Productivity: Why it is important to have friends at work
This infographic was crafted with love by Officevibe, the employee engagement software that helps companies improve their employee retention, and have a better organizational culture.
Productivity Bulletin: 12/12/2014
- Reject every opinion that isn’t at least 90 out of 100:
As you evaluate an option, think about the single most important criterion for that decision, and then simply give each option a score between 0 and 100. If you rate it lower than 90 percent, then automatically change the rating to 0 and simply reject it. This way you avoid getting caught up in indecision, or worse, getting stuck with the 60s or 70s.
This is an interesting quote, but is it applicable? If we can surround ourselves with 90% certainty all the time, we would all be pretty successful. I appreciate the intent, but this is leaning towards “interesting sound byte” vs. sound advice. Thoughts?
http://chrisguillebeau.com/reject-every-option-that-isnt-awesome/ - Behaviors that people think are negative but are actually good:
The same is true for life. Be okay with knowing it is the journey that is important, and sometimes in being lost and going down paths we never would have thought to choose we find out things about ourselves that are amazing. We discover unknown talents in ourselves, and meet friends or allies who otherwise would have remained a mystery. Being lost now doesn’t mean you will be lost forever. It simply means you are taking your time in finding your way, and also allowing the world around you to give input into the path which is best for you. Often it is that input we never would have dreamed to ask for that sets us on our true path.
- The French are not as lazy as frequently reported:
But in reality, France’s 35-hour week has become largely symbolic, as employees across the country pull longer hours and work more intensely, with productivity per hour about 13 percent higher than the eurozone average. And a welter of loopholes lets many French employers outmaneuver the law. All told, French workers put in an average of 39.5 hours a week, just under the eurozone average of 40.9 hours a week, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Centralize your information:
We might not be suffering from information overload, it could be that data is just in too many places (does this sound familiar?)
http://www.simpleproductivityblog.com/information-many-places-simplify/Here is an example of how to do it:
http://lifehacker.com/5989980/ive-been-using-evernote-all-wrong-heres-why-its-actually-amazing
- Some exercises to do at your desk to counter-act the effects of sitting and typing all day:
http://www.refinery29.com/desk-job-health-fixes#slide-1
- Brainstorm better ideas in 1/2 the time:
Research shows that 75% of our ideas happen in the first 50% of the time allotted. It seems crazy, but our brains actually respond better to pressure when it comes to ideation. Two other issues start happening with more time:
1. Ideas get recycled in slightly different packages, because the group is clinging to a certain mindset. How many times have you stalled on an idea without looking at it in a totally new way?
2. Defensiveness begins to take route. There’s no doubt that the collaborative aspect of innovation is critical, however, with more time to hash things out, the propensity to get entrenched in each of our own biases is heightened.
3. Cut the actual sessions where a team comes together to innovate in half. However, provide a pre-work, individual assignment first that spurs thinking.
4. Create ways that supports to all types of thinking and behaving to communicate their ideas. Not everyone is going to leap into a brainstorming free-for-all. Try less verbal concepts like “brain-writing”
http://www.inc.com/mark-miller/amazingly-simple-tactics-for-producing-better-ideas-faster.html
Video: David Allen: Getting in control
Productivity Bulletin: 11/21/2014
- Leave your desk at lunch:
The same point I just made in #1 is doubly true for creativity. Have you ever experienced the phenomenon of having some of your greatest ideas while in the shower? Do you think you are alone in that? You’re not. When you “free yourself up” as you do in the shower or while taking a break from your work, your brain is suddenly “free” to consider new, fresh ideas that can potentially solve the problems that were plaguing you while you were so vigorously pondering the issue. Letting your mind wander a bit over lunch can lead to new ideas and new inspiration.
- Time Assets vs. Time Debts
Good post on managing your time and identifying things that drag us down from being productive.
http://jamesclear.com/time-assets - 6 questions to ask to learn about a company’s culture:
Maybe your interviewer will mention off-site brainstorming meetings, clubs meant to help develop employees’ skills or even the company softball team. “But if they skirt this question, that tells you a lot about their culture… or lack thereof,” Cochran says.
http://lifehacker.com/six-questions-you-should-ask-to-learn-about-a-companys-1658633604
- Don’t just invent something, fix a problem:
http://99u.com/workbook/34987/dont-just-invent-something-fix-something - As we try to develop better relationships with our customers, I like this pamphlet approach for the upper levels:
http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/pamphlet-principle - Allow people choices when creating change:
Allow People Decisions. Change cannot happen to people. It needs to happen with people. Change must be co-created. Everyone should have some say in how the change is implemented. It is their job and their life. Let them have an element of control. If you keep lines of communication open for suggestions, you will hear lots of good ideas from the people who need to make the change happen. Use those ideas because it will build more engagement in the process. Create the change together.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141030174822-11290604-3-ways-to-motivate-change
PS: On in the case with my son, provide the perception of choice… - Warren Buffet on Goals: (If it isn’t the most important, avoid at all costs)
But the story nevertheless resonates because it promotes a truth that I think is vital to remember in our current networked age: spending time on lower priority goals, even though they’re helpful and generate value, can leave you worse off than if you had avoided them all together.