context, which all too often relies solely upon … [Read more...]

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Development: Make yourself smarter

2008 by 6 Comments
smarter-main

In this interview we asked people: What is the best way you have found to make yourself smarter and more valuable? Below are the answers with the highest voted ones at the top. Listen, listen, and then listen some more. Notice the patterns in everything. Notice what is good before you try to fix what could be better. Notice the way things work instead of wishing things were different. Accept what is before you try to change it. Surrender to what you cannot change. Truly care about other people. Seek to first understand before you judge any situation. Be curious, avoid thinking you already know how people will react to things. Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living … [Read more...]

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Personal Development: How do you know it is time to look for a different job?

2008 by 5 Comments
jobs-main

We are getting back to posting the answers to our interview questions. I've found it is interesting to hear how individuals decide it is time to move on to another job. Here are the answers from the people we interviewed. If you have a method you use, please share in the comments. It's time to look for a new job when you are spending too much time working to earn money that you will never have the time to enjoy, and trying to earn the respect of people who really don't care about you. Life is too short to not be lived. Jason from World Fitness Network (rss) It is amazing what people will do to impress people they don't really like. If you don't look forward to working … [Read more...]

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Vote for best answers

2008 by Leave a Comment

We have some new interviews online. You can help by voting the the answer that you think is the best.  When we publish the interview the highest rated questions make the top of the list. … [Read more...]

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Interview with Kevin Butler & Giveaway

2008 by 42 Comments
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Fellowes, a company known for paper shredders, is promoting some of their ergonomic non-shredding products.  Their approach was interesting.  I was contacted and asked if 1. I'd like to try out some of their items, 2. if I'd like some free stuff to give away, and 3. if I'd be interested in interviewing their certified ergonomic consultant. I was particularly intrigued with the chance to ask a professional ergonomist some questions. This post contains Keven Butler's answers. Kevin  is a Board Certified Professional Ergonomist and works as a consultant for Fellowes, Inc. Make sure read through to the bottom for our first ergonomic giveaway courtesy of Fellowes. 1.    What is the … [Read more...]

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Vote on Interview Answers

2008 by 2 Comments

If you can spare a few minutes to vote on some of the answers from interviews it will help us improve the quality of upcoming posts.  Pick an interesting question and then choose the best of the two answers provided. … [Read more...]

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Interview: Hard Drive Organization

2008 by 9 Comments
hadrive-sq

We asked a number of bloggers to share their tips for keeping their computer organized. The answers fall into two camps. One group prefers a good folder hierarchy while the other prefers no hierarchy and just uses search. I use the latter method for my email, but I'm still getting a lot of benefit from my file folder structure. What is your most important tip for keeping your computer hard drive organized? (837) A folder structure that makes sense is essential. I've seen people with a folder called "Work" and a folder called "Personal" and nothing more, each containing hundreds or thousands of files without any semblance of organization. I've also seen structures with more folders … [Read more...]

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Interview: Cause of Disorganization

2008 by 5 Comments

What is the single biggest mistake you see people make that causes disorganization? Not following simple daily routines and systems. It is really easy to spiral into disorganization and chaos in any area of life. Success all comes back to basically two things: systems or routines that make sense for our life and our goals, and daily discipline to maintain them. If routines and systems are optional, there will be way too many days we end up not following them. As soon as we even start thinking about not sticking to our simple routines, we begin to spiral into disorganization. Melissa Michaels from The Inspired Room (rss) It tends to be the little things that are done consistently that … [Read more...]

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Vote Again

2008 by Leave a Comment

With well over 3,000 votes in the Organization category, we are ready to move on to the Personal Development section.  So take a few minutes to vote for your favorite answers. You just select a question that looks interesting and then select the best answer from the two presented.  When you stop seeing any new interesting answers, just move on to another question. … [Read more...]

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Vote!

2008 by 3 Comments

As I mentioned before, we are doing a series of interviews for Productivity501.  However to help make things a bit more interactive, I'd like some help in determining which tips are the best.  If you have a few minutes take a look at this question and answers about the most useful gadget. You'll see two answers.  Simply click on the vote button for the one you think is the best answer.  You can do this as many times as you like.  Once we get a number of votes, we'll publish the results. … [Read more...]

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Looking for Bloggers to Interview

2008 by Leave a Comment

I'm working on a new set of interviews on various productivity and life management topics and I'm looking for bloggers who would like to participate.   We will then publish all the answers to a particular question together along with the name, website, and RSS feed of the person who contributed each answer.  This can be a great way to highlight your website and your writing. You choose which questions you want to answer, so it only takes a few minutes to participate. If you are interested in participating, send an email to contact@productivity501.com with the subject interview and a link to your website. … [Read more...]

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