REPOST: Productivity Hacks That Successful People Use Every Day

This Forbes.com article shares ways on how to manage your time properly and be productive at work. 

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If you feel like you’re consistently finding there’s more “work” than there is “day,” you’re not alone.

Too many of us get caught up in putting out fires, wasting time on tasks that don’t really matter, and using our time ineffectively and haphazardly. But when you start to think about yourself as a steward of the eight precious work hours you have during the day, your work habits can’t help but become more streamlined and purposeful.

Following are seven hacks that can save you an hour or more each and every day, when applied consistently. Keep in mind that not all of these hacks will work for every business or industry. For instance, if you’re a paramedic contracting with the local health authority, I wouldn’t recommend letting all phone calls go to voicemail!

Note: Any savvy mathematicians in the crowd will notice that, upon implementing each of the seven hacks below, you’ll save up to 13.5 hours per day. But before you get excited thinking these hacks will allow you to not show up at the office at all, keep in mind that the amount of time you’ll save per hack will vary depending on how much time you currently spend on each task. Sorry.

1. Set specific times to check email

One of the biggest time-sucks known to modern man is checking and responding to email. If you don’t believe me, try monitoring your email usage for an entire day and you’ll see exactly how much time is spent in this regard.

In fact, some research even suggests that email takes up 28% of the average worker’s day; this translates into the second-most time-consuming activity we take part in during the day.

Resist the nearly overwhelming urge to answer every ping that comes from your smartphone or computer, and instead limit yourself to checking and responding to emails at set times during the day. The number of times you’ll check will depend on the type of business you run, however Tim Ferris of the 4 Hour Work Week suggests checking it twice per day:

He writes on his blog, “the fastest method I’ve found for controlling the e-mail impulse is to set up an autoresponder that indicates you will be checking e-mail twice per day or less.” By letting your customers, clients and colleagues know exactly when you’ll be on email, you are essentially training them how to communicate with you – on your terms.

I’ve found that Inbox Pause for Gmail has been enormously helpful in reducing my mental overhead when it comes to email.

Estimated Time Saved: 2.24 hours per day, assuming 28% of an eight-hour work day.

2. Let your calls go to voicemail

Unless you’re expecting a life or death call, don’t feel obligated to pick up every time the phone rings. If you’re a sole proprietor, this can be a little more difficult; you probably don’t want to let important sales calls go to voicemail.

But if possible, take a quick peek at the caller ID, and only take calls that must be answered immediately. In time you may find you can let up to 90% of your calls safely go to voicemail, returning them at the end of the day (just be sure you actually do return them!). For an excellent overview of why phone calls are often a waste of time and cause lost productivity, see “Sorry, No Calls.”

Not only will ‘batching’ your phone calls save you time, but it will mean you’re more focused and intentional when you do talk to clients or colleagues. They’ll appreciate the fact that you’ve purposefully set aside time to connect with them, and that the time you do spend on the phone with them is uninterrupted and productive. Estimated Time Saved: one to two hours per day.

3. Have a daily plan in place

If you’ve ever come home at the end of the day with that sinking feeling of “I didn’t get anything done today,” this hack is for you.

It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of responding to situations, people, and crises. But rather than letting others dictate the course of your day, have a plan in place for proactively tackling projects and tasks.

By setting a specific amount of time for each task – for instance, one hour to get that budget report done – you’re more likely to be hyper-focused and to not allow yourself to get distracted.

This doesn’t mean you completely ignore those around you; it does mean, however, that you build time into your day to deal with unexpected situations that may arise.

Estimated Time Saved: one to two hours per day.

4. Monitor your social media usage

We know that social media, while an absolute necessity for business owners, can really eat into the workday. Most of us would probably be embarrassed to admit how much time we spend checking Facebook and Twitter!

As part of your daily plan, build in time to check, monitor and respond to social media. Be sure to build in time for writing blog posts, checking blog comments, as well as monitoring and responding to comments and queries on social networking sites.

Online time-tracking tools like Rescue Time and Toggl can give you an accurate picture of how much time you’re spending on various tasks, and can help you keep your time spent on social media under control.

Estimated Time Saved: one to two hours per day.

5. Keep meetings to a minimum

With the average meeting lasting approximately 45 minutes, and the majority of us spending nearly half our days in meetings, limiting the frequency and length of meetings is critical.

