Productivity Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Pick a DirectionPick a Direction

Training… for our customers?

As we continue to build on Epic Day Outdoors we’ve shifted our focus a number of times in search of the correct match of technology, user experience, and customer acquisition. Do we focus on advertising after we get eyeballs or do we focus on selling to the eyeballs themselves? Should we build a great product then monetize it or should we set up a business model and then refine it?

All questions we’ve debated and tested since we began this venture in August. But now we’ve hit our stride. No more noodling, it’s time to get laser focused on this project. Travis (my partner) did some great work and found us a great piece of technology that allows us to engage with our users on another level in order to drive them to our website. Since figuring this out we’ve had our best week ever in terms of web traffic and now it’s time to throw some coals on that fire. All this being said, I am going to focus on how to train our users how to engage with us.

If that sounds odd, think about a visit to Starbucks: come in to place that looks familiar, it has the same smells, the same aprons, and the same cheery baristas. When an order is placed, it’s placed in the exact same sequence each time:

Hot/Cold
Size
Beverage
Wet/Dry
Strength (Espresso)
Milk/Creamer choice
Additions

The regulars know this, but if it’s a user’s first time experience the baristas help out by repeating the order for the consumer after the order has been determind to help clarify the purchase. The next time the customer will know to just repeat, “Double Tall Cappuccino Extra Dry” instead of pecking around on the menu. It’s not rude or degrading to people, it’s used by the staff to keep Starbucks baristas efficient and effective at their jobs so no time is lost making coffee and the consumer gets exactly what they want as soon as possible.

Travis and I are now challenged with setting up the sequence of interaction with our consumers for Epic Day Outdoors. We will spend significant time testing and experimenting with ways to reach out to people and get them to our site in the coming weeks. After we’ve determined what works best, as Starbucks has done, we’ll solidify our position and help make it easier for our users to interact with us and get the experience they desire.

Customer training is essential to many businesses, how can we improve user experience by training them to make us better?

Top 8 Productivity Tips

As I’m constantly perusing the internet and listening to as many podcasts and audio books as I can find, I can’t help but accumulate a wealth of knowledge about productivity (as well as creativity). I thought these lists were dumb and I figured that as much as I see them, everyone else has as well. After a few conversations with people about their jobs and daily tasks, I determined that was NOT the case. Either way, I’ve compiled my Top 8 Productivity Tips (because I have OCD so it must be an even number, but I don’t want to be cliche and make it a “Top 10” list) that help me get more done each day/week/month/year. Some of these things may only save a moment or two, but if they’re added up throughout the year you will save HOURS of time! In no particular order:

Evernote
- A piece of software that can be used for digital note-taking allowing the user to make notebooks, stack notes together, and categorize items. I use this for keeping lists of ideas, to-do lists, addresses, photos, and much more. I also use this to write drafts of blog posts and organize my life. The best part about this is that it syncs from your mobile device to your desktop automatically so you don’t have to keep multiple lists. Start with the desktop version and then go into the mobile app, much easier to comprehend. There is a free version and a paid version for $45/year, I prefer the free and it gives me everything I need and more.
Turning OFF push notifications
- How many times are you distracted from your work by a ping or a tweet or an email or a text or…. It’s never-ending! Turning off the “push notifications” on our devices allows us to focus on the projects/tasks/people in front of us. Too often we focus on what’s in front of us (push notifications) versus what’s important. We yearn for distractions, don’t let them in!
Batching email
- Since push notifications are off, emails need to be checked… but not every 18 seconds. Schedule exact times to go through email inbox(es) at multiple intervals throughout the day, or time if it’s just stuff you read that doesn’t require you respond.
In-box Zero
- When an inbox reads “no emails” you’ve reached inbox zero, congratulations! This is an entire process of filing emails, responding to them when they come in, and NOT using your inbox as a to-do list. This link is a video explaining the entire theory. Its lengthy, but then again how much time are you wasting responding to emails each day?
Numbering a To-Do List
- Keeping a To-Do list is a given, however numbering priorities helps me focus on what’s important. Break down tasks into priorities and start with the most important thing on the list each day and then go to #2. The top 3 things on a the list should be accomplished each day, until that happens: no Facebook, No Twitter, No Instagram, No Pinterest… and if you’re really feeling bold, no lunch.
Keyboard Shortcuts
- I spend 98% of my work day on a laptop and have found a few keyboard shortcuts that make my life exponentially easier by incorporating them each day. The “Ctrl” key is at the bottom left of the keyboard and if you’re on a Mac this is the “Command” key located right next to the space bar.
  - Ctrl + Z = Undo
  - Ctrl + C = Copy
  - Ctrl + V = Paste
  - Double Clicking on a word = Highlight it to be cut, copied, or deleted
  - Triple Clicking on a word = Highlighting an entire paragraph to be cut, copied, or deleted
Music without words
- I have never met someone that doesn’t like music. Unfortunately it can be distracting and we are all victims of the “multi-tasking” myth that surrounds offices throughout the world. Music can be soothing and it can help stimulate the brain, but when music has words it can be exponentially harder for our brains to concentrate on work when we want to start singing along. Find music without words from a friend’s Spotify playlist, from classical musical artists like Beethoven, or from bands like Orgone, Ratatat, or Explosions in the Sky.
The egg timer
- It helps me in certain situations to put a timer on what I’m doing. The E.ggtimer is an online timer that allows the user to put a time on the clock without having to get up from the computer. This can be productive things like dedicating 45 minutes to making new Craigslist ads or ONLY spending 10 minutes on social media. If this is weird for you, there is always the timer on the iPhone app as well.

