Posts Tagged ‘Productivity’

Baby, it’s cold outside, and you need to save money on your heating bill. But hang on before you lower that thermostat too much.

A few years ago, researchers at Cornell University found that when employers lowered office temps from a toasty 77 degrees to a chilly 68 degrees, they also lowered worker productivity.

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 We’ve got PCs, netbooks, iPhones, iPods, and iPads; Wiis, Miis, and MP3s; Segways, GPS, and TiVo. But we still can’t tell the laundry to pick itself up off the floor, toss itself into the washer, and bring along one of those handy all-in-one detergent packs. No matter how much technology does for us, we still have chores—those tedious daily and weekly tasks that not even the Roomba robot vacuum can eliminate.

So how do we make these mundane tasks less mundane? Try turning them into a daily obstacle course.

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Like many of you, I’ve got too much on my mind lately and the mental noise is overwhelming the part of my brain that tracks everyday chores, appointments, and so on. As a result, I’m skipping meals, going to bed at ridiculous hours, putting off easy tasks that would be better put away, and even missing appointments that were marked on my calendar.

Time for the timers.

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“The whole world is set on fire.”

That’s one of the more memorable quotes from the 1992 film version of The Last of the Mohicans. And since I’m indulging my inner drama queen, that’s how I’ve felt lately. As loyal readers may have noticed, a nasty little virus wandered in and briefly staked claim on behalf of some probably nonexistent terrorist group. Posts have fallen behind as I’ve focused on other site-related issues. Like many people, I’ve gotten caught up in putting out fires instead of blazing my path. As a result, the mountains have started to seem overwhelming.

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A lot of my friends are unhappy with their jobs, and statistics show that probably means they’re unhappy with their bosses or coworkers. So the mountains they’d like to move are the nuisances at work.

Guess that’s why many people tell me they’d give anything to trade places with me, be their own bosses, and—best of all—work out of their homes!

But the mood isn’t always merrier in the home office.

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Not long ago, I heard the song “Live Like We’re Dying” by 2009 American Idol winner Kris Allen. As the title implies, it’s a message song about making the most of the time we have, which the chorus tells us is “eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds in a day to turn it all around or throw it all away.”

Did you know that? I didn’t either. Sure, the math is easy, but who bothers to find out that there are 86,400 seconds in a 24-hour day? Makes you think, doesn’t it?

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It’s been one of those days.

Do you often find yourself saying that? I do. But when those words roll off my tongue, it usually has less to do with the amount of work, or the wild activity in my schedule, than the worry pecking at my brain.

When I’m fretting about business issues or family matters or household problems or health concerns, it seems to drain so much more of my energy and enthusiasm—and productivity than I spend on my usual work load.

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What’s more essential to being an effective leader, time or money? According to the money people, the answer is time.

In a recent survey of accountants by Ajilon Finance and the Institute of Management Accountants, 29 percent of respondents said what leaders most need to be effective in their positions is more time. Only 14 percent said leaders need more money.

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The Bulletin of the World Health Organization recently published the results of the first study to estimate the productivity loss from uncorrected refractive error—common vision problems that can easily be treated with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or laser surgery. But left untreated, these simple challenges can lead to virtual blindness for sufferers. And the researchers who conducted the study estimate these vision issues cost the world at least $269 billion in lost productivity each year.

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When we were kids, my dad bought a used Jeep Wagoneer from a family friend and drove that thing until it was ready for the scrap yard. Time and again Mom cautioned him that he needed to have the Jeep serviced or replace it before he found himself hitchhiking around town. Time and again Daddy said he’d get around to it tomorrow … next week … next month … one of these days.

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