7. MAKE WORK MORE ENGAGING!
Here are a few ideas that you might
find useful:
8. 1. Figure Out Your “Why”: Intentional Productivity
and Understanding Who You Are and What Makes
you Tick
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9. Did you ever in the middle of many lattes and lists have an
epiphany of slowing down and asking the question “why?”
Why are you doing what you are doing?
I call this Intentional Productivity.
14. Sinek explains that most organizations know
“what” they do and “how” they do it but very
few can clearly explain “why” they do what
they do. The “why” question is the purpose
question.
WHY?
15. Sinek explains that The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “I
believe” and he gave the “I have a dream” speech and not the “I
have a plan” speech and connected with the similar beliefs of
many others.
16. “I have a dream” and “I
believe” are “why”
questions and “I have a
plan” is a “what”
question.
18. Action Tips:
Make productivity intentional by understanding
what makes you tick: your skills, strengths and
passion: “why” you do what you are doing.
YOUR PASSIONS+SKILLS+YOUR “WHY” +HIGHER
PURPOSE+GREAT VALUE TO OTHERS = INSPIRED
PRODUCTIVITY
20. Take your tasks and make a small power list of 3 to 5 items that
you need to get done today.
Complete the items on the power list one after one and check them off.
What are the projects and the tasks that need attention and priority
today?
DO LESS, ENJOY MORE!
21. 3. Overcome Analysis-paralysis by
Restricting Unlimited Choice and
Allowing a Time Frame for Action
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23. RESEARCH done by Dr. Barry Schwartz explains
that too much CHOICE =LESS HAPPINESS AND MORE
PARALYSIS.
24. Opportunity cost or the cost of not
choosing one choice with an unique
set of benefits over another can
significantly reduce our happiness
levels.
25. Also, having too much choice skyrockets
our expectationsand produces
less satisfaction with making the one
choice.
26. Action Tips:
Be decisive!
SOME CHOICE=GOOD
MORE CHOICE= NOT BETTER!
Restrict your choices and set up a time frame for
you to analyze and make a firm decision.
27. 4. The Lean Startup Productivity
Lessons: Stop Spinning Your Wheels
and Take a New Approach
In his wonderful book, The Lean Startup, author
Eric Ries describes the Lean Startup process =
BUILD, MEASURE, LEARN.
29. = A quick launch or BUILD
+
Measurement of results or MEASURE
+
Learning from the data or LEARN
The Lean Startup Method
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30. HOW CAN WE
APPLY LESSONS
FROM THE LEAN
STARTUP TO OUR
PRODUCTIVITY?
31. Launch QUICKLY
TEST it out, MEASURE AND GATHER FEEDBACK
Based on the feedback, you LEARNand then
decide to make changes or go all out with what
you have.
32. Imagine the productivity boost you will receive if you were an
ADAPTIVE learner and took quick action and were unafraid
of metrics and feedback.
Taking advantage of feedback to pivot or persevere gives you a
tremendous productivity boost.
33. Action Tips:
Take quick actions towards your initial
prototype.
Measure what you have accomplished by actual
feedback from peers or customers.
Pivot and change or persevere and move
forward. ADAPTIVE LEARNING=MORE
PRODUCTIVITY
34. 5. Bust Through the Common
Assumptions and Beliefs That Do Not
Serve You
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.& $.&p -&)+, $&/!.")+, &(-”― P!.!r
F. Dr'0*!r
35. WE SEE LIFE THROUGH
OUR FILTERS OF
PERCEPTION AND
BELIEF!
41. Action Tips
Become aware of assumptions and beliefs that you
have prevented you to be happily productive.
Take charge of your thinking, emotions, behavior and
action power.
By developing more inner-vibrance and by addressing
fear, doubt, overwhelm and self-confidence, you open
the field for happy and amazing productivity.
42. 6. The Art of Creative Productivity
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%$ !)& /&v&/ %$ w)"0) "! w,#
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43. In an engaging and short TED talk, Derek Sivers says that the
opposite of what we think might also be true somewhere else. The
example he gives is that streets have names and city blocks do not in
the US while in Japan, streets do not have names but blocks do.
53. In some of the most highly productive and Innovative companies, work spaces have been recognized to be
vital for the continued creative and inspired productivity of the organization.
The philosophy at Google is collaboration and innovation and their work spaces reflect that
aspect of the company ideology. They make it very easy to talk and cross pollinate ideas.
54. In the highly innovative company
IDEO, workspaces are designed
to collaborate, improvise, build,
and iterate.
55. In IDEO, There are carts with
materials and objects to quickly
prototype an idea, whiteboards
and stick-it notes everywhere to
engage in innovative brain
storming.
56. Action Tips:
What does your workspace look like? Does it reflect your
personality and allow you to be effortlessly productive?
Take a few moments to reorganize your work space,
declutter or add elements that inspire your productivity.
Pay attention to various elements of your workspace such
as color, tools, music and clutter. Do the various elements
inspire you to be happily productive?
58. The study indicates that taking short breaks or
brief diversions from a task increases focus
and hence the productivity of a task.
A recent study in the journal Cognition at the University of Illinois at
Urbana Campaign by Lleras and Ariga attempts to answer the question
whether breaks are essential or detrimental for keeping us focused on a
task.
59. Action Tips:
You increase focus and productivity by taking
short breaks or brief diversions.