Hope you enjoyed this list, feel free to let me know what YOUR top tips are for getting things done!

—

Sign up for Posts via Email below

Overcompensating

As I was watching football on Saturday as CSU beat Coastal Carolina University, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the work world. The team played well as a unit and there was no overcompensating for each other, allowing each individual to their jobs to the best of their abilities.

The CSU defensive coordinator was making bold moves to stifle the highly touted CCU offense they were playing. In football as with anything in life, when faced with a tough opponent a bland game plan won’t cut it. And CSU did not have a bland game plan. Often times they would blitz everyone on the field with the exception of their Cornerbacks, leaving them in what is known as “Cover Zero” meaning they have no help from a safety. Typically, there are more defensive backs or linebackers to help the Cornerbacks, but not when they are all blitzing. The Cornerbacks would match up with the wide receivers on the outside of the field and everyone else would rush the Quarterback. This is very effective at putting pressure on the offense, however it can be quite risky if the Cornerback doesn’t make a play when the ball is thrown his way. He is one-on-one with the Receiver and if the ball is thrown in his direction, he only has to beat that single Cornerback if he wants to get a touchdown. I loved this play calling because it made everyone on defense even more accountable for their play.

The key for this to work is to have excellent Cornerbacks that play at a high level and do not let the Wide Receivers make any catches. CSU’s Cornerbacks came to play and had multiple pass-breakups in these situations. They did their job and forced Coastal Carolina to play 9 versus 9, eliminating the play of the receivers in those situations. When this happened, the other 9 defensive players could hone in on a fewer number of potential ball carriers and make plays faster. The defense could make decisions faster by eliminating the potential threat of the receivers. And the great part was that the other 9 players on defense didn’t try to do the Cornerbacks’ jobs for them, they did their own job during the play and then came together to talk about what worked and what didn’t work in between series.

How does this work in businesses? It plays out like this when we don’t need to cover for each other. A great sales team can cover up a flawed product for a while, but not if the company wishes to build a good reputation for quality products. And a great manager can put in overtime and work themselves to death with a sub-par team, but only for a short time before burnout sets in. There will always be a need for collaboration in the workplace, however when we start to do each other’s jobs because we don’t trust each other we begin to take a step backwards. That football team could never have won the game if the Linebackers and Safeties were overcompensating for the Cornerbacks by trying to help out. The best help they could give was to do their jobs to the best of their abilities and trust that their teammates do theirs.

Be the kind of co-worker/partner/contractor that does not need to be overcompensated for. As we do our jobs to the best of our abilities we become more valuable to our organizations, we build confidence, and we begin to take on more responsibility.

Unplug

We are obsessed with technology. We love to hear the ping of emails, we can’t wait for push notifications to pop up, and we do everything in our power to keep ourselves distracted by it all. We have an overabundance of distractions in today’s world from everything that it’s hard to focus. When driving we’re barraged with billboards, when listening to the radio we are interrupted by commercials, and push notifications from every single app that we download will keep our phones ringing 24 hours a day if we let it. Everything craves our attention, but why do we give in to these things that we know are time wasters? We crave the distraction.

