Posts Tagged ‘Harvard Business’
Note to Self: Don’t Forget to Use the Phone
October 30th, 2009, 1 comment
My friends who know what a telephone phobe I am will surely guffaw at the sheer hypocrisy of my latest post at Harvard Business Online, an exercise in self-talk wherein I declare that a phone call beats out email in a lot of situations. In my defense, for the last month or so I've been working on a project that involved several super-productive calls per week, so I have been practicing what I preach (a little bit, anyway). Here's the whole piece: Don't Forget To Use the Phone.
October 21st, 2009, 3 comments
In an early episode of the excellent TV series Mad Men, agency partner Roger Sterling walks into creative director Don Draper's office to find Don gazing off into space.
"I'll never get used to the fact that most of the time it looks like you're doing nothing," Sterling quips.
Sterling should take comfort in the fact that our best creative work is done in times of reflection and idleness. Studies have shown that the wandering mind is more likely to have a "Eureka!" moment of clarity and creativity. Taking breaks and zoning out from everyday tasks gives our brains time to do a kind of long-term, big-picture thinking that immediate engagement with bosses and clients and email and meetings does not.
Designer Stefan Sagmeister takes these findings seriously. He works time off into his schedule in a way that will make you green with envy. Every seven years, Sagmeister closes his New York City–based design studio for an entire year of creative rejuvenation. During his sabbatical, Sagmeister "works," but not for clients. (He's serious about that, too. Last year, he turned down an opportunity to design a poster for the Obama campaign while he was on sabbatical.)
Read the rest at HarvardBusiness.org »
September 1st, 2009, 1 comment
Been wearing my virtual business suit over at the Work Smarter blog at Harvard Business Online, but been remiss in posting my articles here. Here's a recap of what I covered during August:
July 23rd, 2009, 2 comments
Things have been quiet here this week and will be till Sunday because I'm working at Comic-Con, San Diego's nerdy popular culture explosion at the downtown convention center. If you're in San Diego and going to CC, come say hi to me at The Guild booth #4417, where I'll be helping out selling The Guild DVDs and t-shirts. In the meantime, catch up on stuff I've been posting elsewhere.
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June 30th, 2009, 1 comment
Rather than put up a new post every time I do something somewhere other than here, I'll save it up and get it all over with in one giant self-promoting shot once a month.
Here's my Mac-heavy byline roundup for June.
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How to Stay on Top of Ye Olde Email Inbox
June 9th, 2009, 3 comments
Inbox Zero is a topic path well-trodden in the productivity blogosphere, but two books and a few blogs about personal productivity later, staying on top of my email is still a daily challenge for me. While I don't get down to zero every day, I do get there once or twice a week--usually when my inbox overflows onto the next page. (In Gmail, that's when I get past 50 conversations.) Over at my Harvard Business blog, I ran down my tried and true techniques for keeping the electronic mail under control. If you're suffering from a severe case of overload or could just use a refresher, check out Extreme Makeover: The Email Inbox Edition.
June 3rd, 2009, 1 comment
Just launched up a new blog over at HarvardBusiness.org called Work Smarter (RSS). Expect to find less nerd and more business in the posts I publish there compared to this site or Lifehacker. A new one will go up once a week.
My first post published yesterday on how to organize your workspace for maximum productivity. Having moved three times in the past four years, this has become my mental checklist when reassembling my desk.
I'm still finding my legs and meeting the audience over at Work Smarter, but I'm thrilled to be hanging out with the brilliant folks there, at least virtually.
(Please note: Actual Harvard University admissions people would laugh out loud if I'd applied there at any point in my academic career, so thanks to HarvardBusiness.org for letting me have a taste of the Ivy League fantasy.)
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