I've always wondered why there's a preoccupation with workshifters' attire--specifically, the assumption that we're all decked out in pajamas. There's something subtly disparaging about it, too, as if workshifters are deceptively mucking about in PJs all day long. Have you ever lingered in pajamas? It gets old. Fast.

In addition to wearing daytime clothing, workshifters also need to stay groomed--just like everyone else. My husband and I go to the same hair salon and usually schedule our appointments back-to-back so we can carpool together. While one of us relaxes with a delightful pre-trim scalp massage, the other workshifts in front of the salon's fireplace.

During a recent trip to the salon, I overheard our stylist teasing my husband about his mullet. (He wasn't in full mullet territory, but things were definitely overgrown.) The mullet jibe reminded me of something I'd seen on Facebook. In a status update, one of my contacts mentioned that she was working from home and decked out in her workshifting attire for a remote meeting: business on top and party on the bottom (i.e., blazer on top and pajamas on the bottom). Oh, those occasional workshifters and their sneaky pajama-wearing ways.

Truth be told, I've had my own exercise in deception while holiday video conferencing with far-flung family and friends. Having been burned one too many times by my husband's uncensored room panning, I decided that this year I would carefully stage a single corner of the living room to give the illusion of decorum and order. Our official set was distilled to a twinkling Christmas tree, freshly plumped pillows, and steaming mugs of hot chocolate. You might say that our holiday background was all business, while the unvacuumed carpet, dusty woodwork, and precariously piled books screamed party (or, rather, the morning after the party).

This is completely silly, I know. We live and work in our house. So what if things are a little messy in the background? Personally, I've always felt that business attire is nothing more than a carefully constructed illusion of professionalism. Does wearing a suit mean that I am a better worker? Does it make me more productive? (No and no.) I've worked in suits-only environments. In my experience, suits certainly didn't make coworkers more professional in their work or the way they interacted with one another. In fact, suits may very well have been the reason they seemed so cranky.

But should there be a standard for workshifting attire? Yes: common sense. Gauge what's appropriate attire for your company or client environments and dress accordingly during video conferences. Otherwise, choose clothing that enables you to be productive, focused, and prepared for the task at hand. I happen to work better in jeans and a t-shirt. If suits make you happy, then bust a move with your trousers and jacket.

Pajamas, however, are for bedtime.

Photo Credit: David Steltz

If you're anything like me, you carry a lot of gadgets. My list typically includes chargers, USB cords, laptop, extra batteries, phone, iPod, Flip, headphones and an earpiece. When traveling abroad, I also bring a GSM phone and country specific adapters. All in all, I'd say I am gadget obese.

This only became an issue recently, as I was planning a business trip to Europe. I knew I would be leaving straight from a family vacation so I had to get packed early. Given the weight of my backpack (17 pounds) I decided to go on a gadget diet, mostly on purpose and somewhat by accident. The only tech items I packed were:

• 1 iPad
• 1 Verizon HTC phone (that's the accident; it doesn't work in Europe)
• 2 Chargers (phone/iPad)
• Adapters

The first thing I noticed was that I lost about 7 pounds of gadget fat; less cords, chargers, metal, etc. I was thrilled about shedding all that weight, but now I was worried about being productive with just an iPad.

I first used the iPad when I went skiing over the holiday. I immediately had a large appetite for apps. I grabbed everything from Angry Birds to Evernote and HootSuite; digital magazines like CNN, BBC, Martha Stewart and Maxim...yes, Martha and Maxim. I'd heard that Martha had the best digital experience and Maxim is, well, Maxim. It was in the "M" section, so why not?

I went from my holiday straight to Europe. Now it was time to see if I could survive on my gadget diet. I ran the iPad through its paces. The email client worked great on both Google and Exchange, but now comes the rub. Downloading and viewing attachments via Exchange was cumbersome and I usually couldn't view the entire document. And forget about editing the doc. So I decided to try the Citrix Receiver app. With Receiver, I was able to access Windows applications, and view my desktop files which was helpful during meetings, but I found the speed and navigation to be a bit challenging. That said, I'm really looking forward to using GoToMyPC on the iPad. I know that's a convenient lead-in to our product, but I mean it...its very cool.

One thing that took some getting used to was typing on the iPad. All those typing lessons I learned in school were useless. I was back to typing with one finger. It was more like poking than typing. Over time, I became surprisingly quick. In fact, I wrote the majority of this post on the iPad using Evernote.

While on the plane ride over I tried iBooks and Kindle for the iPad. I downloaded Tony Hsieh's new book on one, and C.C. Chapman's new book on the other. I prefer the page turning experience on the iBook app. It felt more book-like. I also prefer the buying experience on the iBook. It's less cluttered and more intuitive.

