You may know that one of the benefits of working at Google is “20% time.” Google allows their engineers to spend 20% of their time working on projects that are not necessarily part of their normal jobs, but are things they are passionate about.

This is a perk for employees, but the company gets a great benefit, too. According to Google, the results of giving employees free rein to create new things include Google News, Google Suggest, AdSense for Content and Orkut.

Employees do not have to spend that time creating something brand new, either. They can work on an improvement to an existing product, or even fix something that is broken. The point is to do something outside of their normal duties.

If you spend all of your time just keeping things going, you would be smart to implement your own version of 20% time. [Read more…]

Do you have a to-do list crammed with dozens of things you “must” do? How many of them will you get done today?

To-do lists are great. I use them all the time because they help me to remember what I need to do and keep me focused on my goals. It is also quite satisfying to put a big check mark next to something that I completed.

However, if your to-do list has 153 entries, or includes entries such as, “Write a book,” your list is counter-productive. Your list should not overwhelm you or seem impossible.

Here are my secrets for getting the most out of my to-do list . . . [Read more…]

The telephone can be a big time waster. It interrupts you by ringing while you are trying to concentrate on something. You plan to quickly return a call, and twenty minutes later you are still on the phone. You get caught in a phone-tag loop, exchanging messages but never connecting with the person you need to reach.

Many people believe that they always have to reachable by phone and when the telephone rings it must be answered. That is usually not true. Learn to overcome your phone addiction and get more done.

Here are the best ways to get more done by spending less time on the phone. [Read more…]

Can you point to specific things you accomplished today? Without goals and a plan, the day can simply drift by. You find yourself at the end of the day feeling as though you were busy and worked hard all day, but unable to name a specific accomplishment.

You can put an end to those lost days in just a few simple steps. Are you ready to get more done? Read on . . . [Read more…]