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How to Make Time for the Most Important Meal of the Day

By Calendar | Time Management | No Comments

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. People try something different, but the science keeps telling us breakfast is important.

We’ve all heard the advice before — “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” However, most of us laugh it off and do not take the notion seriously. And what about all of the intermittent fasting people? Is that a health fad that’s going to be a problem down the road for many people? So why would breakfast be more important than lunch or dinner?

Rush University Medical Center reports that the phrase actually stands true. Eating a healthy breakfast is an excellent start to your day. It can increase metabolism, improve your focus, and serve as a boost of vitamin and mineral intake. In addition, you’re less likely to be caught snacking throughout the day.

The Cleveland Clinic says that people who skip breakfast have a 55% higher chance of getting Type 2 diabetes. One reason you don’t want to skip breakfast is that eating a morning meal speeds up your metabolism, meaning you burn more calories throughout the day. So in other words, this means breakfast can actually keep you from gaining extra weight, provided you eat healthy meals.

Unfortunately, many adults say they skip breakfast simply because they can’t find the time in the mornings. However, you don’t need to have a fancy, sit-down breakfast every day. Even simple, on-the-go options can be nutritious.

So what can you do to make more time in the mornings for the most important meal of the day? Here are some tips to get the most out of your morning meal time.

1. Establish a morning routine.

Creating a morning routine is one of the most significant improvements you can make to your schedule. Adding some structure to the mornings can help you feel more rested, confident, and prepared for the day ahead. In fact, successful people are known to recommend a morning routine as a leading contributor to their success.

Start by figuring out the major tasks you need to complete in the early hours before work. Showering, getting dressed, and brushing your teeth should be priorities! If you like morning runs, make sure to configure that into your schedule.

Speaking of schedules, creating a to-do list for the mornings is a great way to keep yourself on task. You’re less likely to forget things or get distracted. Want a digital checklist? There is excellent scheduling software to choose from, and the ease of access will make you more likely to use it.

2. Meal prep is key.

Planning ahead is crucial if you want to maximize your time in the mornings. One way to do this is meal prepping. Sometimes it can be hard to wake up earlier to cook an excellent breakfast. But what if you didn’t have to get up extra early to have a nice meal?

Preparing your breakfast in advance can help with conserving your precious morning hours. You can prepare as much or as little ahead as you want. Depending on how much time you want to spend on cooking, you can choose to pre-cook elements of your meal. For example, you could cook bacon the night before and use it the next day in your omelet. Eggs are much faster to cook than bacon!

A great way to plan your morning meals ahead of time is to schedule your breakfasts. Decide what you will make on each day of the week. This way, you won’t have to decide in the mornings. As mentioned above, cook certain foods in advance so you can easily reheat them or incorporate them into more elaborate foods.

Meal prepping is also perfect for helping you eat healthier. You eat better when you’re not rushed in the mornings and grab your breakfast on the way out the door. Have you always wanted to make a fruit smoothie but never had the time? Make one the night before! Using fruits like bananas and strawberries are excellent sources of vitamins, and adding protein powder is perfect to keep you full and energized.

3. Go to bed earlier.

Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about when he said: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” But seriously, how can you expect to be ready to go in the mornings if you stay up past midnight?

Creating a healthy sleep schedule is necessary for waking up feeling refreshed. The Mayo Clinic says adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night. So make sure you’re treating your body right by getting enough hours.

What if you’re so used to going to sleep late? There are many tips out there to help your body adjust to an earlier bedtime. These could include using lavender essential oils or engaging in a relaxing activity, like listening to calming music.

Without proper sleep, you can’t expect to feel great naturally when you wake up. So get to bed earlier and make time for a yummy breakfast!

4. Use a slow cooker.

Slow cookers are fantastic tools for making low-effort yet delicious meals. They do all the cooking for you while you sit back and relax. Or, maybe while you’re at work. Most people use them for dinner, but why not use them for breakfast?

Most slow cooker recipes require the food to cook anywhere from four to eight hours, which means you can cook breakfast overnight. This takes time off your hands in the mornings. Instead of making your meal when you wake up, all you’ll need to do is dish up your plate!

There are many slow cooker breakfast recipes out there to try. From breakfast casseroles, to oatmeal, to cinnamon rolls, there’s bound to be something you’ll enjoy. Not to mention, slow cookers can be purchased at a relatively low price. This is a great way to schedule your meals while also freeing up more of your time in the morning.

5. Do all you can the night before.

Another way to give yourself more wiggle room in the A.M. is to prepare your tasks in advance. It’s like meal prepping, but instead, you’re prepping yourself!

Pick out your outfit the night before. Set out any products you use to groom yourself (deodorant, hairspray, etc.). Prepare any work-related items that you’ll need for the next day. For example, if you’re a teacher, this could mean printing out worksheets or grading papers.

In other words, organizing your home in ways that make it easier to grab what you need in the morning is an excellent idea. Knowing exactly where everything is and having things visually laid out means you’re less likely to forget something you need. Additionally, you’re less likely to feel rushed, and therefore stressed, while getting ready.

Don’t rush yourself.

Remember, scheduling your mornings to be more efficient means you should be taking away from your stress. Planning shouldn’t feel like a nightmare. Make things easier, not harder, on yourself. Try out different routines until you find one that feels best.

Make sure you’re scheduling time for a nutritious morning meal. Even if you prepare ahead of time, without a good schedule, there might not be time to sit down and eat. You don’t want to have to scarf down that delicious breakfast in the car without being able to enjoy it.

Most importantly, don’t rush in the mornings. This adds stress to your life, and you want to eliminate it as much as possible. Mornings shouldn’t have to be hectic. Make that to-do list. Scramble those eggs before bed to reheat in the morning. Schedule your time wisely. After all, the first step toward success is enjoying the day’s most important meal.

How to Make Time for the Most Important Meal of the Day was originally published on Calendar by Angela Ruth. Featured Image Credit: Photo by Daria Shevtsova; Pexels; Thank you!

The Key to a Strong Morning Routine Starts at Night

By Max Palmer | Time Management | No Comments

Not everyone is a morning person. There are many reasons why this might be the case. However, it shouldn’t become a scapegoat for a sorry attitude and lack of productivity each morning. We can all do a little more to make our mornings manageable.

Many so-called “morning people” have found success through daily routines. The routine gets them into a groove that makes starting each day simple and easy. Developing your own daily routine can help you become more of a morning person or at least less of a morning monster.

The important thing to note here is that a strong morning routine doesn’t begin with the sound of an alarm clock. If you want each morning to be successful, you need to start things off the right way the night before. Here are just some of the things you should be doing at night and why they can help you have a great morning.

Stop Staying Up

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” While you won’t wake up with a couple of extra IQ points this way, this saying bears a lot of truth. With a regular job, you can’t control when you have to wake up in the morning. What you do have control over is when you get to bed.

The average adult needs at least seven hours of sleep a night. If you’re constantly waking up at 6:30 in the morning, that means you should be sound asleep by 11:30 P.M. To accomplish that, you might need to be in bed with the lights out by 11. Your evening routine should accommodate that timeline.

Try to estimate how long your nightly routine will take. You shouldn’t begin winding down at the time you wish you were asleep; it should start much earlier. You can even time your desired nightly routine to ensure you’re ready for bed in time to get enough sleep.

Turn Off Your Devices

Putting your phone away at night takes a lot of self-control. Admittedly, scrolling through funny videos while lying in bed can be pretty enjoyable. But, unfortunately, late-night screen time can ruin your morning routine before it even begins.