What I also found interesting was that I used Apps to navigate the web as opposed to Google. I know how weird that may sound, but I really enjoyed the experience. I was not as productive in terms of output, but I was more efficient in how I consumed information and media.

I highly recommend you try the Gadget Diet for one week. It's fun to challenge accepted norms about technology and productivity. It's also nice not to carry the extra weight around.

Write back; I'd love to hear about your Gadget Diet.

Photo Credit: SlipStreamJC

Welcome to 2011 and the new decade. Hurrah...a new start, spring will be here soon, it's time to strip away the old and open ourselves to new possibilities - and then return to the same old same old life as a workshifter. January, of course, is a time for making our New Year's Resolutions and then promptly begin breaking them.

The "78% will fail" statistic comes from research by Richard Wiseman, who does some interesting research debunking many of the claims made in the personal development field. According to Wiseman, many of the 78% in his research group failed because they had focused on what would happen if they didn't achieve their resolution and tried to do get there by willpower alone. Personally, I avoid being in the 78% category by not setting any resolutions!

Here's 3 reasons why people fail with New Year's Resolutions, and what works better:

Resolution Challenge #1: Cold Weather

January, for those in the Northern Hemisphere in particular, is a month of cold, grey, short days and one that follows a month of excess, merriment and celebrations. It's the prime "Cold Turkey" month - an image which conjures supreme acts of will in withdrawing from addictive substances, most of which will result in failure. Not really a proper environment to promote the best chances of success!

What works better: If you've already tried a resolution and failed already, shift your focus instead onto developing a Theme for the year ahead. Choose one word or a short phrase (up to 3 words) that represents the overall direction you want to take your life this year. My theme this year is "Simplify". I may not fully achieve it, but by having this one goal at the front of my consciousness, I'll strive to simplify daily and I'll be more aware (and, as a result, find it easier to make adjustments), when I over-complicate my life, which I tend to do on a frequent basis!

In short: Ditch the resolution and pick up a theme for 2011.

Resolution Challenge #2: Being Overambitious

People have a tendency to make large, difficult to achieve resolutions that don't afford the demands of everyday life. Remember that you don't live in a vacuum. For example, it's not easy to lose 2KGs weight when, like most people, you're probably leading a full and busy life. If you are a celebrity with a personal chef, then you're all sorted!

What works better: Look at your life and what's realistic and plan according to this. Break your resolution or goal into baby steps. One step at a time. And just because you stumble in your baby steps (as you will), it doesn't actually mean that you're doomed to failure! Just get up and try again!

In short: Be realistic, get support, take baby steps and keep on trying!

Resolution Challenge #3: Failing to Plan

Rarely do people plan how they will achieve our resolutions or goals. Nor do they consider "What might prevent me from succeeding in this resolution?" or "What might go wrong and what will I do if that happens?" and "What will I put in place to support me?"

What works better: Keep a diary of your goal progress. Ask yourself why you want to achieve this, what it will bring you and brainstorm as many ideas as you can of ways to get there. Don't make goals or resolutions with out thought! Ensure you've got good support and accountability structures in place (Coaches are good for this. There's one writing to you right now!).

In short: Treat your resolution or goal as a project, not just a sentence. Remember that boring old adage: "Failing to plan is planning to fail"!

Photo Credit: Jeff Hester

A recent article in the Huffington Post by Ms. Huffington herself spoke of the need (for women) to get more sleep if they want to get ahead in this country. She goes one step further to state that Americans are increasingly sleep deprived. Not surprising. I have to wonder, are workshifters a close second to women in the sleep-deprivation race? What about re-naming ourselves NapShifters?

Much like a nap or good night's rest is an act of self-care to a parent with a newborn baby, power naps can be revenue generators for a workshifter. Whether it's a power nap or simply fitting in extra sleep between multiple projects and deadlines, these rest periods can take a workshifter from being productive to being a super-producer.

We all know that the "sleep mode" on our laptops reserves battery power. Naps go one step further -they reset our brains so that creativity, ingenuity and efficiency can flow more readily and rapidly into our output. If you truly believe this, it will take the guilt out of napping and put the purpose in.

Many workshifters (author included) wish daily to get by on as little sleep as possible, thereby leaving a larger space of time to accomplish more...more projects, more articles, more goals. "I'll sleep when I die" and "I don't have time for sleep" are familiar mantras to us all. Yet as hard as we might fight, we all eventually succumb to sleep nirvana. So, why not reframe the way we look at sleep: "I sleep so that I can LIVE better, WORK/LEARN/CREATE/COMMUNICATE at my highest potential."

