Monthly Archives: October 2009

7 Easy Ways to Get More Done in Less Time

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

7 easy ways to get more done in less time

Divide and conquer. Break up large projects into smaller tasks. If you think a task will take less than five minutes, get it done right away. If you can reply to an email in less than two minutes, reply immediately and file or delete the incoming email.
Fight procrastination. One of the easiest ways to fight procrastination is to focus on starting your task. Commit to your task for just ten minutes. Avoid distractions and interruptions and continue to work for just ten minutes. By the end of the ten minutes, you probably get absorbed in the tasks, build momentum and can choose to continue working towards completion.
Put things in their place. Designate a place at your home and office for everything — your keys, wallet, watch, clothes, electronic gadgets and all personal effects. Always put each item in its proper place. Being orderly prevents you from anxiously searching for these belongings the next time you want to use them.
Create checklists for all tasks. Consider preparing checklists for everything from cleaning the home to packing for travel. Checklists help you remember everything critical and thus reduce the persistent worry of forgetting something important.
Start planning your day on the prior day. Before you leave office or before you go to bed, plan the next day and prepare a ‘To Do’ list. Check your calendar for meetings, deadlines and commitments. In addition, put out everything you need the night before. Planning ahead not only helps you start the next day with purpose, but also gets things off your mind. You can thus enjoy your time away or sleep better.
Pick up after yourself and clean your home and workspace. From time to time, glance through all areas of your home and office for things that are out of place. Tidy up before the clutter gets out of hand. Use the wastebasket liberally. Realize that mess leads to stress.
Maintain a ‘On-The-Go’ folder. When you receive your copy of a subscription magazine, tear out all the articles that interest you and dispose of the rest of the magazine. Maintain an “on-the-go” folder and file such articles. Take this folder wherever you go and read these articles during transition times — when you wait for a doctor’s appointment or when your flight is delayed at an airport. Review this folder frequently and toss out everything that is older than six months.

“The Puppy Theory” of Giving Feedback Too Late

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

'The Puppy Theory' of Giving Feedback Too Late A common mistake we make in giving feedback to others is that we tend to defer corrective (negative) feedback. We put off criticism until the problem escalates or, as managers, wait until the employee’s performance review discussions. This predisposition is often rooted in the fear that negative feedback will offend the other and thus affect our rapport with the other.

Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz offers a ‘puppy theory’ on timing feedback:

I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don’t say six months later, “Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?” That doesn’t make any sense. “This is what’s on my mind. This is quick feedback.”

Immediate Feedback is Most Useful

I have previously discussed that effective feedback has three aspects: (1) initiate a personal conversation and make sure the other is ready to hear it, (2) explain his behavior, and, (3) help him understand the consequences of his behavior.

Do not neglect or defer feedback. Address problems while they are small. Immediate feedback ensures that the other accepts your feedback, understands his behavior and attempts to correct.

Inspirational Quotations #295

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

The best portion of a good man’s life is the little,
nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.
* William Wordsworth

It takes a person who is wide awake to make his dream come true.
* Roger Babson

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;
but remember that what you have was once among the things only hoped for.
* Epicurus

You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner.
You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe.
* Jack Welch

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
* Albert Einstein

The greatest good you can do for another is
not just to share riches but to reveal him his own.
* Benjamin Disraeli

Many people dream of success. To me success can only be
achieved through repeated failures and introspections.
* Soichiro Honda

Nearly all men can stand adversity,
but if you want to test a man’s character,
give him power.
* Abraham Lincoln

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
* Maya Angelou

It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you’re not.
* Unknown

Visit www.Inspiration.RightAttitudes.com for my compilation of inspirational quotations by author and topic. You may also subscribe to the weekly newsletter of inspirational quotations by sending a blank email to iqml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

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Inspirational Quotations #294

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

Discretion is the salt, and fancy the sugar of life;
the one preserves, the other sweetens it.
* Christian N. Bovee

A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.
* Francis Bacon

To be able to stand not knowing long enough for something alive to take shape!
* Lynda Barry

Chance favors the prepared mind.
* Louis Pasteur

A politician thinks of the next election
- a statesman, of the next generation.
* James Freeman Clarke

Practice no vice because it’s trivial…
Neglect no virtue because it’s so.
* Chinese Proverb

Fear collides with our most conservative self
and allows us to stop before we try,
dismiss before we think, mock before we imagine.
* Carol Lloyd

The delight we inspire in others, has this enchanting peculiarity. That,
unlike any other reflection, returns to us more radiant than ever.
* Victor Hugo

“Hate the sin & not the sinner” is a percept which,
though easy enough to understand, is rarely practiced,
and therefore the poison of hatred spreads in the world.
* Mahatma Gandhi

Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and
who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts,
find that new worlds open for them.
As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.
* Norman Vincent Peale

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

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Inspirational Quotations #293

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

Life is pleasant.
Death is peaceful.
It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
* Isaac Asimov

You have not converted a man
because you have silenced him.
* John Lord Morley

If you want to test your memory, try to recall
what you were worrying about one year ago today.
* The Rotarian

We are fallible. We certainly haven’t attained perfection.
But we can strive for it, and the virtue is in the striving.
* Carlos P. Romulo

It is better to live richly than to die rich.
* Muriel Strode

Love is energy of life.
* Robert Browning

Everywhere in the Universe, what we call Life and Movement
results from a continual conflict of Forces or Impulses.
Whenever that active antagonism ceases, the immobility and
inertia, which are Death, result.
* Albert Pike

When we feel love and kindness toward others,
it not only makes others feel loved and cared for,
but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.
* The Dalai Lama

The mind has to be empty to see clearly.
* Jiddu Krishnamurti

A person should contemplate the workings of the universe with reverence
and introspection. In this way expression is given to the effects of
these laws upon his own person. This is the source of a hidden power.
* I Ching

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

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How to Write Email Subject Lines that Persuade

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

How to Write Email Subject Lines that Persuade

Writing great email Subject lines is the single most important skill you can develop to improve your effectiveness with email communication. The Subject line is the first — and occasionally the only — element of an email that readers notice. By writing a persuasive subject line, you can help your readers identify the importance of your message and drive action.

Here are a few suggestions to write a great Subject line in every email:

State the objective of your email in a meaningful Subject line. Give your readers a clue of what your email is about and the response you expect.
The best Subject lines constitute the two key attributes of the email: [Context / Project] + [Action required / Message summary] E.g., “Need MATLAB help: how can I calculate 3D distance,” “Alternator repower: recommended solution,” and “Thank you for your insightful comments at the customer forum on Friday.”
Avoid indistinct and elusive Subject lines like “Hi,” “One more thing…,” “FYI,” “Can you do this,” or, “Help, please???”
Compose the Subject line after you compose the body of an email. The process of writing the body of the email will help clarify the key message you want to convey and the action you expect.
Prefix the Subject with an ‘URGENT’ if the matter is urgent.
Do not write the entire Subject line in ALL CAPS — this is the digital equivalent of shouting. Moreover, phrases in ALL CAPS are harder to read.
For shorter quick messages, try composing brief, all-in-the-subject-line emails. E.g., “Friday’s lunch: rescheduled to 1:00 PM [eom]” or “Reminder: feedback reports due by noon. [eom].” Adopt a few standard conventions and abbreviations (e.g., EOM for end of message) in your team.
When replying to emails, change the Subject line if the context of an email thread has changed during the course of the thread or if the Subject line in the original email was irrelevant or unclear.
Avoid discussing multiple topics in a single email. Send multiple emails, each with its own, meaningful Subject line.

Inspirational Quotations #292

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Nagesh Belludi

I believe that you control your destiny,
that you can be what you want to be.
You can also stop and say, ‘No, I won’t do it,
I won’t behave his way anymore.
I’m lonely and I need people around me, maybe I
have to change my methods of behaving and then you do it.’
* Leo Buscaglia

Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment,
and learn again to exercise his will and his personal responsibility.
* Albert Schweitzer

The time which we have at our disposal every day is elastic;
the passions that we feel expand it,
those that we inspire contract it;
and habit fills up what remains.
* Marcel Proust

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house,
passion will break through an unreflecting mind.
As rain does not break through a well-thatched house,
passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind.
* Dhammapada

How can I be useful.
Of what service can I be.
There is something inside me.
What can it be?
* Vincent Van Gogh

One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to
lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
* Andre Gide

To give real service, you must add something
which cannot be bought or measured with money.
* Mokshagundam Vishveshwariah

As a toy fruit or a toy elephant reminds one of the real fruit and
the living animal, so do the images that are worshipped remind one
of the God who is formless and eternal.
* Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours
is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
* Theodore Roosevelt

I have not failed.
I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
* Thomas Alva Edison

*Keyword(s): Inspiration, Quotations

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Monthly Archives: October 2009

7 Easy Ways to Get More Done in Less Time

Recommended Reading

“The Puppy Theory” of Giving Feedback Too Late

Immediate Feedback is Most Useful

Recommended Reading

Inspirational Quotations #295

Inspirational Quotations #294

Inspirational Quotations #293

How to Write Email Subject Lines that Persuade

Recommended Reading

Inspirational Quotations #292

Recommended Reading

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