For starters, you can easily get sucked into social media and stay up much later than you originally intended. The later you are awake, the fewer hours of sleep you get. The fewer hours of sleep you get, the harder it will be to wake up in the morning. Feeling grumpy and sluggish in the morning will push your routine all over the place.

The second reason being on your phone at night is terrible for you is because of the blue light. This light, emitted by electronic screens, has been linked to increased rates of attention and reaction times. This is all well and good during the day, but it can get you wired up at night. An extra attentive brain is not going to settle down easily.

Watch What You Eat

If you usually eat an early dinner, right before bed is when you’re going to feel a little snackish. This can be dangerous if not handled properly. Late-night snacking can be bad for your health and your sleep schedule, making it more challenging to begin the next day on the right foot.

Your body doesn’t process food as well while you’re sleeping. So instead of burning calories through regular activity, you’ll store more fat and gain weight more quickly. This can also disturb your circadian rhythm, which is the natural way your body falls asleep and wakes up each day.

What you consume is just as important as when you do. For example, drinking caffeine or alcohol late at night can make it difficult to fall asleep and get enough rest for the following day. Food with high sugar content can also cause some issues, even if they are delicious.

Some foods and beverages are actually suitable for consumption before bed. Cherries, for example, have natural melatonin. Likewise, a cup of tea before bed can help you to relax as long as it doesn’t also contain caffeine.

Plan Ahead

Have you ever lay awake in bed stressing over the events of tomorrow? Unfortunately, this exercise doesn’t usually end up being all that productive. Instead of repeatedly experiencing an existential crisis each night, you should incorporate some planning into your nightly routine. This will help you follow a consistent sleep schedule and set the stage for a solid morning routine.

There are quite a few things you can do at night that make mornings easier. You can pick your outfit for the next day and have it ready and waiting. Pack up anything you’ll need for school or work, so you don’t forget something important during a morning scramble.

You can also go over your schedule for the following day. Got a meeting planned for the first thing in the morning? Get it confirmed the evening prior. A simple confirmation can put your mind at ease and allow you to drift into slumber free from worry.

Fall Into a Routine

Keeping a consistent schedule is perhaps more critical than when you go to bed and wake up each day. Your body cannot adjust to a sporadic sleep schedule. You won’t feel as rested when you wake up at different times each day on varying hours of sleep.

This is an essential point for those who operate on schedules that stray from the norm. Those who work nights, for instance, can’t be expected to wake up at 6 A.M. when that’s the end of their shift. Instead, these individuals will benefit significantly from a consistent sleep schedule that fits their needs.

After a few days, you can start to adjust your own circadian rhythms. Even though you’re working through the night or following another irregular schedule, you can feel awake and refreshed every day. Routines can also help you quickly adjust to different time zones while traveling for business or leisure.

Work on Your Timing

There are plenty of beneficial activities. Sometimes the problem lies in the timing of it all. Moving some activities from night to morning, or vice versa is a small yet simple way to make a huge impact.

Exercise is a prime example. Getting proper daily exercise is vital for your health. However, exercise right before bed can pump your body with adrenaline, making it difficult to fall asleep. So switch that routine to the morning instead, and you’ll wake up your body for the day.

Evening exercise, on the other hand, may be the best of both worlds. It’s early enough that you still have time to calm down for nighttime. You’ll also burn some extra energy, so by the time bedtime actually rolls around; you’ll be sincerely tired. It’s all in the timing.

Consistency cannot be understated when it comes to any one of these takeaways. If you don’t stick with a plan for long, you won’t reap the benefits. Craft a strategy using this guide and plot your progress over a month. You should begin to see how evening and morning routines start to help you feel progressively better.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Maria Tyutina; Pexels; Thank you!

The Key to a Strong Morning Routine Starts at Night was originally published on Calendar.com by Max Palmer.

How to Make Remote Team Meetings Shorter and Better

By Hunter Meine | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

Virtual team meetings are essential for remote team collaboration and productivity: they serve as a venue for aligning on shared goals. And, yes — it’s a venue. The team needs to understand that this virtual meeting spot is your hangout, your space, your place, and your venue. This information tells them — we meet here; we belong here.

It doesn’t take much to undermine the magic when team meetings don’t work.

Meetings with no purpose or organization are not only a waste of time, but they also stifle employee productivity and irritate employees. It’s no surprise that many people find meetings inconvenient, boring, useless, and just too frequent.

Do you want your employees to feel that way about your meetings? You want your team to be happy, productive, and active in their work community.

So here we are, with some practical suggestions for doing shorter, more productive meetings while avoiding the common pitfalls of remote work. You want high performance.

1. Should we meet, or should we not meet?

Nobody likes to waste their time in ineffective meetings; therefore, first and foremost:

Consider if you really need a meeting or whether you can get the same outcome with a different approach.

Is it feasible to send an email or a short video message summarizing the significant points of your meeting?

Can you address your problem at the next meeting if your team has recurring sessions to address any changes or impediments?

Avoid the temptation to “invite everyone just in case” and instead focus on the most critical attendees to the meeting’s success.

2. Hold meetings that will benefit your whole team.

According to recent research, 42% of remote workers felt “more productive” after working uninterrupted for an extended period. Conversely, getting everyone in the exact virtual location without disturbing production might be challenging, especially if you’re working with a remote team that spans many time zones.

Before agreeing on a time for your meeting, check calendars to see what people’s working hours are.

Instead of spreading meetings throughout the day, consider grouping them together to create large windows of uninterrupted work time.

Avoid scheduling a lot of emergencies or unexpected meetings since they may cause an employee’s regular workday to crash.

Encourage members of your team to keep track of their own schedules.

As a consequence, meeting planners will have a better understanding of the best days and times for everyone.

3. Make a thorough team meeting strategy.

Setting a clear agenda for each virtual meeting that includes the following things is critical:

In addition, there is a time restriction for each component and crucial talking points.

Attendants

Each team member participates in the meeting according to your expectations.

Any relevant documents

Aside from questions and answers or debate,

Set a meeting time limit and stick to it — you want your meetings to be as productive as possible!

Everyone can prepare if the plan is shared ahead of time.

4. Keep everyone’s attention.

All of the components we’ve described are necessary for a virtual meeting to take place.

But now comes the tricky part: keeping the team engaged throughout the meeting.

You have to work twice as hard to produce realistic, in-person conversations in a virtual environment since you don’t have all of them in an office setting.

Spend a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting checking in with everyone, keeping up with what is happening, or just discussing the most recent series everyone is talking about.

This will strengthen your team’s culture while also fostering an open and welcoming atmosphere.

Also, remember that remote collaboration may be more difficult or stressful than face-to-face collaboration.

According to studies, Microsoft observed that brainwave indications associated with overwork and stress are much higher in video meetings than in non-meeting work.

In a virtual conference, participants must maintain regular eye contact with the screen to extract essential information and stay engaged. Unfortunately, there are few nonverbal cues to assist them in reading the room or knowing when it’s their turn to speak.

To keep your team’s attention and ensure that everyone on the team has a role, try to break up long meetings with little breaks every thirty minutes.

Passive listeners are prone to be bored or distracted, but giving them a role may help them feel like they’re a part of the action.

Who will be taking notes, for example?

Who is in charge of the follow-up?

5. Have a specific team meeting aim in mind before you leave.

Never leave a meeting without clearly conveying your intention and verifying that your meeting objectives were satisfied.

