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Multitasking, we have all been guilty of committing this injustice to our work. Whether it's replying to an e-mail during a college course, text messaging during a corporate meeting or writing a cover letter while having friends over; multitasking can and more often than not, will hurt us more than it helps us. You think you are making incredible progress and then you find you've sent a letter saying that you are proficient "multitasting" instead of "multitasking," using your own supposed strength against you.

Here is a useful article on the subject recently published in PPB Magazine, if you find it to be useful I urge you to go write the author some nice feedback. Enjoy!


How (And Why) To Stop Multitasking
By: Nicki Weiss
Issue: 2010sep

You may think you are accomplishing more but the truth will surprise you.

During a conference call with the executive team of a client company, I decided to send an e-mail to another client.

I know, I know. You think I would have learned. What could go wrong?

First I sent the client the message. Then I sent him another one with the attachment I had forgotten to append. In my third e-mail I explained why the attachment he received wasn't’t the one he was expecting. When I eventually refocused on the call, I realized I hadn't heard a crucial question.

Multitasking Makes You Stupid
I swear I wasn't smoking anything, but apparently I was acting as if I had. A recent study has shown that IQs drop by 10 points in people who are distracted by e-mail and phone calls. That’s more than twice the effect of smoking marijuana.

We’re only fooling ourselves when we think we get more done by doing several things at once. In reality, new research shows that by multitasking our productivity can decline by up to 40 percent. In reality, we don't actually multitask; we switch-task, rapidly shifting from one activity to another, interrupting ourselves and losing time.

You might think you're different—that you have multitasked so much you’re an expert. But you'd be wrong. Recent findings show that heavy multitaskers are less competent at doing several things at once than light multitaskers. The more you multitask, the worse you are at it.

An Experiment In Non-Multitasking
I decided to do an experiment. For one week I would not multitask and see what happened. When I was on the phone, I would only talk or listen. In a meeting I would only concentrate on the meeting.

I didn't think I could sustain that kind of focus, but turns out I was pretty successful, at least most of the time.

During the week I discovered six new ways of looking at the world:

1. The experience was delightful. When you stop checking for e-mail you stay in closer touch with your surroundings. I noticed this phenomenon especially with my teenage sons. Normally I feel they don’t want to interact with me much, given how uncool I am. However, I was surprised to notice how often they initiated a conversation when I wasn't constantly responding to the e-mail ping.

2. I made significant progress on challenging projects. I usually try to distract myself from work that requires thought and persistence, such as writing and strategizing. However, without distractions I was able to plough through the uncomfortable times and overcome the mind blocks.

3. My stress dropped dramatically. Research shows that multitasking isn't just inefficient, it's stressful. I can vouch for the stress factor. I felt liberated from the strain of keeping so many balls in the air, and I experienced a sense of accomplishment when I finished one task before going on to the next.

4. I lost all patience with time-wasting activities. An hour-long meeting seemed interminable and a meandering conversation was excruciating. I focused my attention like a laser beam on my list and quickly burned through the to-do’s.

5. I had tremendous patience for enjoyable activities. I was in no rush to end conversations with my clients, and my mind stayed focused when I was brainstorming about a difficult problem.

6. Single-tasking has no downside. No one became frustrated with me for not answering a call or failing to return an e-mail the second I received it.

Why Don't We All Just Stop Multitasking?
So, why not use all your brain’s energy to listen to a prospect on the phone while booking a trip to Paris online? Sounds good, except the brain is already working at capacity when you’re doing just one task. It is picking up conversational nuances or thinking about what you’ve just heard. Ask it to take on a second or third task and you take away its ability to deal fully with the first one.

How Do We Resist The Temptation?
Turn the distractions off. I often write and plan at 6:30 am. Following my successful experiment I continue to leave my cell phone and e-mail off just in case a multitasker is trying to reach me. I turn my car phone off, too … sometimes (other single-task warriors I know leave their cell phones in the trunk).

Use your impatience constructively. So you’re itchy without all the ring tones and e-mail pings to answer. Fill that void by creating unrealistically short deadlines. Give yourself a third of the time you think you need to accomplish something.

There's nothing like a deadline to fully occupy your brain. If you only have 30 minutes to finish a presentation, you’re not going to take a call or flip back an e-mail.

