As we all know, productivity is very important online. Most of us dream about having a flexible job, being able to work from anywhere in the world. Though, when we actually get an online teaching position or start that online business, we become slaves to technology because when you work online, your work day can extend to 24 hours.
How are you going to balance work/play time? Today we have a very important guest, JoAnn Corley. JoAnn is known as a “champion of human potential in the area of business enterprise”. She is also an author of several books on productivity and we are honored to have her share her wisdom in this 6 minute video.
About JoAnn Corley:
People have said about JoAnn that she is an emerging voice to be heard in the business marketplace...a catalyst for innovative thinking…passionate for bringing theory into reality in the laboratory of real life!
Named to The Next Generation of MastersTM by NoNicheTM magazine, she brings fresh thinking that matches the realistic management needs of the 21st century workplace. She is known as a champion of human potential in the arena of business enterprise. Check out her site:
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Here is a summary of the video for your convenience.
In order to be productive online, you need to work SMART.
What is working smart? Working smart is an ability to be informed about what it takes to get what you really want.
I am going to share 4 tips that will radically change what you do when you put it into practice
Tip #1 Work within fixed limits
Mark on your calendar what your primary working hours are, and stick to them. These are your fixed boundaries. So how can you get exactly what you want to be done within these fixed boundaries? Look at an entire week at a glance, and square out the fixed boundary for that week.
Tip # 2 Set priorities
Of this fixed time frame, what are the things that you absolutely have to accomplish?
You will have to be able to say “no”, and strategize your time wisely.
Tip #3 Make an appointment with your task
Take an element from your “To-Do” list, and plug it into your fixed boundary, estimating how long it will take you to complete it. By doing this, you are “making an appointment” with your task.
Tip # 4 Estimate how long it will take you to do certain functions
You will notice that you don’t really have much time left. If you want to be working smart, you need to be aware of time. Go from being list-oriented to being calendar and time/schedule-oriented. Work from a schedule, not from a list!
Bonus tip: Once you create this map, keep it in front of you, and document the actual time it takes you to get things done.
Constantly ask yourself, “What do I want to do differently?”
WHAT TO DO NOW: Answer one question below:
- Share your productivity strategies in the comments below!
- Implement these 4 strategies for 1 week. Then share your results in the comments below
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If you liked this post you might also enjoy the following:
http://effectiveonlineteaching.org/2012/09/19/how-to-stand-out-from-the-crowd-online/
http://effectiveonlineteaching.org/2011/11/16/surviving-the-cyber-jungle-one-breath-at-a-time/
LOL! I met JoAnn on Twitter a couple weeks ago! The video is a superb time management tool! Thanks for sharing!
Darryl,
This is really cool! The world is small, especially with social media. JoAnn indeed did a great job here.
Dear Marina:
Productivity in business/economics is simply the amount/value of work done over a unit of time. Online professionals like you are at least 50% more productive than traditional ones.
The problem is that there are still many bosses who are backward enough to demand the “work as usual” at much lower productivity levels.
best.val.
Wishing you all the best, I remain
Yours sincerely,
Val Samonis, PhD, CPC
The Web Professor of Global Management(SM)
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/vsamonis
Excellent point, Val! Thanks so much for sharing this… I can totally relate to your experience as I used to have such bosses… but now I am my own boss, so I am the only one to blame if I am not productive:-) LOL!
For years now I’ve worked in blocks of time. Each day I have a series of 50 minute blocks where I work, uninterrupted by anything else, on a project. No email, no social media, no phone calls, no wife and kids, no clients. Just highly focused time to be productive. In my case, I work as fast and hard as I can for those 50 minutes.
Then, I take 10 minutes off. I set a timer, leave my office, go outside, get some tea/water and just ‘be.’ I don’t worry about what got done or not nor of what comes next. I just let myself relax for 10 minutes.
Then I get back to work. Sometimes it’s another 50 minute block. Sometimes it’s client appointments. But I try to keep everything within a designated amount of time.
Of course, this means I have task lists and stay pretty organized with what needs to be done. But it works. I get much more done than the days I don’t work that way. I’ve even started answering email in that same format.
I detailed this method in a blog post: http://dmiracle.com/quality-of-life/how-to-stay-focused-for-greater-productivity/
Thank you so much, Dawud, for your generosity! I found that this technique works like miracles for me too! I am sure everyone will benefit from your wisdom and your blog!
Your comment: Yes, I agree. Sometimes it takes more physical and mental energy to step away from my computer than to just stay put and focused online.
thanks, Leanne. I hear you! I am the same way:-)
Task management vs time management. Nice post and one that applies to students, professionals and families.
SjK
Sean, Thanks so much for your comment. Great distinction indeed. I think this will help many people to stay on their tasks!!!!