Everyone should walk away from a meeting knowing all there is to know on the following topics:

What are your plans for the future?
Who is responsible for each task?
When is each assignment due?
When will the next meeting be held?

Finally, keep track of your peeps after the meeting so that everyone on your team knows who is working on what and how it is developing.

And — really (bosses) — think about butting out of the meeting at the end and let your virtual team and your office team have a few minutes to chat together — without you sitting there observing.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Artem Podrez; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Make Remote Team Meetings Shorter and Better was originally published on Calendar by Hunter Meine.

Practicing Purposeful Productivity

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

Would you like to be more productive? Of course, you want to be more productive! But we want to find a better way to be more productive — and that’s called Purposeful Productivity, and likely why you’re currently reading this article.

Sure. You can devour the countless books and hacks out there that promise you’ll be more productive — we all do — and these are pretty helpful and motivational. However, even the best productivity advice won’t matter if you don’t know your purpose. As Rachel Hollis ideally put it, “Productivity is not time management, it’s purpose management.”

But, how can you practice purposeful productivity? Well, here are some tips to get you on your way.

Know Your Values

“As humans, we are most fulfilled when we enact our values,” notes Mei Burgin, Vice President of Professional Services at Opus One Solutions from GE Digital. “Weeks and months fly by, and you may feel like you haven’t accomplished anything meaningful.” Learning what drives you can help you spend your time more productively.

At the same time, everyone has their own set of values. For Mei, her top values are:

Positive Attitude
Connecting & Bonding
Concern for Others
Forward Action
Personal Growth/Learning
Courage
Discovery
Truth
Joy
Fulfillment

You might find it helpful to reflect on a few activities or experiences in your life (both personal and professional) that have provided you with high or low energy.

Questions for reflection:

Which aspects were high (or low)?
What values were reflected in this experience?
Describe the experience you had and how your choices or actions contributed to it.
During this experience, what were you truly seeking?

You can make critical decisions in life and your career more effectively if you know what drives you and what drives your values.

Identify Your MVPs (Most Value Priorities)

Prioritizing tasks is the cornerstone to becoming more purposeful and productive. At the same time, this varies from person to person based on factors like values and goals. Regardless, prioritizing boils down to being able to distinguish between important and urgent tasks.

However, according to experts, the most important tasks are not the most critical. ‌‌Despite this, we are prone to prioritizing urgent tasks.

You can use the Covey Time Management Matrix if you struggle to identify your priorities.

Using this framework, you can organize your tasks and achieve maximum productivity. ‌‌This model was devised by Steven Covey, the author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” and popularized by Dwight Eisenhower. By categorizing your tasks, responsibilities, and life in this way, you can organize your life accordingly:

Urgency. Tasks or responsibilities that require immediate attention.
Importance. ‌‌High-priority, worthwhile goals.

There are four quadrants, each with a distinct property, that you can use to prioritize your tasks and responsibilities. ‌‌The four quadrants are as follows:

First Quadrant: Urgent and important
Second Quadrant: Not urgent but important
Third Quadrant: Urgent but not important
Fourth Quadrant: Not urgent and not important

Despite urgent and vital tasks needing to be completed, Covey recommends spending less time on things that are not as important. You will be less likely to get distracted by urgent tasks when you focus on these essential activities.

Creating a “to-do” list, whether on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, is a great way to prioritize. ‌‌Just be sure not to overdo it with the list-making. ‌‌You should list manageable tasks rather than long-term goals or multi-step plans. ‌‌Put your “to-do” list on your calendar and rank it by priority.

Whenever your priorities change, reevaluate your list and delegate things that no longer need to be done.

Rethink Your To-Do-List

“Time is precious, and you should value how you spend it,” Katrina Ruth, founder and CEO of “The Katrina Ruth Show,” writes in Entrepreneur. “If you don’t decide what matters in advance, you’ll spend it all doing things that aren’t moving you forward.”

“I constantly outline my goals and dreams in a document called ‘Creating the life I want,’” adds Ruth. “I make sure I set those goals for myself (not others), identify the actions that will get me there, and schedule them each week.”

Next year, picture yourself living a purposeful life. Is today’s to-do list essential? Does that explain how you arrived there? Then, decide if you want to delete, do, or delegate the items on your list, Ruth suggests. “Sometimes it’s worth paying someone else to do things so that you can focus on what really matters: the tasks that will get you where you want to go if you do them every day.”

Conduct a Time Audit

“For the next couple of weeks, keep a time log,” recommends Abby Miller in a previous Calendar article. This doesn’t require too much thought. Make a note of how you spend your time using a pen and notebook.

Let’s say that you commute daily to work. Jot down the length and how you spend that time. If you take public transportation, do you respond to emails or kill some time scrolling through social media?

By tracking your time, you’ll be able to realistically block out time and avoid overestimating or underestimating how long something takes. You’ll also be able to pinpoint interruptions, meet deadlines, and determine your biological prime time.

“It also allows you to see where you’re wasting,” Abby adds. “For example, you spend downtime, like on your commute or when waiting for an appointment, catching up on the latest Twitter feud or whether or not Spider-Man will appear in the MCU again.” You could have instead cleaned out your inbox, read a book, or prepared for the day ahead.

Aside from the good ol’ pen and paper method, there are several electronic time-tracking programs such as Toggl, RescueTime, and Timely.

Work in Sprints

“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding about how human beings operate at their best,” says Tony Schwartz, author of the best-seller Be Excellent at Anything. “Most of us mistakenly assume we’re meant to run like computers—at high speeds, continuously, for long periods, running multiple programs simultaneously.”

This isn’t true at all. Instead, we are designed to be rhythmic creatures.

“The heart pulses; muscles contract and relax,” Schwartz explains. “We’re at our best when we’re moving rhythmically between spending energy and renewing it.”

Athletes, who balance work and rest, provide valuable insight into this. “We encourage people to work intensely for 90 minutes and then take a break to recover,” he adds. We also suggest eating small, energy-dense meals every few hours rather than three big meals a day.

“We believe napping drives productivity, although that remains a tough sell in most companies,” Schwartz adds. “Still, the reality is that if a person works continuously all through the day, she’ll produce less than a person of equal talent who works intensely for short periods and then recovers before working intensely again.”

Adopt a Single-Tasking Strategy

According to research, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.” Therefore, multitasking is one of the most detrimental habits to productivity. It’s primarily because constant task-switching encourages bad brain habits.

But why do we constantly do this to ourselves? Our reward hormone, dopamine, is released when we accomplish even the most mundane task. Since we love that dopamine, our brains encourage us to switch between small mini-tasks that give us instant satisfaction.

Doing this creates a feedback loop that makes us feel like we are accomplishing a lot. But, when in fact, we aren’t. Thankfully, there is a simple way to break this multitasking addiction. First, concentrate on one task at a time. Then, you should only move on to the next task after you’ve completed the previous one.

Additionally, single-tasking motivates you to pay attention to your priorities and reduces stress.

Do Things More Masterfully

Here are a few other hints I’ve found useful, by Andy Springer, in Entrepreneur Magazine — 36 Insanely Useful Productivity Hacks.

“Essentially, this step is about going from what’s called ‘Unconscious Incompetence’ to something called ‘Unconscious Competence,’” states Michelle McClintock, aka the Mindset Mentor.

“In short, that means we go from not knowing how little we know about something to knowing it so well that we don’t even have to think about doing it skillfully,” explains McClintock

“For me, this started when I decided productivity was sexy and that mastering it could change my life,” she adds. “Someone challenged me to believe that my happiness, fulfillment, and success depended on it, just as I am doing with you right now…”

As a result, McClintock began to take it seriously. Her goal was to excel at being truly productive by learning everything she could. “By no means have I mastered productivity, but I’m getting better at it all the time — and if I can, then so can you!”