Distractions are a way for us to weasel out of what’s important: our work and our relationships. It’s hard to focus, it’s taken me almost an hour to write this because of distractions. And it’s hard to say no to outside distractions and be present with the people we spend time with. It’s easy to check Facebook. It’s easy to scroll through Twitter. It’s fun to watch YouTube for hours. But what’s more important is how we spend our time focusing on our work and on our relationships, giving our full attention to them.

I stay present by turning off the push notifications on my email so I only receive them when I choose; at 2-3 times throughout the day and once on Saturdays and Sundays. If anyone needs to get a hold of me and it’s an emergency, the last thing they’re going to do is email me. So if 99.99% of the time my emails are not urgent, why am I pulling my attention from dinner with friends, experiencing a historic win over Coastal Carolina University, and not allowing myself to be present and engaged wherever I am? A half thought out response is disrespectful to the person that writes me that email, so why not do them a solid and respond in full when I’m fully engaged with their email in front of me?

I also unplug by not checking any email or social media after 8 PM to allow myself to wind down at the end of the day. This helps slow my mind before bed so it’s not racing and I can get the rest I need to make the next day productive. Poor sleep isn’t always about needing a new mattress or the noise outside, is the noise in between our ears that is the most detrimental to sleep. This takes some effort, but it’s most important to pull away from the technology at certain times so we don’t become addicted to it (yes, it’s real and people talk and affects many of us).

And finally, I don’t take my phone to meals if I’m eating with someone else. My phone stays in the car or goes on silent and in another room if I’m at the house. Thirty minutes to an hour each day without my phone is not going to kill me, and it’s my way of showing whomever I’m eating with (Katie most of the time) that I care about our time together and don’t want to be distracted from our conversation. How can I fully engage when I’m checking an email or re-tweeting what Tucker Max just said?

There are all kinds of ways to unplug from technology, I’d love to hear more on how YOU unplug so leave me a comment, tweet me, even send me an email with your thoughts. I probably wont’ get right back to you, but when I do it will be purposeful and engaged!

Continual Learning

Conditioning is a major part in any sport. Some sports condition for precision, like golf, and some for lung capacity, such as swimming. And still others like soccer and football condition for precision as well as stamina. This is because the best coaches know that athletes need to be able to call on their skills not only when they’re rested, but more importantly when they’re tired. A number of people can drive a golf ball 300 yards, once. But how many can do it 40 times in a row? How many can do it under the pressure of game-time performance and the ache of a 3 day tournament? Big difference.

Just as athletes train their bodies, we need to train our minds and our temperaments. We already have to perform tasks that require problem solving and critical analysis at work, it’s highly unlikely that anyone reading this just turns a lever at a factory. That being said, we need to be able to come up with great ideas and great solutions throughout the week. Not just once a week. So how do we condition ourselves to continual learn? Through constant input of good information. Good in – Good out.

As we go through the work-weeks we are forced to have an output (nobody gets paid to just learn all day) of productivity that comes from within. It’s not magical, nor is it never-ending. We run out of creativity, we run out of ideas, we can become drained. We combat this through constantly putting ideas into ourselves through continual learning. Carve out time each day to intake information: read ~~inspiring~~ BOOKS, follow @inc, @fastcompany, and @forbes on twitter for great articles, and listen to audio books when we have down time. All of these will recharge a drained battery, give us something to talk about, and most importantly educate us in some way so we can continue our strives to push ourselves.

I fully believe that we cannot simply take in information, we must regurgitate it in some form whether it’s conversation, our work, or writing thoughts out. It must come out for us to fully comprehend what we’re taking in order to really grow. Just as we need to condition ourselves to continually learn, I am conditioning myself to continually write in order to hone my skills to finish my book. Yes, this is me announcing my book to the world. And although this is a small audience, I will continue blogging and continue to grow my audience so that January 1st, 2016 (my goal) when I am ready to release this book, I have a larger audience and I have years of practice under my belt.

Leave me a comment on your favorite thing to learn from below, I am always looking for ideas!

Walk Away

Any artist will tell you that the hardest part of creating is knowing when to walk away from. Painters will add a touch of color here and smear a bit there and before they know it they have a completely new piece that they aren’t satisfied with. The same goes for musicians, sculptors, book writers, and all of us making a living in the business world as well.

