Crunch Time: Don't Forget the Upfront StuffWritten by Karla Brandau
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I was to flying from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia to Orlando, Florida. It was laborious getting through security as my bag got picked to be thoroughly checked. As security man opened everything in my suitcase and my purse (even my business card holder), I knew I was a little behind schedule. I was anxious to get to gate, boot my computer and spend a few minutes making notes on a project before they called my zone to board. When security guard gave me back my luggage, as I have done hundreds of times before, I hurried down escalator to board train to gate. I barely slipped into open door of train before door lumbered shut, announcing all time to stay back, doors were closing and would not reopen. I was optimistic though and thought there was still time to get a little work done before boarding. I reached down into my satchel, pulled out my boarding pass and glanced to see which concourse my plane was leaving from: A, B, C, D, or E. I hoped it was not E, gate farthest away. To my horror, I saw that my plane was leaving from T Concourse. I could not access T Concourse from train I was on. I was working from habit…down escalator, onto train. The simple and obvious thing like checking concourse – upfront stuff – had escaped me. If I had done upfront stuff, I would have easily made it to my concourse with several precious minutes to work. However, for this flight, when I finally made it to my gate on T Concourse, it was crunch time – time to board. Avoid crunch time! Do upfront stuff, planning part of completing your work, and you’ll be in control of every project, presentation and game.For more information, tips, and newsletter articles, go to www.timeforresults.com.
Karla Brandau is an expert in time management and productivity. A 20-year veteran of the speaking industry, Karla has taught thousands of people how to better use their time. She is the President of Time For Results and can be reached at 1-770-923-0883. Visit her web site at www.timeforresults.com.
| | Tension Stress or Creative Tension? New Breakthroughs in Personal ProductivityWritten by Karla Brandau
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The predictable stages in creative process as summarized by S. Starker are: 1.Preparation. This involves identification of problem, project, what you want to write, or achieve. 2.Concentrated effort. This includes attempting all alternative solutions, using your resources, experiencing trial and error. 3.Frustration. If no solution is found in previous phase, this is inevitable result of an expenditure of time and effort with no resolution. 4.Withdrawal. This includes putting it aside, removing it from focus of attention. This often helps unconscious processing. 5.Insight. The “aha!” moment that seems spontaneous. 6.Follow through. The implementation phase or translating idea into action. Creative tension craves resolution, just like hunger and it often wins over hunger. That’s why you stay through lunch to “finish up” and feel a sense of calm and satisfaction when you dot last “i” or put last line on engineering drawing. The essence of increased productivity in your life is to learn how to generate and sustain creative tension in your workday, not tension stress. As you work through your day, take mental notes of tension stress and creative tension. Work to expand creative tension and decrease tension stress. Be persistent when withdrawal comes. Follow through on creative ideas. As you do, you’ll experience quality of your work improving and you’ll find yourself doing your life’s work and not just doing time. Tips to find time for creative tension: 1. Set aside a time each day for your hardest project. 2. Don’t schedule a non-discretionary item after allotted time, such as a meeting. Why? If that breakthrough idea comes at exact moment you have to leave for meeting you are either late to meeting or you lose creative thought. 3. Permit your thoughts to be chaotic and to drift into Never Never land. This is time for creative discovery. 4. When ideas are not coming or not working, take a break, then come back and work through frustration. 5. Implement ideas that come. If you don’t, you’ve lost forever time you spent creating. For more information and newsletters, go to www.timeforresults.com.
Karla Brandau is President of Time For Results. She speaks and writes on topics that increase organizational and personal effectiveness. Karla is an expert in time management and Microsoft Outlook and can be reached at 1-770-923-0883 or www.timeforresults.com.
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