Home Archives for Productivity Tips

Improve Your Posture – Sit as Though You Had a Tail!

Posted by Leave a Comment

Do you sit at your desk for hours every day? Do you struggle with trying to keep your shoulders back while you click away at your computer? Or do you just give up and let your shoulders curve forward? If so, your back probably aches or at least twinges. If it doesn't yet, it probably will! Advice to Improve Your Seated Posture This week, my friend Carole passed on to me a wonderful, simple tip about sitting that's transformed my posture. Sit as though you still … [Read more...]

Categories: Managing Stress, Overcoming Challenges, Productivity Tips

The Joy of Mastering New Skills at Any Age

Posted by Leave a Comment

You might imagine that it takes a long time to change the way your body functions. You might think that as you get older, you can't really make much of a difference. But today I'm going to tell you, from personal experience, that change is possible -- from one day to the next and the next, and the next after that. Stuck in Your Ways? No matter how old you are or how stuck in your ways you feel, you can master new skills and change the way your body and mind work.  You've … [Read more...]

Categories: Getting What You Want, Productivity Tips Tagged: , ,

What to do When Your Creative Well Runs Dry

Posted by Leave a Comment

Perhaps you noticed -- or perhaps you didn't -- that I stopped writing these posts for several months. I just stopped! Why? Because every time I sat down to write, what came out bored me. I was writing because I thought I should -- because I thought you were expecting something. I wasn't writing because I had something that burbled up that I wanted to share with you. My wonderful webmaster, Brian, nudged me gently every week. "Andrea," he'd email, "do you have a TRY THIS … [Read more...]

Categories: Building Relationships, Increasing Awareness, Productivity Tips

Fighting Procrastination: Walking Through Walls of Resistance

Posted by 30 Comments

Every time I have a big project to do -- one that take thought and attention and care -- I've got to find a way to walk through a wall. Again and again, I walk right up to the wall of resistance and turn around to do something less stressful. Comfortable Procrastination Rituals I admire people who seem not to be plagued with walls of resistance. People like that (perhaps you are one of those lucky folks) know what they have to do and simply set about doing it. It's that … [Read more...]

Categories: Overcoming Challenges, Productivity Tips Tagged:

Don’t Do it Yourself – Ask for Help

Posted by Leave a Comment

You've probably heard the old saying: Want advice, ask for money. Want money, ask for advice. It's a phrase people often use in the fundraising world. A phrase so simple that it masks the profound power of that sentiment. Think of it this way... If you do everything by yourself, you're effectiveness is limited to your energy and knowledge and understanding and abilities. Don't get me wrong -- you may be tremendously capable and may, on your own, be able to … [Read more...]

Categories: Getting What You Want, Productivity Tips Tagged:

Witness Your Cycle of Energy from Inaction to Action

Posted by Leave a Comment

Have you ever watched water boil? I mean, actually standing over the pot and watching. It really does boil, even when you watch it! If you do, here's what you'll see. Water Boiling is Like Your Own Energy First, teeny bubbles form at the bottom of the pot. The surface, though unbroken starts moving. Then, gradually, the bubbles grow and merge and rise, breaking the smooth surface until it's roiling and dancing and cratering. As the water boils, the bubbles break. … [Read more...]

Categories: Increasing Awareness, Managing Stress, Productivity Tips Tagged:

May the New Year Bring You FLOW: Embrace Your Anxiety!

Posted by Leave a Comment

I woke up this morning full of dread. Or, more precisely, I was full of anxiety, which feels a bit like dread. The New Year has begun. The vacation days are over and the list of things to be done feels mountainous. Anxiety Stems from the Unknown Some of the items on that list are simple and I know how to do them. Some of them are big and complicated and I’m not sure how to do them or if they will succeed. Those are the projects that make me anxious. You probably … [Read more...]

Categories: Managing Stress, Productivity Tips Tagged: , ,

Are You in Charge of Your Life?

Posted by Leave a Comment

It's one thing to ask "who's in charge?" when you think about a company or a department or an organization. It's quite another question when you think about your life. Who's in Charge? When you wake up in the morning, who decides what you are going to do that day? Who decides what attitude you will bring to your work? Who decides if what you are doing is work or play? Do you get to decide? If so, how can you make the decisions that will serve you best? You … [Read more...]

Categories: Planning, Productivity Tips Tagged:

Depleted! Time to Refill

Posted by Leave a Comment

I've been writing a lot these days. Every week a post for this blog. Every week a posts for Capital Campaign Masters. The rewrites of the 4th Edition of my big Capital Campaign book.  Not to mention coaching call notes and emails.  And now, I've just agreed to write a bi-monthly post for NonProfit PRO. You might think that's all good. And it is. Except that my In-Out Balance is out of alignment. Too much going out and not enough is coming in. I've been feeling … [Read more...]

Categories: Overcoming Challenges, Productivity Tips Tagged:

Get Help, Organize, and Feel Unburdened

Posted by 2 Comments

Paralyzed by Disorganization? Have you ever felt stuck because you are so disorganized? Rather than filing papers, do you put them in a pile on the corner of  your desk? Do you dread the mess you will encounter when you open your your file drawers? Do you look at your computer desktop and shudder? Do you spend just about as much time looking for files as you do actually getting work done? If you shuddered knowingly as you read those questions, then read … [Read more...]

Categories: Planning, Productivity Tips