Laura Stack - The Productivity Pro, Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

Completing personal chores and responsibilities more efficiently

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Unfortunately, not all of our tasks excite us, so spending energy on them feels wasteful.  If an activity's not challenging or offers no reward, motivation is difficult. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could complete your tasks more efficiently, so you'd have energy to spare? Well, I can help you with that.

1. Get your domestic duties done. Develop an evening routine, and make sure everyone in the family takes part. This will help you retain your sanity, happiness, and energy level, and teach other family members to respect others' boundaries. 

2. Enlist help with meals. Cooking dinner every night can be a real grind. Cook more than your family will eat so that you can browse on leftovers some evenings, and teach your children how to cook -- they need to learn anyway.

3. Divvy up chores. Every single member of the family should contribute to household chores, as age allows. Try not to make chores gender-specific. Girls should know how to mow the lawn, and boys should know how to cook. These are basic life skills that they'll need as adults.

4. Communicate clearly. Clear communication is vital, because it's a time- and energy-saver. Don't assume that you know what someone means when they're assigning you a task. Ask questions, clarify, and challenge unrealistic deadlines. 

5. Focus on what's important. Don't be a perfectionist, and don't perform menial
tasks that someone else can do more cheaply. Do first what's due first, try to resolve small items quickly, and don't spend too much time on low-priority items.

6. Transform your outlook about necessary tasks.  If you dread something, you're likely to put it off -- which can be disastrous if that task is absolutely necessary. Do what you can to make it easier, but if you can't change the situation, then change your mind.   

7. Don't procrastinate. Force yourself to complete your work quickly, even if you hate it or are afraid you'll have nothing to do later on. The reward is the freedom from the stress that not doing the work was causing you.

8. Work before play. Instead of doing the fun, easy, or trivial tasks first, do the hard ones. After you're done, you can read a book, take a long hot bath, watch the sunset, or whatever it is you love to do. Having a reward waiting can help you get it done faster, because you have something to look forward to.   

Spending energy completing low-value tasks feels like a waste of time, but it's as necessary to mop the kitchen floor as it is to buy groceries or enjoy quality time with the family. Learn how to do your chores quickly and efficiently, and you can better enjoy the rest of your life.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Being a sourpuss steals precious energy from productive work

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Attitude, whether positive or negative, is contagious; so what type are you spreading?   Being negative takes extra energy you could otherwise be channeling into your favorite pursuits. Instead of sowing discord wherever you go, learn how to cultivate tolerance instead of impatience; optimism rather than pessimism; and gratitude versus an ungrateful spirit.

Here's how to get started.

1. Stop negative thoughts in their tracks. Smother your feelings of pessimism, self-doubt, complaining, whining, and general negativity as they're born, or they're likely to take over your life and poison your relationships.

2. Stop worrying about everything. Instead of worrying about things you can't control, create alternate mental pictures in which you and yours are the winners. Worrying about stuff you can't control is a one-way ticket to the funny-farm.

3. Listen to what your anger is teaching you. Anger is an evolutionary tool that keeps us safe; therefore, you should respond to it carefully. Instead of lashing out, become introspective about what it's trying to tell you. 

4. Learn to deal with emotionally-charged situations. Simply being around some people makes you tired, and others are brusque and irritable. It may be necessary to adjust your own attitudes to deal effectively with others' personality quirks.

5. Choose to be an optimist. Assuming all your basic needs are met, happiness is a choice. It's said that pessimists forget to laugh, and optimists laugh to forget.  Keep things in perspective. Remember: things can always be worse!

6. Count your blessings. Don't show the world an ungrateful spirit. Stop complaining about what you don't have and start counting all the things you do have. Counting your blessing can be an instant energy boost.

7. Cultivate patience with people. Others' differences can sour your attitude, draining your energy. Realize we're all different, and force yourself to find just one thing you like about someone who's annoying you.

