Minding the Gap in Mobile Workforce Productivity
May 2, 2012
By the year 2016 it is estimated that 43 percent of all US workers will work from home. That’s good news for the morning commute. But what about workplace productivity? Will we become even more isolated without all that watercooler chat?
Human beings are social animals. We need each other. So if it’s via Skype instead of via Starbucks at lunch, I’m wondering if we’ll build other types of home-based communities to fulfill that need. What about the National Association for the At-Home Worker? NAAHW! Or is that a ‘yes’?
Cisco’s stats speak for themselves. Enjoy!
The Mobile Workforce
Where Does All The Time Go?
April 19, 2012
The Bureau of Labor Statistics issues an annual report called the American Time Use Survey that relies on self-reporting from a pool of respondents as to where all their time goes.
Compared to 2007, we are now reading even less, watching more TV and playing more video games.
US Leisure Time 2007
And now? Although we have even more leisure time than ever, we read less and play video games more. What will do you do with your time?
US Leisure Time 2010
Top Five Time Wasters
January 10, 2012
If you’re like me, you like to start out the New Year with a great sense of purpose, vision and commitment. But somewhere along the way, we become, well, wayward, in our thinking and actions.
If you missed the 2012 Productivity Revolution Telesummit talk I gave on the Top Five Time Wasters, I’ll offer you them in a super tight nutshell.
#1 Multitasking
I’ve blogged about this ad naseum, but the truth is slow is faster and fast is merely exhausting.
#2 Bad data management
Information overload is a myth, according to Clay Shirky. What’s really going on is our lack of filters. Get them. Use them. Live by them!
#3 Lack of Tools & Techniques
By now you might be saying “Are you crazy? We’re more plugged in that ever. I need fewer tools, not more!” I’m not talking about dashing out to the nearest Apple Store for yet another gadget. Tabula rasa, baby. Not tablet. What we need is to use our tools more smartly. That includes turning them off. Or on less. It’s about gadget control, people.
#4 Unclear Prioritization
Ene, mene, mine, mo…ever started your Monday out like that? How far did you get? Use a chalkboard or whiteboard with magnetized cards that allow you to shift your priorities as they do. It’s empowering. And it works!
#5 Miscommunication
A biggie, especially around the holidays. Be clear in your communication. And remember to listen. Relationships are a give and take.
Have any others? I’m all ears!
PS You can still download the recordings to all the fabulous talks here!
Wednesday Wait a Minute Part 3
November 9, 2011
Is it Wednesday again? Well, you know what it’s time for, then! This week’s Wednesday Wait a Minute examines strategic speed and how going fast isn’t always, well, faster.
Top Ten Ways to Be More Productive
January 20, 2011
HuffPost’s Russell Bishop embraces the slow in his new book, Workarounds that Work. Baseline magazine did a nifty slide show (I just love their slide shows!) to illustrate the points below.
1. Tangible results come from setting clearly defined goals.
2. Prioritize. Ask yourself: Will this task make for my team or organization?
3. Examine how much time you spend working around things versus accomplishing them. Eliminate any beating around the bush.
4. Fix it, then move on. Complaining is a top time waster!
5. Those who seek to please are a time drain because they value everyone’s happiness over action. Avoid consensus seekers.
6. Don’t procrastinate. Approach undesirable tasks as you would a great workout. Remember how good you’ll feel when it’s over!
7. Only have meetings with those directly involved. Eliminate external voices that only add white noise to the conversation.
8. Focus during meetings ~ gadget-free!
9. Close your inbox. Email shouldn’t disrupt, but inform.
10. Read the latest email thread while eliminating the ‘repeats. Email begets email so don’t respond when no response is needed.
A man after my own slow heart!
Focus Fridays ~ Embrace your Inner Attila
July 16, 2010
Jurgen Wolff knows about alter egos. As a London-based screenwriter for TV and film, he assures you there is a place for creativity. But there is also a 
place for your technical thinking (such as when you’re pitching your show idea to a BlackBerry-thumbing T.V. producer with the attention span of a two-year-old).
He and I sat down for a chat about how to focus. In his book, Focus: Use the Power of Targeted Thinking to Get More Done, he reveals his alter ego strategy to assume the right personality for the job. Sound psychotic? It’s not. Listen here!
If you like what you hear, don’t forget to right-click, save, then place your Power of Slow badge of honor anywhere in your social media universe. We appreciate you spreading the word that slow is faster and that fast is merely exhausting! Make Way for Ducklings
July 7, 2010
Admittedly, I was zooming through town a tad too fast. Fueled by my excitment at landing a new PR account (based in the juicy slow land of Bullerbü ~yes, Sweden!), I almost overlooked a family of ducks walking pompously across the road. They didn’t waddle. No, no. They strutted in web-footed fashion. They weren’t eager to cross to the other side either. They walked like they owned the place.
