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Productivity Resources

SuperCompetent
To be successful in the business world and reach your full potential in life, it's not enough to be simply competent. Our modern, super-competitive world is full of opportunities for the go-getter, but to take advantage of them, it's essential to become "SuperCompetent." The SuperCompetent person is one that companies fight to get, fight to keep, nurture as team players, and see as future leaders in their business growth. Available now from Amazon.com and at better bookstores everywhere.

The Exhaustion Cure. A holistic approach to increasing your get-up and go, from the productivity expert whose previous books showed people how to Find More Time and Leave the Office Earlier. Available now from Amazon.com

Find More Time.  You can't add more hours to the day, but Laura will help you make the most of the time you have and get things done. Available now from Amazon.com.

Leave the Office Earlier, Laura shows you how you CAN get more done than you ever thought possible and still get home to your real life sooner.Available now from Amazon.com.

More of The Productivity Pro's Resources

Over 35 great recordings from Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®, Inc. available as MP3 downloads for your iPod or CD in your car! Only $7.99 each.

Click here to purchase.  

How Daydreams Improve Productivity

The One Office Perk You Must Splurge On

Flexible Working Leads to Efficiency

Internet use a mixed blessing for the workplace, local experts say

These are all private client engagements with Laura Stack. At this time, Laura does not offer open enrollment seminars to the general public. If you're interested in bringing Laura to your organization to present a training seminar for your employees on the day prior or the day after one of these engagements below, please contact John Stack for special "piggyback" pricing.

April 2011

12::San Diego, CA

14::Boulder, CO

21::San Francisco, CA

22::Denver, CO

25::Tigard, OR

26::Clackamas, OR

27::Salem, OR

28::Vail, Colorado

30::San Diego, CA

May 2011

12::Atlanta, GA

13::Orlando, FL

14::Bellevue, WA

23::Denver, CO

June 2011

5-7::Estes Park, CO

10::Rochester, NY

11::Natick, MA

15::Reno, NV

22::Pittsburgh, PN

24::Denver, CO

28::Monroe, CT

July 2011

20::Denver, CO

25::Denver, CO

27-29::Anaheim, CA

August 2011

1-3::Anaheim, CA

13::Washington, DC

17-19::Las Vegas, NV

20::Smyrna, GA

29::Denver, CO

September 2011

10::Ann Arbor, MI

13-14::Denver, CO

16::New York, NY

17::Pittsburgh, PA

18::Cleveland, OH

19::Louisville, KY

26::Denver, CO

October 2011

5-9::London, UK

10::Clinton Township, MI

12::Colorado Springs, CO

18::Bakersfield, CA

24::Denver, CO

November 2011

11::Dallas, TX

12::Houston, TX

18-19::Phoenix, AZ

21::Denver, CO

26-29::Toronto, Canada

December 2011

5-7:: Key Biscayne, FL

15::Denver, CO

16::Denver, CO

17-18::Denver, CO

January 2012

7::San Francisco, CA

12::Palm Springs, CA

18:: Salt Lake City, UT

February 2012

3-5::Dallas, TX

March 2012

22-23::Paris, France

25-28::Denver, CO

30::Australia

April

1::Australia

Visit Laura's Calendar On-line for her complete availability.

The Productive Entrepreneur: Run Your 1-Person Business Like a 3-Person Business

While it's wonderful not to have to worry about the drama or indignities of the typical corporate job, as a "solopreneur," you face certain difficulties that larger businesses don't--not least the fact that you have to wear all the hats at once. Obviously, that's not an impossible task; at last count, there were about 20 million single-person businesses in the USA, accounting for a whopping three-quarters of all businesses. This does not, however, mean that it's easy.

If you expect to succeed as an entrepreneur, hard work is a given. Now, we've all heard the business cliché "Work smarter, not harder"--and while that statement does hold a grain of truth, you actually have to do both. True productivity means working hard by working smart, using every business technique you can implement as what the military calls "force multipliers," allowing you to overcome your personal limitations.

In this article, I'll outline five interrelated strategies that can help you maximize your productivity in startlingly effective ways, allowing you to handle your business as if you were three people (or more) rather than just one.

1. Time Management

Managing your time wisely may be the most effective force multiplier there is, no matter what kind of business you run. While the details vary, this technique is as applicable to the sole proprietor as to the CEO of a Fortune 100 company. If you don't set goals, shut down distractions and interruptions, ruthlessly prune away the trivial and, most importantly, have the willpower to stick to your guns, you'll be left behind by those who do. Or run down, more likely.

There will never be enough time to do everything, but there will be enough time to do the most important things, so you have to force yourself to be efficient. Start by creating a personal scheduling and organization system, which can be paper-based, electronic, or some hybrid of both. Once you've got your system in place, put everything into it: schedules, project due dates, special events, business cards, client and networking contacts, notes, communication and meeting notes, category lists, and to-do lists.

Speaking of to-do lists, they're arguably the single most important element of any effective time management system--especially your daily lists. Keeping the 80/20 rule in mind, focus tightly on the few most important items on your lists and get them done first. Do whatever else you can in the time you have left over. Don't hesitate to defer, delegate, or simply abandon your lowest-value tasks if you need to.