8. Don't bother overanalyzing people. There's not always an ulterior motive behind what people do, so don't waste time and precious energy by playing psychoanalyst to those who annoy you. Sometimes a cigar's just a cigar.

Instead of being a "de-energizer" who sucks the live right out of others, learn how to lift their spirits and give them joy. Being negative really takes extra energy -- energy you could otherwise be channeling into your favorite pursuits.   

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Relaxation and leisure increase your productivity

(NOTE: We're moving!  The Productivity Pro(R) blog has moved to http://www.theproductivitypro.com/blog/.  We will continue to post here through May as well.  Please click on that link and subscribe to the new feed, or you won't receive posts after May.)

It may seem a tad paradoxical, but you can't be productive if you don't know how to relax. Leisure activities and relaxation like reading, talking, playing games, and other non-gadget pastimes can reduce your stress levels and increase your energy. 

Want to learn more? Check out these tips!

1. Step off the merry-go-round. If you've recently undergone a particularly busy spell, you may be addicted to going full-throttle. When your mind's sick and tired of working, but your body can't stop, you need to slam on the brakes.

2. Understand that rest isn't a bad thing. You don't feel guilty about going to the bathroom, so why feel guilty about resting? While too much rest can cut into your productivity, an occasional break is necessary to top up your energy reserves.

3. Set aside some "me" time. Pamper yourself occasionally; it's okay to think about yourself and do something simply for the pleasure of it. It's not about being selfish; it's about self-care and energy replenishment.

4. Don't feel guilty when you play. When you're playing, don't dwell on what you could be doing instead. Be present in your play and enjoy yourself. After all, if you wait until all your work is done before you play, you'll never play. 

5. Don't be a workaholic. If you're a workaholic, get help. Too much work can literally make you sick. You're likely to burn out, which can lead to depression, excessive physical and emotional stress, and a shortage of physical energy.

6. Learn to unwind. If you find yourself unable to relax after a stressful day, try progressive relaxation for 30 minutes. It quiets your mind, and it's particularly helpful if you suffer from insomnia.

7. Take regular vacations. Stress and leisure are inversely proportional: the less leisure time you build into your overall life, the more stress you'll experience -- and that translates into less energy. Take all the vacation time you're due.

8. Don't jam up vacations with work. Work and play are meant to be separate, so make sure they stay that way. A working vacation isn't a vacation -- it's work. The quality of a vacation isn't measured by the output, so leave your cell phone, Blackberry, and laptop at home.

Learn to take it easy to you can become more productive than ever. This might sound like something Zen, but the truth is that even seemingly quiet, relaxing uses of free time are energy-builders -- not energy drains.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Your personal productivity suffers when you're unhealthy

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When you don't feel well, you have lower energy, and it's hard to be productive. Therefore, it's important to take good care of your health, to get regular check-ups, and to investigate chronic conditions you've resigned yourself to.  Given how quickly medical science advances, it's a good idea to check into the possibility of new treatments on a regular basis.

Follow these tips, and you may end up feeling better than you have in years.

1. Practice good self care. Line up your routine checkups, screenings, and exams, especially if you're over 40 or suffer from a chronic condition. When did you last have a physical? Schedule future reminders in your calendar and stick to them.

2. Take care of your teeth. Good dental hygiene can add years to your life. Periodontal bacterial by-products resulting from poor dental care can enter the bloodstream and travel to major organs, setting off other problems.

3. Treat your cold. Instead of toughing it out and showing up for work anyway when you're sick with a cold, stay home and treat your symptoms; otherwise, you're likely to infect other people. Ask your doctor for a prescription for Zicam, which is effective against cold symptoms.

4. Disinfect your environment. A weakened immune system due to an infection can leave you listless and susceptible to opportunistic illnesses. Decrease your likelihood of illness by keeping your work area clean. Wipe it down with disinfectants on a regular basis, and don't eat at your desk.

