Yesterday I mentioned an article in the Indy Star-News preparing us all for the coming year and the usual “resolutions” we carefully prepare.  Most often, by the end of month 1 of a new year, we’ve forgotten what we resolved to do and thrown those we do remember, out the window - to return to “business as usual” or simply “life as usual”.

I said I’d say more about each of the five items.  Number One is “work smarter, not harder”.  We hear this catchy phrase often.  What does it really mean?  Well according to the author of the news article, it means we’re ‘doing’ for too many hours a week with not the same ‘productivity’.  Let me preface a paraphrase of the “work smarter. . . ” piece by saying that one business guru suggests making very simple resolutions that we know we can keep.  The idea being that we make small incremental changes, on a daily or weekly basis that are highly possible and likely to be probable.

The article suggests that we take time to analyze each work day for a week and see what we actually accomplished.  Look for those folks who took time from our day, thus affecting our work schedule as planned and disrupting what would have been a productive day.  Analysis on even a small scale will reveal where we may not be using our time efficiently.  Once we see the inefficiencies more clearly, we can put together a plan to manage them.  The result or outcome should be more productive work days without working long hours each week.

One recommendation is to deliberately schedule 20 minutes away from our desks each day (time that can be used to take a brisk walk, thus keeping mind and body more physically fit).  Make it a habit to go out for lunch with a friend at least once a week. 

I’m a “productivity freak”!  I have to feel I’ve been productive at something each day or I begin to feel physically ill.  So one thing I do is use the early a.m. hours during my daily “quiet time” to make a list of what needs to be accomplished for the day and then prioritize the list.  It’s my daily ‘roadmap’.

Tomorrow we’ll look at a couple more of the five resolutions that are designed to bring greater balance into our lives.  And I’ll say something about “networking” as the number one item that ought to be on our resolutions for 08.

Until then, have an awesome day with much love & continued blessings!

  Linda