Forever viewed as an act of indulgence, or even worse - laziness(!), naps are not our enemy. Clearly, napping when you should be calling into a stakeholder meeting or brainstorming session won't further your career; but depending on your individual schedule and location, workshifters are in a prime position to make strategic napping work!

So why not herald in the good news?! You do not have to choose between sleep and productivity - lose the guilt, nap strategically and watch the thermometer on your efficiency, creativity and professional vitality rise.

Photo Credit: John-Morgan

Last month, President Obama signed into law the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. This law means that Federal agencies must create telework polices for all eligible employees as well as training programs for teleworkers and telework managers.

While you might be saying to yourself, this law really doesn't apply to me because I don't work for the Federal government, the law has a broader meaning for business. Government recognizes that working outside of the office is valuable.

Now pair this with the idea of flexible hours. According to a study by the Families and Work Institute (Report-The Impact of the Recession on Employers.pdf), firms are adding flexible work options such as working from home along with evening and weekend work as a way to attract and retain valuable employees. Bill Driscoll, district president for Robert Half International, was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying more firms are offering flexible hours in lieu of extra pay.

So paying attention to how this new law is implemented could be very valuable in many ways: for the business who wants a positive impact on the bottom line, for managers who want to find and keep talented employees, and for employees who are looking for some flexibility and balance.

The Telework Exchange published a report in conjunction with the new legislation providing some interesting history. But, more interesting was the section identifying the five key challenges to implementing a telework environment. The areas they sited were:

• Building Management Support
• Resistance to Change
• Measuring Productivity
• Supplying Telework Technology
• Demonstrating Return-On-Investment (ROI)

I'm not going to reprint the report here but I encourage you to check it out: Report-From Bill to Building-Next Steps for Federal Telework.pdf  The report also included some recommendations to overcome these challenges. They include management training to understand a virtual workforce, enhancements to existing technology, employee training for self-management and personal accountability.

Workshifting has covered several of these topics as well. Here are some additional resources to consider as you're putting together a flexible work plan.

Results-Based Management: Don't Workshift Without It
Looking for a Workshifting Occupation
7 Considerations for Setting Up a Home Office
4 Tips to Jumpstart Your Work Day
Project Oosouji: Clearing the Queue

And this is just a sampling of all the resources available.

The conversation about flexible time and workspace is only just starting. As more organizations recognize the value: both in cost savings and employee satisfaction, it's sure to become more common. Having the resources available to create and maintain a positive virtual workforce should be on everyone's agenda. 

When you first started your business, you were likely overcome by the vast pool of opportunity that lay in front of you.

Set my own hours! Wear suggestive or polarizing t-shirts to work! Refuse stupid projects! Name my own salary! Stink up the place with microwave popcorn!

And probably a few more serious benefits as well.

Opportunity does exist in the world of small business, often in the way of small wins and new introductions that might lead to something, someday. But rarely does opportunity just present itself in full fashion. "Here I am," Opportunity said sweetly, "Yours for the picking." That rarely happens. So you have to learn to see all your individual efforts and attempts as building blocks that lead to something incrementally more substantial. Your time is money, so spend it well. Make sure it takes you somewhere you want to go.

From the realm of Viability to the land of Won

Owning a small business, especially in the beginning, is about toiling. It's about digging through the crusty mantle layer in search of the promise that lay underneath: a sustainable client base. To achieve this you likely network and blog, attend Twitter chats and scour connections on LinkedIn for prospecting. You may submit RFPs until you're seeing XYZ's and tire of the "Everything is great" smile frozen on your face at industry functions (where you network some more). You'll do anything to wrench a lead from the realm of Viability and lob it into the land of Won.

That feeling when you win? Yeah, it's awesome. Break out the champagne! Boy, those are smart folks over there at Acme Company. Good people, they are.

But here's the thing, they say. Your work samples are good. We want stuff like that, but on more generic topics. With fewer words. We'll need a draft and links to support material a week before your publication date, just to make sure we like the direction. We'll need editorial control of the final product, so expect rewrites. Sorry, no byline. We'll pay our standard rate. Submit an invoice at the end of the month you produce the work, and we'll pay net 30 days. This is gonna be great!

Pffffzzzt. That's the sound of your balloon popping. Not feeling so hunky-dory with this win right now.

This is one of those times an opportunity may not be an opportunity after all. As a small business owner, you have tough choices to make when deciding what type of business best fits your business.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• What were your expectations for the project? How could you have communicated them more clearly, before things got this far? Were there questions you didn't think to ask?
  
  
• Strip away your immediate reaction. Re-think how the parameters really affect your work schedule and budget. Beyond those logistic pieces, does producing Acme's kind of work fit with your vision or values?
  
