lifehacker

Last night Graham Allcott went live in the ‘Ask the Expert’ Q&A session on the popular ‘how to get things done’ website www.lifehacker.com.

In case you missed it here is the link to Graham’s interview. There are some great productivity questions and answers that we feel sure will quench your thirst for productivity tips.

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If you’re looking for Productivity training, our ‘How to Get Things Done’ workshops are available in-house to your company or also through our public workshops across the UK.

Time Management Training has changed! Click here to find out about our productivity-focussed Time management workshops, email training and facilitation training.

 

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Forget time management. How to a Productivity Ninja is the book to read if you’re feeling stressed out with too much on your plate and too little time to get it done.Productivity ebookThe book is a culmination of three years of thinking and getting things done from our founder Graham Allcott. The e-book is being sold in aid of READ International. So if you buy the ebook & we’ll send real text books to Tanzanian schools. As a special treat we’ve published a series of posts explaining the nine characteristics of a Productivity Ninja. Follow the links below to read more….

The 9 Characteristics of a Productivity Ninja

1. Zen-like calm

Zen like calm is an ability to remain focused and not be stressed by everything on your task list.

2. Ruthlessness

Say‘no’ to as many distractions as possible. Can you be more ruthless in your focus?

3. Weapon-savvy

Use productivity tools, but being clear that the tools are there to save time, not provide distractions.

4. Stealth and camouflage

There times when working alone, away from the limelight, might be more productive.

5. Unorthodoxy

Think how would Nelson Mandela do this? Take inspiration from unusual (as well as usual) places.

6. Agility

Have good systems to help you react and respond quickly. Are there opportunities to discuss the storm during the calm before it? Plan ahead!

7. Mindfulness and Productivity

Ask yourself good questions and avoid stress. Are you a good listener – to yourselves and to others?

8. Preparedness

Rest, relaxation and good organisation skills are important. If you’re over-stretched, can you see light at the end of the tunnel? If not, change it!

9. Be Human not a Superhero

To be a Productivity Ninja, you don’t have to be a superhero. Superheroes only exist in the movies and you’ve got real work to do. Aiming for perfection is often the quickest way to get stuck. The important thing is to finish, not to be perfect. How many characteristics do you identify with? Please leave your comments below…

“How to be a Productivity Ninja” is available on Amazon buy your copy today.

Forget time management. How to a Productivity Ninja is the book to read if you’re feeling stressed out with too much on your plate and too little time to get it done.Productivity ebookThe book is a culmination of three years of thinking and getting things done from our founder Graham Allcott. The e-book is being sold in aid of READ International. So if you buy the ebook & we’ll send real text books to Tanzanian schools. As a special treat we’ve published a series of posts explaining the nine characteristics of a Productivity Ninja. Follow the links below to read more….

The 9 Characteristics of a Productivity Ninja

1. Zen-like calm

Zen like calm is an ability to remain focused and not be stressed by everything on your task list.

2. Ruthlessness

Say‘no’ to as many distractions as possible. Can you be more ruthless in your focus?

3. Weapon-savvy

Use productivity tools, but being clear that the tools are there to save time, not provide distractions.

4. Stealth and camouflage

There times when working alone, away from the limelight, might be more productive.

5. Unorthodoxy

Think how would Nelson Mandela do this? Take inspiration from unusual (as well as usual) places.

6. Agility

Have good systems to help you react and respond quickly. Are there opportunities to discuss the storm during the calm before it? Plan ahead!

7. Mindfulness and Productivity

Ask yourself good questions and avoid stress. Are you a good listener – to yourselves and to others?

8. Preparedness

Rest, relaxation and good organisation skills are important. If you’re over-stretched, can you see light at the end of the tunnel? If not, change it!

9. Be Human not a Superhero

To be a Productivity Ninja, you don’t have to be a superhero. Superheroes only exist in the movies and you’ve got real work to do. Aiming for perfection is often the quickest way to get stuck. The important thing is to finish, not to be perfect. How many characteristics do you identify with? Please leave your comments below…

“How to be a Productivity Ninja” is available on Amazon buy your copy today.

stuart mckenzie productivity training



























Many of us have grown up used to hearing phrases such as “If a thing’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing well”. We may be less familiar with a similar saying: “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly”. This latter saying is a useful one to refer to daily as we strive to become more productive and/or creative in our work and professional lives.

One common reason for not getting things done is fear of failure – or making mistakes. So how do you let yourself make mistakes when understandably making mistakes at work could lose you your job or forgetting your partner’s drycleaning again is going to lead to yet another row? Firstly, it is important to pick and choose where and when we make mistakes. The wrong figures in a key report at work is probably not the place to actively allow mistakes. There are ways we can invite in mistakes or failure into our lives:

• Doodling – letting yourself draw badly on a scrap of paper is a useful daily practice. (Check out writer and painter Betty Edwards)
• Doing 3 pages of long hand uncensored free flow writing (Check out writer and movie artist Julia Cameron)
• Giving yourself time – set your own deadlines (ahead of any agreed with others) – to allow you and what you are doing to get it wrong (writer and psychologist Tony Humphreys)

There are many more tools and you can have fun trying to figure out which ones work best (or perhaps not so well) for you. What is important is integrating the concept of making mistakes as a natural part of getting things done as a daily practice – and watch your productivity/creativity begin to sore!

The Native Americans have a saying that to be happy in life you need to allow yourself 33 mistakes a day. How many have you made today?






Time Management Training has changed! Click here to find out about our productivity-focussed Time management workshops, email training and facilitation training.

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