Many meetings can be avoided and replaced by a group email or a quick phone call, so don’t be afraid to suggest alternatives to traditional, in-person meetings.

If a meeting is unavoidable, as far as it’s in your control, make sure they’re highly organized, that members are kept on-task, and that an agenda is kept to. Give a set starting and ending time, and be sure everyone involved knows what time the meeting is to be officially over.

Estimated Time Saved: Up to three hours per day. Assuming half of an eight-hour work day is spent in meetings, up to three hours can be saved by replacing in-person meetings with group emails or phone calls.

6. Say no to “busy work”

There’s a growing acknowledgement among business professionals that “busy” doesn’t equal “productive.” Don’t let yourself get caught up tending to small, insignificant tasks that don’t contribute to the bottom line.

While tasks like organizing your desk, color-coding your files, or fiddling with fonts may seem important in the moment, they can be huge time-wasters. While there is a time and place for most tasks (even seemingly insignificant ones), be sure you’re not just doing them to stay busy.

Having a daily plan in place should help you stay on task, but asking yourself periodically throughout the day, “Is this helping grow my business?” can give you a bit of extra motivation and clarity.

7. Use efficiency-maximizing tools

Software tools are a great way to speed up common tasks that otherwise take up bandwidth. Roboform, Boomerang for Gmail, and Dropbox are just three of my most-recommended productivity tools. For the entire list, see my article, “10 Tools to Make You More Efficient.”

Estimated Time Saved: Up to one hour per day.

Conclusion

Hopefully you’ve used your allotted “reading favorite blogs” time to read this article; otherwise, it’s time to stop reading and build it into your plan for tomorrow! For more business & entrepreneur insights, see these resources.

What productivity hacks from this list are you already using with success? What other hacks are missing from this list that you find particularly helpful? Share in the comments below!


Marc Accetta believes that one must be able to shake off doubts and fears, improve self-esteem, and mold personal skills to become successful. More of his insights can be found by visiting this Facebook page.

Ending the year on a high note

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For most people, the countdown to the New Year has already started. Given this, people are already on holiday mode. And with parties left and right, work productivity, unfortunately, takes a back seat. Last-minute vacation planning and gift-buying top the list of concerns for most employees. After all, work will begin again in the coming year.


However, for employees who intend to race past their peers in getting that raise or promotion, they need to finish the year strong. They could set themselves apart from the rest of the pack by giving that final push. They could do so by creating their own yearend goals and sticking to deadlines. Their guiding philosophy is: Be the new you now.

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Though it may be difficult to keep the pace at times especially when everyone else is slowing down, what employees may do is vary their daily routine. For example, they could switch their daily cup of black coffee with a holiday blend on some days.


They could embrace the holiday mood, too. A positive attitude will certainly help when tackling tasks, so it is best to smile and bring cheer to colleagues. If for the most part of the year things have been difficult in the office, the best time to make up for it is by ending the year in good spirits.

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Marc Accetta is the founder of Marc Accetta Seminars. For years, he has been empowering lives through his life story. Follow this Twitter account to learn more about empowerment.

Getting one's work recognized

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Putting it simply: working hard and working smart are still the best things that professionals can do to get ahead in their career. It takes an extraordinary amount of effort and an abundant display of perseverance and dedication to one’s work to get noticed by the higher-ups and to be considered as a potential candidate for a leadership role. However, in spite of one’s efforts, there are still times when hard work somehow falls short.

For professionals who find that this situation applies to them, here are some tips on how they can get the recognition they deserve:

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1. Improve further. If a professional’s hard work and great attitude is not getting recognized within the organization, it may be because the level of his or her work is still only within expected or recommended levels. To break through, a worker may need to show more initiative to take on bigger responsibilities and to show willingness to learn other tasks.

2. Assess the organization’s values. An employee’s achievements at work may not be in line with the goals of the organization, and this could be why that worker hasn’t been recognized. Reviewing the organization’s values should reveal what types of achievements are valued by the managers which could help guide workers to devote more of their effort to tasks that matter.

3. Move to a different company. Finally, it may be that the organization simply does not value extraordinary employees. There are many dead end jobs in companies that don’t value innovation and initiative. If this is the case, then it is best for a highly motivated individual to just look for better opportunities in a company that doesn’t fault them for being enthusiastic about work.

