Stuff that make you more productive

[Brock Landers]

People that block out their entire calendar 

Ooh good one, thanks for the productivity tip Phil!

[star seed 7]

It doesn't work for every type of job but I do pomodoros with 42 minutes of work and 18 minute breaks.

During the 42 I focus on one task, close email, put phone on do not disturb, close door to office, no checking ge, twitter, fb, etc...

Once 42 minutes is up, i do whatever I want for 18 minutes. Repeat as many times as possible. My goal is to complete 20 cycles per week.

I do 18 minutes of work and 42 minutes of break

[Tobias]

every cycle per week

[halfEmpty]

I guess I do the inbox zero method?  All emails that have been addressed go into a project folder, all junk(anything from corporate) goes into a separate folder, all personal items (expenses, etc..) go into a personal folder and inbox only contains non-addressed emails.  I haven't checked my voicemail in 3+ years (we use instant messaging for almost all internal communication).  And I sit super low in my chair so people don't even know I'm here.  70% of the work I do is for other offices so I rarely have people visiting me anyway.

[pissclams]

those of you looking to be more productive, can i ask why?

[Yard Dog]

I do the inbox zero method. Nothing feels better than when I don't have to scroll around. I also have a very organized structure of folders on Outlook so I can easily find and reference old emails without having to use the search function.

I also like the GE Replies zero method. When I click on my replies tab and it is empty I tend to be more productive at work.

The head of my department calls me headphones because I wear big skull candy over the head/ear headphones. This is the best way to keep people from stopping to talk to me if I don't want to be disturbed. I'll even slip them on and not listen to music sometimes just to guarantee being left alone.

Besides that I am social person, so making sure I have a few meaningful conversations a day, preferably away from my desk, make me less distracted and more focused when I get back to work.

[cfbandyman]

Inbox is always read, but has only "open" or relevant items. Once it's closed or out of date I put emails into project folders.

I turn off as many alerts as possible from Outlook and my phone, and only look at the inbox when I'm ready to look at it, cause any time I am pinged or see and alert, I just can't not look at, or I'll be distracted.

Work playlist full of Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, beat music and the like  to block out sound and keep moving.

Fill out a weekly to daily to do list on a post it note to keep handy of the tasks I need to do in a day. Very satisfying to cross those out/throw away post it not when those items are done.

Agree with the phone voicemail, having it lit up with a voicemail annoys me needs to be taken care of immediately.

[Yard Dog]

My department uses lync phones - skype for business phones now - and all of my voicemails pop into my outlook as an email with an attached audio file. This is pretty spectacular because I can just forward it on to people if it is pertinent someone else should hear the message.

those of you looking to be more productive, can i ask why?

I have a boss that "would love to help me increase my compensation" but he "needs evidence that I am going above and beyond" so increased productivity definitely helps.

[Tobias]

i try to be less than 30 minutes late most mornings

[Phil Titola]

Email folders are not productive I've been told. Effective search (aka non_gE search) is actually more productive.

[star seed 7]

You can still search smdh

[Yard Dog]

Email folders are not productive I've been told. Effective search (aka non_gE search) is actually more productive.

The trouble is the emails that don't mention a project by name or when you have a vendor who contacts you with several different people.

[Phil Titola]

That's what we were told by our email archive vendor when asked about foldering.

[wetwillie]

Email folders are not productive I've been told. Effective search (aka non_gE search) is actually more productive.

The trouble is the emails that don't mention a project by name or when you have a vendor who contacts you with several different people.

Forward it to yourself and retitle with a crap ton of keywords so you can easily find it later.

[Yard Dog]

Email folders are not productive I've been told. Effective search (aka non_gE search) is actually more productive.

The trouble is the emails that don't mention a project by name or when you have a vendor who contacts you with several different people.

Forward it to yourself and retitle with a crap ton of keywords so you can easily find it later.

Sounds like a ton of extra work I would be creating for myself when my folder system is working just fine.

[Emo EMAW]

You guys are spending a lot of time making sure that everything gets done.  It's more productive to not spend that time worrying about everything and just do what's important. 

[Tobias]

emo gets it

[star seed 7]

It's important to get everything done

[The Big Train]

Email folders are not productive I've been told. Effective search (aka non_gE search) is actually more productive.

The trouble is the emails that don't mention a project by name or when you have a vendor who contacts you with several different people.

I have no issues finding emails with or without project names in them because I also have a superior memory along with great organization.

[puniraptor]

A blinking voice-mail or missed call light is like maddening to me. It must be taken care of immediately

my productivity #ack on this topic is to disable voicemail on your phone. Great for inner peace, maybe not that great for people around my desk when the phone rings for 10 minutes when im not here.

[WillieWatanabe]

Inbox is always read, but has only "open" or relevant items. Once it's closed or out of date I put emails into project folders.

This is my method. I usually have 10-20 emails in my inbox at a time. If i would try the zero method, i feel like i would be forgetting things constantly.

[steve dave]

Not having a 3 year and 9 month old

[steve dave]

Everything else is garbage

[steve dave]

Say you don't have said kid responsibilities....maybe don't be such a lazy POS?

[Tobias]

idiot