ProductivityGoal: April 2006 Archives

« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »

Apr28	Deductible Mileage with Online Maps Claire Tompkins April 28, 2006 Know More: Quick Tips Here's a quick tip to simplify mileage record keeping. I know lots of people keep driving logs in their cars to keep track of mileage to and from their client visits. I'm way too lazy to do that, plus I forget often enough that it just doesn't work for me. My preference is to have the information stashed away and then spend a chunk of time organizing it. I do keep a record of income per client per date for tax purposes, and my own information. I use that to look up their addresses in my PDA. Then I go to Yahoo maps (my fave) and plug that address into the driving directions from home page. It gives me the mileage, which I then double and add to my mileage records. It sounds a little complicated, but once you get started, with the online map function of your choice, it's pretty fast. Posted at 2:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr28	Don't Make People Delete Your Email Claire Tompkins April 28, 2006 I often recommend that people delete group FYI emails without even reading them. Those are the ones that aren't from a specific project group (you should be expecting those). They're either from someone who has blanketed the company with email,... Continue Reading Posted at 12:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Shuffle Your Tasks Claire Tompkins April 27, 2006 For this technique, get a stack of index cards and write one task on each one. It’s best to use all the same color so you don’t start recognizing them from the back. Now shuffle the deck and pick a card. Continue Reading Posted at 3:39 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	The Gift of a Round Tuit Claire Tompkins April 26, 2006 When I was in college, a fellow student went around our dorm tacking Round Tuits onto everyone's doors. They were circles cut from paper with the word “Tuit” printed in the middle. She'd noticed that all of us kept saying... Continue Reading Posted at 8:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Making Time to Think Claire Tompkins April 25, 2006 There's a poll on the Fast Company website asking "Do you set aside time for thinking?" One of the answers you can choose is "no, that would be silly." Why is it so hard for people to take seriously the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	Repetitive Information Injury Claire Tompkins April 24, 2006 Reading this reminded me of a post I read on RandsInRepose about RII, or repetitive information injury. The author suffers from NADD (Nerd Attention Deficiency Disorder), characterized by an uncontrollable desire to discover new information. Continue Reading Posted at 1:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr21	Billable Hours, Second by Second Claire Tompkins April 21, 2006 Time Snapper can be a useful tool for discovering why it takes you more time than you predicted to do a given computer task, and therefore be more realistic when you're budgeting time. Continue Reading Posted at 12:42 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Stand in the Idea Rain Claire Tompkins April 20, 2006 But coming up with new ideas, good ones, should be on your project list. It’s one of those ongoing projects that has no deadline but will improve your productivity greatly (not urgent but important), so you need to make time for it. Continue Reading Posted at 1:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Perfectionists Finish Last Claire Tompkins April 20, 2006 Perfectionism may seem like having high standards, but often it’s just another way to procrastinate. Procrastinators can’t seem to get started, and perfectionists can’t get finished. Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	Goal-ettes Claire Tompkins April 19, 2006 When people think they can't possibly achieve their goals, it's often because they are looking only at the big picture, the Mt. Everest, the grand finale. If you've set high goals, it can be pretty darn lofty. Good for you!... Continue Reading Posted at 2:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Happy!! and Work Better Claire Tompkins April 19, 2006 You may have known this intuitively, that when you're in a good mood, you get more done, more easily. Now science has gotten behind that and proved it's true. Anger and fear are associated with the right side of the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Fake It Till You Make It Claire Tompkins April 18, 2006 If you feel chronically unproductive at work, always behind the eight ball, no new gadget is going to do the trick for you. And, if it's not bad enough to feel like you're always playing catch up, those thoughts tend... Continue Reading Posted at 1:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Tax Receipt Taxonomy Claire Tompkins April 17, 2006 Now that your 2005 taxes are done (right?), you can start right now preparing for 2006. If you’re not happy with all the work you had to do getting it together for the IRS, here are some ideas. Continue Reading Posted at 1:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Can You Control Your Time? Claire Tompkins April 17, 2006 Managing your time is no exception. Having control here often comes in the form of pushing back a little. Continue Reading Posted at 12:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr14	The Time Timer Makes Time Visible Claire Tompkins April 14, 2006 We've all experienced the incredibly subjective speed of time. Sometimes it flies, sometimes it crawls. Sometimes it flies, then crawls, then flies again in the space of a day. No one wants to have to keep looking at the clock... Continue Reading Posted at 8:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr13	Rule #2: You gotta have a list! Claire Tompkins April 13, 2006 Do not try to remember things. Let your pride go about that. You do not have early-onset Alzheimer's. Get tools that you like to use (so you will) and use them regularly. It is said that Einstein never memorized his own phone... Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Should you use your email as a to do list? Claire Tompkins April 12, 2006 This question was posed to me at a talk I did recently for a professional group. It's a burning question with the group, it seems. I think the questioner assumed I would say, "absolutely not!" But there are pros and... Continue Reading Posted at 12:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	Don't Let Time Get Away Claire Tompkins April 11, 2006 An effective way to rein yourself in is to pick an amount of time you're willing to let yourself spend on the activity. This is for goofing off activities as well as work-related ones. Continue Reading Posted at 12:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	What I'm reading: Crazy Busy Claire Tompkins April 10, 2006 In his latest book, Dr. Ned Hallowell gives advice to people living in an ADD world, which would be all of us. The metaphor is apt because Hallowell wrote the very informative and useful Driven to Distraction, about people who... Continue Reading Posted at 8:18 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 7	Rule #1: Decide Claire Tompkins April 7, 2006 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that not making a decision is not deciding. You’re only deciding to decide later and that means what? Continue Reading Posted at 3:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 6	Google Desktop = Great Productivity Software Claire Tompkins April 6, 2006 You still may have the problem of not remembering what you’ve saved on your computer, but with the speed of Google Desktop Search, you can just take a quick peek. Continue Reading Posted at 3:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	Boss Hat, Employee Hat Claire Tompkins April 5, 2006 When you work like rain, you just do the work set out for you (by yourself or your boss) without worrying, second guessing, anticipating, regretting, replanning or procrastinating. Continue Reading Posted at 1:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Productivity vs. Efficiency Claire Tompkins April 4, 2006 Productivity, as I use it, refers to that, but it's based on having first selected work that really matters. You have to be able to see the whole picture, not just the narrow strip ahead of you. Continue Reading Posted at 12:39 PM \| Permalink \| Comments

« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »

Apr28	Deductible Mileage with Online Maps Claire Tompkins April 28, 2006 Know More: Quick Tips Here's a quick tip to simplify mileage record keeping. I know lots of people keep driving logs in their cars to keep track of mileage to and from their client visits. I'm way too lazy to do that, plus I forget often enough that it just doesn't work for me. My preference is to have the information stashed away and then spend a chunk of time organizing it. I do keep a record of income per client per date for tax purposes, and my own information. I use that to look up their addresses in my PDA. Then I go to Yahoo maps (my fave) and plug that address into the driving directions from home page. It gives me the mileage, which I then double and add to my mileage records. It sounds a little complicated, but once you get started, with the online map function of your choice, it's pretty fast. Posted at 2:08 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr28	Don't Make People Delete Your Email Claire Tompkins April 28, 2006 I often recommend that people delete group FYI emails without even reading them. Those are the ones that aren't from a specific project group (you should be expecting those). They're either from someone who has blanketed the company with email,... Continue Reading Posted at 12:50 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr27	Shuffle Your Tasks Claire Tompkins April 27, 2006 For this technique, get a stack of index cards and write one task on each one. It’s best to use all the same color so you don’t start recognizing them from the back. Now shuffle the deck and pick a card. Continue Reading Posted at 3:39 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr26	The Gift of a Round Tuit Claire Tompkins April 26, 2006 When I was in college, a fellow student went around our dorm tacking Round Tuits onto everyone's doors. They were circles cut from paper with the word “Tuit” printed in the middle. She'd noticed that all of us kept saying... Continue Reading Posted at 8:08 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr25	Making Time to Think Claire Tompkins April 25, 2006 There's a poll on the Fast Company website asking "Do you set aside time for thinking?" One of the answers you can choose is "no, that would be silly." Why is it so hard for people to take seriously the... Continue Reading Posted at 8:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr24	Repetitive Information Injury Claire Tompkins April 24, 2006 Reading this reminded me of a post I read on RandsInRepose about RII, or repetitive information injury. The author suffers from NADD (Nerd Attention Deficiency Disorder), characterized by an uncontrollable desire to discover new information. Continue Reading Posted at 1:21 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr21	Billable Hours, Second by Second Claire Tompkins April 21, 2006 Time Snapper can be a useful tool for discovering why it takes you more time than you predicted to do a given computer task, and therefore be more realistic when you're budgeting time. Continue Reading Posted at 12:42 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr20	Stand in the Idea Rain Claire Tompkins April 20, 2006 But coming up with new ideas, good ones, should be on your project list. It’s one of those ongoing projects that has no deadline but will improve your productivity greatly (not urgent but important), so you need to make time for it. Continue Reading Posted at 1:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Perfectionists Finish Last Claire Tompkins April 20, 2006 Perfectionism may seem like having high standards, but often it’s just another way to procrastinate. Procrastinators can’t seem to get started, and perfectionists can’t get finished. Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr19	Goal-ettes Claire Tompkins April 19, 2006 When people think they can't possibly achieve their goals, it's often because they are looking only at the big picture, the Mt. Everest, the grand finale. If you've set high goals, it can be pretty darn lofty. Good for you!... Continue Reading Posted at 2:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Get Happy!! and Work Better Claire Tompkins April 19, 2006 You may have known this intuitively, that when you're in a good mood, you get more done, more easily. Now science has gotten behind that and proved it's true. Anger and fear are associated with the right side of the... Continue Reading Posted