5. Have more sex. Spending quality time between the sheets can lower your stress and improve your immune system. Orgasms may also relieve headaches and menstrual symptoms, and people with a good sex life also seem better able to ward off colds and depression.

6. Laugh! Laughter really can be the best medicine. Laughing can build levels of the antibody IgA, the body's first line of defense against germs. If you get sick a lot, maybe you're just not laughing enough.

7. Don't give up on fighting chronic pain. Consistent physical pain can really sap your energy. Instead of just putting up with it, check with your doctor to see what your options are. Don't take "you'll have to live with it" as an answer.

8. Clean the air. If you don't have allergies, but you're sneezing a lot, your nose is running, and your eyes are watering, call an air duct cleaning company and have them do a thorough cleaning to remove any contaminants in your HVAC system.

Learn to take personal responsibility for taking care of any health problems you suffer. Don't wait for something to feel "wrong" before you get it checked out. Identify the wellness issues that are affecting your energy and causing you to feel poorly, and address those issues aggressively.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Exercise? But I'm too tired to exercise!

It'll infuse your energy and boost your mood. It'll help you lose weight and decrease your risk of disease. It's a miracle! But 80% of Americans don't take it, even at its lowest dosage. Why? Because it's exercise.

Exercising will give you the energy you need, because it speeds up blood flow and your breathing rate, which brings more oxygen to your heart, lungs, brain, and muscles -- and when it comes to high energy, oxygen is your friend. Here's what you can do to bring on the O2:

1. Do something for thirty minutes. Any type of aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lungs and improves blood flow. It also releases endorphins (nature's painkillers), improves your mood, and fortifies you against minor viral illnesses.

2. Stop relying on your car so much. Walking is an excellent form of aerobic exercise, and it's surprisingly effective at boosting your energy level. For best results, buy a pedometer and make sure you walk 6,000-10,000 steps a day.

3. Include weights in your fitness routine. Lifting weights is the most effective way to build up strong muscles, which leads to stronger bones and a reduced risk of injury. It also speeds up oxygen flow, which will help perk you up.

4. Sneak fitness into your routine. Instead of complaining that you don't have time to exercise, try sneaking in a little while you're doing something else. Park farther away from the store while shopping, for instance, or do squats while reading.

5. Shake up your workout. If your exercise routine has you bored out of your skull, try something different. Change your level of effort, shuffle your workout into a new order, or experiment with a new kind of workout altogether.

6. Work out when you travel. Have you ever decided it's too much trouble to bother with your normal fitness routine when traveling? Instead of rationalizing yourself out of exercising, create a travel workout plan and stick to it.

7. Get a workout buddy. If you lack the discipline to exercise regularly on your own, work out with someone else: a family member, a friend, even a paid trainer. That way you'll have someone to lean on, who'll guilt you into exercising when you don't want to.

8. Bribe yourself. Offer yourself a little reward for completing a workout. It could be anything that makes you happy: a new outfit, a round of golf with your buddies, or a favorite TV show you only to watch while exercising.

The less active you are, the less energy you'll have: it's that simple. A sedentary lifestyle contributes greatly to fatigue -- so fight that fatigue with the oxygen burst that regular exercise will contribute. Figure out how to move, and move daily.

© 2008 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations. Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces. She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004). Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M. To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

How will sugar, water, and stimulants affect my work during the day?

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Poor nutrition can be as draining as the wrong diet, and the consequences can sneak up on you. If you're constantly dragging, and you suffer headaches or an inability to get enough sleep despite following proper sleep habits, you may be suffering from a nutritional deficiency.

Sometimes, all you have to do to power up your energy is to recognize the symptoms of nutritional imbalances, and then to take steps to address them. These tips can help you with that.

1. Get a good balance of essential nutrients. Things can go wrong with your body if you don't make sure it gets all it needs to function right. Check your symptoms, and eat more of what you might be lacking. Vitamins may be in order, too.