Work intensely for a certain period of time and
then take a very short break, move around and
divert your attention away from your work
before getting back.
60. 10. Take a walking meeting: productive
change of surroundings
Changing surroundings=MORE productivity?
61. In Persuasion expert, Dr. B J Fogg’s tiny habits program, change of habits
is facilitated by tiny actions and a change of context or environment.
Changing the context or surrounding is a great way to inspire creative
productivity and infuse your work with much required fresh air.
62. I believe that changing the environment is
a wonderful way to inspire and
supercharge your productivity.
IDEO uses this principle continuously.
Workspaces CHANGE and environments are
remodeled to stimulate innovation.
63. In Business Innovator Nilofer Merchant’s TED talk, she
suggests that the next time you have a one-on-one
meeting, make it a walking meeting and allow the ideas to
flow as you walk
68. In tibetan custom, elaborate mandalas or multicolor designs are made
painstakingly for many days with colored sand. The final product is
astonishing. However, after they have been completed, they are
destroyed to depict the impermanence of life and the detachment
that we need to bring to life.
69. Action Tips:
Worry less and do more.
Become detached to the outcome of your work and
spend the mental energy on another project
Focus your time and attention on what you can do,
improve and improvise.
Let go of obsessing over the outcome of a project.
Instead focus on making your work more amazing
from feedback.
71. Unitasking can be mindful,
engaging, inspiring and highly
satisfying.
You may have entered into that amazing state
of flow at some point in your life.
73. Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s research suggests that doing
what you like to do, developing high skill level, working at a high
difficulty level or with challenges and being completely involved
or focused causes the flow experience in our work.
74. Flow states are intrinsically motivating because of
the happiness and contentment generated and can
inspire us towards great and meaningful
productivity.
75. Action Tips:
Attempt to do tasks that you like to do and believe that
you can do and eliminate excessive distractions in order
to focus and unitask.
Work on increasing skill level and take on challenges that
make you practice at the edge of your ability to facilitate
a deeply satisfying feeling of flow.
Increase the incidence of such flow events to intrinsically
inspire your productivity.
77. Do you have the right tools to be
optimally productive?
78. 14. Engagement
One of the most important elements towards happy and inspired productivity is the
level of engagement that you are able and willing to bring to the table.
Are you willing to give it all you have and willing to go the extra mile to get the work
done or are you going to quit and become demoralized at the first signs of failure?
79. DO not allow FAILURE to crush you.
If you are willing to engage the problem with enthusiasm, if you are not caught up
with the perceptions and assumptions and perceived shame associated with failure,
you give wings to your engagement and super-chargeyour
productivity.
80. Action Tips:
Bring enthusiasm to your work and be willing to engage the
problem.
The level of inspired engagement that you are able to bring
determines your ability to succeed through failure.
Do not allow failure to crush you. Instead change the
meaning that you give failure and turn up the volume of
enthusiasm and inspired engagement.
81. SUMMARY
1. Make productivity intentional by understanding what makes you tick: your skills, strengths and what you love to do and asking
“why” you do what you are doing.
2. Generate a mini-power list of items that you need to be done today and complete them instead of working with a huge list and
getting overwhelmed.
3. Attempt to not get tempted by the lure of unlimited choice. Some choice is great but more choice is not necessarily better.
Restrict your choices somewhat and importantly set up a time frame for you to analyze and then to make a firm decision.
4. Take quick actions towards your initial prototype.
Measure what you have accomplished by actual feedback from peers or customers.
Pivot and change or persevere and move forward. In the long-term, your productivity will increase on long-term projects because
you are an adaptive learner and action taker.
5. Bust through common assumptions and beliefs that are holding you back: Become aware of assumptions and beliefs that you
have prevented you to be happily productive. Take charge of your thinking, emotions, behavior and action power.
6. Practice creative productivity and allow yourself to look at a problem from different perspectives. Allow your creativity to
connect and combine novel ideas and look at opposites to be more creative.
7. Manage your energy, not just time: Having high energy levels and feeling great can make you happily productive.
8. Productive work spaces: Take a few moments to reorganize your work space, declutter it if needed and add elements that
inspire your productivity.
9. Increase productivity by scheduling short breaks- work intensely for a certain period of time and then take a very short break,
move around and divert your attention away from your work before getting back.
10. Take a walking meeting-change your surroundings for amazing productivity.
11. Detach yourself from the outcome: worry less, do more. Focus energy on doing great work, not worrying how it will turn out.
12. Eliminate or minimize distractions: do what you like to do, reduce distractions, unitask, work on your skills and at a high
difficulty level to enter into a highly satisfying and inspiring state of flow.
13. Productivity fostering habits and tools: Set up your support structure, establish favorable habits and make sure you have the
right tools to foster and increase productivity.
14. Engagement: Bring enthusiasm to your work and be willing to engage the problem. The level of engagement, navigation and
management through failure will determine your level of happy and inspired productivity.
83. THANK YOU!
Are You Launching Your Genius Today? I believe that deep within
every single one of us lies the potential of a GENIUS!
I am deeply passionate in bringing the best of Creativity,
Personal Development, Cutting-edge Behavioral Psychology and
Science to you in order to Creatively INSPIREyou to move
towards launching your own GENIUS!
I am a Creativity and Inspiration Coach, Writer and Teacher.
Contact me if you need a burst of Creativity and Inspiration for
you or your organization!
CLICK-->LAUNCHYOURGENIUS.COM
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