As you figure this out, you will have to make some sacrifices up front. But that effort will save you so much time in the long run.

Among the ways McClintock is becoming more masterful are:

Spending 45 minutes focused on “deep work.”
Setting a Pomodoro timer for focused sessions.
Limiting all distractions when working.
Take regular mini-breaks.
Getting more sleep.
Practicing meditation more often.
Exercising.
During breaks, McClintock likes to watch comedy.

“All these things are science-backed ways to get more done and still maintain energy, focus, and joy,” she says.

Find Your Ikigai

Ikigai, or the reason behind being, is a Japanese concept. If you’re a Simon Sinek fan, your reason is your “why.”

In Japanese culture, everyone has an ikigai. To find out what that is for you, you just have to determine what it is. You might think that’s impossible if you’re in a rut. However, the process is relatively straightforward. A person’s passion, mission, vocation, and profession are the four primary elements of ikigai.

To get started, take a piece of paper and draw four circles. Your first circle should be devoted to what you love. The second circle is where you would record your strengths. Put your beliefs into the third circle. Finally, in the fourth circle, discuss your methods of getting paid – or how you might get paid.

What overlaps in the center is what keeps you awake in the morning. Keep that in mind as you make a productivity plan.

Before Saying “Yes,” Pause

When you pause for a moment, you have the opportunity to assess what is happening by asking questions like;

Would you consider this a request? Is it just a suggestion?
What’s the cost of saying “yes.”
Is this going to help me achieve my goals or serve my mission?
Should I make this a priority?
Is there an alternative? For example, instead of meeting, a quick Slack chat.

When you practice this, you usually calm your anxious thoughts and prevent yourself from trying to please everyone. But, more importantly, it prevents you from overcommitting and wasting any valuable time.

Leave Some Gaps in Your Calendar

People believe that keeping a zero-based calendar will make them more productive. I can see why that makes sense. When your calendar is booked, you know exactly where and how you’ll spend your time. In addition, it makes saying no easier. There’s nothing you can do if you’re not available except decline the request – or suggest another time.

However, life does not always go as planned. Therefore, you should leave some room on your calendar for blank spaces.

Let’s say you leave 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. open. This block can then be used to put out fires if they occur. Additionally, you can get ahead of your list if you do not need to be a firefighter. If you want to take a break, you can do so as well.

Be a Quitter

Do you think that high performers are the types of individuals who never quit? That’s not true. Winners do quit all the time, says Seth Godin. “They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”

Quitting strategically means saying no to things you shouldn’t do — or don’t want to do. This could be anything from takes that could be automated, pointless meetings, or nasty habits like procrastination. It also involves delegating tasks more efficiently and cost-effectively to others.

Schedule Daily Check-Ins

By checking in with yourself each day, you will be able to find out how you are doing. Here, you can sort through your emotions, assess your physical and emotional needs, and make an intentional plan for addressing them.

Moreover, you can reflect on the day to see what you accomplished and what you didn’t. As a result, this encourages you to repeat positive behavior and make the appropriate adjustments moving forward.

Image Credit: Cottonbro; Pexels; Thank you!

Practicing Purposeful Productivity was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton.

How to Run Appointments Effectively and Efficiently

By Gunjan Saini | Appointment, Time Management | No Comments

Appointments are inevitable. Whether it’s to get the oil changed in your car or get a cavity looked at, everyone is going to end up with an appointment or two on their calendar. While many services require an appointment, that doesn’t mean people enjoy spending all day in one.

If you’re operating an appointment-based business, it’s vital that you learn to respect your customers’ time. You should have two underlying goals in mind. Your appointments should be efficient, getting customers in and out as quickly as possible. On top of that, your appointments should be effective. The decreased duration shouldn’t come at the price of quality.

So how does one accomplish this feat? A lot will depend on the operations that are specific to your business. However, there are a few universal tips and tricks you can implement to make some improvements. Consider the following:

Enable Self-Scheduling

Appointments don’t necessarily start at your place of business. An appointment begins as soon as a customer starts the booking process. Traditionally, this involves calling a representative and listening to the available options over the phone. There’s a much easier and more efficient way of doing this in 2022.

All you have to do is enable self-scheduling. Put a calendar up on your website that shows which appointment slots are available for the coming weeks. All a prospective client has to do is click on the availability they want and reserve it for themselves.

This helps appointments run more smoothly in two ways. First, the initial booking process takes a lot less time by cutting out the middleman. Second, the middleman doesn’t have to be on the phone so often. They are now free to help move things along at your place of business instead of being tied to a phone line.

Start Check-In Early

The sooner you can get an appointment going, the quicker you can get it completed. Customers don’t want to spend all day at an appointment, and you want to service as many clients as possible. You can speed up the entire process by starting the check-in process early.

Try to accomplish as much as possible before a customer even arrives at your front desk. You can have customers fill out an online questionnaire for information pertinent to an upcoming appointment. Store that information in a customer portal, and check-ins will continue to speed up.

Part of appointment booking can overlap with check-in necessities. You can include some questions in your booking process that can check off some of the boxes required for check-in. Even a single piece of information can help get the ball rolling.

Invest in Employees

You can get a lot of mileage out of your business simply by investing in your employees. In particular, you should consider buying into training programs that can help your workers become more efficient. If your team is running efficiently, so will your appointments.

Training time should always be on your dollar. Provide all of the necessary resources to your employees and compensate them for the time they spend in training. This way they will be able to focus on training properly and apply it to their role immediately.

You should also invest in the mental and emotional wellbeing of your employees. Happy workers tend to work harder. Help them achieve a proper work-life balance and provide adequate working conditions for them. You should see key appointment metrics rise just by doing that alone.

Use Appointment Software

A lot of inefficiencies come from operator errors. A secretary can write down the wrong time for an appointment by accident, or a customer can accidentally book two appointments when they only needed one. While small, these errors can derail an entire day of appointments if left unchecked. You can avoid common mishaps by using appointment software.

Online appointment software takes care of so many factors. This is the type of program that will make self check-ins and self-scheduling not only possible, but simple and easy. Many appointment software programs are also customizable. You can pick the features and layouts that best fit your needs.

When you try online appointment software for the first time, you’ll have a harder time finding a need that isn’t filled. You can set up online payments, send custom reminders, and explore integrations. These tools will have your appointments running more effectively and efficiently than ever.

Ask yourself how you would like an appointment to be run if you were the customer. It could be as simple as wanting online booking. Perhaps businesses that do have online booking have check-in processes that are way too long. Whatever it is that you think works best, those are the aspects you should apply to your own business. Your customers will thank you for it.

Image Credit: Pavel Danilyuk; Pexels; Thanks!

Meetings Should Be Run Effectively To Be A Successful Leader

By Hunter Meine | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

Leadership is shown in a variety of ways and locations. But, the most visible day-to-day expression is frequently how leaders conduct meetings.

The criteria for leadership may not be fair and maybe unduly simple, but the fact remains that excellent leaders conduct good meetings and terrible leaders have awful meetings. Period. It all boils down to who controls your schedule?

While they are not the same, leadership and management are strongly related. Meetings tend to be more about control than leadership, but management and leadership are tightly correlated. Both jobs are complicated and include much more than just gatherings, to be sure.