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Marc Accetta is a life coach who continues to help others find ways to become successful at what they do. For more tips on self-improvement, follow this Facebook page.

Be in the condition to lead others to greatness

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The efforts of employees who are bent on improving their careers may eventually be recognized through promotions to leadership positions. However, not many may feel quickly at ease with their new roles. The responsibilities of a leader could be numerous and overwhelming, even for seasoned professionals.

It can be intimidating at first but, to achieve success, one just has to press forward while quickly developing the required skills to lead. However, the elements of effective leadership go beyond know-how of planning, organizing, and control.

Image Source: inc.com

One of the key leadership abilities is the aptitude for communication. Knowing the right thing to say and the right way to say it is vital to keeping the members of one’s team engaged and willing to give their full effort for the company’s goals. Having and maintaining a good attitude toward the work and toward others also allow a leader to become an inspiring presence instead of an icon of fear in the workplace.

The ability to support others is also important. Highly effective leaders are those that bring out the full potential of the company’s workforce. Increasing productivity is not achieved by forcing the workers to sacrifice for the company. It is accomplished by allowing workers to develop their own skills and abilities through opportunities for training and growth. Likewise, having the initiative to step in and offer solutions when things go wrong is expected of a leader, and anything less than alertness for the ground situation could be termed sleeping on the job.

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Find more articles about effective leadership through this Marc Accetta Twitter page.

REPOST: Living the 7 Entrepreneurial Virtues

Kevin Daum shares advice on how entrepreneurs can strive for bigger and better things in their career. Read about them here:

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Last month, I shared how to avoid the 7 deadly entrepreneurial sins so you could innovate without fear. But entrepreneurs, and those who are entrepreneurial in their roles, aspire to live life beyond mere survival and safety. They strive for something bigger and more meaningful.

So here are descriptions of the 7 Heavenly Virtues for you entrepreneurial types to help you reach for the clouds.

1. Purity

Temptation is abundant in the entrepreneurial world. Most people are looking for shortcuts: a faster, easier way to take the market, get funding, lock down a client. Most shortcuts, if even effective for the long run, can come with a price. The best businesses are built on a solid foundation of integrity. Their business models are backed by research and tested to prove viability. Above all, the ethical choices you make will impact the respect and trust you retain in business for decades to come. Those who misrepresent to gain fast traction are doomed to follow in the footsteps of Enron. Better to be a Jeff Bezoz than a Kenneth Lay.

2. Temperance

Exuberance is a trait of many entrepreneurs and CEOs. They love to get excited and get people around them excited as well. But the leader who gets excited all the time about every little thing creates excitement fatigue. Followers begin to lose interest because they can't distinguish between actual major milestones and missteps.  A leader who shows self-restraint can pick the moments to generate enthusiasm. Moderation will help sustain energy that builds over time.

3. Charity

One doesn't have to give away their fortune to be charitable. Charity can come in other forms than money. The best and most respected leaders give their time, their energy, their thoughts, and their life lessons. But they do it now, they do it often and they do it with intent. They make a concerted effort to engage with those who have not yet achieved, and they do it selflessly.

4. Diligence

As one of my personal core values, the idea of diligence has helped me benefit from wonderful opportunities as it has protected me from bad ones. Entrepreneurial people are ready to jump at a moment's notice, but those who can comfortably step back, do their homework, and deliver with consistency will grow bigger and better every time.

5. Patience

Patience may be the hardest virtue for entrepreneurial types to master. Once a vision is finished in your head, you want it to exist tomorrow (or at least by next week.) But the best success is built over time. A business or process cultivated carefully over time will grow bigger, be more competitive, and last longer. Plant your seeds today and enjoy helping them grow. And if you feel anxious along the way, at least learn to manage your impatience productively.

6. Kindness

I have said many times that nice people will sabotage you in business. But as a New Yorker, I appreciate that you can be brutally honest and direct while still being kind. In fact, the kindest move you can often make is to save people from wasting their time and energy on a dead end campaign. Beyond that, a smile and a little tasteful humor at no one's expense will go along way to endear you to others.

7. Humility

Entrepreneurial people, born or made, are gifted leaders. It takes strength, power and a healthy ego to lead people into the unknown. But the act of being humble, best demonstrated though self-awareness and acknowledgement of others, is sure to have people following you to great heights for all the right reasons.


