Productivity For Dummies E-Book

Ciara Conlon

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 578

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Take your productivity to the next level and make the most of your time!

Do you have too much to do and not enough time to do it? Don't we all! Productivity For Dummies shows you how to overcome this common problem by tackling key issues that are preventing you from remaining focused and making the most of your time. This insightful text gets to the root of the problem, and shows you how to identify and analyse the items on your to-do list to deliver on deadlines and maximise your schedule. Numerous techniques and technologies have been developed to address productivity needs, and this resource shows you which will work for your situation.

Productivity is crucial to your success - whether you want to find a new job, earn a promotion you've had your eye on, or generally progress in your career, understanding how to improve your productivity is essential in increasing the value you bring to your organisation. At the very least, increased productivity means that you get things done faster—which translates into fewer overtime hours and more time concentrating on the things that are most important to you.

• Eliminate procrastination and laziness from your daily routine
• Organise your work environment to create a space conducive to productivity
• Increase your concentration and stay focused on the task at hand
• Make decisions quickly, and stay cool, calm, and collected no matter what the situation is

Productivity For Dummies helps you solve the age-old problem of having too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Leseprobe

Productivity For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,www.wiley.com

This edition first published 2016

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956887

ISBN 978-1-119-09952-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-09954-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-09953-6 (ebk)

Productivity For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/productivity to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Cover

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Productivity

Chapter 1: What Is Productivity?

Understanding the Importance of Productivity

Checking Out Sources of Productivity

Discovering Why Productivity Matters to You

Moving Forward – Ready, Steady, Go

Chapter 2: Finding the Motivation to Change

Discovering Your Reasons to Change

Setting Goals to Get What You Want

Conquering the Obstacles

Chapter 3: The Benefits of Productivity

Finding the Personal Benefits of Productivity

Embracing Business Benefits

Harnessing Employee Benefits

Reaping Business Benefits

Nurturing Productivity with Happiness and Positivity

Part II: Getting Organised for Action

Chapter 4: Getting Organised

Clearing the Way

Living in an Organised Home

Getting Organised at the Office

Chapter 5: Embracing a Holistic Approach

Increasing Productivity with Exercise

Adopting Meditation and Mindfulness

Nourishing Your Body

Working with Your Energy Flow

Rising Early to Succeed

Chapter 6: Stress Management

Recognising the Signs of Stress

Identifying Possible Sources of Stress

Reducing Stress

Managing Work Stress

Reducing Employee Stress

Part III: Applying Productivity Techniques

Chapter 7: Learning to Focus

Identifying Your Focus

Focussing Like a Monk

Refocussing: What You Need to Stop Doing

Making New Habits for Focussing

Chapter 8: Avoiding Procrastination

Understanding Procrastination

Beating Procrastination

Discovering Good Procrastination

Chapter 9: Good Time Management

Keeping Track of It All

Prioritising

Managing Interruptions

Chapter 10: Getting Things Done (GTD)

Introducing the GTD Workflow

Understanding the Capture Tools

Knowing the Organising Tools

Checking Out the Core GTD Concepts

Reconnecting and Reflecting: The Weekly Review

Getting Familiar with GTD Tools

Chapter 11: Fur ther Productivity Techniques

The Pomodoro Technique

Slowing Down to Speed Up

‘Don’t Break the Chain’

Adopting New Habits

Personal Kanban

Part IV: Productivity at Work

Chapter 12: Getting Down to Business

Introducing the Productive Team

Running Productive Meetings

Discovering Paper Productivity

Streamlining to a Paperless Office

Chapter 13: Task Management

Introducing the Power of Lists

Saying Goodbye to the Traditional To-Do List

Introducing the Benefits of Task Management

Choosing Your Task Management App

Keeping Track of Your Time

Chapter 14: Calendar Management

Using Your Calendar to Get Things Done

Figuring Out How to Use Your Calendar

Chapter 15: Technology Management

Mastering Email Management

Staying Productive with Your Tablet

Staying in Control of Social Media

Managing Electronic Files

Chapter 16: The Productive Freelancer

Getting the Basics Right

Outsourcing Like a Pro

Building Your Virtual Team

Managing the Virtual Team

Part V: Personal Productivity

Chapter 17: Productivity at Home

Productivity for Parents

Focusing Your Attention on Work-Life Balance

Raising Productive Children

Organising the Home Office

Chapter 18: Creating a Clutter-Free World

Living a Life of Simplicity

Decluttering Your Home and Office

Maintaining the Order

Chapter 19: Productivity for Students

Taking and Storing Notes

Scheduling Your Time

Creating Good Habits

Getting the Budget Right

Networking Like a Pro

Checking Out Some Clever Tips for Clever Students

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Focus and Get More Done

Decluttering Your Life

Getting It Out of Your Head

Being Mindful Every Day

Redefining Your Goals and Priorities

Getting Some Fresh Air

Using the Pomodoro Technique

Listening to Music with Headphones

Unplugging from the Distractions

Exercising Every Day

Remembering to Breathe

Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Beat Procrastination

Scheduling the First Step

Getting Better Goals

Eating Frogs

Eating Elephants

Creating Positive Habits

Using the Ten-Minute Rule

Embracing Accountability

Learning to Delegate

Dealing with Lingering Tasks

Understanding When Procrastination Is Okay

Chapter 22: Ten Best Productivity Resources

Lifehack

Zen Habits

RescueTime

The Pomodoro Technique

SaneBox

‘The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business’ by Charles Duhigg

