Expert insights. Personalized for you.
One of the things that came out of the 2020 Reader Survey is that people are struggling with energy management. I’m not a naturally energetic person. In fact, some of those same readers made the comment that not everyone has energy to manage everything that I do. MORE
I don't take very good care of myself. I short myself on sleep almost daily. I don't eat well or regularly. I don't hydrate enough. I don't exercise regularly. I sit for my job and I sit for my hobbies. I don't allow myself the time to meditate or process my emotions through journaling. MORE
130 In Chapter 2 of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity , David Allen spells out the four criteria model for choosing the next thing to do. He says that you choose what to do next based on (in this order) context, time available, energy and priority. MORE
Time blocking is a great way to get things done. But it doesn't mean putting all of your tasks on your calendar. Want to make me cringe? Tell me you put all of your tasks on your calendar so that you have time set aside to do them. Just no. Today we'll talk about how to do effective time blocking. MORE
Most of us consider backups as something someone else does to our computers. But it's important to have backups of things that are crucial to your productivity, whether they are computer-based or not. The post Podcast Episode 41: Backups for All Critical Systems appeared first on Laura Earnest. MORE
130 
Working from home.many of us are doing it right now. Some are doing it better than others. So how can you make working from home successful? MORE
I've believed for a while it is possible to be over-systemized. MORE
For many years I have been on a media fast. I started about 8 years ago, when I realized that I was shouting at the radio on my way to work, and my anger and stress levels were constantly elevated. So I took a break. MORE
There are days when I am overwhelmed. I still haven’t learned to only put on my task list what I can actually do. Today we will look at how to scale back your task list. I approach my task list from the standpoint that if it is on there, I have committed to do it…today. MORE
This episode debuts the segment format: Segment 1: Antelopes, Mice and Energy ROI. Segment 2: The Pickle Jar Theory Of Time Management. Segment 3: Tying it All Together. The post Podcast Episode 33: Antelopes, Rocks and Balance appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
Wishing you and your families very happy holidays. Support me at Patreon: [link]. The post Podcast Episode 37: Happy Holidays appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
One of the things I constantly remind myself of is that it's not enough to look forward. Plans, goals and steps all have their place; but if I don't look back to see the lessons from the past, I am missing a large part of the picture. MORE
Saying no is a crucial skill to learn if you are going to be in charge of your life. Today we will look at when and why to say no, how it's not always a black and white answer, and various ways to say no. The post Podcast Episode 28: Saying No appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
Yak shaving is an extreme form of distraction, as well as procrastination. So is overthinking. We talk about both of these today, as well as how to get back on track. The post Podcast Episode 39: Yak Shaving, Overthinking and Getting Back On Track appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
I'm going about my normal life and WHAM! the holidays are right there. And that means I'm going to miss some sort of deadline. I have a fix. The post And The Holiday Season Is Upon Us appeared first on Laura Earnest. Organization Planning MORE
Given that I was extremely busy during November, it was good to have a pre-planned chart of challenges to follow. I used the one I found at Good Housekeeping. It was the first time I had used a pre-made list. The post 30 Day Challenge Wrapup: Mental Health Boosting appeared first on Laura Earnest. MORE
This has been a hell of a year. COVID has put a stress on most working people, if it left them employed at all. I've been working at home since March, and there is no sign of returning to the office. Yet our team is thriving. Someone recently asked me why I thought that was the case. MORE
I've been buying Amazon books since 2009. That's a whole lot of books. And while writing a recent article on backlogs, I realized that I have built up a huge backlog of unread books on my Kindle. How many, exactly? Well, there's no easy way to tell. MORE
In the recent reader survey, several people asked me how I managed to get everything done and have so much energy. Today's episode divulges my secret. The post Podcast Episode 34: How I Get It All Done appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
There can be great value in looking at what you've been doing, and deciding to do it differently. It can be something as small as switching unhealthy food for healthy, or as part of a major life overhaul. I've done both). This year my eye fell on the blog. MORE
Today I'm going to talk about the skills I think everyone should be able to do to be self-sufficient - and why. The post Podcast Episode 38: 20 Life Skills You Should Have…Or Teach appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast MORE
A friend of mine called from the road and asked me for the phone number for my mechanic. She had a breakdown, and even though I had given her the number when she told me about her concerns weeks before, she had lost it and never made the appointment. MORE
I am aware that you can re-purpose things to serve functions the designer never intended. For example, in college I never owned a tool set. If I had to hang up a picture, I would use a high-heeled shoe to do the pounding. MORE
I needed something easy and effective for November, since this is National Novel Writing Month. For those that don't know, I will produce 50,000 words in 30 days during this month. Since I have done this many years (and completed all but one), I know that I need some extra help during this month. MORE
Simple Productivity Blog
FEBRUARY 21, 2021
There are days when I am overwhelmed. I still haven’t learned to only put on my task list what I can actually do. Today we will look at how to scale back your task list. I approach my task list from the standpoint that if it is on there, I have committed to do it…today.
