Fresh Focus On Productivity!™

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Are you a “pleaser”?

Do you habitually give in to other people because you just can’t stand the thought of upsetting them? Do you put your needs to one side because you get a buzz from someone else’s happiness, only to find that he or she is not a bit grateful? If so, you are a classic "people pleaser," and you are, in all probability, not getting what you want out of life. It’s time to shift the focus from others to yourself, and stop being a martyr.

I’m quite sure that there is more than one person reading this that can answer "yes" to that question. But I have a question back at you:

How do you ever Get Things Done?

Saying “yes” is an affliction that the even the best of us have. A good deal of the time, it’s a great deal easier to say “yes” when we are asked for something rather than to say “no”. But how can you be personally productive if you are always doing for others? The simple answer is that you can’t.

In order to keep your own life on track, you must have time to be able to complete the tasks and goals that you have set out for yourself. Not only for the obvious reason of being organized, but for the unobvious reason: you cannot feel productive and organized if you aren’t doing so.

Setting our own goals and being organized enough to accomplish them is a very important part to the humans’ psyche. The psyche is geared to feeling good about itself when you are able to accomplish tasks for yourself. Now you might be thinking “How the heck am I going to get anything done for myself? I have so many things to do for other people…..”. There is a way….and it may take you some time to learn it, but learn it you must. You have to say

NO.

Saying no is a key component of being able to be organized and Get Things Done. You have to be able to use this word in order to fulfill your own agenda and also in order to be able to feel good about yourself. When you say “no” to people, and you have the time, list for them a few reasons why you are saying no. Such as, “I would love to be able to take care of that for you, but due to tasks A, B, and C, I would not be able to do this for you in a timely and efficient manner. My other commitment have my plate full at the moment Might I suggest that you speak with X in order to complete your task?”

People don’t like to hear the word no, but when coupled with the explanation of why you are saying no, you can inform them that you would not be able to invest the time it would take to see the task to fruition and be able to do it with quality.

But when you do say yes to a task or project, people will realize that they will get your best quality work that you can offer, and that it is indeed an exception point that you have said yes to their request. When you learn to say no, people will begin to value what you do for them and value when you say yes.

Do you know how to say no? If not, are you going to start now? Tell me in the comments.

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Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs
July 27, 2004
Many people feel a mid-afternoon slump in mood and alertness, especially after a poor night of sleep. Many believe that this slump is caused by eating a heavy lunch. However, in reality, this occurs because we were meant to have a mid-afternoon nap.

Implemented by cultures near the equator, presumable to escape the hot mid-day sun, nature intended that we take a nap in the middle of the day. Along with a slight drop in body temperature, it seems as if we have a biological readiness for sleep in the afternoons. Whether lunch is consumed or not, the wont to take an afternoon nap is still as strong one.

Research shows that an afternoon nap as short at ten minutes can enhance mood, alertness and mental performance especially after a night when you haven’t had a good nights sleep.

Now you may think that taking an afternoon nap will make you more tired, but quite the opposite is true. A nap of no longer than 45 can leave you feeling refresh and energized, after the sleep inertia (grogginess) dissipates.

Unfortunately, the culture in the USA had been structured as such to allow for an afternoon nap. Most places barely get a half hour for lunch, and some people choose not to take a lunch at all, but work and eat lunch at the same time. I have to raise my hand and join that group: I work through lunch so that I can work a straight eight hours and leave work early.

However, if you are forced to take an hour lunch ( I worked for a business owner that forced us to take one hour lunches just because he was a control freak) then you have a prime opportunity to nap. I know that when my mother was still working, she would go into an empty conference room and take a 45 minute nap. She has sleep apnea and didn’t sleep very well until she got her CPAP machine. Grab a quiet place and do a power snooze. Set your watch or phone alarm and catch some Z’s!

So tell me in the comments: do you take a nap in the afternoon? Does it help you and if it does, how so?

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The National Association of Professional Organizers has again declared January Get Organized Month!

As we all know, starting a new year is a great way to enact significant changes in both yourself and your space. NAPO has many events scheduled across the country as part of their Get Organized Month. Be sure to check out the calendar to see if there is an event near you. I’m thinking of attending one in my area – are you?

Amazon has created a Top 10 New Year’s Resolution page that includes “#9: Organize and Optimize” with a number of good deals on storage solutions and organizing books. I myself have found great things on Amazon for organization.

So tell me – what commitments did you make in the new year to get organized? What steps have you taken to accomplish this? What is the end goal? Tell me in the comments!

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Do you think that focusing can hinder your success? One wouldn’t think so. But before you answer, ponder on that question and read my thoughts below.

When you are focusing and getting in the groove, that’s a great thing. But when you are focusing on one thing and refuse to switch to another when asked, I think that’s where you can get into trouble.

It’s really good to schedule out your day and plan on certain time to do certain things. What do you do, though, when something comes up that needs your attention (it may not be immediate)? Are you flexible enough to be able to switch gears and deal with the issue (if it will take a short period of time). Or do you “stay the course” and continue with what you are doing and not address the issue before you?

The experience I had the other day was similar to this. I asked someone for something and was put on hold because what I was asking for was not “appropriate” for the tasks that the person was processing at that very moment. I sat back and scratched my head a bit on this, because what I was asking was within the task being accomplished, just not in the method that was being processed at that time. Now I’m not being impatient and stomping my foot saying that I wanted to be addressed that very moment: please don’t think that. But it really caused me to pause and think.

I’m all for processing and prioritizing tasks within your action items, but I do feel that one needs to be flexible enough to process things that need to be processed at the time they need to be processed.

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