2. Replace favorite foods with metabolism-boosting substitutes. Too much sugar can activate your appetite instead of control it. Try an egg-white omelet in the morning instead of cereal, or a protein shake in the afternoon.

3. Hydrate yourself. If you feel like you're drained dry, maybe you are. While technically not a nutrient, we don't get all the water we need from the food we eat, so supplementation is essential.

4. Steer clear of stimulants. There's no doubt that stimulants perk you up, but they do it in a way that you have to pay for later. Even legal stimulants trigger a "fight-or-flight" reflex that releases stress hormones, followed by a big energy slump.

5. Limit your alcohol consumption. Will the occasional beer or glass of wine with dinner hurt you? Not really, but alcohol is a depressant; too much at any one time can negatively impact your energy level for a day or more.

6. Stop smoking! Not only does the kickback from nicotine cause a short-term energy loss, in the long term, smoking can damage your lungs, decreasing your ability to take in oxygen -- a vital energy fuel.

7. Focus on convenience. If you're working hard to increase your energy level through good nutritional habits, make it easier to succeed. Start by limiting the worst energy stealers in your environment, and make it convenient to eat right.

8. Clear your house of junk. Get rid of those temptations! Keep sugary and high-fat snacks out of your cupboard, both at work and at home, and clear out the liquor cabinet, too. Don't forget to throw out the cigarettes while you're at it.

Your body needs certain food and nutrients for repair, growth, and energy. If you're not getting all you need, you'll eventually run down. So learn to overcome your poor nutritional habits, or you'll pay the metabolic price.

© 2008 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations. Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces. She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004). Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M. To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com <http://www.theproductivitypro.com/> to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

Personal Productivity is Ultimately About Getting a Life

Are you working your life away? Yes, you, the one working six days a week, 12 hours a day. Oh, so you "rest" on the seventh day? Hey, even God rested on the seventh day. You, however, put in a few more hours. When did you confuse your job with your life? Leisure, wellness, fun, and stress reduction are all an essential part of any productive routine.  If you have a hard time kicking back, here are a few suggestions you should try.

1. Close the mental office "door" and turn off work each day. It's okay to love what you do; it's okay to have passion for your work. But you're not defined by what you do professionally. Stop being a workaholic, and learn to slow down.

2. Leave work on time, so you can get home and enjoy your personal life. Your personal life is at least as important as your work life. Facing this reality and learning to work with it will make you feel more successful and less stressed.

3. Keep your stress levels low. Lighten up and laugh at life's absurdities. Remember, the lower your stress level, the higher your appreciation of life and your ability to care for others.

4. Rest, relax, and play daily. Some 40 percent of people surveyed say they don't spend enough time enjoying leisure activities. The biggest obstacle to play? Ourselves. Give yourself permission to have fun.

5. Go on a long vacation each year. Everyone needs a change of pace and scenery and fun on a regular basis. Vacations offer the restorative power many people desperately need. Without the ability to recharge your batteries for a long period of time, you're on a slippery slope to burnout.

6. Create fond memories with the people you love. Don't ignore your family in favor of earning a living. Create positive experiences that stir their emotions and will therefore impact them, so they'll remember the good times.

7. Have a regular "family time" with loved ones. The traditions you share with your family are important ways to nurture and express your love for the important people in your life, and to create those fond memories that make you a family.

8. Make time for a favorite hobby. Having a hobby is a great way to re-energize. Whether you like to knit, create scrapbooks, or design clothes, do something regularly. Make time for it. Hobbies are a wonderful outlet for the creative expression missing in many people's lives.

9. Force yourself to slow down and stop rushing around. Time management doesn't mean packing your day like a moving van, ensuring every single minute is full. What's really at issue is not the quantity of time, but its texture.

10. Take care of yourself on a regular basis. This doesn't just mean going to the doctor and dentist regularly. Reconnect with your childhood, keep up an active social life, pamper yourself occasionally, and don't feel guilty about downtime. 

