Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Second International Leadership Blogathon Preview

2nd-Annual-International-Leadership-Blogathon-Todd-Nielsen


On March 1st, I am pleased to be a part of a large conglomerate of leadership experts, coaches, speakers, authors, and leaders will come together for the 2nd Annual International Leadership Blogathon on ToddNielsen.com. For 31 days we will read amazing stories, unparalleled experiences, and leadership wisdom oozing from every crevice of the Internet. There are a total of 41 writers for the blogathon, gathered from countries the world over. Last year's blogathon brought an amazing source of wisdom, much of which would be hard to come by collectively on any single blog or book. This year's articles raise the bar so much higher. Below are the 41 writers for the blogathon. I invite you to read more about them and make sure to sign-up for updates to receive the articles in your inbox every day. Plus there will be some prizes and contests, here and there, throughout the month to win books and some other leadership products.

DATE

AUTHOR

COUNTRY

March 1st Lolly Daskal USA
March 2nd Kate Nasser USA
March 2nd Susan Bagyura USA
March 3rd Dan Forbes USA
March 3rd Chris Lema USA
March 4th Brendan Howe Canada
March 5th Dave Bradley UK
March 6th Scott Span USA
March 7th Joan De Winne Belgium
March 8th Kai Roer Norway
March 9th Ali Paskun USA
March 9th Susan Thorn USA
March 10th Susan Mazza USA
March 10th Andy Phillips Colombia
March 11th Heidi Alexandra Pollard Australia
March 12th Lora Crestan Canada
March 13th Ogwo David Emenike Nigeria
March 14th Steve Nichols UK
March 15th John Thurlbeck UK
March 16th T. Hampton Hopkins USA
March 16th Barry Smith USA
March 17th Coleen Jolly USA/UK
March 17th Ray Attiyah USA
March 18th Janine Garner Australia
March 19th Alli Polin Austrailia
March 20th Frode Heimen Norway
March 21st Kimunya Mugo Kenya
March 22nd Maria Gardner UK
March 23rd Tanvi Bhatt India
March 23rd Rob Ryan USA
March 24th Chris Young USA
March 24th Jonathan Creaghan Canada
March 25th Peter Sterlacci Japan
March 26th William Powell Finland
March 27th David Hain UK
March 28th Sandro De Silva Netherlands
March 29th Paul Jolicoeur Canada
March 30th Allison Macintoshwright UK
March 30th Richard Andrews UK
March 31st Tom Shulte USA
March 31st Todd Nielsen USA

I can't wait to take part with all of these great minds, as well as the thousands of readers to create a fantastic leadership event that helps enhance the world of leadership acumen.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Eleven Ways to Procrastinate and Still Get Things Done




According to some reports, more than 20 percent of us chronically look for distractions to avoid doing the work in front of us. I don’t know about you, but that seems chronically low. I work with many people who have taken procrastination to an art form - putting off doing something, anything until a future time. However, putting off certain things can make you a better time manager! By focusing energy and effort on the tasks of most importance, you can procrastinate and still get things done.

As Vincent T. Foss suggested, “One of the greatest labor-saving inventions of today is tomorrow.” So, in the spirit of Mr. Foss, below are 11 ways to procrastinate effectively:

Remove the urgency from trivia: Commit to a deadline. Deadlines create a sense of urgency. Setting a deadline and sticking to it allows you to focus attention on matters of higher importance first allowing more trivial things to wait.

Do one thing at a time: Take complicated tasks requiring attention one at a time and see them through to completion. Many of us float from one task to another, never bringing anything to completion. Ultimately, the unresolved tasks take their toll creating in us an urgent frenzy.


Occupy the mind: When bogged down, take a break and rejuvenate. Even though it’s important to stick to a task once it’s started, if you reach a point of diminishing returns, take a break (don’t abandon it) and focus on some other task.


There’s always tomorrow: A prioritized daily action list is great for managing time and for procrastinating efficiently. Those tasks not completed today can be carried over to the next day’s list and reprioritized.


Use empty spaces of time: Every one of us has spare time. Properly used, this time can be of considerable value to a creative procrastinator. Always have a constructive task that needs completing with you for these spare moments – a chapter that needs to be read or a paper that needs to be written. Sometimes, however, the spare times are good for just relaxing.


Front and center: As you are wrapping up work for the day, place your next highest priority task in the middle of your desk for tomorrow. This assumes you have a dedicated work space for work – which is also critical to time management!


Select the best time of day: What is your best time of day? If you are a morning person, put off your critical tasks until that time of day. You will be more refreshed and eager to accomplish all that needs to be done.


Adapt to the day: It is a good idea to block out time to accomplish your high priority tasks. But blocking out full days and planning precisely what you will do during those times is often pointless. Be prepared to handle unexpected interruptions.


Be persistent: Stick with each task through to completion. Following the old adage that “behavior persists when it is rewarded,” make yourself stick to the task with the promise that upon completion, you will spend time on something is fun.


Dislike it? Do it!: Simply put, get the hard tasks and those you like least out of the way first.


Post-it: Instead of a list, consider post-it notes. Try using a these handy notes to capture important tasks and priorities. It feels great to throw them away when the task is done.

The next time you feel the urge to procrastinate… do it. And let me know how it works out for you.