The Pomodoro Technique Explained

The Pomodoro Technique Explained

The Pomodoro Technique is a popular time-management method invented by Italian Francesco Cirillo. He wrote, “I discovered that you could learn how to improve your effectiveness and be better able to estimate how long a task will take to complete by recording how you utilize your time.” Source: Forbes The technique is popular, perhaps because it’s portable and easy to learn. Pick one project or task you want to focus on. Set a timer for 25-30 minutes, and get to work. When the buzzer sounds, take a two-to-three-minute break. Repeat. After four sessions, take a longer break. Record each session with a tick or X in your notebook The Pomodoro Technique […]

Use Productivity ‘Sprints’ When Your Attention Span Is Low

Use Productivity ‘Sprints’ When Your Attention Span Is Low

When you have a lot of work to do, a short attention span can be disastrous to your productivity. So instead of fighting it, you can use it to your advantage by working in “sprints” rather than trying for a marathon session. Source: LIFEHACKER Like the Pomodoro technique, the sprints method has you work in a series of shorter bursts, so you can get your tasks done without your attention or productivity lagging. Here’s how to try it out.. What is the sprints method? When using the sprints method, you’ll be doing short bursts of work with breaks in between. That’s really all it is, but since taking breaks is fundamental to […]

How to Fall Asleep Faster Using the Science-Backed ‘K-9 Trick’

How to Fall Asleep Faster Using the Science-Backed ‘K-9 Trick’

Follow these four strategies to get more rest and increase your productivity. Every night, millions of people are faced with the battle of falling asleep-and staying asleep.  And until about six months ago I was one of those millions. Before finally learning how to fall asleep faster, sleep was a nightly battle that made my day to day life something of a nightmare. It’s no secret that sleep plays a critical role in our overall health-and lives. It impacts our daily lives and the longevity of our lives. From our energy levels, attention span, critical thinking skills, productivity, creativity and even our ability to procreate-sleep affects our personal lives, our […]

6 Ways to Come Back Ready for Work After a Vacation

6 Ways to Come Back Ready for Work After a Vacation

You aren’t alone if you’ve ever felt like you needed a vacation from your vacation. I’ve found 6 strategies to help you push past that post-vacation dread and get you back on track. Source: Inc You finally took a break from work and went on a well-deserved vacation. Days or weeks of relaxation, foreign foods, and a comfy hotel bed have you wishing that it would never end. But, going back to work is inevitable. That thought alone makes your stomach churn. No one wants to think about emails, deadlines, and managing finances or meetings after an amazing holiday. I know I don’t. However, it can’t be avoided, especially if you want to […]

A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier

A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier

There’s a crisis developing in workplaces everywhere. According to an annual survey by Gallup, employee engagement dropped to a seven-year low in 2022. Only a third of workers reported feeling engaged at work, while almost a fifth (18%) described themselves as “actively disengaged.” Source: Forbes Gallup’s measure of engagement is made up of several elements, which employees are asked to rate. Those that have declined the most include: clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, connection to the purpose of the company, opportunities to do what employees do best, and feeling cared about at work. Employee engagement began to fall in 2021, the same year the “great resignation” was coined as […]

TOP 10 DESK ACCESSORIES TO CREATE A DESK SETUP THAT SUPPORTS + ELEVATES YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY

TOP 10 DESK ACCESSORIES TO CREATE A DESK SETUP THAT SUPPORTS + ELEVATES YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY

Whether you’re working from home, or in a corporate office, the one thing that’s pretty much consistent in both these scenarios is a desk! A desk is probably one of the most important pieces of furniture in our modern lives, only because we spend the majority of our day on it. You may be typing away to glory, munching away on a snack, or simply fidgeting with a random object – you do end up spending hours on your desk. And hence, it’s really important that your desk be neat, tidy, and uncluttered. Not only will this improve your work routine and productivity, but it will also help you maintain […]

3 Steps CEOs Need to Take to Support Employee Mental Health

3 Steps CEOs Need to Take to Support Employee Mental Health

How to prioritize employee mental health from the top down. Now that we’ve passed the three-year mark of the pandemic, it’s clear that employee mental health and well-being have been significantly strained — and by extension, so have American workplaces. At the height of quarantine, businesses enthusiastically implemented initiatives that assisted their employees in these areas, but in some instances, those programs seem to have fallen by the wayside in a rush to return to “normal.” Source: Inc However, some businesses have continued with these pandemic-motivated programs and are continuing to see much success. In a recent episode of my top-ranked podcast, Keith Nealon, CEO of Bazaarvoice, the product review and user-generated content solutions provider, shared […]

Why Do Bosses Try To Get Workers Back To The Office? They Don’t Know How To Build A Culture Of Remote Collaboration

Why Do Bosses Try To Get Workers Back To The Office? They Don’t Know How To Build A Culture Of Remote Collaboration

Organizations have to pivot their corporate culture if they wish to survive and thrive in the world of virtual collaboration after the pandemic. To adapt to the hybrid and remote future of work, leaders need to benchmark and adapt best practices based on external research, as I learned from my interviews with 47 mid-level and 14 senior leaders I guided through the transition to the future of work. Source: Forbes Why Did Corporate Culture Suffer During the Pandemic? Culture refers to the social and emotional glue that bonds employees together into a community of belonging, motivates employees, and protects against burnout. It includes the norms and practices that determine how people collaborate. It also involves the values that guide the community of […]

5 Whys – Getting to the Root of a Problem Quickly

5 Whys – Getting to the Root of a Problem Quickly

Have you ever had a problem that refused to go away? No matter what you did, sooner or later it would return, perhaps in another form. Stubborn or recurrent problems are often symptoms of deeper issues. “Quick fixes” may seem convenient, but they often solve only the surface issues and waste resources that could otherwise be used to tackle the real cause. Source: Mind Tools Content Team In this article and in the video, below, we look at the 5 Whys technique (sometimes known as 5Y). This is a simple but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the outward symptoms of a problem to reveal its underlying causes – so that you […]

The 80/20 Principle and How It Can Change Your Life

The 80/20 Principle and How It Can Change Your Life

In 1906 there was an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. One day, strolling through his garden, Pareto noticed that every year, 20% of the pea plants in his garden produced approximately 80% of the peas. This got him thinking about economic output on a larger scale. Sure enough, he began to find that in various industries, societies and even companies, 80% of the production often came from the 20% most productive portion. This became known as the Pareto Principle, or what is now often referred to as the 80/20 Principle. Source: Mark Manson The 80/20 Principle states that 80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the […]