Productivity501

Pieces of the productivity puzzle.

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Measure and Notice your Progress

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You can only improve what you notice and you can only notice what you measure.  If you want to improve some area of your life or work, you have to be able to measure it.  Without some way to gauge your progress, you won't know if you are making improvement or not. For example, when I was running the technical department at a large non-profit corporation, I started measuring our response time for help desk tickets.  This was quantifiable data, and by looking at the trends over time, we were able to see if our response time was improving (going down) or getting worse (going up).  Without measuring this, we would of had no objective way to measure our performance and we would have been … [Read more...] about Measure and Notice your Progress

Behaving in Court

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Lawyer Andrew Flusche has some recommendations on how to behave in court based on what he sees people doing in Virginia Traffic Court.  You would think people would know better than to show up while chewing gum, but evidently not.  His advice is good for pretty much any situation where you need to make a good impression on someone in authority. … [Read more...] about Behaving in Court

Dealing with Gadgets

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I have to admit, I'm a gadget lover.  I like playing with phones, cameras, personal organizers and all kinds of electronic devices. I'm not quite as much an addict as I used to be, but I still like mobile electronics. Some of these gadgets can be really big time savers and a good investment.  Other gadgets are great fun to use, but the time they save is offset by the time they cost.  Then there are the gadgets that make you think you are being more productive, but actually make you waste time. Here are some of the things that I look for in a gadget to help make me more productive: Better Use of Downtime – Everyone spends time waiting for planes, waiting for appointments, driving in … [Read more...] about Dealing with Gadgets

Scientists and Magicians

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In an interesting experiment, scientists showed individuals photos of two female faces and asked them to pick which one was more attractive.  Then using a slight of hand trick learned from magicians, the scientist replaced the chosen photo with the one that was not chosen.  So, the individual was handed the photo that they had decided was less attractive. Only 26% noticed the switch.  The other 74% accepted the rejected picture as the one that they had chosen.  Now possibly that could be explained by saying that they just weren't paying attention to the photo once it was handed to them, but the scientists went one step further.  After handing over the photo, they asked the individual … [Read more...] about Scientists and Magicians

Brain Rules

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I was sent a copy of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School to review and I must say it has been a very interesting read.  The author, John Medina, is a developmental molecular biologist.  He has written a surprisingly accessible book on how the brain works full of tips for getting the most out of your mind. The book is broken down into 12 rules.  Here are a few: Exercise - One of the biggest contributors to a clear mind as we age is exercise.  Our brains are only 2% of our body weight, but require 20% of our total energy.  Exercise helps improve circulation and moves more oxygen to the brain.  The book suggests that conducting meetings while … [Read more...] about Brain Rules

Not Because it is Easy

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John Kennedy said we were going to go to the moon "Not because it is easy, but because it is hard."  The Apollo 11 mission was a huge success and really brought the nation, and to some extent, the whole world together around a scientific adventure. Choosing to do something because it is difficult is a great way to grow. If you truly want to extend your capabilities, you have to do things that are hard.  You have to do things where you might fail.  If you only attempt to do the things you've done before, you might have some level of growth but nothing compared to what you are capable of. The problem comes when people fail.  Most individuals don't know how to handle failure.  It knocks … [Read more...] about Not Because it is Easy