Most of a leader’s responsibilities occur behind closed doors, away from the confines of a conference room. So when asked whether a manager is an effective leader, it’s not unusual for the reply to take a few moments. But do you consider how that individual conducts meetings in the first place?

Meeting Leader and the Questions to Ask in Advance

Is the meeting leader someone who can organize a productive and efficient meeting? Are they able to keep a meeting interesting? Are the appropriate individuals in attendance? Do folks feel like they have a voice in the meeting? Do they take part in the game? Are you able to complete the agenda? Are you respecting the time of attendees? Is the meeting scheduled to begin and conclude on time? Is the group capable of generating ground-breaking concepts? Did you consider a healthy exchange of ideas and debate? Can the group come to terms with the leader’s efforts and reach a consensus? Is action taken, or are choices made due to the discussion?

The higher one’s position in an organizational structure, the more people are likely to add the meeting to their schedule. So, for example, someone working in the mailroom often has fewer meetings than a mid-level manager. But the CEO, on the other hand, will have more meeting needs than executives higher in the organizational hierarchy. It is what leadership sometimes refers to as their pound of flesh.

Indeed, according to some estimates, managers and executives spend anywhere from a quarter to a half of their time in meetings. Moreover, even at meetings, they are absent from other arrangements because they have been double- or triple-done

Is there an excessive number of meetings taking place inside organizations? Is it possible to limit the number of meetings? Should individuals attend fewer meetings than they now do? Yes, this is true virtually universally across all industries.

There will, however, be meetings as long as organizations can’t find ways to opt-out of them. And they will be led by managers and leaders who employees will evaluate based on how well they conduct themselves in meetings — or let’s get real — the “meeting evaluation” is really about how much power or authority that leader has over the employee.

More Productive Meetings

So, do you advocate for more productive meetings or more excellent skills? The most straightforward argument is to add up the number of hours spent — or squandered for any given task. And, depending on the situation — how much time is spent in meetings and multiply that total by the hourly cost per employee.

Adding together all of these figures always gives astonishing results. Each company may squander millions of dollars each company, and maybe billions of dollars are spent in aggregate. To no one’s surprise, unproductive meetings are one of the most significant sources of time, money, and productivity loss inside businesses. Furthermore, a less apparent but possibly essential indicator to consider is the decline in morale resulting from attending poor meeting sessions.

Although the loss or decline in morale is somewhat perplexing, new managers (let alone experienced ones) receive little training on conducting good meetings. To be sure, this is a symptom of a bigger problem. Leaders promote individuals into new positions without obtaining enough training for the new work in question.

If managers are fortunate enough to get a short training session on the necessity of drafting agendas, that would be lucky. And that’s all; now go out into the world and manage your team, and best of luck.

Significance of Leader Training to Conduct Meetings

Consider the enormous significance of meetings. In terms of time, money, and morale, a close look is warranted, especially when considering the beneficial impact that even basic training can have on employees and leaders. Indeed, businesses should prioritize teaching managers effective meeting management techniques.

What are the long-term benefits of managers being responsible for leading meetings for hours weekly, year after year? What if each event is 30 or 50 percent less productive than the last? That high percentage may seem like negative thinking — but consider how many managers are out there without formal training.

Various other skills are essential to other professions, and learning to conduct meetings and bring value to the table is a learned skill. Up-skilling for this job saves time, effort, and money. Considering that bookkeeping and code writing are carefully cultivated and developed through many years of education and training, you can see it makes more sense that managers shouldn’t be left to fend for themselves. This is true with all critical aspects of their jobs, including meetings.

As for managers, whether new or with experience, if your firm does not train for meeting skills, your company’s investment in top management and leader may not return the benefits you are hoping for.

Image Credit: Elevate Digital; Pexels; Thanks!

Meetings Should Be Run Effectively To Be A Successful Leader was originally published on Calendar by Hunter Meine.

Entrepreneurship Takes Balancing Your Work, Life, and Parenting

By John Rampton | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

For most of us, there’s nothing more meaningful than family and business in life. But, unfortunately, both require a lot from a person. And as a result, it can be challenging to balance them.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t come with a manual for being a working parent. And this is especially true for “parentrepreneurs.”

As an entrepreneur, you’re primarily focused on venturing into new opportunities, drafting working strategies, and achieving results. The reasons you do this are self-improvement, portfolio expansion, and monetary gain.

Adding family to the mix can make things a bit tricky. Since now you’re also responsible for your family, your work rate and results must improve. In addition, as your business grows, you’ll have to divide and share your attention between it and your expanding obligations. Understandably, this can be tough.

The good news? No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial and family journey, there are ways to balance your work, life, and parenting.

1. Develop a routine.

The importance of spending time together with family cannot be overstated. But, if our precious time is wasted, we can feel stressed, frustrated, and burned out. That’s why it’s vital for parent entrepreneurs to be mindful of their time management. And implementing a daily routine that fits your family’s and business’s needs can do just that. Why? Because this provides structure.

In addition to keeping you organized and productive, a routine makes your day more predictable, which saves you time and energy. For both business and personal tasks, assign a specific amount of time, and embrace flexibility because things may not go as planned.

Among the helpful routines you can implement immediately are:

First, prepare your to-do list each night for the next day.
Check and respond to emails at a set time each day. As an example, at 9 am and 6 pm.
Finally, get your meal prep on.
Work around your children’s schedules. For instance, set your working hours when they’re in school.

2. Set priorities.

Lola Wright, founder of LolaWright.com and coach at LolaWright.com, says most people overcommit to their priorities. Eventually, feelings of inadequacy can be associated with this overcommitment.

“Know what your true priorities are, and don’t compromise on them,” Wright said. “This is the most important thing you can do for yourself, your business, and your family.”

What’s more, any project that is not your top priority should be delegated.

“Outsource the low-priority work to somebody who has that time to spend helping you with a business,” said William Gaunitz, certified trichologist and founder of Advanced Trichology.

In addition, Cheri Reid, owner, and operator of Huntington Learning Center in Skokie, Illinois, said there would be times when your attention will be split between your business and your family.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Reid added. “Priorities will ebb and flow.”

3. Live by your calendar.

“If it doesn’t exist on my calendar, it’s not real,” said Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec. Sound advice. The question is, though, what should be included in your calendar?

In my calendar, I reserve time for networking, learning, and relaxing, as well as date-specific appointments. However, I schedule my obligations before all of that. These include vacations, school functions, and doctor’s appointments.

“Plan as much as you can a year in advance and stick to it,” suggested Herjavec. For him, that means booking his calendar a year in advance. To do that, he sat down with their school counselor and assistant and went over “each” holiday and event they had off.

“Because of that, I never missed a swim meet. I never missed a school play. I never missed anything,” Herjavec said. “I’d fly from L.A. back to Toronto to be with my kids for one day. That’s the great thing about having your own business — the freedom to control your schedule and do what you want with it.”

Of course, not everyone has a chance to personally meet with their kid’s teachers, counselors, or coaches. However, even without a year’s notice, you still have plenty of time to add key dates to your calendar. Examples could be the first day of school or when they have games or recitals. Your kids may even have their own digital calendar. If so, sync their calendar with yours to prevent calendar conflicts.

4. Establish boundaries and follow through on your commitments.

Get into the habit of putting clear time limits in place. That means defining when you are available and when you are not available is what you do in this section. You can also teach your children this valuable lesson.

Unless it’s an emergency, no one should disturb you when you are unavailable. This is your time to focus on your business.

