Productivity & Procrastination
The art of delegation
Why do it yourself, when you can so easily get someone else to do it for you? Lifestyle solutions for a stress-free existence. In the frenetic 21st century a new servant class is emerging. Not white-gloved and head-bobbing but hard-headed and entrepreneurial, ready to perform …
The 50-minute rule
More and more of us eat lunch at our desks and stubbornly refuse to take anything resembling a break during the working day. This, Dr Roger Henderson argues, is counterproductive. Taking a time out every hour will boost your wellbeing and productivity.
Zap that phone
Edgar Degas is one of my favourite artists. At the turn of the century he dined with a friend who had just had a new invention installed – the telephone. Degas’ friend had arranged for someone to phone him during the meal, and when it …
Your best is good enough
Our culture often suggests that there are always greater efficiencies to be made and better results to achieve. This is a commendable thought… but there is a law of diminishing returns – you can only do your very best, more than that does not exist. …
Reward yourself – you’ve earned It
We all do things we would rather not do – attend a meeting that we know will be unpleasant, participate in an activity that makes us nervous… or sit down to a day’s work that stretches far ahead of us. There may be nothing we …
Think in concentrated bursts
We constantly think about problems and the decisions we have to make. Most of these are mundane and common. Did I turn off the gas? What do I need to get from the supermarket? Such problems take relatively little thinking time to resolve. Bigger problems …
Keep it simple
There is a trend that began in America and is taking hold in this country called ‘downshifting’, which may be seen simply as making one’s life less cluttered. Most of us spend our working hours trying to squeeze more from less, then at home we …
Take a daily stress MOT
When someone is very stressed, I can usually tell within the first 30 seconds after they sit down in front of me. It is never some one bursting into tears… that gives the game away, although that happens so often that a box of tissues …
Use daily checklists
Lists can be useful or a waste of time. Some people write lists of things they need to do, and seem to think that by writing the list their jobs will do themselves. Students who write out immaculate revision timetables and lists of topics to …
Stop, sit and think
Although I do not meditate, some of the most relaxed people I know do. When I have asked them how they think they benefit from it, almost all of them say it is as much the chance to have quiet time as anything. It is …