Beyond Folders : productivity rules, time management

The Only Three Tips You Need for a More Productive January

Community Manager — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:12:00 GMT

Don't you just love January's clean slate? After a hectic holiday season, capped off by a late night of champagne and streamers, January 1^st dawns as a low-key, fresh start. Looking to make this January a time to reset and rev up for the upcoming year? Kick off your 2012 with the only three tips you'll need for a productive January.

Prioritize: The ability to prioritize, to assess your to-do list and triage the most pressing, vital tasks, is a must-have productivity skill. Effective prioritization is also a major stress-buster.

Need help mastering this must-have skill? Study up on the three components of effective prioritization:

Time-constraints: Determine if a project can be put off or if there's a deadline that can't be missed. Next, asses how long each project will take and decide if tackling the shortest projects first makes sense.
Potential upside: Assess which projects or tasks are likely to be more beneficial or profitable.
Consequences: Finally, examine your to-do list and determine the consequences of not getting to a certain action item. If the fall-out would be major if a project is unfinished, that item moves up the priority list.

Decluttercize: Clutter creates stress and inhibits productivity and efficiency. January is a time to tackle those piles, streamline your files, and reboot your efficiency with a thorough office and home decluttering.

Get tossing: Grab that wastebasket; it's time for Decluttering 101. Broken, out-of-date or stained items need to go. If an item is gently used but unneeded, donate to friends or charity.
A place for everything: Asses what remains and find every item a home. Stock up on containers and files to corral items you want to keep. Take advantage of January sales to stock up bins, baskets, closet organizers and files and folders.
Maintaining: Commit to a maintenance schedule of 10 minutes each night and morning to keep order. Set aside larger blocks of time weekly and monthly for projects that require more time.

Exercise: Using and moving your body is a must for energy and productivity. Great feats of athleticism or hardcore time at the gym are not required; even a brisk walk taken daily can do the trick.

Schedule fitness: Break out that new colander and schedule fitness just as you would any important appointment. Find a block of time that works for you, such as first thing in the morning or midday, and make that your regular exercise time.
Buddy up: Partner with a friend or family member and commit to a regimen you both enjoy. Having a buddy keep you honest; it's harder to skip an early morning run when you know your friend is waiting on the corner.
Start small: Get off on the right foot by starting small. You don't need to train for a marathon, or hit the gym every day, but a daily routine of simple stretches as well as 20-minutes of light cardio (a quick walk, taking the stairs at work) can reap a boost in energy and vigor. Don't let an all-or-nothing approach derail you; be realistic about your time and ability.

How do you create and conserve productivity and energy? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

How to Head Home While There's Still Daylight

Community Manager — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:44:00 GMT

Hurrah! Daylight savings has arrived to add a few extra hours of light during the waning cold-weather days. But what good are the extra hours if you're spending them with your nose to the office grindstone?

Do yourself a favor and learn to get out of the office on time: working late is a habit that gets harder to shake the longer you do it. We have seven tips that will help you leave work at a reasonable hour each night.

Make it a Priority: To begin, make heading home at 5pm, or an appropriate quitting time, a priority. You can't meet a goal you haven't set, so pick a time and stick to it.

Manage Your Time: Leaving the office at a reasonable hour requires managing your time well during the day. Too much time spent in idle chit chat, surfing the web, or in putting off must-do tasks will derail a timely exit each evening. Need help managing your time effectively? Read our tips for time-blocking .

Say Good-bye to Guilt: Don't feel guilty about leaving work on time. If your colleagues are still toiling away, it's easy to feel embarrassed about heading out. But you may be a more efficient or focused worker than your peers. As long as your work isn't being shortchanged, leaving on time is okay.

Farewell to Face Time: Some office cultures unwittingly encourage or reward "face time" making it harder to head home at a reasonable hour. If this is a problem, take time to talk with your boss or colleagues. Demonstrating how efficiently and productively you use your time makes it easier to head for the door.

Ask for Help: When faced with an overwhelming amount of work, rather than burning the midnight oil, consider talking to your boss about redistributing the load. Prep for that conversation by spending time keeping track of your hours so your boss understands the scope of work and hours required.

