A colleague of mine, Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D, asked me to put together a list of top 10 productivity tips on how to move from a “Culture of Now” to a “Culture of When.”

A “Culture of Now” says that everything needs to be done right now, it needs to have an immediate response. The “Culture of Now” is terribly unproductive.

People need to move to a “Culture of When” that says, “this is when I’m going to accomplish things.” The Culture of When helps you take control of your schedule, rather than allowing you to be pushed around by the whims of others or the beeps and buzzes of technology.

Here are the top 10 tips to move from a “Culture of Now” to a “Culture of When.”

1. No appointments without a calendar. Don’t ever commit yourself to an appointment with someone else (or with yourself) without scheduling it into your calendar.
2. When delegating a task, give a clear expectation of due date. When you delegate a responsibility to someone else, make sure that you are clear with them when you expect the result.
3. Establish a voicemail expectation. That means that when someone calls you, they should hear a message that lets them know when they should expect to receive a reply back from you.
4. Tell others when you expect to get them a result. If others ask you for something, let them know, “I expect to get back to you within an hour or two hours or five days.”
5. Ask others when they expect you to reply to them. If someone delegates something to you, clarify with them when they would like a response back.
6. Schedule recurring appointments with yourself on repetitive tasks and projects. If you have a repetitive task that you perform,  such as paying bills, then schedule a recurring appointments with yourself in your calendar to take care of that.
7. Establish a schedule to check email. Make sure that you are not constantly checking email or that you are dependent upon email to let you know when it has arrived. Instead, establish a schedule for yourself within your calendar to check email.
8. Establish shop hours for your office. In the same way that retail businesses have hours that they are open for business, you need to have a clearly established set of shop hours for yourself. Let other know when it is appropriate to interrupt you and come into your office.
9. Setup 1:1 Huddles. I talk about these huddles in my book, The Myth of Multitasking. This is a one-on-one meeting that you have regularly with other people to ask them what they need from you and to tell them what you need from them. This eliminates a lot of the quick questions that happen in your day.
10. Set a time boundary for yourself. Most people allow their day to just spill over into however long it takes. By establishing a set boundary (meaning, I’m going to stop my day at five o’clock or six o’clock) you take control of your schedule and you force yourself to be wise in the decisions you make with your timeline.

If you implement these changes you will bring a much greater sense of control and sanity to your workday, and you will be much, much more productive.

Dave Crenshaw has appeared in TIME magazine, SIRIUS XM Radio, Forbes, MSN Money, been interviewed on radio and TV stations across North America and is the President of the National Association of Productivity Coaches. His book, The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done, has been published in six languages and is a time management best seller. His next book, Invaluable: The Secret to Becoming Irreplaceable, will release in all major bookstores in May 2010. Dave is the foremost expert in helping you increase the value of your time in an ever-changing market and has helped thousands of clients worldwide. For more information, visit www.BeInvaluable.com.

PLEASE COMMENT: What tips would you also suggest would help people move from a Culture of Now to a Culture of When?

Posted in: Management, Meetings, Organization, Productivity, Stress Reduction, Technology, Video Training | Comments (0)

I’ve been so busy this with with my new National Association of Productivity Coaches that I needed to pull a “previously unleased” video from the archives.

So, it’s an oldie-but-a-goodie. (You’ll be able to tell from the fall colors in the background!) I actually recorded this right after a workshop session with the worldwide customer service executives from Novell. They were a very fun and knowledgeable group!

In this quick video you’ll get the answer I gave to them about one of their biggest questions.

P.S. Please comment: what times of the day have YOU established for checking your email? Does this work for you?

Posted in: Multitasking, Productivity, Technology, Video Training | Comments (0)

“Other people are making me unproductive. Help!”

One of the top questions I’m asked by inherently
organized individuals is how to prevent the
disorganization of OTHERS from making them
productive.

In this special 8 minute video, I answer this question
in great depth.

You’ll learn how to:

• Clearly communicate to others how you can help each other be more productive
• Minimize the sporadic “Quick Questions” that are killing your day
• Be polite, even when telling others you can’t field their interruption at this moment

P.S. After you watch the video I’d like you to share
your experiences. How are your co-workers or employees
making you unproductive? What have you tried that’s
worked so far?