Some people may perceive playing to be frivolous, but they're missing the point. You need occasional periods of recreation in order to avoid burn-out and to keep caring about what you're doing with your life. Slow down and smell the flowers occasionally! Play is more than something "extra" -- it's the ultimate pillar on which your life rests.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

Keep Up with Daily Responsibilities: Get Back to Your Post, Soldier!

In the military, your job or position is known as your Post. Even if you're not in the military, a well-defined Post is an important pillar of personal productivity. When you do your job well, other things in your life fall into place more smoothly. When this pillar is weak, your personal responsibilities seem to get in the way of life. Try these tips for defining and handling your life responsibilities.

1. Hire out tasks requiring a level of expertise you don't have. You don't have to do everything yourself, especially when there are people available who can do it better for a price. You can outsource just about anything these days.

2. Hire out simple chores to helpers. Most people don't have the time to work full-time and do all the housework too -- so don't hesitate to hire it out if you need to. In most cases, such services are worth far more to us than anything else we might have spent the money on.

3. Have goods delivered to avoid unnecessary time at the store. You can still get milk, groceries, and dry cleaning delivered in most areas, and online shopping for other things works great if you've got any mail service at all.

4. Complete shopping efficiently. Little things add up. Plan the most efficient route to get your shopping done, pick up your pace, create a shopping chart, buy in bulk, and don't try clothes on in the store. It's often more trouble than it's worth.

5. Run errands efficiently. Instead of trying to do it all on your day off, divide up your chores and do one or two every evening. If you can't, try to consolidate your errands so you can get them done with the minimum of fuss, or take care of a particular errand whenever you happen to drive by on the way to somewhere else.

6. Function effectively as the social, child, and family coordinator. Be sure to plan time with your friends and extended family, and coordinate your social activities, because your significant other (especially if he's a guy) might not.

7. Do routine chores on a regular basis. Be sure to keep up with all the boring tasks that keep your household humming along smoothly. For example, keep your house clean, mow the lawn, pay your bills, or do whatever your Post requires.

8. Conduct preventive maintenance on your home. It may not be required every day, but preventative maintenance will help keep your life together. Keep an eye on your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and laundry room especially, and make sure certain items get fixed or replaced regularly.

9. Prepare meals quickly and systematically. Take advantage of meal plans, cooking services, and school lunch programs to cut down on the time you have to spend in the kitchen.

10. Expect family members to do their fair share of the housework. To protect your sanity, it's imperative to develop an understanding with your partner and kids about how you'll divide household chores. Emphasize fairness and responsibility.

You may not be in the military, but you have your own well-defined Post and set of responsibilities, both inside and outside the home. So should everyone else in your family, right down to the youngest kid. If you and yours can't do it all, don't hesitate to hire people to help. Letting day-to-day tasks, chores, errands, and responsibilities overwhelm you is the first step on the path to the loony bin.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

When The “Why” is Important Enough, the “How” is Easier

Have you ever wanted to scream, "Stop the world, I want to get off!"? If you feel that way, maybe you should -- because if you're racing to nowhere, you definitely need to step back and take a look at your priorities. Without the why in your life, the how becomes harder and harder. The solution is to determine where you want to spend your time in support of your plans.

What are you committed to changing in your life? These tips can help you decide.

1. Spend enough time with the people who are dear to you. Never take your loved ones for granted, because they may not be here tomorrow. Make time for them when none exists, and treasure every minute.

2. Volunteer in a way that feeds your spirit and makes a lasting contribution. Volunteering shouldn't feel like work; it can be hard, but it should still be enjoyable. If what you're doing isn't, try something else.

3. Eliminate time-zapping addictions from your life. Stop watching so much TV, surfing the 'Net, and playing video games all the time, and you'll wonder where the heck all that extra time came from.

