How to Have More Productive Meetings
October 11, 2007
Everyone knows that poorly planned, really boring meetings can really suck. But there’s also evidence they’re extremely unproductive.
A while back, Microsoft conducted a survey of 38,000 knowledge workers. They found that on average, meetings account for 5.5 hours of the average 45 hour work week. The study also revealed that 69% of the participants said meetings were an unproductive use of their time.
Remember: 7 of 10 attendees think that meetings are an inefficient use of their time! Read more
How to Handle Email After a Vacation
October 9, 2007
I’ve seen it a hundred times. Someone struggles to get caught up on email before leaving for vacation, only to be greeted by an overcrowded inbox upon their return back to the office.
It takes days, and sometimes even weeks to get back on track … not to mention the stress of not knowing what important messages might be lurking somewhere in the dark shadows of your inbox. Read more
How Multitasking Hurts You
October 5, 2007
Come on, admit it … you’ve listed it on every single resume you’ve ever submitted. Next to I’m a “people person”, it’s probably the second most generic trait we credit ourselves with. But are we really any good at it, and is it a good idea?
Studies show multitasking causes us to work slower, make more mistakes, and experience greater stress … its the perfect strategy for getting less done while driving yourself crazy at the same time!
The Wrong Way to Leave a Message
October 3, 2007
There’s this guy I know … let’s call, “Gabby Abby.” He probably won’t appreciate that name, but oh well.
Anyways, Gabby Abby has a tendency of leaving these really long, sing-songy voice mail messages where he repeats the main point like 3 or 4 times, mumbles, and then awkwardly ends the message (or sometimes the machine cuts him off just like Mikey in the clip below). You might have a friend or colleague like that, or maybe you’re a “Gabby Abby” when leaving messages. Well, you don’t have to be.
In this clip form the movie Swingers, Mikey painfully illustrates how NOT to leave a message!
Murphy was an Optimist
October 1, 2007
I have a good friend who loves being the hero in every situation. He’s constantly offering to help other people. The only trouble is, he insists on foolishly ignoring the advice of Murphy.
Therefore, more often than not, it puts him in the place of over promising and under delivering. He proves time and again that to ignore the wisdom of Murphy is go from hero to villain in no time flat! Here’s why:
Although I’m very much a “glass half full” kind of a guy, I’ve learned that by operating under the assumption that “If things can go wrong, they will!” I’m more likely to think through the, “what can go wrong” part, and develop a plan “B” or “C” to compensate.I’ve learned that Murphy’s favorite strategy is the blind side, and optimists are especially vulnerable.
Trust me, it’s great to be “Jelly side up” kind of people in all cases except project planning and time budgeting. If we make a regular practice of constantly planning for the best case scenario, we’re going to get hosed in a hurry.
So what are some strategies to keep Murphy at bay?
- Brainstorm, try to anticipate ALL the kinds of things that can go wrong, then try to think of alternative ways to handle those situations. You can get a mental picture of all the moving parts by pretending to be a journalist covering the event. Try to answer the questions, who, what, when, where, why, & how.
- Prioritize by when you should get started. If you wait to start a project until the day it’s due … you’re just begging Murphy to through you a curve ball!
- Pad your time. If you think it will take three days to accomplish, let everyone know it will take five. Now keep in mind, this strategy shouldn’t be an excuse to slack off. If you take that approach, you’ll be back to under delivering in a hurry.
Did you just have a deja vu moment? No, this article was originally posted July 16, 2007 and has now been re-released with audio.