Baby Steps: Start incrementally; shoot to leave work by 5 or 6pm one night a week and then add a day at a time. Starting small betters your odds of success.

HomeWork: When all else fails, plan to finish work from home. Bringing work home isn't an ideal solution, but sometimes you just want to put the kids to bed or meet a friend for dinner. So head out the door to attend to your personal needs and commit to wrapping up the remaining work at home.

Do you consistently head out the door at a reasonable hour? What are your tips for leaving work on time? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

The Best Way to Spend 20 Extra Minutes

Community Manager — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:54:00 GMT

When was the last time you heard someone complain about having too much time on their hands? Between juggling work, family and other important commitments (sleep anyone?), every minute of the day is generally booked solid.

But every now and again, an extra 15 or 20 minutes pops up. Skeptical about how much can be accomplished in a mere quarter of an hour? Read on for some tips about maximizing even small chunks of time.

Get Fit: Exercise is the perfect activity to squeeze into short chunks of time. Numerous exercises can be done in just a few short minutes. We like The 20-Minute Workout options from Real Simple and the inspiration provided by WebMD's article, 15 Minutes of Exercise Every Day Reduces Risk of Death.

Get Food: Fresh, healthy delicious meals can easily be whipped up in less than 20 minutes. True, you need to prep with shopping ahead of time, but a big Sunday shop and 20 minutes each night will have a home-cooked dinner on the table every night of the week. Rachel Ray makes it easy with a selection of 15-Minute Meals and for those who want fast and foodie, check out what gourmet food site Epicurious.com has to say in Dinner in 5-Minutes: Fact or Fiction?

Get a Good Book: No time to read? Portable technology like the iPad and Kindle make downloading a book a snap whenever you have a minute. Make the most of your commute or the wait at the doctor's office or DMV. Go ahead, feed your brain. Visit eBooks best-seller list for ideas.

Get Happy: Instantly improve your mood with Real Simple's list of 9 Things You Can Do to Be Happy in the Next 30 Minutes. Many of these are common sense-take a walk outside, stretch-but others are a bit out of the box such as doing a good deed for others by becoming an organ donor.

Get Busy: Productivity blogger PicktheBrain.com doesn't like to waste a minute: check out 20 Useful Things You Can Accomplish in 15 Minutes for productive uses of short periods of time. Ideas include: networking, blogging, talking to a friend, researching and taking the time to eat slowly and savor a snack.

Think you're too busy to find even an extra 20 minutes in your day? Time to study some of our past posts on time-management and organization. You'll be happy you did!

What would you do with an extra 20 minutes? Share your thoughts here!

Organizing for the Weekend

Community Manager — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:43:00 GMT

The days are growing shorter. Too bad your to-do list is still long. When the week evaporates at warp speed, work and chores too often encroach on the weekend. Find free time every weekend by managing your week days better. We've rounded up some smart advice that is sure to give you extra hours for weekend leisure pursuits.

25 Ways to Find Free Time: Huffington Post blogger Zen Habits offers numerous suggestions to carve out more time in the day. With 25 smart, simple solutions, one or two of them will surely stick. Ideas include: waking earlier, watching less TV, delegating, prioritizing and getting the kids to help out.

Find More Free Time This Fall: CBS Moneywatch.com contributor Sarah Lorge Butler too often finds her freelance work creeping into all her quote unquote free time, including holidays. Her solution? Practice self-discipline, manage expectations and be truthful about availability. This means no late night emails; send too many and you'll train your bosses and clients to think you are available at all hours.

Find Time for Fun: NYT best-seller Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, finds more time for fun by being true to herself. Rubin recommends jettisoning those activities that ought to be fun such as jogging, learning French, reading the New Yorker, etc. and doing the things that are actually fun for you.

Too often people spend time on aspirational activities, things people think they are supposed to do and enjoy, rather than activities that are truly fun for them. So say goodbye to stacks of unread Sunday papers, and hello to the novel you've been dying to read. Master the fine art of saying no...to yourself. Voila! More time; less guilt.

How do you find time for leisure pursuits and downtime? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook and Twitter pages.