Basic Ways to Exponentially Improve Your Productivity

Paul J. Meyer says, “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” This cannot be any truer. To be successful in your career (or anything for that matter), your productivity must shine.

Don’t limit yourself. If you want to get things done in the least amount of time with the best results you need to follow these steps.

1. Turn off your TV.
Besides being a brainwashing tool, TV eats away four hours a day from time you could spend doing more productive things. Four hours a day? That’s ten years spent watching TV if you plan on living past seventy five.

2. Checklists.
No brainer here. Make a checklist of things you need to get done, then go bullet by bullet. So simple yet so effective.

3. Harder things come first.
If you built yourself a to-do list (which you should), tackle your hard tasks first, don’t save them for last. If you finish them you have nothing to worry about as your tasks will only get easier. This will set a great outlook for the rest of the day and keep your mentality afloat.

4. Consolidate.
Take a look at your checklist and see if you can put somethings together. If you’re going out for errands, try to do them all at once, if you’re calling clients, schedule a period to do them all in one stint.

5. Early to sleep, early to rise.
Getting up at 6AM is a drag I’ll admit. However you’ll be surprised how much more you can get done as opposed to waking up at 2PM. Grab a coffee and go. Of course if you’re waking up earlier, you’re going to need more sleeping hours so going to bed a couple of hours earlier is a must.

6. Say “No”.
Carefully strategize your options and your goals (as well as your tasks). Say no to things that are outside those bounds that are not helping you meet your goals. Keep focused on the important tasks at hand.

7. Start now.
Stop holding off! You’re big projects will just get even bigger with time on their side. Dive in and take a chance, build or demolish your goals brick by brick.

8. Leave time for non-urgent (but necessary) activities.
Schedule time during your day when you work only on non-urgent yet necessary activities like e-mails, phone calls, paying bills, etc.

9. Each day is different, respect that.
What I like to do is prioritize my days differently. Friday is more relaxed so I can focus more on my general & fun projects while Mondays I focus on organizing and planning for the week ahead of me. Wednesdays I use as a marker to see how far I am and the type of progress I need to be showing.

10. Get a ‘The Office’ calendar.
The Office Calendar will at least remind you that it could be a lot worse ;-). Write down all your important meetings and to-do’s, stuff that you can’t fit on post-it notes.

11. Sticky notes wall.
I used to categorize all my tasks onto sticky notes. One sticky note per task. I then put them on the wall of my office as a big collage and when I finished one, I’d ‘X’ it out. This was a great way for me to visually see the progress I was making however it ended up taking up too much space.

12. Reward yourself.
Keep yourself motivated by setting rewards for completing big tasks. This could be anything from a movie ticket to a football game or a gift of some kind. This way you’ll have more push rather then just the obvious monetary gains.

13. Take breaks.
Another no-brainer. Give yourself time to relax and let your thoughts drift. If you’re workhorsing for twelve hours a day with no breaks, eventually you will go insane. Take the time to sit back and look at everything your doing to get some fresh perspective on it.

14. Do your shopping online.
Why run to the story when a diligent UPS or FedEx worker can carry it to your door? You’d also be surprised on how much you can save by shopping online. Here are some great store links:

http://amazon.com
http://half.com
http://overstock.com
http://bestbuy.com
http://newegg.com

15. Automatic bill pay.
Most banks offer this, take advantage of it! You’ll save that extra 1-2 hours paying your bills, spend it doing something more productive.

16. Direct deposits.
Most employers offer this now. Save that trip to the bank, having to wait in line to cash your check. Get it directly deposited every other Friday. Let your employers do the work.

17. The Pareto Principle.
Recently read up on a ‘improve your personal finance’ book and it covered the Pareto Principle. It basically states the 80-20 rule, which is that 80% of the value of a task comes from 20% of the effort. Focus the bulk of your energy on that critical 20%, and don’t spend too much time on the non-critical 80%. For more about the Pareto Principle, click here.

18. Review yourself at the end of the day.
Before you go home from work, sit down and run through your checklist. Be proud of the things you accomplished and focus on the things you left to be done. Sit back and re-organize your new objectives.

19. Make your workspace comfortable.
Use a chair that is ergonomic and conforms to your back. Be sure to get up and stretch every hour or so and make sure that you are working in good lighting.

20. Keep your software and hardware running smooth.
How are you going to get things done with tons of spywar and adaware on your computer? Make sure to keep your hardware and software and check and be security conscious. Want some good anti-adware and spyware tools? Check these out:

SpyBot
Ad-Aware

21. Use computer short-cuts.
Take the time to check out what the common keyboard shortcuts are. Stop using your mouse to copy and paste, use Ctrl+C, and CTRL+V! Here is a link to Common Windows XP Computer Shortcuts.

22. Set deadlines, use alarms.
My T-Mobile Dash calendar is overflowing with alarms, to-do lists and other things to keep track of my ideas, goals and tasks. Use alarms and deadline notifications to help you keep yourself in check.

23. Enjoy your meals.
Yep, you heard me right. Take the time out to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner properly with the necessary time to de-stress yourself from the common difficulties of a normal everyday life. Get back to reality and cool off. Food is crucial, if you are well fed and feeling good, you’ll be able to get a lot more done once you resume your work.

24. If you’re using FireFox, use these tools to improve your productivity.
LifeHack recently published this great article: Top 10 FireFox Extensions to Improve Your Productivity. Definitely a worthwhile read.