4. Limit your children's activities to manageable levels. If you're rushing from ballet class to soccer practice to piano lessons and can't get a breath in edgewise, something's wrong. Don't overschedule your children; let them be kids.

5. Make your health a top priority. If you aren't in good health, you won't be able to do much -- and your ability to help others will decline. Keep up with doctor and dentist appointments, stay hydrated, and stop smoking.

6. Exercise consistently. As few as 15 minutes of exercise a day can greatly improve your health and quality of life. It's a cheap way to stay healthy, and it's easier than you think if you do things you love.

7. Enjoy the way you spend most of your day. You can't expect to be ecstatic about everything you have to do, but you should enjoy the majority of your time. Otherwise, life can seem empty and hollow -- and what's the point of that?

8. Practice healthy eating habits. Poor eating habits not only make you fat, they steal your precious energy. How can you use the time you have if you can't get off the couch?

9. Get enough sleep. Sleeping well isn't a luxury: it's a necessity. Sacrificing sleep for any reason is counterproductive.

10. Make time to feed your intellect and continue your learning. All humans share the need to learn and grow.  If you want your brain to continue to serve you into your old age, you must keep it active. Be curious. Wonder. Stretch. Grow.

Moving fast without clear priorities can take a heavy toll on your career, your family, and your health. Learn to tune out all the background noise in your life and focus on what matters most, and you'll find that the how becomes easier. Stop worrying about the quantity of work you're producing, and focus instead on the quality of time you spend on it -- and on the people who matter to you the most.

Contrary to popular belief, productivity is not about speed -- and achievement is not about money.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

Do Your Daily Activities Contribute to the Plan for Your Life?

Without a plan, life just sort of happens to you. But with a plan, you'll make sure your daily activities support what you want to create next week, next month, next year…until, at the end of your days, your activities have contributed to creating and living a successful life. Your plans should be purposeful, so your life moves in the direction you desire, based on your ideal vision for yourself. These tips can help you get there.

1. Have a personal mission statement for your life. You need an essential, written document that helps you make decisions about the way you spend your time and evaluate your choices. This is who you are, and what you're all about.

2. Maintain a list of your life's goals and dreams. Take each dream and phrase it in the form of an objective statement -- and then make plans for its accomplishment, sooner rather than later.

3. Try to gain flexibility at work. Determine how the business of life and the game of work are going to fit together. Strive to create a lifestyle that's flexible, one in which your personal life works with your job and your job works with your life.

4. Keep effective to-do lists. Set everything down on paper (or on your computer screen) so things don't slip through the cracks.

5. Break larger projects into smaller ones. Big projects tend to get thrown over in favor of the little ones that are quickly done. To avoid leaving something on your list for months, break it into single steps that are easily accomplished.

6. Prepare for the next day the night before. It's easier to put together a plan early on and then execute it when the time comes, rather than create it from scratch right when you need it.

7. Plan for chaotic transitional periods during the day. Expect transitional times (such as from workday to evening) to take a little more effort than you expect. You can control the confusion, however, if you have a checklist to follow.

8. Prevent crises by preparing well in advance. You can't plan for everything, but there's a difference between a true emergency and a "crisis" created because you didn't do something before it was due. You'll be amazed at the level of calm you experience when you get things done before you need them.

9. Embrace flexibility and weather change. Things will change -- get used to it. There's no going back to the "good old days." In a storm, it's the trees than can bend who survive; the stiff ones break. Whatever you face, this too shall pass.

10. Continuously work to improve your efficiency and effectiveness. Don't expect to regain control of your time all at once! It takes effort and practice to get it right. The secret is to take it inch by inch, step by step. 

The lesson here is to approach your life with a sense of structure. While you'll never be able to plan for everything, you should have systems on hand to help you create order from chaos when it occurs. You should also have a clear plan for your life's goals and dreams, so you'll be able to work toward them and accomplish them sooner.  When you plan, you wake up each day with your marching orders. All you have to do is march!

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com.