It is Monday morning and for whatever reason you can not seem to get going. Here are 10 techniques to spark your mind at work and get your day off to a positive start.
1. Commit to a quick win. Think of a task you know you can get done quickly and do it. You will jump start your brain and get satisfaction from getting a task out of the way.
2. Take a break. You’ve been at work for less than an hour and you are already stressed out. Take a walk to a quiet place and gather your thoughts for 15 minutes. You will relieve some of your stress and removed from the stress environment you can gather your thoughts on how to deal with the issues in a productive manner.
Do often feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do? Do you sometimes forget to do something important? If so you are not alone. Most of us work in an environment of information overload. One of the most useful tools to tackle this problem are To-Do lists.
To-Do lists are organized and prioritized lists of everything you have to do. You can have as many to-do lists as you need. It is better if you separate your work, home and personal lists. While you may not want to become a full-time getting things done (GTD) type person, starting to keep a to-do list is a good first step in time management.
There are many options for to-do lists. First let’s look at electronic options.
Your day is starting good. You feel energetic and you are getting work done. Then an email comes in that you must deal with that involves researching months of paperwork. Your phone rings with a low priority call that ties you up for 10 minutes. On the way to a meeting six people stop you to chatter or ask you to do something. So much for your good day!
Interruptions are a part of a normal work day. When they become overwhelming to the point you find it difficult to get your work done it is time to take control your interruptions instead of them controlling you.
On February 19, 2008 technology writer Omar Gallaga participated in an episode of the National Public Radio (NPR) show “All Things Considered”. The topic of the show was David Allen’s Getting Things Done method to increase productivity at work and at home.
For those not familiar with GTD, since being published in 2001 as a self-help book, it has grown into a near cult following of GTD’ers. Not surprisingly a large number of followers are technology junkies. It has inspired numerous web sites, blogs and software meant to allow you to adapt GTD principles into your life.
A recent trend being discussed around the web is the concept of topless meetings. No, not what you are thinking. They are laptop(less) meetings where laptops, smart phones and other handheld distractions are prohibited. Living in the IT world they seem like a sacred right. We’re busy people who need to stay in touch with what is going on. Maybe you are missing the point of having a meeting. Or maybe you just missed an important point because you were distracted.
I have been in meetings where one-third of the room was either scrolling through email on their phone or had a laptop out. It seemed more like a down time break room than a meeting.
Sometimes I have seen it carried a too far. I have been in a few meetings where the person who scheduled the meeting was fully engaged in their laptop while “their” meeting was going on around them. Can you imagine the frustration of the people attending the meeting when the person who called the meeting is so disengaged from their own meeting?