‘Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity’ by David Allen

‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferris

‘Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience’ by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi

‘Focus: The Art of Clear Thinking’ by Valerie Pierce

About the Author

Cheat Sheet

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

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Introduction

Ten years ago, the word productivity had no meaning for me. Apart from the fact I am the most naturally disorganized person I know, I had no inclination to make it any other way. I tended toward chaos, hence the title of my first book Chaos to Control. But having reached my early 30s with three boys to look after and very little achievement to speak about, the time had come for change.

I wasn’t clever enough to go out and seek ways to improve my cluttered and disorganized life; a chance meeting on a sunny day in South Africa was what changed the course of my life. I met productivity expert Gerrit Cloete of Productivity Pit Stop, who sparked my interest and guided me while I learned the things that were about to rock my world and my business for the next ten years.

About This Book

This book is about all the techniques, tools and behaviours that you can adopt to change your life. Most of them have been tried and tested by yours truly. Note that some of the resources I speak about are apps and websites, and although I aim to be as accurate and up-to-date as possible, new applications and software changes happen all the time.

This book is a comprehensive guide to how and why you should become more productive, more organized and more in control of your life. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent who wants better ways to organize your day, a senior manager who is responsible for a large team or a student who wants time to fit it all in while acing your tests, this book has something for you.

I’m regularly asked the question, ‘Who is your ideal client?’ The answer is anyone who lives and breathes. Everyone needs help fitting it all in and planning days with the right things, the things that make a difference. Who doesn’t need help with taking control of the digital world, the distractions, the interruptions and the information overload? We’re all given the same 168 hours each week, which is plenty of time for work, rest and play. If you want to find out how to live your life to the fullest and maximize the precious time you have, this book will help get you there. But please remember that this book won’t change your life unless you’re willing to implement some of the suggestions in it. Even if you try one new thing, it will have a positive impact on your productivity and your life.

Throughout the book, you’ll find sidebars (grey boxes) with extra bits of information or other stuff you may want to know. If you decide to skip these sections, you won’t miss any vital facts or information.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy – just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

As I wrote this book, I made a few assumptions about you, my readers:

You are a human being who struggles finding time to fit it all in.

You pine for a better work-life balance and need some practical strategies to make it work.

You know an easier way to do things exists, but you just haven’t figured it out.

You need to find time to be more creative, strategic or simply take on more work.

Icons Used in This Book

You’ll find a number of icons in the margins of this book. These icons highlight special types of information.

This icon highlights points that are especially important and worth committing to memory.

Watch out for the target, where you’ll find tips and tricks to help you become more productive.

The warning icon highlights potential pitfalls and things that you should avoid in order to stay in control.

This icon advises you to stop reading and try out the tip right now. Knowledge is no good unless you act on it. This icon encourages you to act now to reap the benefits sooner rather than later.

Beyond the Book

This book is chock-full of useful information to help you understand productivity and become more productive yourself. But you can find even more online! Head to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/productivity to find ways to be more productive at work, as well as other productivity boosters. You can also find various bonus articles related to increasing your productivity at www.dummies.com/extras/productivity.

Where to Go from Here

Nothing in this book is difficult to implement. It includes strategies and techniques for even the most skilled procrastinators among you. So get started, choose any chapter or begin from Chapter 1, take action and begin to enjoy a life of calm, organised control.

Part I

Getting Started with Productivity

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more and do more with For Dummies.

In this part …

Understand what productivity is and how being more productive can help you in all aspects of your life.

Find the motivation to change your bad habits that hinder productivity.

Discover all the benefits of productivity.

Chapter 1

What Is Productivity?

In This Chapter

Discovering exactly what productivity is

Recognising the different sources of productivity

Understanding why productivity matters

In basic terms, productivity is a measurement of how efficiently you can convert inputs into outputs. In manufacturing terms, it’s how many units of a good can be produced with a certain amount of raw materials and labour. In personal terms, it relates to how much work you can get done in the time allocated. But these definitions don’t come close to explaining what exactly productivity can do for you, your family or your business. In this chapter, I explain the value and contribution that productivity can make to your life.

Productivity is simply a method to get what you want out of life. It gives you the tools and techniques to not only get the work done but to also get it done while making time for the things you enjoy and value in life. No longer is it necessary to sell your soul to your employer, nor work incessantly to launch a start-up. Working productivity can emphasise your priorities and make sure they’re getting the attention they deserve while eliminating all the time-wasting stuff.