And remember: never let a need for perfection paralyze you. Once you've blocked out a concept for what you want to achieve within the basic framework of your overarching goals, collect the data you require and move forward when you have enough to work with. Take care of the details as they come; you can't plan for everything in advance anyway, so don't let that worry you.

2. Focus on What's Important

In any business context, your truly important tasks should always be the most profitable ones, whatever they may be. Once you've gotten your priorities straight, the real challenge is keeping other things from distracting you. Thus, you have to hone your focus to a keen edge, so you can easily slice through anything that might keep you from maximizing your productivity.

First, you have to give the task at hand your undivided attention, so abandon the entire idea of multi-tasking. It's been proven to hurt more than it helps. Next, if you can, do your most important task at the time of day when you're at your highest energy level. Some of us are morning people; some of us work better in the afternoon. You know yourself best, so select the appropriate time for you, and lock it down so you can focus.

Banish any tendency toward procrastination, which often pops up when we're faced with tasks we dislike, or that seem overwhelming, or that we're afraid of. Whatever the cause, procrastination is damaging; it blows a task out of proportion and makes it seem harder than it actually is. Even when a task is particularly difficult, all you can do is get started. Break it down into smaller tasks with their own deadlines.

Be sure to insulate yourself from all distractions. According to a recent survey, 28% of the average workday is wasted on unnecessary distractions and recovery of focus. So shut your office door, or find a quiet place to work. Limit your social interaction for the duration of your work period. If possible, turn off your phones and electronics, answering messages only during specific blocks of time. Very little is so important that you have to respond to it instantly.

3. Hone Your Self-Discipline

Wouldn't it be great to wake up and decide to go to the beach instead of to your office or storefront? How would you like to sleep in every day, and then put in one of those fabulous four-hour work weeks when you get around to it?

Sadly, this scenario isn't anything like the real world. In order to succeed, you need to have the self-discipline to apply yourself consistently to your tasks, whether you feel like it or not. And being human, there will be days when the spirit rebels...and the flesh isn't especially willing, either. But you can't afford to indulge yourself often when you're an independent entrepreneur.

Self-discipline is closely linked to both focus and time management, because neither is possible without it. If you ruthlessly shut out distractions and avoid acting on impulse, then maximizing your time-use comes much more naturally, with high productivity naturally following. Procrastination goes right out the window, because you just don't have time for it. Ditto for perfectionism.

At its most basic, self-discipline is a form of selective self-training that helps you take full control over your life, and that's where its chief value lies. It can take a lot of work to harness the power of self-discipline; but once you've gotten into the habit, then you've set the stage for consistently improving yourself and reaching your goals.

Basically, it all comes down to routine. You have to allocate a specific amount of time for each task, and try to set it in stone. Don't compromise on your routines, because that's how you maximize productivity. If you do slip, don't get discouraged; just climb right back on that self-discipline horse and keep moving.

If your routine gets derailed and nothing else seems to work, here's a good way to buckle down and get back on track: promise yourself you'll do just a little more work before taking a break. You might tell yourself, "I'll work another fifteen minutes on this article," or decide you'll rest after outlining five action items on next week's agenda. Then, when you've reached your goal, take a look at how you feel about continuing. At that point, it may be easy to keep going because you've hit your stride.

Even if you can't manage to continue, you'll have gotten some work done. Reward yourself for that: take a break, get a cup of tea, or do something else that makes you feel good. Then come back and get started on the next task. Eventually, moving forward with your tasks and staying on point will become easier, and self-discipline will seem less like a yoke than like a tool that frees you to get more done.

4. Play To Your Strengths

Work is always more enjoyable if you're doing what you're good at. It's easier to focus, keep yourself on track, and maximize your efficiency, if only because you feel more empowered and fulfilled by what you're doing. You've heard the old saying: "Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life." It may sound trite, but it's true.

That's why I advise you to always to play to your strengths. Determine what you're best at, and then work out the most effective ways to leverage those talents. Now, some people will advise you to focus instead on overcoming your weaknesses before you do anything else. While I understand the desire to better yourself, I think this is terrible business advice. If you're a horrible accountant but you can sell ice to Eskimos, then what should you hone: your accounting skills, or your marketing skills? What would be most profitable for you?

The choice is pretty easy, isn't it? Why should you push and push to go from being mediocre to so-so at one task, when you can work on going from great to superb at something else--and enjoy life a whole lot more? In most cases, focusing on your weaknesses is just a waste of time and talent.

Click here to read the rest of the article...

 

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Hi Laura,

I just started reading this book (SuperCompetent) and I've already learned several tricks that will help me! Thanks for putting this together!

One specific point I wanted to elaborate on was one you made early in the book. It's about how jobs change over time, and how it can be useful to review job expectations when you have an annual evaluation. I plan to do this for myself, as my job has changed dramatically over the last year.

As companies do more with less, and as the available talent changes, I think it's critical that both managers and the people they manage review job responsibilities frequently. I can imagine a lot of people might be surprised to find they are not working on the right tasks even though they are busier than ever.

Daniel F.
Inventory Management Specialist

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