On the flip side, being available to your children, however, means being fully present for them without any distractions. The only thing that matters here is you and them. Everything else can wait.

5. Don’t go it alone.

Starting a business requires a village — just as raising a child does. After all, business success is never the result of one person working alone. I mean, for every Steve Jobs, there’s a Steve Wozniak beside them.

The reason? You literally can’t do everything on your own. Whether that’s because of time restraints or the skills, you don’t possess. As a parent, that’s doubly true.

Despite this, learning to let go of control is one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs. Even though delegating tasks to someone else may be necessary, it can feel uncomfortable when you build your startup from scratch.

You might want to consider hiring a virtual assistant to handle mundane tasks in your business. Depending on your needs, they can be very affordable. And, as your business grows, you’ll have more team members to help lighten your workload.

You’ll spend more time with your family if you delegate more and work less. As a result, you can focus more on taking your business to the next level and the bigger picture.

The same holds true for home life: you can’t do everything. As a family, that means planning and managing time efficiently and building supportive relationships. So, let’s say that you’re working from home, but need a couple of hours to focus on work. Ask a parent, sibling, or neighbor if they can watch the kids. Or, maybe find someone through sites like Care.com or Sittercity.

6. Before you enter the door, stop.

“Parentprenuers need to get ready to be a parent before they open their front doors and walk inside,” says Leila Bulling Towne, The Bulling Towne Group, LLC. “Sure, you can turn off your phone and put away your laptop, yet changing your mindset is key.”

Once you cross the threshold, the role of entrepreneur changes when you become a parent, adds Leila. Make sure you put away your work baggage before dinner and before bedtime so you can be fully present.

7. Bring your family along on the journey.

Obviously, you cannot hire your children full-time. You could, however, ask your children for help after school or when they’re home on in-service days. If the kids aren’t around, maybe you should delegate some tasks to your partner.

As well as giving you more family time, this teaches your children values that will make them stand out. Responsibility, teamwork, and problem-solving are all part of these skills.

In the past few years, I have followed Sherrie Campbell, a psychologist specializing in raising children. Campbell’s advice is straightforward and easy to understand. As Sherrie suggests, we can teach children about life to be successful by teaching them these seven values. As far as children are concerned, we all need actionable, doable information.

8. You can compromise, but not on self-care.

It does not matter whether you start a business or have a baby, your sleep schedule will be disrupted, and your hobbies will be neglected. Identify the areas you are not willing to cut out of your routine and determine how much you can compromise.

It’s essential to draw a clear line when it comes to moments of particular significance. The simple things, such as tucking your children into bed, reading a story, or watching a recital or basketball game, cannot be replaced. At the same time, it’s also essential to take care of yourself, whether by running every night or relaxing with a few minutes of meditation. As such, you should block out time in your calendar for self-care like you would for a dentist or investor appointment.

9. Disconnect during family time.

“There’s no experience that can compare to bonding with your kids,” states Choncé Maddox. “However, family time becomes less enjoyable when you or your spouse are glued to your work while everyone is trying to spend quality time together.”

“I know it can be tempting to check your email when you’re watching a family movie,” Choncé adds. “Trust me when I say that they’ll notice how connected you are to your devices rather than them.”

Children pick up on everything, even when they are small. “When my son has basketball practice, I’ve felt tempted to bring my laptop and catch up on work,” she continues. “However, sometimes I’ve noticed he looks over at me to see if I’m watching him, especially when he makes a shot.”

“That made me realize that I didn’t want him to remember mom always on her laptop or phone.” As a result, I work very efficiently during my time so that I can disconnect when needed.

10. It’s okay to accept what can’t be changed.

Whether raising kids or running a business, it’s never easy. They’re probably both of your biggest challenges in life.

There’s always a fine line between finding the right balance between both on even a “regular” day. Moreover, that doesn’t account for extenuating circumstances such as a sick child or workplace disaster.

In both areas, learning to take setbacks in stride is key.

It’s common for entrepreneurs who raise families to feel like they’ve failed at both due to stress, falling prey to the games their brains play when things get tough.

Even for ambitious overachievers, admitting family involvement is hard, but letting go of perfection is crucial. In short, there is no perfect parent, just as there is no perfect entrepreneur.

Certainly, crises will arise, and there may be times when you don’t feel you’re doing your best. However, looking at things from a broader perspective will show you that you aren’t actually in that bad of a shape.

In life, stumbles are inevitable. And once you accept that fact, you can focus on what matters most, whether it is playing with your kids or thinking of your next product.

Image Credit: Anastasia Shuraeva; Pexels; Thank you!

Entrepreneurship Takes Balancing Your Work, Life, and Parenting was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton.

4 Time Management Tips From Top Business Leaders

By Gunjan Saini | Time Management | No Comments

No matter who you are, time management will always be a significant factor in your success. Life is busy, and when tasks pile up, it can be difficult to make sure they’re done well and done on time.

So whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or a team leader, mastering time management skills will pay you back in spades. If you’re looking for ways to do that, you’re in luck. Many top business leaders have shared their time management wisdom with the world. Here are some of their best tips.

1. Tony Robbins on The Purpose Behind It All

Tony Robbins is an American philanthropist and motivational speaker who has helped millions of people get their lives on track. And time management is a huge aspect of that. After all, if you can’t lead yourself, how can you effectively lead others?

Robbins says, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.” According to Robbins, the outcome of one’s effort is in relationship with the direction of one’s focus. A lack of focus, or concentration of power, leads to scattered and often disappointing results.

To find your focus again, brainstorm a list of your five most important values and desired outcomes. Once your goals are clear, focus all your efforts on achieving them. Evaluate every action by asking, “Is this bringing me closer to my goals or taking me further away from them?”

With your mind focused on your objectives, you’ll be able to view each part of your work as taking steps. These steps can move you forward or backward — the choice is yours.

2. John Rampton on Smart Schedules

Scheduling may seem like an obvious element of productive time management, and that’s because it is! But because it’s so obvious, it’s easy to forget how powerful it can be. Basic scheduling is a fundamentally effective way to break up your day into contained and easily identifiable chucks. Checking off the to-do list of your schedule psychologically rewards and subsequently motivates your brain.

Serial entrepreneur John Rampton takes scheduling to the next level. One of his greatest recommendations is to schedule time for distractions. It may seem counterintuitive at first, but it actually increases the robustness of your schedule and, thus, your output. Why?

Imagine a co-worker comes to you asking for help with something. Suddenly, you’ve got to take the time and energy to weigh your priorities. If you decide to help them, then you’ve lost focus and productivity on your own project.

Now imagine you’ve blocked time out of your day for distractions. You can immediately tell your co-worker that you’d love to help and can do so during that chunk of time.

Schedule your day wisely, and you’ll be able to keep up personal productivity while still flexing for unexpected surprises.

3. James Clear on the Power of Environment

We often believe ourselves to be in control of our habits. But habit-formation expert James Clear asserts that much of our decision-making is a product of our environment. In Clear’s view, “Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.” This may be a tough pill to swallow at first, as it makes the human condition appear slightly frail. However, it also means that you can use the power of your environment to your advantage.

All offices are products of environmental design. And now that many people use their homes as their offices, it’s important to channel similar design values. Just like scheduling time for distractions, it’s important to design space for them, too. Or more accurately, it’s important to design your workspace such that it’s relatively free of them. So locate the TV elsewhere, choose a space with a door, and use noise-canceling headphones if necessary.

By eliminating distractions from your workspace, you program your mind to associate your workspace with, well, work. If your environment naturally encourages you to focus on your tasks, the hours you spend working will be more productive.

