CC Holland is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and a number of national magazines. Online, she was a columnist for AnchorDesk.com and writes regularly for Law.com and BNET. On the other side of the journalism desk, she's been...
Losing weight is a goal on many office workers' minds, but could trimming down actually make you more productive? That's a surprising finding from a recent experiment that increased workers' activity levels to help them fight their sedentary spread. by CC Holland
Think the time you spend answering e-mail, composing IMs, and trolling Twitter doesn't have an impact? Think again. A recent study by research firm Basex puts the "cost of unnecessary interruptions" in terms of lost productivity and innovation at a shocking $650 billion. Merlin Mann blogged about the cost of...
The Internet might be a wonderful thing, but it's also a productivity killer. Why? U.S. office workers waste about 20 percent of each day, and surfing the Web tops the list of time-wasting activities. Even valid, work-related Internet usage, such as answering e-mail, reading news, and using...
A recent study from LeadershipIQ asserts that workers today are wasting 44 percent more time than they did a year ago. It seems that worry and financial research are now the top non-work activities conducted at the office. In February 2007, says the organization, the top time-wasters...
If you do a lot of reading or research in your job, taking notes the old-fashioned way can really slow you down as you're wading through tons of white papers or reams of reports. But here's a hack that's guaranteed to speed things up: an approach called the Morse Code...
Looking for a good Web-based task-management app ? You might want to check out Remember the Milk RTM. The folks at Black Belt Productivity rave: "Remember the Milk is an excellent task management app that excels with its use of tagging and smart lists through the use of its...
Hate pointless meetings as much as I do? A little planning can go a long way toward making them more palatable, says Aaron Stannard. His eight tips for avoiding unproductive meetings: 1. Have a clear agenda. Know what you want to cover, write down want you want...
It's summer. It's warm. You have PTO coming. So why are you sitting here reading this blog instead of sunning on a beach? Could be you're taking less vacation than you can or should. If so, you're not alone; an estimated 47.5 million Americans leave an average...
As the price of fuel continues to skyrocket, there's a workplace trend afoot to shortening workweeks to save energy. In Utah, administrative offices will be closed on Fridays while hours will be extended Monday through Thursday. Birmingham, Ala. implemented a truncated schedule for city employees on July 1, and officials...
Are you hiring? If you are, chances are you've been spending a good chunk of your time sitting in one-on-one interviews with a multitude of candidates, many or most who won't make it past this initial grilling. But there's a way you can increase your interview efficiency and improve your...
I recently came across an oldie-but-goodie post from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders called "Kick Procrastination's Ass" and was thrilled to learn a new technique for getting my posterior in gear. Mann points out that any time you put something off, the problem gets bigger, which leads...
This past weekend I attended BlogHer '08, an annual conference that attracts primarily female bloggers from all spheres of interest. I expected to get a lot of value out of the workshops and panel discussions, and I did, but I also got a bonus benefit: sparks of inspiration fostered by...
Executive coach Leila Bulling Towne argues that you'll never get "caught up" with everything you need to do. Instead, to be an effective manager and leader, you'll need to learn to prioritize. Here, Towne shares four tips for deciding what's important and managing your time more effectively. by CC Holland
Idea Champions recently conducted a poll to discover which catalysts spurred its clients' brightest ideas. While many of them involved solitary activities or reflection, two of the top five -- brainstorming with others and collaborating with a partner -- reveal the power of team ideation in sparking creativity. A third...
You know the guy on your team who's always pushing back against unusual ideas? The gloom-and-doomer who's convinced that if it's different, it must be wrong? Could be he's just afraid of not succeeding at a new endeavor. Here's some food for thought to convince him that...
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the new-PC dilemma I was facing: whether I should desperately cling to Windows XP, bite the bullet and accept Vista as my new OS, or take the plunge to Mac. I was concerned about the productivity issues that might plague me with...
Former White House spokesman Tony Snow succumbed last weekend to colon cancer, but his legacy of effective interpersonal interactions lives on, says Kris Dunn. Dunn says Snow inspired four lessons that can help people improve their professional approaches. 1. Be willing to put your...
When you're talking to a job candidate, do you ask what superpowers he'd like to have? No? Then obviously you're missing out on the newly anointed best practice of asking ridiculous questions in the name of thorough interviewing. It's not a new trend (Microsoft's been known for...
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