Ironically, single-tasking to meet a tight deadline will reduce your stress, and just might help you to be more productive.

Nicki Weiss is an internationally recognized Certified Professional Sales Management Coach, Master Trainer and workshop leader. Since 1992, Weiss has trained, certified and/or coached more than 10,000 business executives, corporate sales executives, small- to medium-size entrepreneurial business leaders and sales teams of all shapes and sizes. Sign up for her free monthly e-zine, Sa1esWiseTM , at www.saleswise.ca.
nicki@saleswise.ca
416-778-4145

 

Recognition A Viable Strategy For Fostering Innovation In The Workplace
By: Staff
Issue: 2010aug

Innovation may spring from any employee–especially when they are encouraged and motivated by management, says the new Performance Perspectives executive briefing by Madison Performance Group.

“In companies with innovative environments, employees feel management is open to new ideas and experimentation. These companies understand that new strategic ideas come from all levels of an organization,” says Mike Ryan, senior vice president of Madison Performance Group, a premier global reward and recognition design and consulting firm.

Research shows, according to the Madison briefing, that innovators flourish at workplaces where employees are rewarded for idea development.

“Companies that give positive attention to new ideas demonstrate to employees that it’s okay to experiment and develop new ideas— even if they aren’t ‘perfect’ the first time around,” says Ryan. “In fact, showering positive attention on new ideas is considered a best practice at innovative companies. And because innovation is often a project-based activity, the simple recognition of a new idea by a manager can kick start its adoption into a firm’s work processes.”

The new electronic version of Madison Performance Group’s executive briefing, Performance Perspectives, offers three ideas for igniting innovation in the workplace.

Summer Colors In Fall

Turquoise continues to shine in summer and into fall as a hot color. To get in on the trend, consider this turquoise burnout T-shirt (AA2660) from Broder Bros. Co (asi/42909). Turquoise has reigned as one of the hottest colors this summer. Pantone has deemed various mixes of green and blue – such as eucalyptus green, dried herb and Aparo Blue – the hottest hues of season. Bright and vibrant, these greens and blues make a statement no matter how they're worn, with everything from breezy tanks to tailored sundresses. "Take your cue from this season's fashionistas and explore fun shades such as turquoise and green," says Kirwei Lo, marketing communications specialist for Broder Bros Co. (asi/42909). "Trendy fashion colors are a great sales tool to use to market to fashion-conscious customers." But how to make these colors work long after the summer has faded away? By latching on to the "sportswear-gone-luxury" motif that is infecting fall's designer apparel. "Key looks from the just-ended runway shows suggest fall's fashions are going to be sporty and classic — but far from boring," writes Christina Rinkley, style writer for the Wall Street Journal. In short, bright summer colors can work in fall on the latest trends. Fifties-style high-waist lines are in, so advise your clients to pair high-waisted skirts with SanMar's (asi/84863) blue sapphire cardigan (L515), featuring a gently-contoured silhouette to add to the curvy, '50s look. Or go all-out in color by pairing Broder's turquoise burnout v-neck T-shirt (AA2660) with a sapphire or emerald scarf (AA7007). All the similar colors may seem like too much, but Style.com declares that like shades should be worn "head to toe, believe it or not. … Turns out 'matchy-matchy' is now a compliment." Plus, layers are always a classic fall trend, so don't be afraid to layer brightly-colored T-shirts and cardigans to pull it all together. The look is casual-chic, appearing nonchalant yet clean-cut – sportswear-gone-luxury, if you will. Whether your clients typically wear high-fashion or more casual apparel, this fall's fashions combined with summer's hottest hues will keep everyone happy.

Here are a couple pictures of Anna Kornakova wearing the t-shirts we produced for "Save The Girls."
Save The Girls is a Boston based charity to raise funds for the treatment of breast cancer. Save The Girls link
Anna was in town last night for the World Team tennis match between Anna's St. Louis Aces and the Boston Lobsters. Boston Lobsters link

Calendars are like a 24 hour commercial, without the annoying jingle. Think about it, most people spend an average of nine hours a day in their office. During that time they'll look at their calendar three or four times.
They work five days a week, sometimes coming in on a weekend.
That's a lot exposure to your message.
Calendars are not expensive so you're getting multiple, multiple exposure for very little money.
Calendars are a very cost effective promotional advertising product