4. Tim Ferriss on Getting More Out Of Your Work

Life-hacker and work guru Tim Ferriss achieved his initial fame from his 2007 breakout book “The 4-Hour Work Week.” Since then, he’s gone on to help millions of people optimize their decision-making and productivity, among many other life hacks.

In “The 4-Hour Work Week,” Ferriss seeks to implant in the reader the idea that less is more. One of the ways he does this is by introducing the 80/20 principle. The 80/20 principle asserts that 80% of something’s value comes from just 20% of the actual work done. The nuances, the finer details, are what make up the remaining 20% of the value and 80% of the work.

This idea hearkens back to Tony Robbins’ advice to keep your purpose and motivation at the forefront of your attention. The 80/20 principle asks you to discern what task will give you the most value for the least amount of work. Focus on accomplishing this most valuable 20%, and you will increase your productivity dramatically. Less truly is more .

Putting It All Together

So to recap: Concentrate on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Make sure to create a smart and robust schedule that can flex for unexpected surprises. Keep your environment free of unnecessary distractions that would deter you from your goals. Discover and do the work that will give you the greatest amount of value for the least amount of effort.

By using the time management wisdom of top business leaders, you may find yourself more productive than ever before.

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How to Improve Time Management With Remote Workers

By Gunjan Saini | Time Management | No Comments

When it comes to improving time management, anything is possible. If there’s one thing companies have learned over the past two years, it’s that remote work is not only possible — but it’s also productive. Just how productive, though, depends on how well your remote employees manage their time. Some will need more help than others. That’s where you as a manager come in.

Even the best, most focused workers need guidance and resources to reach top performance. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to set them on the right track. With a few tools and tactics, you can help your offsite employees improve time management and streamline their days. Consider these strategies to help your at-home workers maximize time management and productivity.

1. Schedule Check-Ins

Regular touchpoints with remote workers — via phone or video — are a critical part of ensuring they’re staying on course. The meetings don’t need to be long, but they do need to cover the high points. Weekly one-on-one calls are a great option to keep you in the loop with your employee’s progress. You can discuss their to-do list, address any problems, and brainstorm solutions.

If you find weekly check-ins are too much, consider biweekly team and one-on-one meetings. It’s a chance to see how much work has been done in 10 business days. That could point to spots where you need to make changes. Whichever meeting format you choose, give your employees time to share their concerns and any obstacles they’re facing.

2. Use Project Management Software

You likely learned a lot about project management software when companies pivoted quickly to remote work during the pandemic. Instead of relying on countless emails and phone calls, these tools kept the wheels of work moving digitally. Software like Trello, Basecamp, ClickUp, and Hive makes it easier to visibly assign tasks. Everyone knows their responsibilities and whom to reach out to for collaboration.

Messaging capabilities eliminate the need for phone calls or waiting for email replies, improving time management. Employees share access to group documents, so there’s less need for group meetings to share information. Plus, most project management tools are also available on mobile devices. That means your employees can stay on top of work even when they’re away from their computers.

3. Implement Time Trackers

At first thought, yes, this tactic might sound a bit like micromanagement. However, these trackers have a great record of effectively boosting productivity. Using a time tracker daily helps your employees figure out exactly how much time certain tasks take. It also identifies the ones that suck the most minutes out of their day.

Some trackers also offer time analytics — a feature that lets employees tally how they’re spending their time daily. How much goes to email or projects or networking? With a good idea of how they’re spending their day, your remote workers can better prioritize their time. They can improve their time management by staying on task and, potentially, getting ahead of schedule.

4. Share Calendars

If most or all your employees work remotely, it can be tough to coordinate a schedule. It’s even harder if they live in separate time zones. It’s not possible to simply pop your head into their office to ask when they’re free for a meeting. Consequently, you and your employees need something to help you coordinate.

A shared online calendar is a great option. With a quick schedule search, you can see everyone’s availability in a matter of minutes. You can add multiple people to meeting invitations and book time on their calendars with a few clicks. It’s a huge time saver because it eliminates the need for multiple phone calls or emails to find the best time.

5. Offer Several Communications Tools

The days when email was the latest and greatest office communication tool are long gone. Today, remote employees need more advanced communications options to save time and improve their work. The best tools work on desktop and mobile. The important thing is to find ones that accommodate your on-the-go workers like salespeople.

Videoconferencing, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, let you connect with everyone face-to-face. Such meetings save time because people can ask questions in the moment rather than making follow-up calls. Instant messaging functions (also found in Teams, Zoom, and Slack) let your employees ask each other simple questions without devoting more time to longer conversations.

6. Launch the Buddy System

Remote work is famous for giving employees more time to concentrate with fewer interruptions. It’s also notorious for offering lots of time for procrastination. Putting a buddy system in place can keep everyone on track. It works particularly well if your employees collaborate on projects.

Designated team buddies can frequently touch base with each other to check on progress. They can answer each other’s questions, brainstorm ideas, and troubleshoot problems. This type of teamwork is also a failsafe to ensure nothing important is overlooked. Together, team members can check all the boxes to save time and keep projects on schedule.

One thing is clear: For many organizations, remote work is here to stay. Over time, that means your number of offsite employees is likely to grow. Giving them the tools they need to improve their time management effectively will help ensure their — and your company’s — future success.

Image Credit: Olia Danilevich; Pexels; Thanks!

Share Your Troubles With Your Coworkers; Boost Productivity

By Deanna Ritchie | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

Boosting productivity is always important, but it’s also important to note that each of us has problems; and we all need a listening ear. ‌Maybe it’s a friend, spouse, or parent. Whatever the case, it’s nice to know that you’ve got someone you can talk to whenever you’re feeling low.

Further,‌ ‌the‌ ‌boundaries between work and home have become increasingly‌ ‌‌‌entwined over the past two years. In these cases, turning to a coworker could be beneficial. ‌‌‌In particular, Susan Cain, author of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, found that it could result in stronger coworker connections and a greater boost in ‌productivity.

In her book, Cain cites the example of a company that normalized sharing personal issues. The billing department at Midwest Billing, a community hospital in Jackson, Michigan, created a culture in which every employee was assumed to have a personal problem. ‌Rather than be seen as a problem, teammates demonstrated compassion by sharing their troubles. Employees‌ ‌helped each other out with divorces, domestic violence, deaths in the family, and even when someone was ill.

Not only is sharing troubles with others good for your mental health, but it is also good for business productivity as well. “During the five years prior to the study, Midwest Billing got its bills collected more than twice as fast as before, beating industry standards,” writes Cain. “The turnover rate in the unit was only 2%, compared with an average of 25% across all of Midwest Health System, and a significantly higher rate across the medical billing industry.”

Honestly, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Why Talking About Our Problems Helps

Talking about our problems helps us a lot, according to previous research.

In research from U.C.L.A., “affect labeling” is a method for putting feelings into words so that the amygdala is less triggered when confronted with upsetting things. ‌In this way, you can slow down your stress response over time. ‌

Being in a car after a car accident, for example, can be emotionally overwhelming. ‌But, as you talk the situation through, put your feelings into words, and process what happened, you won’t feel that way when you get back into the car.

Additionally, studies at Southern Methodist University found that writing about traumatic experiences or undergoing talk therapy helped patients’ immune systems and health. ‌It was found that suppressing thoughts and emotions increases stress. ‌Either way, the negative feelings are there, but you must work to suppress‌ ‌them. ‌When your brain and body are overworked, you are more susceptible to getting sick or feeling miserable.

