A while ago I tweeted about how poor I am with email. I’ve tried various methods. I tried automatically filtering all the non-essential email into subfolders, but as some commenters pointed out, I soon never checked these subfolders. I tried unsubscribing from everything, but this seemed an impossible task. Then Will Sansbury recommended that I try The Email Game, and I actually love it. The Email Game … more »

I’m nearing the release of a project that I’ve been working on for about a year. All those deadlines that seemed to be many months in the distance are suddenly weeks away. As the project manager was reviewing the rollout schedule with me, he paused to admit that he was a little overwhelmed with everything going on. There’s simply a lot to do with a … more »

In a world of increasing social media, work, activities, and other obligations, it’s easy for our lives to become quickly cluttered. Just last week an old friend wrote and explained that she was finally listening to some of my podcasts and really enjoyed them. In particular, she listened to the podcast with Ricardo Amigo about technical writing, in which I explain some of the new … more »

Last week I discovered a technique for increasing productivity at work. It’s so simple it’s almost funny, but it is working. I tore up an index card into 10 little squares, numbering them one through ten. In the morning, before I launch into the work of the day, I write down the top ten tasks I want to accomplish for that day. As I finish … more »

Every week our team has a team meeting. In our manager’s office, we sit around a table and talk about our projects, our concerns, and whatever else we want to talk about. Recently, during one of my colleague’s turns, he talked about his goals. Apparently he’d made some goals about video tutorials, and I can’t remember exactly what they were, just that he was reporting … more »

A couple of weeks ago I started listing all of my to-do’s in Outlook. Soon the list grew so long that I felt I would never be able to do it all. We all lead extremely busy lives. We have goals, commitments, and an almost endless amount of tasks to complete. Are there any productivity tips that work for you? Here’s how my friends on … more »