Marc Accetta continues to try and encourage other professionals to aim for higher goals in their careers.  Find more advice on personal improvement on this Twitter page.

REPOST: Can Founders Ever Achieve Work-Life Balance?

This Forbes.com article shares some ways on how to achieve balance in your daily routine. 

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As a time coach, I talk to people who want to live a more balanced life on a daily basis—including startup founders. It can be a struggle, but my real-world experience has uncovered that yes, founders can achieve work-life balance — IF all five of the following conditions are met:

1. They Want It: Not everyone wants traditional work-life balance, typically meaning that you have enough time for basic self-care like sleep, exercise and nutrition and connection with key people like friends and family members. Instead, as a time coach, I focus on trying to help entrepreneurs achieve their definition of work-life brilliance – meaning their time investment aligns with their priorities.

However, I can’t bring about lasting behavioral change if they don’t intrinsically want it.

2. They Believe It: To have true work-life balance, you need to not only believe it’s possible in a theoretical sense, but also believe it’s possible personally for you. In my experience, this belief comes from a combination of seeing an entrepreneur whom you relate to experiencing work-life balance and/or starting to attempt it yourself and witnessing positive results.

Without a sense of hope, it’s nearly impossible to stick it out through the uncomfortable process of breaking old habits and forming new ones. To make it through this difficult withdrawal stage, you need to have faith that the changes will really pay off in the end.

3. They Value It: We have a limited amount of time each day, and how we invest it determines what kind of life we create. Work-life balance comes at a professional cost for most people, but especially for founders. The choice to invest in activities outside of work may mean that you can’t start certain types of businesses, take on specific categories of funding, work with particular clients, or expand at as rapid a pace. For those who highly value life outside of work, these macro-level decisions that give them the opportunity to live a balanced life are worth the potential cost and risk to their business.

4. They Know How: Many people want, believe in, and value work-life balance, but they just don’t know how to change. If you’ve always seen startup founders work crazy hours, you don’t have good role models to show you how to behave in a balanced manner. And it’s hard to know how to think and act differently if you’ve always operated in one way. As the quote often attributed to Einstein goes: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

5. They Can: After working with clients around the world with many different personality types, including some with ADD/ADHD, I believe that almost anyone who meets the above four criteria can see improvement in their work-life balance. But for people who thrive in high-pressure environments, achieving traditional work-life balance and moving their company forward effectively may or may not be possible to the same extent as others.

For individuals who fit this profile, the best strategy is to clarify action-based priorities in key areas such as seven hours of sleep a night, working out five days a week, or having family dinner six days a week. Then they need to focus on making these priorities into routines that allow them to consistently invest their time in these core areas while still keeping up a fairly high level of intensity in their work during the remaining hours.

Work-life balance is possible for founders who meet the above five criteria, but for those who don’t, it’s not.

Marc Accetta shares his passions with many people through his live seminars and coaching programs. Follow this Twitter page for more updates.

The secrets to achieving entrepreneurial success

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Starting up a business on one’s own is not as easy as it looks, and many have gone home broke when the entrepreneurial venture of their dreams failed to take off. However, there are those who achieved success and were able to live out their dreams of entrepreneurial success.

Inc.com shows how these self-made entrepreneurial mavens were able to find success in the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship. Here are three of them:

• Being kind to customers. Bob Moore of Bob’s Red Mill, a natural-foods chain in Milwaukee, Oregon, believes that customers should be treated with utmost respect. In addition, he agrees that the customer is always right, which probably made his store’s ordinary buyers into lifelong repeat customers and even business partners.

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• Accountability is a good thing. Although Tim O’Reily was already head of O’Reilly Media, a publishing company located in Sebastopol, California, he hired a board of directors based on the advice of a management consultant. Tim believed that being accountable for something, no matter how high one’s position is, teaches great discipline.

• Keeping a close eye on the product. Even though Justin Kan is busy with his work as the co-founder of Justin.tv, a video streaming site based in San Francisco, he still sticks close to the coding, which is the lifeblood of any web company, because he believes that it is next to impossible to manage somebody’s work if he doesn’t have intimate knowledge of how the work is actually done.

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Many successful entrepreneurs have their own secrets to success, and it is very important for those who want to achieve the same level of success to take each and every one of them to heart.

Marc Accetta can teach you how to change your mind-set for you to have the successful career you’ve always wanted. Visit this website for more details.