I learned this from building a coffee table for myself with dear friend Ryan Besand and he guided me along the way engineering the woodworking and helping make my vision come alive. Once the project got to a certain point, he warned that I’d need to decide when to walk away and not keep fiddling with it or I’ll take away from the original idea. At the time I was wary about not finishing off every little perfection and blemish, forgoing to sand off a few corners and add another layer of stain. But now that it’s over a year old and it gets used almost daily without defect, I know that he was spot on. I can’t even notice the imperfections I was concerned about a year ago and I love showing it off… I even wrote an entire blog post about it.

Learning to live with imperfections is a contentment that is hard to practice, but is a must if we want to churn out good work. This does not mean put sloppy work out there, rather don’t fall into the trap of spending hours and days fiddling with something that only a single person is going to notice. Focus in the beginning of a project translates to an early ship date if imperfections are limited, some call this measuring twice and cutting once.

Seth Godin has said, “Good is good enough” and Eric Reis preaches a “Minimally viable product” and Tim Ferriss references Pareto’s Law to learn 90% of something quickly and not even bother with the last 10% because it will take too long to learn. Yet we never hear about perfectionists in the ever-evolving world of business… It’s because they could never get their literary works ‘perfected’ to their point of shipment. The thought leaders we hear about today do not have a platform of perfect it before you ship it, they are of the mindset to ship early and ship often!

The most successful artists and the most successful business people aren’t always the brightest or the most talented, but we finish. And when we finish, we can start another, and another, and continue to build our businesses, galleries, empires, or whatever it is we’re striving for. Learn from our mistakes and don’t make the same ones twice. Know when to walk away and continue building, the real successes will learn from our prior shipments and become better and better at shipping with less imperfections.

—

Leave me a comment or chat with me on Twitter, I’d love to hear from you. Have a great weekend!

Sign up for Posts via Email below

First Things First

In the realm of personal productivity, there are a number of ways to get more done. We’re all allotted the same amount of time each day, so why not make the most out of it? There are entire books written on productivity, weekly podcasts about it, and even businesses that have emerged from individual’s relentless pursuit to be more productive. So what is the best way to increase productivity throughout the day?

“Eating the frog” as Brian Tracy coined it, is the most important way to start this journey to a more freed up life. This is the practice of crossing off the most important task off our to-do list first. Not checking email when you get in, no chatting with co-workers for twenty minutes, not updating your Facebook to say, “Ugh, 3 meetings today… Yay, for Tuesdays! – feeling sarcastic” but getting right into our work and accomplishing something before the days begins to wear on us. Tim Ferriss, the man who wrote the 4-Hour Work Week/Body/Chef, believes and practices this and he “work(s) harder and smarter than probably anyone you’ve ever met.” He doesn’t just work smarter to have more time on his hands, he frees up his time to get more done in that same 24 hours.

What is great about this practice is that it seems simple on the surface, yet if we practice it we find out there’s much more to it. Below are a few things that “eating the frog” forces us to do:

1.) List our work

If we aren’t organized, yet we want to be more productive, this is a great way to force ourselves to put our tasks on paper. If we can put our tasks on paper it will either give us a sense that we don’t have as much to do as we originally thought (OR we’ll have a panic attack after seeing how much it is – don’t worry Point 2 covers this). And when we don’t seem so overwhelmed we are more vigorous in our work.

2.) Prioritize our work

Once we have all of our work on paper, we now have to prioritize it and determine what is important vs what is not. For example, the final touches on a presentation due tomorrow is a much higher priority than re-arranging the filing cabinets. Once this is realized, even the largest to-do lists become easier to manage because once we see that everything is not the highest priority, we are able to focus on what’s really important.

3.) Commit to plans aka goals

We all know I love to have goals, and making plans for the following day is like making goals: We put something on paper, we commit to it, and we get it done the following day. This gives us a great sense of accomplishment when we cross off “Priority 1” from the to-do list and make it just a little bit shorter. This confidence sets the tone for our day and helps us elimiate distractions when we know we’ve got something those top priorities cross off the list. It becomes a routine to set a plan (aka goal) get to work as soon as we get it, and reward ourselves by crossing it off when we’re finished.

4.) Top priority is difficult

The most important task for the day is NEVER easy. And if it is easy, we need to be challenged more in our work or start taking on more challenging projects that push us. When we prioritize we are forced to attack challenges head on that are not fun. When we can put ourselves in those uncomfortable situations and stop procrastinating we then can begin to grow in our profession. None of us have ever become better at our jobs or our sports because we relaxed, we have improved in difficult situations.

Resolves to put ourselves in those difficult situations each morning and watch your to-do list shrink and your productivity soar!

Newer Posts