Productivity

IN THE BOX PODCAST

Episode 56: Starting A New Project, Getting Credit For Your Work, Catching Details, And More (Podcast)

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast we talked about the benefits of being an early bird and night owl, how to be more detail-oriented, a “we before me” mentality to credit, starting a new project and ignoring those with a superiority complex. Enjoy.

Episode 56: Starting A New Project, Getting Credit For Your Work, Catching Details, And More

Night owls and early birds – Do you find night owls or early birds are more productive? Why?

Details – One tip for someone who is often missing the details? (a.k.a. Detail-oriented is not on their résumé)

Credit – How important is it to receive credit for a project you complete at work?

Initiate – You are having trouble starting a project you know you want to do, what do you do?

Bonus – What is one tip on how to deal with people who think they are better than you?

 

Stay Positive & Listen To This And Past Episodes Here

In The Box Podcast

Episode 44: Naming A Business, Limited Productivity, Pushed Into A Corner And More (Podcast)

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast we chatted through why people go to classes, conferences and conventions and a bit about how they market themselves. We also talked about naming a business, limiting ourselves to be more productive, one tip for someone who feels pushed into a corner, and what to do when you have a hamburger and a steak comes along shortly thereafter. The steak talk is a pretty funny one. Have low expectations.

Episode 44: Naming A Business, Limited Productivity, Pushed Into A Corner And More

Classes, Conferences, Conventions – Do people go to conferences, classes and conventions then become successful or do they become successful then go to them?

Naming a business – What makes naming a business so difficult?

Steak – What do you do when you have a hamburger and steak comes along shortly thereafter?

Options – Is it best for productivity sake to put limits on what you do with your time?

Bonus – One tip for someone who feels “pushed/painted into a corner”?

 

Stay Positive & Take Responsibility, Not Blame

Work From Home

Garth Beyer

A lot of people desire it, say they want it, and seek out jobs that offer the chance.

But do you really want to work from home? Or do you want to work where you don’t have to deal with face-to-face feedback? Or because no one can sneak up behind you and catch you escaping from the duties of your job to watch another cat video? Or you want to sleep in longer because you’re really not that excited about what you do?

Home might not be where you want to work it might be an excuse to a larger problem.

If you figure out why you want to work from home, you’ll have found the requirements a job away from home will need to offer for you to work happily there. Then go do that instead.

 

Stay Positive & Best To Work Where You Can Learn From Others Anyway

Slow Fail, Quick Fix, Overnight Success

Garth Beyer

All organizations are prone to fail slowly, although it may not seem like it at times.

Just like the overnight success of Amanda Palmer, which is anything but an overnight success (it was a consistency of getting the little things right over a long period of time), failures appear to happen fast. One day the restaurant is there, the next day it’s not. One day the business manager is in charge of 20 employees, the next day it’s just him. But, truly, you and I know failure and success don’t happen that fast.

All agencies, organizations, businesses are bound to be cut and bruised just as we are. Are you treating the wounds of your business as you would a wound on your body? Or are you waiting (like so many now-failed businesses) until it’s time to patch the wound with a giant band-aid, a redesigned website, a new PR campaign, a new motto or “about us” page? It may seem logical to care for all wounds at once, but it’s not.

A drop in office productivity, a minor employee-client clash, one regretful tweet are cuts that need mending immediately. Even more importantly, we must view the boring things of business just as wounds that need our immediate attention.

When we begin ignoring the little things, we set ourselves up for a fail: a slow fail until the day it hits you.

You can certainly jump ahead success-wise with a broad stroke, a bold move, but to stop a slow and painful death that every organization, every person in business is susceptible to, we must make the little things a little more remarkable, we must apply, not just quick-fixes, but improvements to the banal, to the cumbersome, to the “not my problem” problems of our business.

Don’t just think “how can we fix this?” think “how can we fix this in a way that leaves a positive impression?” If we ask and answer this enough, we may just find ourselves getting referred to as an overnight success.

 

Stay Positive & Turn The Little Things Into Big Things

Procrastination Is Easy

Garth Beyer

That’s why everyone does it.

Don’t confuse procrastination with “waiting for inspiration.” Procrastination is an action in and of itself; it’s not that you’re lazy, it’s not that you’re putting off doing something, it’s that you’re doing the easiest thing right now.

Easy rarely translates to remarkable. Easy rarely has a reward. Easy rarely makes a journey one you want to share with your friends.

For most procrastinators, doing anything but procrastinating is hard. It’s still progress though.

Beating procrastination doesn’t mean doing what you don’t necessarily want to do, it’s just making sure you don’t do nothing. May I suggest productively procrastinating?

 

Stay Positive & Enjoy This (And This)

Is Productivity What You Really Need?

Garth Beyer

Why do you want to be more productive? That’s a question you really need to consider before you embark on your productivity campaign. If your answer is to have more time to figure out how to be ever more productive, you’re digging yourself a grave. If you’re in it for leisure, for family, for friends, then productivity is worth it.

Let us not forget, though, that just doing the work of doing the work is an acceptable option. One I personally tend to favor.

Bittersweet Productivity

Garth Beyer

I never plan to be productive. Night after night in the past I’ve said to myself that I will take care of the banal so that I can be productive in the late evening. I never was. Maybe I got a few words on paper, but not enough to consider it a productive night. And that is why I don’t plan to be productive.

I’ve realized that there is no surer way to invite the unexpected into your life than to plan progress. This alone sounds bitter.

But, what do you do when your entire day is filled with banality, when your routine is running your life, when there’s just no inspiration to be productive with?

Plan evenings, or mornings, or afternoons, to be productive, even when there is nothing to be productive with. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the world will throw something at you to stop production.

 

Stay Positive & Sweet, Sweet Productivity

Garth E. Beyer