at 12:40 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr18	Fake It Till You Make It Claire Tompkins April 18, 2006 If you feel chronically unproductive at work, always behind the eight ball, no new gadget is going to do the trick for you. And, if it's not bad enough to feel like you're always playing catch up, those thoughts tend... Continue Reading Posted at 1:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr17	Tax Receipt Taxonomy Claire Tompkins April 17, 2006 Now that your 2005 taxes are done (right?), you can start right now preparing for 2006. If you’re not happy with all the work you had to do getting it together for the IRS, here are some ideas. Continue Reading Posted at 1:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
	Can You Control Your Time? Claire Tompkins April 17, 2006 Managing your time is no exception. Having control here often comes in the form of pushing back a little. Continue Reading Posted at 12:33 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr14	The Time Timer Makes Time Visible Claire Tompkins April 14, 2006 We've all experienced the incredibly subjective speed of time. Sometimes it flies, sometimes it crawls. Sometimes it flies, then crawls, then flies again in the space of a day. No one wants to have to keep looking at the clock... Continue Reading Posted at 8:19 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr13	Rule #2: You gotta have a list! Claire Tompkins April 13, 2006 Do not try to remember things. Let your pride go about that. You do not have early-onset Alzheimer's. Get tools that you like to use (so you will) and use them regularly. It is said that Einstein never memorized his own phone... Continue Reading Posted at 1:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr12	Should you use your email as a to do list? Claire Tompkins April 12, 2006 This question was posed to me at a talk I did recently for a professional group. It's a burning question with the group, it seems. I think the questioner assumed I would say, "absolutely not!" But there are pros and... Continue Reading Posted at 12:19 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr11	Don't Let Time Get Away Claire Tompkins April 11, 2006 An effective way to rein yourself in is to pick an amount of time you're willing to let yourself spend on the activity. This is for goofing off activities as well as work-related ones. Continue Reading Posted at 12:20 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr10	What I'm reading: Crazy Busy Claire Tompkins April 10, 2006 In his latest book, Dr. Ned Hallowell gives advice to people living in an ADD world, which would be all of us. The metaphor is apt because Hallowell wrote the very informative and useful Driven to Distraction, about people who... Continue Reading Posted at 8:18 AM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 7	Rule #1: Decide Claire Tompkins April 7, 2006 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that not making a decision is not deciding. You’re only deciding to decide later and that means what? Continue Reading Posted at 3:38 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 6	Google Desktop = Great Productivity Software Claire Tompkins April 6, 2006 You still may have the problem of not remembering what you’ve saved on your computer, but with the speed of Google Desktop Search, you can just take a quick peek. Continue Reading Posted at 3:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 5	Boss Hat, Employee Hat Claire Tompkins April 5, 2006 When you work like rain, you just do the work set out for you (by yourself or your boss) without worrying, second guessing, anticipating, regretting, replanning or procrastinating. Continue Reading Posted at 1:13 PM \| Permalink \| Comments
Apr 4	Productivity vs. Efficiency Claire Tompkins April 4, 2006 Productivity, as I use it, refers to that, but it's based on having first selected work that really matters. You have to be able to see the whole picture, not just the narrow strip ahead of you. Continue Reading Posted at 12:39 PM \| Permalink \| Comments

Work productivity, time management, organization, tools and tips

Advertise

Related Resources

recent comments

sponsored ads

topics

subscribe

Current News

resources

Support This Blog

archives

blogroll

Know More Media - Self-Improvement / Professional Development

know more media network

we support unitus

PRWeb

Influencer

ProductivityGoal

CallCenterScript

AdHurl

TheBizofKnowledge

HealthCareVox

BrainBasedBusiness