It’s happened on that corner of the street before. I should have known they might be out for their daily country jaunt. Luckily, I slowed fast enough for them to carry out their mission undeterred.
The family of birds reminded me of a long-forgotten book I used to read to the kids when we lived in Boston: Make Way for Ducklings, a true story about a policeman who ushered a family of ducks across the street on a frequent basis. We can learn from stories and experiences such as these. Slowing our pace, despite our distraction about this or that, can bring us into present time, the only real time we have.
What will you do to make way for ducklings in our life today? Do tell!
Focus Fridays ~ Please Give Me 10!
July 2, 2010
Laura Brady Saade of GiveMe10.info shares her insights into living your dreams ten minutes at a time along with some cool slow tips for fostering creativity in our 24/7 world.
To listen to this week’s Focus Fridays podcast, click here for Laura!
If you like what you hear, don’t forget to right-click, save, then place your Power of Slow badge of honor anywhere in your social media universe. We appreciate you spreading the word that slow is faster and that fast is merely exhausting!
In The Power of Slow, I talk a lot about the importance of communication. Today I’d like to do two things: tell a story and offer advice.
The Story
I always know when my husband is less than interested in what I have to say. He literally turns on his heal to exit the room while I’m in mid-sentence. In his defense he rarely gets in a word edge-wise. I am a talker ~ and a passionate one at that. Sometimes his only method of ending the conversation is to physically remove himself from the premises. My husband is a pensive communicator. You ask him a question, and he pauses for a long time before answering. Sometimes he won’t even say a word of acknowledgement that he has heard you, which can be irritating for the individual who learned turn-taking in isochronous beats. But his body says, “I am thinking. Give me a minute. I’ll be back in a few with a thoughtful response.” His posture continues to communicate, even if his mouth has checked out altogether.
Body language speaks volumes, even if you don’t. Actors rely on body language to convey information on a few yards of celluloid. You can say a lot about a character just by the way she moves and how she peers out at the world.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. If you avert them while talking to someone, it signals to the other person that you do not trust them or that you have something to hide. In some cultures eye contact is considered rude. But where I come from, if you don’t offer the eyes, you won’t be offered the ear of the person you’re trying to reach.
The Advice
Skype is a great, free tool for eye contact communication (www.Skype.com). With a web cam, headset and Internet access, you can chat with people face-to-face, even if they reside half way across the world. A lot of times, people will look at the screen when they video-conference. When you do so, it appears you are not looking at your communication partner at all.
Slow tip: When engaging in a video conference, look into the camera, not at the screen.
It may feel odd at first because you aren’t actually looking at the person you are talking to. Occasionally, glance at the screen to reconnect with the person, but remember how it occurs to them: as if you are darting your eyes elsewhere.
The other great thing about Skype is it forces you to stay still. In our wireless, cordless, mobile world, we are often on the move. Skype harnesses you to one location, thereby slowing your pace, if only for a little while. If I were to Skype with my husband, he wouldn’t be able to leave the room as he does on occasion. To me that’s worth the price of a headset any day!
Can you bear some change?
January 28, 2010
It was a fruitless exercise, but I was already caught up in the ‘have tos’ and ‘gottas’.
You see there I was, standing at the bakery counter, digging through my purse for some loose change so I could keep my Euro whole that I planned to use later for the shopping cart at the next store (Europe uses coin-operated carts, not bag boys!). My face reddened through the embarrassment and effort, but I was bound and determined to give the woman exact change. She moved on to other customers as I dug some more, fussing over the silliness of it all.
When I finally gathered all the change I needed (which involved going to the car to look for errant pennines under the car mat ~ ridiculous, I know!), I smiled at the bakery clerk. She smiled back in a knowing way, as if she knew the feeling of being stuck in the should’s of life.
The irony? When I got to the car, I had two more coins in the central console that I could have used for the cart, if I had taken a slow moment to look. And when I got to the store, I grabbed a cart whose coin slot was in disrepair, allowing me to use it without the coin I so desperately tried to salvage.
It made me laugh. Some days we get stuck in how things should be. We carefully plan, align our actions with our intentions, and it ends up being a useless exercise.
I wonder what would have happened if I had cheerfully given the bakery clerk the extra change and left it up to God/the Universe to see me through to the next store with or without the proper coin. Most likely I would have saved an extra five minutes and enjoyed the flow that trusting the unknown brings.
Life offers lessons no matter where you are ~ oftentimes they come from the unlikeliest source!