How to Your Troubles At Work

While you may feel awkward sharing your troubles with your teammates, here are some pointers on how to do so.

Think about whether it’s a topic worth discussing.

Work may seem like the perfect place to vent, but it is not. ‌Never share what you are going through personally at work. ‌The exception? When a problem affects your career, sharing personal information should be reserved.

In fact, this kind of sharing can sometimes‌ ‌help‌ ‌‌‌strengthen ‌work‌ ‌relationships. Some examples‌ ‌of‌ ‌appropriate personal topics to share are:

An‌ ‌illness‌ ‌that’s impacting your performance.
You’ve got a family issue that’s affecting your‌ ‌work‌ ‌schedule‌ ‌or‌ ‌ability‌ ‌to‌ ‌work.
Pregnancy.

On the flip side, you should avoid discussing the following:

Financial concerns.
Problems with your children include drugs, arrests, and troubles‌ ‌at‌ ‌school.
Relationship problems of any kind.
Litigation, neighbor wars, car troubles.

If you steer clear of these conversations, you avoid being labeled as someone who has so many issues that it hinders your career.

And, one more thing. If you have a serious medical problem or family emergency, it’s probably best to discuss this with your boss. You can then brainstorm possible solutions like a leave of absence or a flexible work schedule.

Speak with the right people.

In the past, if you shared how you felt with someone and didn’t seem to yield any results, ‌it might be because you weren’t talking to the right‌‌ ‌‌person. ‌The support of someone you trust (without enabling bad habits such as co-rumination) is critical.

Find someone who has experienced the same problem and hopefully solve it. For example, if you’re struggling to meet deadlines or understand the scope of a project, ask a coworker for help. Hopefully, they can share their time management tips or clarify the work with you.

What should you do if you need a lot of time to talk? ‌Well, maybe you could schedule a recurring bi-weekly check-in. Or divide your conversations among several‌ ‌people. ‌Having a comprehensive social support system lets you distribute the load if one is worn out.

Schedule the right time and place to talk.

Even if it is a serious issue, it isn’t worth allowing to fester and linger. But, at the same time, you also don’t want to pour your heart when your coworkers are rushing to a meeting. So if you know when they’ll be less busy, pick a time that works for you. ‌

Also, pick a time when they’ll ‌be‌ ‌alone. After all, you don’t want to disclose a medical problem, for instance, at the water cooler or on a team call.

The easiest way to approach this? Share your calendar with them. This way, they can see when you’re available. From there, they can book a time to chat when they’re also free. You can even add a location, like a nearby coffee shop, to the invite to prevent other coworkers from eavesdropping. This will not only boost productivity, but it will help you be able to lean on someone for a quick listening ear.

Use “I” statements.

Thomas Gordon introduced “I statements” in the 1960s as a way to help kids understand emotions and behaviors‌ ‌during‌ ‌play‌ ‌therapy. ‌However, they can have many advantages during communication, including:

Feeling‌ ‌statements‌ ‌are a way to express assertiveness without provoking blame, accusation, defensiveness, or guilt in other people.
It’s easy to solve conflicts‌ ‌without putting‌ ‌people‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌defensive. ‌This focuses the conversation on solving a problem rather than assigning blame by focusing on the feelings and needs of the speaker.
Using I-messages can also be an excellent way to give constructive feedback to others. ‌The conversation is focused on the speaker’s feelings rather than how they feel‌ ‌about‌ ‌it.

Of course, not every situation requires using “I” statements. However, they can be helpful in the following situations:

If we need to confront someone‌ ‌about‌ ‌their‌ ‌behavior.
Feelings of injustice when others treat us poorly.
When‌ ‌we‌ ‌feel‌ ‌angry or defensive.
If someone is‌ ‌angry‌ ‌with‌ ‌us.

At the same time, there are potential disadvantages to “I” statements. These include being seen as expressing emotionalism, weakness, and what’s best for you.

Despite these concerns, when sharing your troubles with a coworker, they can boost productivity. For example, let’s say you’re collaborating with them, and they have a habit of not providing updates on their progress. You could say, “I get anxious when I don’t receive updates.”

Take action on solutions.

“Problem-solving makes you feel better, but getting things off your chest alone doesn’t make you feel better,” advises Kristin Behfar, Ph.D. ‌So keep multiple solutions in your back pocket, whether you offer advice or ask for it. ‌

Your next step should be to act. ‌This will ensure that you won’t complain simply for the sake of complaining.

Of course, putting that into practice isn’t always easy. ‌Here is a 10-step process devised by Brian Tracy for putting your plans into action:

Positively frame the problem.
Clearly define the situation or problem.
Take several different approaches to the problem using critical thinking.
Decide on‌ ‌the‌ ‌ideal‌ ‌solution‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌problem.
Select the most appropriate solution to ‌your‌ ‌challenge.
Prepare‌ ‌for‌ ‌and overcome the worst outcome possible.
Keep track of‌ ‌your‌ ‌progress.
Be fully responsible‌ ‌for‌ ‌your‌ ‌decision.
Set‌ ‌a‌ ‌deadline‌ ‌to solve the problem.
Solve your problem by taking action.

Set time limits.

If a colleague has taken the time out of their day to listen to you, then you need to pay them the same level of respect. How? By being respectful of their valuable time.

To boost productivity and make sure you stay focused, the first place to start is setting time limits. It’s unreasonable for them to block out three hours of their day to listen to your life story. So instead, a 30-minute should suffice.

To keep you on track, prepare an agenda — just like you would with a meeting. That means focusing on the work problem that’s giving you the most distress. Then, after identifying this issue, jot down and rehearse what you want to say to keep the talk concise.

Also, just like scheduling a meeting, leave a few minutes for possible response and brainstorming.

Another thing to keep in mind? Be on time. If you have scheduled this talk for 11 a.m. on Friday, then make sure you’re on time.

What Role Do Leaders Play?

Leading by example is often the first step in creating a sharing culture. ‌Ultimately, sharing culture can lead to a productivity boost. Cain tells the story of Rick Fox, one of the leaders of a Shell Oil oil ‌rig‌ ‌case‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Gulf‌ ‌of‌ ‌Mexico. ‌Fox hired Lara Nuer, co-founder of Learning as Leadership, to solve problems with drilling schedules and oil production numbers. ‌Following a conversation with Fox, Nuer revealed that his biggest‌ ‌problem‌ ‌was‌ ‌fear. ‌Not only was the work dangerous, but also managing people and ensuring their safety.

As they worked together, Nuer encouraged them to speak with each other about their fears, including their personal problems. ‌During the transition from a macho culture to one in which the men supported each other, the culture shifted from one of the hiding weaknesses or asking questions.

“There were fewer accidents because the guys on the rig got more comfortable opening up when they didn’t know how to do something or didn’t understand how something worked,” says Cain.

Leaders, however, may find it hard to share their own struggles, Cain notes. “At least one study suggests that confiding one’s troubles in subordinates can cause them to lose confidence in and comfort with you,” she says. “At the same time, the best way to shift a culture is for leadership to go first.”

Leaders‌ ‌don’t have to share all their problems to be a perfect example or boost productivity. “They don’t need to speak to their employees the same way they’d talk to their therapist,” Cain adds. “It’s enough to move in the direction of open-heartedness.”

Image Credit: ANTONI SHKRABA; Pexels Thank you!

Share Your Troubles With Your Coworkers; Boost Productivity was originally published on Calendar by Deanna Ritchie.

Category Archives: Time Management