Simple Productivity Blog
FEBRUARY 16, 2021
Most of us consider backups as something someone else does to our computers. But it's important to have backups of things that are crucial to your productivity, whether they are computer-based or not. The post Podcast Episode 41: Backups for All Critical Systems appeared first on Laura Earnest.
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Simple Productivity Blog
FEBRUARY 14, 2021
Did you ever wish that you could have a visual indicator to tell people when you were busy at work? It's worse now that we're all working from home. Enter Luxafor flags. The post Luxafor Flags: A Traffic Light For Your Desk appeared first on Laura Earnest. Productivity aff
Simple Productivity Blog
FEBRUARY 7, 2021
It's one thing to make deliberate choices when the choices are easy. But what can you do when there are too many to choose from and they all need to be done yesterday? What do you do when you're overwhelmed? Overwhelm is a common problem and can stop people from doing anything.
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 17, 2021
There is only one thing you need to do to get things done, no matter what the time frame or task. It's very simple, yet profound. And still many people won't do it. Want to know this secret? Today we'll look at the secret and why most people don't do it.
Simple Productivity Blog
FEBRUARY 2, 2021
In Chapter 2 of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity , David Allen spells out the four criteria model for choosing the next thing to do. He says that you choose what to do next based on (in this order) context, time available, energy and priority.
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 31, 2021
For many years I have been on a media fast. I started about 8 years ago, when I realized that I was shouting at the radio on my way to work, and my anger and stress levels were constantly elevated. So I took a break.
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 19, 2021
Yak shaving is an extreme form of distraction, as well as procrastination. So is overthinking. We talk about both of these today, as well as how to get back on track. The post Podcast Episode 39: Yak Shaving, Overthinking and Getting Back On Track appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 10, 2021
There can be great value in looking at what you've been doing, and deciding to do it differently. It can be something as small as switching unhealthy food for healthy, or as part of a major life overhaul. I've done both). This year my eye fell on the blog.
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 5, 2021
Today I'm going to talk about the skills I think everyone should be able to do to be self-sufficient - and why. The post Podcast Episode 38: 20 Life Skills You Should Have…Or Teach appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
JANUARY 3, 2021
One of the things I constantly remind myself of is that it's not enough to look forward. Plans, goals and steps all have their place; but if I don't look back to see the lessons from the past, I am missing a large part of the picture.
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 27, 2020
Time blocking is a great way to get things done efficiently. Today I show you how I do time blocking, including pictures of an actual day's result. The post A Practical Time Blocking Example appeared first on Laura Earnest. Productivity aff aweber
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 22, 2020
Wishing you and your families very happy holidays. Support me at Patreon: [link]. The post Podcast Episode 37: Happy Holidays appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 20, 2020
One of the things people constantly ask me is what tools I use. It’s like they expect I have some magic set of tools that makes productivity easy for me. Nope. I use some easily accessible tools, and most of them are free. So today I will talk about my favorite tools.
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 13, 2020
Time blocking is a great way to get things done. But it doesn't mean putting all of your tasks on your calendar. Want to make me cringe? Tell me you put all of your tasks on your calendar so that you have time set aside to do them. Just no. Today we'll talk about how to do effective time blocking.
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 9, 2020
In this epsiode I talk about what I do instead of New Year’s resolutions: Picking a word of the year Brainstorming Vision boards 12 week plans as well as how I approach changing habits.
Simple Productivity Blog
DECEMBER 6, 2020
One of the things that came out of the 2020 Reader Survey is that people are struggling with energy management. I’m not a naturally energetic person. In fact, some of those same readers made the comment that not everyone has energy to manage everything that I do.
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 30, 2020
2020 has sucked on so many levels, in so many ways. I'm tired, as I'm sure most people are, of being confined. I caught myself in a negative thought spiral the other day. And that doesn't do me any good. Because once I'm caught in that, it takes a lot of effort to get out.
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 29, 2020
Given that I was extremely busy during November, it was good to have a pre-planned chart of challenges to follow. I used the one I found at Good Housekeeping. It was the first time I had used a pre-made list. The post 30 Day Challenge Wrapup: Mental Health Boosting appeared first on Laura Earnest.
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 22, 2020
My mother was a stay-at-home mom. Her cleaning system wasn't going to work for me as a working mom. But the one system that seemed to work stopped working when we moved into a bigger space. Here's how I stopped doing marathon cleaning sessions and got it under control.