Posted in: Management, Meetings, Multitasking, Stress Reduction, Video Training | Comments (1)

Does your boss expect you to reply immediately?

I found a video in my archives that I had recorded but
hadn’t posted it up yet. I think you’ll enjoy this.

I was speaking on location at beautiful Santa Clara
University, when an audience member from a major
corporation asked me: “I have a boss in Hong Kong who
has this expectation that I always respond immediately
to her requests. What do I do?”

She asked the question because I was preaching the
importance of moving from a Culture of Now (which
perpetuates switchtasking)to a Culture of WHEN.

Do you have a demanding boss like this? (Or are YOU the
demanding boss?) How do you handle the situation?

Watch this video for some quick, invaluable tips.

Switchtask no more!

Dave Crenshaw
Author, The Myth of Multitasking & Invaluable (available May 2010)
President, Invaluable Inc.

P.S. After you watch the video I’d like you to share
your experience. Have you tried the tips I’m
suggesting? Are you too scared to try it? Why?

P.P.S. Expect more videos like this from me this year.
I’m committed in 2010 to just give away a lot more
content. Less selling, more giving. Watch for it.

Posted in: Management, Meetings, Preparation, The Myth of Multitasking, Video Training | Comments (3)

What to do with all these miscellaneous files?!

This bonus episode is an actual excerpt from the Boot Camp portion of my Two Day Productivity Miracle.

In the Boot Camp I walk a management team at a manufacturing company through the entire process of creating their Personal Systems. From start to finish, nothing is left out. The whole Boot Camp is a logical progression of building personal systems, from A to Z, with videos, worksheets, and even personalized accountability from an Invaluable Coach.

This is only an 8 minute episode from over 7 hours of video  coaching content contained in the Two Day Productivity Miracle!

In this episode, I teach Tiffany  how to set up a very simple and quick filing system to take care of the “miscellaneous”  files that grace her inbox daily. Many people make their filing system much more complex than it needs to be. I show Tiffany how to set hers up in just a few minutes!

Each episode within the  Two Day Productivity Miracle is designed to build upon the last, culminating in giving you absolute mastery of your workday–permanently.

With my Two Day Productivity Miracle, I show you absolutely everything you need and coach you through the whole process so you can:

• Get more focused
• Be more organized
• Increase your job security
• Put a value to your time
• Improve key relationships in your life
• Get more money-making work done in less time
• Add thousands to your personal (And company bottom line)
• Finally have the free time you’ve only been dreaming of!

To get absolutely everything in my Get Time coaching program, and to learn more about if it my Two Day Productivity Miracle is a fit for you, visit:

YOUR NEXT STEP: Click here now to get the Two Day Productivity Miracle, and take complete control of your workday FOREVER!

http://www.TimeBootCamp.com

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Organization, Productivity, Stress Reduction, Video Training | Comments (0)

Spending thousands of dollars on technology, but getting pennies worth of results?

You first met Keith in the Power Delete! Candid Productivity episode. He talked me into to answering another question.

Consider this a Bonus episode, with more great content.

Keith called his current appointment scheduling system “ghetto.” I agreed!

So I gave him a few options for not only coordinating appointments with his assistant, but also improving his data synchronization. These are surprisingly common issues.

My guess is that if you’re like the majority of the people I coach, speak to, or who read my books, you’re misusing the technology available to you! Most people don’t need a new gadget or tool or planner or PDA. What they need is professional productivity coaching to learn how to properly use the tools they already have!

The bad news: There is no way that I could possibly answer all your questions in the brief time I have for these episodes.

The good news: My Two Day Productivity Miracle covers absolutely everything you need to get focused, get organized, and get time. It includes:

• Over seven hours of video of episodes of me coaching a corporate team
• A searchable database of a growing repository of direct answers to every single productivity question in the world.
• Access to ask your questions via email to my Invaluable coaches (a live person) at any time you’d like.
• In short, it’s just like having me come into your office, at any time you’d like, just as you see with Keith

Even though companies pay me up to $10,000 per day to train them personally, I can offer, for a limited window of opportunity, instant access to my Two Day Productivity Miracle for under $300!

To learn about the Two Day Productivity Miracle, CLICK HERE.

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Productivity, Technology, Video Training | Comments (0)

Clay Johnson is a business owner and very successful entrepreneur. Despite his successes, he always felt that he was ultimately limited by his inability to handle interruptions. In this video, learn how he was able to finally control the interruptions to increase his success level.

Pay close attention to the comparison he makes between my Get Time coaching and other coaching programs. How many times have you attended a seminar, read a book, or listened to an audio course only to find the results drop off after a few weeks?

The great majority of our clients say that same thing that Clay says. The results  from my Two Day Productivity Miracle will stick with you in the long run, longer than any other program in the world!

P.S. Sometimes you’ll see a testimonial about some amazing results in a training program, and then at the bottom, in little tiny letters you’ll see the phrase:

“Results not typical.” Huh? Then why tell us about the results?

You’ll NEVER, ever see that disclaimer with my case studies. The results you’ll see from Clay’s video ARE typical.

THESE results are actually very, very USUAL.

P.P.S. In fact it’s very UNUSUAL when someone who completes my Get Time training doesn’t gain tremendous amounts of time, improve focus dramatically, and become more organized than they have been for years!

Its so unusual that I offer a triple guarantee on my Two Day Productivity Miracle.

Learn more about my Two Day Productivity Miracle by CLICKING here.

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Case Study/Testimonial, Preparation, Productivity, Video Training | Comments (0)

Ever wish your meetings lasted half as long as the normally do?

Welcome to the next video in my new Candid Productivity Video Series!

These are the same kinds of in-depth answers my Invaluable Coaches and I provide in my Two Day Productivity Miracle.

Meet Skeeter, both a principle partner and director of sales for an online debt reduction company. Skeeter coordinates a lot of schedules and oversees the success of many sales reps.

Because of that, he sits in a lot of meetings. Skeeter is, well, a “meeter.” The meetings are supposed to help his people be more efficient, yet they end up wasting a lot of time.

Do you experience that at all in your workplace? In this episode I show him just two principles from my Two Day Productivity Miracle to make his meetings truly productive.

He also had another problem that I can relate with: office disorganization (it doesn’t look like it when you see the video, but he explains why it looks like he “cheated” before I came). I give him a simple principle to help him wrangle his cantankerous workspace!

P.S. Have you checked out my Two Day Productivity Miracle yet? It covers these principles I discussed with Skeeter in great  depth. More important, it helps you become conditioned for permanent productivity! After you watch the video, learn how to condition yourself for workday mastery at: http://www.TimeBootCamp.com

PLEASE COMMENT BELOW:

How long is an average meeting for you? Do you find them to be productive, or more of a waste of time?

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Meetings, Organization, Productivity, Video Training | Comments (0)

Is your workplace a “Culture of Now” or a “Culture of When?”

Chris is the star of this episode. As an accounts manager for a busy health food company, he deals with a barrage of calls, emails and orders daily.

He felt the need to respond to them all NOW, since not only does his company pride itself on fast service, but his job description really requires him to be readily available to the needs of customers.

The problem is that Chris was stuck in a Culture of Now. I showed him just a couple of the tactics from my Two Day Productivity Miracle that helped him deal with everything on his plate, but still transition to a much more healthy Culture of When.

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Productivity, Technology, Video Training | Comments (0)

Learn How to Stop Putting Out Fires and Take Control of Interruptions

Welcome to the first video in my new Candid Productivity Video Series!

Get the same answers I provide to my top-paying clients: unrehearsed, uncut, and unedited.

In this video you’re going to see the candid answers I provide when I ask people–just like you–a simple question:

“What is the biggest productivity challenge to your workday?”

In this episode, meet Curtis, a world-renowned programmer who knows he fights fires more than he should. I give him two concrete steps to minimize is firefighting ways.

PLEASE COMMENT BELOW:

Are you a workplace firefighter? Do you know someone who is? Tell me your story!

Posted in: Candid Productivity, Meetings, Productivity, Video Training | Comments (6)