eTips

Does everything you do seem important? It's not. If everything is important, nothing is important. Here's a way to get clear about your priorities... Imagine that you could only work four days a week. Which activities would you be sure you included in those days? Which would you let go…

Whether you're a new supervisor, a team leader, or a team member, you can ease relations with your coworkers if you all... TheBuildNetwork.com suggests a very simple "user manual" that shares key information about yourself and smooths the path to positive relationships, such as: What do I expect re: commitments/communication…

Teams are strongest when everyone feels free to share ideas and challenge assumptions. To ensure creative problem solving or opportunity building, only the most useful ideas will get selected (we hope), so it's important to... Hold your ideas lightly and avoid attachment to them. If your suggestion is not adopted,…

When you receive an email or verbal request, you may have the impulse to leap instantly into action to accomplish the task. That would be fine unless your day is filled with people asking you to provide information, reports, solutions, etc. Then your day and attention become fragmented and unfocused.…

"I figured out a long time ago that having an empty inbox is a false goal," said Wendy Clark, the CEO of Coca-Cola. The real goal, of course, is the work. Emails are one means to that end, not the end itself. Clark said her approach to the email was…

Have you ever had a task to do that seemed big, unclear, or onerous and so you did everything else BUT that task and so completed many necessary tasks instead? It's called productive procrastination and you can leverage it deliberately. This is an idea from Frank Portnoy (Inc Magazine, Dec. 2013)…

Lack of clarity about the status of your projects and commitments is a source of stress and procrastination. Fortunately, you can eliminate both when you... Conduct a regular (if not weekly) review of your projects and commitments. Do yours before you take off this weekend so you're free to enjoy…

An hour-long meeting is expensive in terms of time and wages. An hour-long video meeting can be draining. Either way, hour-long meetings often leave attendees no time before their next meeting starts. Step outside the hour-long meeting default. Hold 15- and 30-minute meetings whenever possible. Start meetings at odd times,…

If you say "yes" to one thing, you automatically say "no" to something else. Taking on others' responsibilities means that you may put your own needs at risk. Saying "Yes, I'll do that" may mean you'll have to say "no" to sleep, exercise, time alone, or time with loved ones.…

It's easy to get overwhelmed with multiple versions of the same document. Which is the final "official" version? Created or Modified dates don't always tell the story. Moving the file among different platforms can render those dates meaningless anyway. What about files you need just for a few days and…