25. Coffee/caffeine.
Another no-brainer but it works. Without my coffee in the AM I can hardly keep away. Coffee keeps me focused and alive for the majority of the day (and it tastes good :)).
Two more for the road…

26. Break things up.
Kind of touched on this already but its worth noting again. Break things up. Those major daunting tasks will seem a lot easier when their smashed into bits and pieces.

27. Team up and stay focused.
Having someone either on your back or helping you will make you push yourself harder. However, don’t let this get in the way of the work - cut out the procrastination.

Original source of these tips can be found at http://cashbulge.com

How Can You Find Freelance Writing Jobs?

Do you think that there is a big sign that reads, “Freelance Writing Jobs, Apply Within”? There just is not. In fact, you may have a hard time finding writing jobs of any type advertised in any employment magazine or newspaper either. So, how do you find freelance writing jobs?

Let us talk about this for a moment and see if we can't find an idea or two that will work for you.

1. Begin at the beginning. Get the education you need to have. Learn what there is to know about the field in which you are looking for job vacancies. Having knowledge itself can open doors. This can help with step two as well.

2. When you do have that knowledge, do not forget to look towards the teachers you got it from for help in finding a niche to work in. They may have more resources than you realize.

3. Create a portfolio. Even if you never have any published work, you can still write, right? Write to fill your portfolio. Then, when a prospective employment opportunity arises, you’ll have something to provide in the way of samples.

4. Look online. Vast amounts of freelance writing jobs are offered there. If the work can be submitted online, why not look worldwide? Try doing a websearch for "freelance writing jobs".

5. Keeping striving to meet the needs of your clients 100%. When you make them happy, they will come back with other jobs for you. And, they will provide you with testimonials and referrals as well.

All of these things can work for you when you allow them to. You need to provide yourself with all the tools you need. Most importantly, this is writing. You must be able to meet your client’s needs and therefore will need to present your talents in the right light each time. When you are looking for freelance writing jobs you’ll find them across the world when you look in the right places.

Tips to Advance Your Career

To survive and thrive in today's competitive environment, it is not just what you know. You also need to be competent. You must stand out from the crowd - be memorable, impressive, credible, trusted and liked.

1. Exceed expectations; deliver results on a or head of time.

2. Manage your time effectively.

3. Create a career plan with goals and training requirements.

4. Move away from day-to-day operations.

5. Develop strong rapport with colleagues, senior managers/executives.

6. Get a mentor, accept guidance in your career.

7. Know your organization's goals vision, values, business strategies.

8. Create opportunites to further own/business goals.

9. Solicit feedback and assess the decision for purposes of continuous improvement.

10. Communicate effectively to people at all levels of your organization.

11. Build and maintain relationships with individuals who might impact your work.

12. Plan, prioritize and organize your work.

13. Manage own emotions and reactions.

14. Balance the demands of your personal and professional life.

15. Give yourself quarterly reviews, identify your accomplishments.

16. Become your own sales team, market your abilities.

17. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.

18. Be decisive and action oriented.

19. Commit to excellence and professionalism.

20. Be self-disciplined.

How to Ace an Interview

The best approach to ace an interview is to always prepare for it. It may sound like something that we do but that is not always the case. There are many applicants who turn up for an interview without knowing about the company and its industry. By being prepared for your interview, you will also tend to show up less nervous for an interview.

Here are a few steps to help you prepare before going for the interview.

1. Think about why you want the job. List at least three reasons and be prepared to tell them to the interviewer.

2. Practice makes perfect ! Get one of your family members or friends to help you practice a few interview sample questions and check your body language eg. handshake.

3. Research the company. It is always a good idea to know as much as you can about the company and the position that you are applying for. That way you are able to explain why you are the best person for the job. Use as many ways as you can to help you with finding the information from using the Internet to contacting the main office.

4. Know yourself and your work history. Review your resume and be prepared to answer any questions about your qualifications, skills and work experience. Envision how you can add to the value of the position and the company. Try to collect letters of references and work samples to prove your accomplishments in the past.

5. Prepare questions of your own to ask. Interviewers are happy that we ask questions and will be impressed if we ask them questions such as ‘Where does this job position fit in the company as a whole?’ It shows them that we are keen about the company and are interested to know more about them.

On the day of the interview, here are some tips to help you. Remember first impressions count and during the first five minutes, the outcome of the interview greatly lies on the impression that you set out to make during that time.

1. Dress and grooming. Dress appropriately and make sure that your attire fits within the office. If you are not sure, call the office and ask. Shirts/dresses and skirts/pants should be neatly pressed. Hair and fingernails should be kept tidy and clean. Avoid the use of excessive jewellery, make-up and cologne.

2. Be punctual. Arrive for the interview 15 minutes early – not too early or not too late. Consider if there might traffic the day before and plan your route accordingly.

3. Shake hands with the interviewer. Make sure that your handshake is firm and projects confidence. Make eye contact with the interviewer when you do so. Make it a point to remember the name of the interviewer as it will show them that the interview is important to you.

4. Body language. Ensure that your posture is straight and that you are not in a slouched position while seated. Making good eye contact with the interviewer also helps.

5. Communication and listening skills. Speak clearly and at an appropriate pace so that the interviewer will not feel like you are rushing the interview. Listen carefully to the questions that the interviewer asks you during the interview and if you are not sure about, you can ask the interviewer to repeat them as he/she is there to help you. Remember the interviewer is as nervous as you are and wants the position to be filled as quickly as possible. Try to be as positive as you can about the interview and remember always to smile.

After the interview is over, there is the follow- through. It is good to send your interviewer a thank you letter summarizing and re-highlighting your skills. Thank the interviewer and request if it will be ok to contact them in a week’s time.