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Google is finally getting into the list-making market with its new app, Google Keep. What is being described as Evernote’s biggest new rival, Keep gives users an easy way to make notes and create reminders for upcoming tasks. [Read more...]
Managers, listen up: micromanagement kills your team’s efficiency and will slowly drive you insane. I’ve prepared a simple four-step plan to help you stop micromanaging and thereby preserve your employees’ productivity. [Read more...]
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Many jobs require people to sit at a desk for several hours at end, which can bring about issues like back pain if the office chair you are using is uncomfortable and inappropriate for extended use. What you do need is one of the below chairs, which comply with ergonomic standards and will give you a comfortable place to complete your eight hours of daily work. As an added bonus, these chairs have some really cool features. [Read more...]
A screenshot of my Trends tab of Google Reader
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Your next productivity inspiration might come from Charlie Sheen’s bosses, the producers of FX comedy “Anger Management.” The show was given a 10/90 deal — if the first 10 episodes of the series received high ratings, the network would ink a deal for another 90 episodes. But, there’s a catch. It all has to be completed in two years. [Read more...]
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Increase your productivity and stay on top of your tasks with the help of these five apps for Android. Each of these apps works great for managing to-do lists and making sure you never forget a task. [Read more...]
A new study from Spain suggests there is a correlation between fitness levels and cognitive performance. By examining Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and how it changes depending on the cognitive task, the study found that fitness levels have a major effect on sustained attention. [Read more...]
My go-to CB2 hourglasses
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Let me back up a bit.
Kara Swisher posted the full internal memo sent to Yahoo employees last week. Here’s the part that irked me:
To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.
Working in close proximity to team members definitely has benefits — sometimes. As a high performer, though, I detest that environment when I need to rally and crank out work. It’s like clockwork: the moment I need to focus on something, I’m interrupted by an innocuous question or a colleague’s conversation. And nothing irks a ridiculously efficient person more than being made inefficient.
On to management. A few ex-Yahoo employees have said that the new policy will hopefully weed out unproductive folks who were working on side projects while on Yahoo’s payroll.
Let me be clear: An effective manager can figure out whether his or her employees are doing what they’re supposed to be doing no matter where they are: in the office down the hall, at home or on vacation halfway around the world. That same manager can set concrete expectations for communication and availability, hire people who “get it” and fire people who don’t.
This isn’t a telecommuting issue. It’s a management issue. And if Marissa Mayer is going to focus on remote workers, she should also focus on her managers, the expectations they’re setting, and how they’re communicating with their teams.
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For the past four years, President Obama has had to answer to 300 million people. He managed to provide a service valuable enough to see him hired on for four more. Add to that the fact that he’s an active father and loving husband, and one can’t help but be intrigued to learn the secret to his success. [Read more...]
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I’m a huge fan of outsourcing to improve your productivity. When done properly, delegation can crank your output up to unparalleled levels.
As a solopreneur and a working mother, I never take the importance of productivity for granted. So, I’ve decided to capitalize on the opportunity to make Election Day a teachable moment for my child, while at the same time, embracing my civil duties. [Read more...]
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The end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend ushered in a blissful extra hour of sleep. This is the perfect opportunity for you to prioritize sleep for productivity’s sake. [Read more...]
