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Productivity tips for busy professionals

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Luigi Benetton
Luigi Benetton

I presented these tips at a seminar hosted by the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) Toronto chapter.

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Productivity Tips for Busy Professionals Organize your business, Organize your life
 Write the following:  A project you’re working on  The next step you need to take to advance that project  Anybody feel:  a little more certainty?  a little calmer? Next steps
 a process  made up of habits  NOT:  specific tools (e.g. day timer)  applications (e.g. Microsoft Outlook)  gadgets (e.g. smartphone) Productivity is…
 …by checking email  If it’s really important, you’ll get a phone call  Turn off email alerts  Check emails 2x or 3x during the day  Instead, “eat the frog” Do not start your day…
 Basic routine  25 minutes working  Five minute break  Repeat  I now shoot for 50 minutes working, 15-20 minute break  PomodoroTechnique.com Single-tasking
 Use only one trusted:  contact list  calendar  task list  email tool/inbox/set of folders  Multiple tools?  Easier to let things slip through the cracks One tool
 Be able to work wherever you are  In transit to a seminar  Waiting for friends at a café  Anywhere a few moments appear  Internet-based synchronization systems  Microsoft OneDrive  DropBox  iCloud  etc. Productivity on the move
 My THREE Internet time sucks:  Facebook  News websites  Youtube  My solution: RescueTime  FocusTime feature Web surfing
 Zero  1-10  10-50  50-100  Dating from the Paleolithic era How many emails are in your inbox?
 At the end of each day, your email inbox should have ZERO messages in it  The first day you do this might be a long day Inbox Zero
 Delete (and unsubscribe from) newsletters you never read  Calendar appointments in the calendar  Contact information in your contact list  Tasks in your task lists  Filing emails – sample categories  Projects  Clients  Personal  Newsletters  Rules – automate filing, and much more Inbox Zero: Tips
 You are NOT paid to:  Repair your computer  Wait while it processes something Good-quality computer
 Research reliability  E.g. Consumer Reports  Try the computer  Keyboard  Pointing device  Display  Options  Maximize RAM (or upgrade)  Solid state drive (SSD) (or upgrade) Buying a computer
 What are the two types of hard disks?  Those that have failed  Those that will fail  Common types of backups  Hard disk  Online services Backup
 Some activity raises metabolism  Standing desk  Standing breaks  Healthy snacks  My favorite: an apple and parmesan or asiago cheese  “Coffee nap”  Have coffee  20-minute nap right after Health habits
 Mind maps  Can write ideas in any order they occur to you  My ideas rarely appear in publishable order Avoiding writers block
 Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity  David Allen  “clearing the runway”  Source of many ideas in this presentation e.g. next step My favorite productivity book
 Try a productivity habit for a week  As long as it takes to get past initial discomfort  If it doesn’t work, move on Practice healthy skepticism
 Luigi Benetton  www.LuigiBenetton.com  http://www.linkedin.com/in/luigibenetton Thanks for listening!

More Related Content

Productivity tips for busy professionals

  • 1. Productivity Tips for Busy Professionals Organize your business, Organize your life
  • 2.  Write the following:  A project you’re working on  The next step you need to take to advance that project  Anybody feel:  a little more certainty?  a little calmer? Next steps
  • 3.  a process  made up of habits  NOT:  specific tools (e.g. day timer)  applications (e.g. Microsoft Outlook)  gadgets (e.g. smartphone) Productivity is…
  • 4.  …by checking email  If it’s really important, you’ll get a phone call  Turn off email alerts  Check emails 2x or 3x during the day  Instead, “eat the frog” Do not start your day…
  • 5.  Basic routine  25 minutes working  Five minute break  Repeat  I now shoot for 50 minutes working, 15-20 minute break  PomodoroTechnique.com Single-tasking
  • 6.  Use only one trusted:  contact list  calendar  task list  email tool/inbox/set of folders  Multiple tools?  Easier to let things slip through the cracks One tool
  • 7.  Be able to work wherever you are  In transit to a seminar  Waiting for friends at a café  Anywhere a few moments appear  Internet-based synchronization systems  Microsoft OneDrive  DropBox  iCloud  etc. Productivity on the move
  • 8.  My THREE Internet time sucks:  Facebook  News websites  Youtube  My solution: RescueTime  FocusTime feature Web surfing
  • 9.  Zero  1-10  10-50  50-100  Dating from the Paleolithic era How many emails are in your inbox?
  • 10.  At the end of each day, your email inbox should have ZERO messages in it  The first day you do this might be a long day Inbox Zero
  • 11.  Delete (and unsubscribe from) newsletters you never read  Calendar appointments in the calendar  Contact information in your contact list  Tasks in your task lists  Filing emails – sample categories  Projects  Clients  Personal  Newsletters  Rules – automate filing, and much more Inbox Zero: Tips
  • 12.  You are NOT paid to:  Repair your computer  Wait while it processes something Good-quality computer
  • 13.  Research reliability  E.g. Consumer Reports  Try the computer  Keyboard  Pointing device  Display  Options  Maximize RAM (or upgrade)  Solid state drive (SSD) (or upgrade) Buying a computer
  • 14.  What are the two types of hard disks?  Those that have failed  Those that will fail  Common types of backups  Hard disk  Online services Backup
  • 15.  Some activity raises metabolism  Standing desk  Standing breaks  Healthy snacks  My favorite: an apple and parmesan or asiago cheese  “Coffee nap”  Have coffee  20-minute nap right after Health habits
  • 16.  Mind maps  Can write ideas in any order they occur to you  My ideas rarely appear in publishable order Avoiding writers block
  • 17.  Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity  David Allen  “clearing the runway”  Source of many ideas in this presentation e.g. next step My favorite productivity book
  • 18.  Try a productivity habit for a week  As long as it takes to get past initial discomfort  If it doesn’t work, move on Practice healthy skepticism
  • 19.  Luigi Benetton  www.LuigiBenetton.com  http://www.linkedin.com/in/luigibenetton Thanks for listening!

Editor's Notes

  1. ASK QUESTIONS, don’t MAKE STATEMENTS – try to get answers