Posts Tagged ‘productivity’

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How to Prioritize When Everything Is Important

February 1, 2012

You know that sinking feeling you have when there’s too much on your plate? When you try to tackle your tasks by priority, but it feels like everything’s important? Don’t get overwhelmed—it’s a problem that everyone faces at some point or another, and while it’s difficult to skillfully juggle multiple priorities and competing responsibilities, it’s not impossible. Here’s how.

It just so happens that there’s a career that focuses specifically on juggling competing tasks and priorities: These people are called project managers. And as luck would have it, I was a full time PM for many years, PMP-certified and everything. In that time, I learned a number of helpful tricks that can help you manage your workload at the office as well as your ever-growing list of to-dos at home, with your family, or with your friends. Here’s how you can apply some of those techniques to your everyday life.

Read HERE

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The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance

January 27, 2012

Author Susan Cain explains the fallacy of “groupwork,” and points to research showing that it can reduce creativity and productivity.

Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet : The Power of Introverts” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. We live in a nation that values its extroverts – the outgoing, the lovers of crowds – but not the quiet types who change the world. She recently answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

Cook: This may be a stupid question, but how do you define an introvert? How can somebody tell whether they are truly introverted or extroverted?

Cain: Not a stupid question at all! Introverts prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environments, while extroverts need higher levels of stimulation to feel their best. Stimulation comes in all forms – social stimulation, but also lights, noise, and so on. Introverts even salivate more than extroverts do if you place a drop of lemon juice on their tongues! So an introvert is more likely to enjoy a quiet glass of wine with a close friend than a loud, raucous party full of strangers.

It’s also important to understand that introversion is different from shyness. Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, while introversion is simply the preference for less stimulation. Shyness is inherently uncomfortable; introversion is not. The traits do overlap, though psychologists debate to what degree.

Continue on Live Science HERE