Streamlining Inputs: Paper
Paper breeds more paper. It is only by regular processing that we can hope to keep the paper monster from breeding all over our homes. But faced with piles of paper, it is very tempting just to shove the piles in a hidden space and hope they go away. They never do (trust me on this, I have tried). Streamlining the way we handle paper can make it much smoother and faster to deal with. This will in turn lead to fewer backlogs, which will lead to less misplaced information. Here are my tips for streamlining paper input:
Increase Productivity By Streamlining Inputs
One of the easiest ways to increase productivity is to streamline your inputs. By limiting the number of places you have things coming from, you can cut down the number of places that you have to check. By limiting the places you have things in process, the less time you will spend searching for things.
How To Remove Wire Shelving
Part of a recent conversion project at my house was to remove the wire shelves that surrounded three sides of the room. Looking at them, it seems like an easy task. But it's not. Here is what I learned about removing those shelves:
Mythical Productivity Creatures
A teacher of mine once defined "myth" as a story that is believed as true, whether or not it really is. In the season of Halloween, we see a lot of mythical creatures: that is, creatures that are talked about whether or not they really exist. I will see zombies calling for brains, witches riding brooms, vampires with fangs, a variety of superheros, and animated inanimate objects come to my door, all clamoring for candy. It made me think about other mythical creatures that we believe in, but may not really exist, especially in the realm of productivity. Here is how to spot them, and what to do about them:
How To Leave A Job
Yesterday was my last day at a business I have worked at for over 6 years. I spent three as a contractor, and another three as an employee. Even though the situation surrounding my leaving is not pleasant, I knew I had to act in a way that preserved my self-respect. So I had to wrap up at the old job. Here are my tips for making the transition:
Do They NEED Me? Or Just WANT Me?
Most people I know have bulging schedules. Between work, hobbies, volunteer commitments and family obligations, there are few days when most of us don't have something to do. And yet people keep asking. It may be small things, or large projects. New activities pop up every day. It's time to take your schedule back. If you don't take conscious control, someone else will.
7 Habits of Highly Unproductive People
We've all heard about the habits of productive people. But productivity is as much about what you don't do as what you do. Here are 7 Habits of Highly Unproductive People. Do any sound familiar?
Give Yourself A Productivity Boost By Finishing Something
I am very good at starting projects. Not so much on bringing them to completion, especially if they involve crafts. During a recent vacation, I forced myself to take two projects that hadn't been worked on since the previous summer with the aim of making significant progress on both of them. I finished one of the sweaters, and I was buoyed by the boost it gave me on the other project. I thought about why this might be, and how it might apply to other projects. Here is what I came up with:
