Better's Blinkist

To have a more productive day, start by clearly laying out your intentions and goals.

First, clearly set out your intentions for each day and try to eliminate any activities you know tend to distract you from achieving them.

8 November, 2019 12:28 Share

Second, frame your goals in positive language. Goals framed positively can also be called approach goals – that is, goals that state the positive outcome you’re hoping to achieve, such as "make my product irresistible." The contrast to this would be an avoidance goal, like "stop losing customers."

8 November, 2019 12:30 Share

using approach goals improved their performance, whereas the opposite was true for those using avoidance goals.

8 November, 2019 12:34 Share

Manage overload, beat procrastination and stay focused by making a plan and scheduling enough breaks.

Crammed calendars and full to-do lists at work make it easy to feel overwhelmed. Let’s look at some of the ways to deal with these situations. First, the physical: lean back on a couch, exercise ball or even your office chair for a few minutes and focus on your breath until you’ve calmed down enough to think clearly.

8 November, 2019 12:36 Share

First, write down everything you need to do in the next few days or weeks. Mark the most important tasks and take one step toward completing that task today, no matter how small it is.

8 November, 2019 12:42 Share

What eventually worked for her was splitting the task into smaller steps, breaking it down into something like, "have a talk with my boss about my idea." Once she’d split up the big task into small, manageable steps, "election prep" became much less overwhelming and she was able to tackle it.

8 November, 2019 12:43 Share

When famed psychologist K. Anders Ericsson studied people at the top of their fields, like world-class violinists, athletes and chess players, he found that they also practiced in blocks of 90 minutes or less, with short breaks in between.

8 November, 2019 12:44 Share

Focus inevitably wavers throughout the day and needs to be recharged periodically. Over the course of 90 minutes, our brains go from highly focused to scatterbrained, which is why we end up doodling or playing on our phone if we’re forced to concentrate for longer.

8 November, 2019 12:44 Share

Surround yourself with pleasant relationships by building rapport with the people you meet and resolving tensions directly.

First, build rapport when you interact with someone at work. Don’t just awkwardly slip by them in the office kitchen when you’re both reaching for a mug – engage them and ask open questions like, "how are you spending your holidays?"

8 November, 2019 12:44 Share

Let’s take a look at a study conducted by sociologist Lauren Rivera from Northwestern University, where she asked recruiting managers about their most recent hires. She found that 74 percent admitted feeling some similarities with their new hires, whether it was based on a shared interest in sports, technology or something else. This indicates that managers prefer to hire and be around people with whom they share commonalities.

8 November, 2019 12:44 Share

For example, let’s take Simon, a real estate advisor who was annoyed with a client who kept promising him specific assignments but rarely followed through with them when the time came. Instead of reproaching his client or bottling up his frustration, Simon was up-front and communicated how he felt: "I’m confused because I received positive feedback from you, but didn’t get the project. Would you mind telling me what you were dissatisfied with and what I can do better next time?"

8 November, 2019 12:45 Share

This approach helped his client understand him without feeling attacked and getting defensive, and they ended up having an in-depth discussion about what the client was looking for.

8 November, 2019 12:45 Share

Address decisions systematically by using thinking routines and breaking down complex problems into an issue tree.

First, develop a versatile routine that helps you reach sound decisions in all manner of situations. The routine might be as simple as asking yourself a set of questions like, "what are the alternatives and potential disadvantages to this choice?" or "what would the worst-case scenario be, and what are some of my options if that happens?"

8 November, 2019 12:46 Share

Peggy is an advertising art director who developed a routine that works for her. Her trick is to always invite colleagues to give her feedback about her current work. While she doesn’t agree with them all the time, their input often helps her catch potential problems in her campaigns, thereby improving her decisions.

8 November, 2019 12:47 Share