Leslie Shreve
Productivity Expert
Dates to know and take action!
The first week of July is "Take Charge of Your Life" week
The first week of August is "Simplify Your Life" week
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Interested in Virtual Productivity Consulting?
Using a computer interface and your phone, Leslie can consult with you from Baltimore, Maryland to
any location in the continental U.S.
Visit productiveday.com
for more information
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Client feedback on the benefits of being more organized and more productive...
“One of the things you hear all the time is that everyone is different. Well, it's true, but it doesn't mean we 'all' can't do better. Different was my excuse for stacks of unread reading, memos long ago read and never filed, spreadsheets studied and printed out and then kept on the table in case I had an epiphany. Yes, that was what I think I thought all this mess was doing; it was keeping the door open to possibilities that might arise from just being within reach. And there was always more to do than there was time in the day and I always went to sleep knowing that I had worked a hard day's work and would wake up to much more 'to do.' I had sold myself on things that were wrong, inefficient, draining and slowing down my productivity. I've got to tell you that I feel different today, that I have cleaned-up and refocused my desk, my work approach, and soon my office at home, the stacks around my 'reading chair' and even my garage. Guess what? I had that epiphany, but it wasn't in those piles. It was about those piles and I can thank Leslie for reaching me finally with a better way to operate... a better way to seize the day.”
Bob McEwan, CEO
MEDBANK of Maryland, Inc.
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Focus On... Leslie in the News
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The Baltimore Sun published an article on Wednesday, July 16th, calling Leslie "Organization Woman" and the article "Productivity consultant helps professionals, business owners manage time, tasks, e-mail."
Click here for the full story and all the facts on Leslie and Focus Consulting
Practice Makes Progress
Is there a part of your work day or your systems and processes that aren't working for you? It may be time for a new routine. Author Sandra Felton wrote that “New patterns of doing things, new thought habits, new ways of feeling must come slowly if they are to be maintained. Often it takes repeated reminders before these foreign behaviors become a part of our lives. It takes longer still before they become automatic.” She's so right.
It's important to remember that no matter what kind of changes we are trying to make in our lives, it takes repeated effort and time to make the change. Then one day, finally, it becomes automatic. We kept moving forward even where we didn't feel like it or when we had setbacks. Then one day we look back and realize that we hadn't noticed we were making good progress. Felton goes on to say also that “...by challenging our old behaviors, thoughts and feelings we have loosened their hold on us.” True again.
The first week of July was dubbed as “Take Charge of Your Life” week, but if you were on vacation like I was, then another week would have to do. As a matter of fact, any week can be “Take Charge of Your Life” week! Look around your office and notice was bothers you or weighs heavy on your conscience. Look in your e-mail Inbox, your computer files and take a look at your task list(s). Be careful not to shrug of what you see because too much clutter on your desk, in your office or in your computer can hamper your productivity a lot more than you think. Having too many tasks and projects that are all urgent, where you're not sure where to start or what to tackle first, can make you spin out of control, complete with feelings of overwhelm and frustration.
Clients who've succeeded in making positive changes in their processes and systems have been known to say that they feel a huge weight has been lifted off their shoulders or that the monkey is off their back. So take charge of your office and your work day. This is your life we're talking about here! Take charge, make a change, no matter how big or small, and drive your day where you want it to go. Each positive change will give you the energy and momentum to help you keep going. You will feel better and better and before you know it, you'll be on a roll with a new routine! Once these changes and routines take hold, then your happiness and your productivity will surely follow along.
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Tiny Tip: E-mail Freeze to E-mail Breeze
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When you are ready to empty your Inbox or the folders under the Inbox and organize the information, start first with organizing your e-files and folders in the computer. If you've saved documents in your computer in the 'My Documents' folder or the C: drive or another drive, then get that list organized so that like topics are together and there are very few single, random documents outside of folders. Once you get all of that set up and consolidated, then you can get started on your e-mail.
You'll want to sort and separate emails and attachments and get them out of the Inbox and into one of 6 places: To Read, To File (either in the computer or a printed copy for the file cabinet) To Do, To Toss, To Delegate or To Enter (like calendar or contact information). You too can get your Inbox down to zero. Getting there will be an initial commitment of time. Staying there can be a breeze once the system and process are in place. Continually making decisions on your e-mail and moving each one forward will help you get everything one step closer to “Done!”
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"Until we uncover and recognize patterns that have become habitual, we cannot achieve mastery -- that state of being where actions are guided by awareness and intention rather than habit and reaction. The key to mastery is the level of consciousness we bring to our thoughts, emotions, our physical presence, and our actions. Developing this level of awareness is a skill that can and must be learned if we are to achieve any level of mastery within desired areas of our personal and professional life."
–SelfGrowth.com
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Leslie Shreve
leslie@productiveday.com
410-218-4896
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