Latest productivity Articles


Procrastinating on Studying? 5 Ready Tips To Overcome Procrastination [Student Edition!]

Tapping a pencil

How would you answer this question: “When are you going to do your Social Studies assignment that’s due next week?” I’m pretty sure your answer isn’t “right now.” It’s more likely that your answer is “maybe tomorrow.” Why complete the assignment today when it’s only due next week, right? At some level, though, you know it’s a bad idea to procrastinate. When you wait until…

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Work-Life Balance: Your Guide to Achieving that Elusive Balance Between Work and Life

Work-Life Balance

Is it really feasible to achieve work-life balance nowadays? Or is it just a myth? There were times I used to regularly work 14-hour days. I remember a discussion with a colleague on this topic. At one point I said “Yeah, but what can you do?” and she answered simply “There is always something you can do”. It was such a simple statement, but it…

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3 Simple Tips To Achieve Inbox Zero Using E-mail Filters [Video]

Achieve Inbox Zero through E-mail Filters

Many people often ask me how I manage my e-mails. Even though I receive a fair amount of mail every week, I’m on top of almost every mail that enters my mailbox and respond to priority mail like urgent enquiries, media enquiries and business mail very quickly, sometimes right away. And the best thing is this: I spend less than two minutes managing my mail…

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[Manifesto] The 8 Habits of Highly Productive People

8 Habits of Highly Productive People Manifesto

This is the redesign of the old manifesto for The 8 Habits of Highly Productive People, an all-time site classic written in 2010. The tips are timeless and apply no matter when you’re reading it! (Click image for larger version) Read the full article: The 8 Habits of Highly Productive People Get the poster and postcard version at the Personal Excellence Gift Shop as a gift for yourself or for…

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Your One-Stop Guide To Outsourcing: Why You Should Outsource and How To Get Started in the Next 20 Minutes

Outsourcing

Recently, I’ve fallen in love with outsourcing. Today, I’m going to share about the process of outsourcing and how you can outsource too. With online portals like Elance and Odesk today, anyone can outsource a job and get good responses in a matter of hours. Why Outsource? In my recent The Superstar Effect article, I wrote about the importance of focus. Focus on the one big thing…

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[Manifesto] 11 Tips To Effective Email Management

Email Management Manifesto

Flooded with emails? Constantly spending time in your inbox? Here’s a manifesto on how to manage your emails (and time) effectively. (Click image for larger version) Read the full article: 11 Simple Tips To Effective Email Management And some articles on time management and productivity which you may be interested in: Become the Master of Your Time Put First Things First The Best Productivity System…

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[Manifesto] The Productivity Manifesto

Productivity Manifesto

This one is a must-have manifesto for anyone out there who wants to get the best out of his/her time. Hang it at your work desk now! (Click image for larger version) Read the full article: 50 Effective Ways To Boost Your Productivity Get the poster version at the Personal Excellence Gift Shop as a gift for yourself or for a friend! And if you can’t get…

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23 Useful Freeware You Will Definitely Find Handy

Freeware

Today’s post is to share my favorite applications (including web-based apps), based on years of sieving and experimentation. You’ll find many of them very handy. The amazing thing is – they are all freeware!

Total count: 22. I’ll add on over time as I find new gems. Enjoy! :)

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The 8 Habits of Highly Productive People

Pocket Watch

What makes a productive person? Is it the ability to robotically churn out work, hour after hour? Is it the amount of discipline one has? Is it the speed at which one works?

Before we can discuss what makes a productive person, we should first define what productivity is. The common notion of productivity is the ability to churn out a lot of work in a short span of time. True, but not complete. IMO, true productivity is the ability to create a lot of high impact work in a short span of time. This is the kind of productivity we should concern ourselves with, not other kinds of productivity which are more empty / busy work that create no impact in the long term.

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How To Finish What You Start: 10 Important Tips

Finishing line

Do you have a habit of starting projects, but not finishing them?

It might be the new business you want to start but you’re halfway working through the business plan. It might be the album which you want to launch but you’re still composing the songs. It might be the book which you want to finish writing but you’re still stuck in the early chapters.

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11 Simple Tips To Effective Email Management

Email

Emailing has become a central mode of our communication today, both at home and at work. Looking back ten years ago, it’s kind of hard to imagine this. I still remember I got my first PC then and email was a complete novelty. It was 1998 when I first sent out my email. Today, it’s the #1 tool I use to communicate with others (social…

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