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 19, 2020
I'm going about my normal life and WHAM! the holidays are right there. And that means I'm going to miss some sort of deadline. I have a fix. The post And The Holiday Season Is Upon Us appeared first on Laura Earnest. Organization Planning
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 17, 2020
In today's episodes, we look at: What is enough? Tinkering. Innovation vs. Standardization (routines). The post Podcast Episode 35: Enough, Tinkering and Routines appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast Productivity
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 15, 2020
Working from home.many of us are doing it right now. Some are doing it better than others. So how can you make working from home successful?
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 8, 2020
This has been a hell of a year. COVID has put a stress on most working people, if it left them employed at all. I've been working at home since March, and there is no sign of returning to the office. Yet our team is thriving. Someone recently asked me why I thought that was the case.
Simple Productivity Blog
AUGUST 4, 2020
Saying no is a crucial skill to learn if you are going to be in charge of your life. Today we will look at when and why to say no, how it's not always a black and white answer, and various ways to say no. The post Podcast Episode 28: Saying No appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 3, 2020
In the recent reader survey, several people asked me how I managed to get everything done and have so much energy. Today's episode divulges my secret. The post Podcast Episode 34: How I Get It All Done appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
NOVEMBER 1, 2020
The Pareto Principle has been much abused in productivity circles. But I recently saw something that blew me away. Someone suggested that if 80% of the results comes from 20% of the work, then it must also hold that 64% of the results comes from 4% of the work. Umm, no.
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 31, 2020
I needed something easy and effective for November, since this is National Novel Writing Month. For those that don't know, I will produce 50,000 words in 30 days during this month. Since I have done this many years (and completed all but one), I know that I need some extra help during this month.
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 30, 2020
Self-care: so simple, yet so powerful. I'm not talking pampering here. But the basics. And the challenge I just spent had some unexpected benefits. The post 30 Day Challenge Wrapup: Self-Care Challenge appeared first on Laura Earnest. 30 Day Challenge
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 25, 2020
Eating frogs? Well, if you eat a frog first thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. And that applies to productivity as well. Brian Tracy's book, Eat That Frog!
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 20, 2020
This episode debuts the segment format: Segment 1: Antelopes, Mice and Energy ROI. Segment 2: The Pickle Jar Theory Of Time Management. Segment 3: Tying it All Together. The post Podcast Episode 33: Antelopes, Rocks and Balance appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 18, 2020
I've believed for a while it is possible to be over-systemized.
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 11, 2020
I've been buying Amazon books since 2009. That's a whole lot of books. And while writing a recent article on backlogs, I realized that I have built up a huge backlog of unread books on my Kindle. How many, exactly? Well, there's no easy way to tell.
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 6, 2020
I was having to decide, time after time, what I was going to do every single time I looked at my tasks. It was draining my productivity as surely as a thousand tiny cuts would drain my blood. So I needed to revamp my task system.
Simple Productivity Blog
OCTOBER 4, 2020
There are experts everywhere. Some are self-proclaimed, some lauded by others. But before we give credence to their words, we really owe it to ourselves to begin by checking out the expert's credentials. How much can you trust your "expert"? How much can a person teach you?
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
I don't take very good care of myself. I short myself on sleep almost daily. I don't eat well or regularly. I don't hydrate enough. I don't exercise regularly. I sit for my job and I sit for my hobbies. I don't allow myself the time to meditate or process my emotions through journaling.
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
I couldn't believe how much shifted for me when I sat for fifteen minutes a day with my own thoughts. The post 30 Day Challenge Wrapup: Sitting With Myself appeared first on Laura Earnest. 30 Day Challenge
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
How many times have you started something just to be stopped by having to fetch needed material or run to the store or do another task first? Wouldn't it be nice just to have everything ready to go? It would certainly help us get started faster.
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
One of the things that I still struggle with, years into the productivity space, is making my to-do list doable.
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Two approaches to getting things done, Little and Often (Forster) and Deep Work (Newport) are often pitted as exclusive options. I think there is a place for both. The post Podcast Episode 31: Little and Often vs Deep Work appeared first on Laura Earnest. Podcast
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
A friend of mine called from the road and asked me for the phone number for my mechanic. She had a breakdown, and even though I had given her the number when she told me about her concerns weeks before, she had lost it and never made the appointment.
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020
Every year I take some time to ask my readers and followers what they would like to see over the next year. This year I've included questions about how COVID is affecting you.
Simple Productivity Blog
SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
I am aware that you can re-purpose things to serve functions the designer never intended. For example, in college I never owned a tool set. If I had to hang up a picture, I would use a high-heeled shoe to do the pounding.
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