Last week I launched my free online productivity quiz to enable employees to get their free productivity score plus some insights.

Over 150 people have taken the productivity assessment so far and there’s some startling trends emerging from the data.

Whilst running an Inbox Zero workshop for a team of Solicitors this week an attendee came up with a cracking analogy.
 
We were having a discussion around the stress of dealing with a high volume of email when she said…

If you are out of the inbox, your whole organisation slows down.

Or does it?

Are you ready for this?

When you are said to be "ready" you are in the right state for an action or situation. You're fully prepared.

Way back n 1911 Frederick W Taylor a mechanical engineer came up with the idea that productivity was linked to two variables. Humans and machines.

By optimising humans and machines you could increase output without increasing inputs. Make more money without adding costs.

Have you spotted that your mind wants things to be completed? Finished, done, checked off.

Understanding mental health is seriously affecting my mental health. The irony of everyone now talking about it is that I'm getting overwhelmed.

The human brain is a funny thing. Sometimes it likes to control everything, and sometimes it doesn’t want any control and leaves that to other people, nature, circumstance, or technology.

I recall from my school days, sprinting down the corridor to get outside and play. My timing used to be terrible, I'd turn the corner and bump into a teacher. "Walk! Don't run!" they would bellow.

Have you watched The Social Dilemma you on Netflix? If not, I encourage you to get off your phone to see what's actually going on with you and your phone.

Batching up similar tasks is an extremely healthy way to be productive. It's the opposite of switching from one type of task to another, which can use much more mental energy.

What is the best thing that you could be doing right now, out of all the options you know about? Which task earns the right for your time and attention right to give you the biggest payoff?

When you are working it can be difficult to stop. You are on a roll with a task or project, or there is a deadline looming. There can also be more subtle reasons why you don’t stop. You worry that your boss or your colleagues might think that you are skiving.

I received some wisdom from an old school friend this week. We hadn’t spoken for years, so it was fun to reminisce. I recalled sitting next to her in an English exam, where I noticed that she had written four sides of paper when I had not even written one.

I had one of those lightbulb moments this morning. It came out of one of those serendipitous instances. Last night I was scrolling on Facebook (ok, don't judge me!) and stumbled upon a bizarre live video of a young guy from Cantebury walking around the town with a DJ console strapped to him.

I've seen the future. It looks exciting. It's a piece of software. It's called Roam. Roam Research launched a test version of its new note-taking software in late 2019

Metacognition is not an easy concept to explain. Even the word itself sounds scientific enough to put many people off examining it.

I love standing up in front of a group of people explaining new and interesting concepts. Ideas that will hopefully transform the way they think, work, and live. Lockdown has temporarily put a halt to physically being with clients.

There's something you are doing at this very moment that could be bad for your health. Creating this sense of anticipation in the first sentence may have made it even worse.

I can't believe that Post-it Notes are over 40 years old. I'm showing my age by saying that I do remember life before them. When those bright yellow squares jumped on the scene, people went nuts over something so simple.