  
• What will you net if you accept? Literally speaking, after taxes and factoring in a conservative estimate of your time and resources, will you net a figure that's worth your effort? In the figurative sense, will the project provide you with anything of value like a reference, a referral (of the caliber you desire)? What about a good portfolio sample or access to a swanky parent brand?
  
  
• What do you stand to lose? Chalk up some (clearly not a lot) unrealized revenue potential. But what would have been the cost of that opportunity? Time missed with your family during a crazy season of youth sports? Personal dissatisfaction or resentment because you feel trapped? Time better invested in perfecting your craft or prospecting elsewhere? More projects down the road?

The decision to say "No, thank you." or "Those aren't my usual terms, but I accept them." is yours. There's no guidebook, and the resident mentor is out on vacation.

What will you do when you uncover opportunity?

Photo Credit: Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester

I've had a funky Target-designed surge protector in my living room for a while. It's cute, it's functional, and it gives me a safe place to plug in a laptop. But, until the other day, it was located in exactly the wrong place.

The power inputs for my computer, my piano keyboard, my Droid, and probably ever other piece of electronic equipment in my house are all on the left side of the devices. But the surge protector was plugged in on the right side of the couch, so I was always running cords across the table--and trying hard not to trip on anything when I stood up.

So I moved the surge protector to the other side of the couch. Problem solved. But it did get me thinking about space--and how we do (and sometimes don't) optimize it for ourselves.

Don't Trip Over the Cords

Are you using your office space wisely? Can you reach the calculator, paper, printer, pens, phone, and everything else you use multiple times a day without tripping over anything?

Here are a few things I've done to optimize my office workspace:

• My rolling desk chair lets me scoot from the printer to the back-up supply of paper.
  
  
• A hanging files holder lets me keep my top files close at hand while leaving my desk free for work. And did I mention it rolls too?
  
  
• I keep a miscellaneous desk papers file in the hanging holder. As the name implies, it holds much of the "stuff" that would otherwise be cluttering my work space.
  
  
• The dry erase board on my file cabinet lets me glance over at blog post ideas, and gives me a place for ideas to percolate.
  
  
• Two wall shelves above my desk give me a place to house a few reference books (including my AP Stylebook) and a few toys.
  
  
• A round table in the corner by the windows gives me space to spread out when I'm collating papers, sorting receipts, or have to organize project docs.

Now it's your turn. What are you doing to make your workspace work for you?

Photo Credit: Groovymarlin

After the holiday celebrations of December most people in January are in the mood for less food and drink, less socialising and less activity. We look ahead over a new, blank year and plan how to cultivate better habits and fulfill our dreams. Why not spend a little time at the start of the year slimming down your home office too? These activities will clear out the rubbish and put you in good shape for the workshifting year ahead:

Slimming Down the Home Office

• Go through your filing cabinet and drawers and clear out files and paperwork. How many years' accounts are you hanging on to? Check with your accountant or the tax authorities how many you are legally obliged to keep and shred the rest. It might sound tedious, but once you've started, you'll find it wonderfully freeing!
  
  
• Check all that potentially useful information you've accumulated - cuttings from newspapers and magazines, scribbled notes, brochures, business cards etc. Do you even remember why you kept it? How much of it is already outdated or will be before you ever need to use it? Most can probably be recycled - just about everything you could ever want to know is available online anyway.
  
  
• Buy a year planner and spend a few happy hours imagining your ideal year. Put in holidays and breaks first, followed by the business activities that bring you the most value. When are the high profile events and conferences in your industry? Put them in so you can attend, or even better, is there a chance you might be invited to speak?
  
  
• Every year I look forward to going through my diary and making a list of all the significant events of last year and the interesting people I've encountered. Try it and I guarantee the list will be longer than you anticipate! On a day-to-day basis it's easy to overlook how much progress you're making and once the year has ended it's a good time to take stock.
  
  
• Decide who you'd like to get to know this year and make a note in your new diary to call them, attend an event they are likely to be at, or ask someone for an introduction.

Flushing out the workshifting toxins you accumulated last year and introducing an intake of new, fresh people and ideas is a great way to start the new year feeling positive and excited about the possibilities ahead.

What would you add? How do you clear out the clutter for a fresh start to the new year?

Photo Credit: kris krug

As I stared into the steel grey eyes of my newborn for the first time, I asked myself the question: "How will I ever leave this beautiful bundle of joy and return to work in 3 months?!"

As a working mom of a dual income household, I'm not the first to ask that question nor will I be the last. There are endless articles on "Mommy Guilt" and the inevitable return to work but it doesn't have to be a date marked on the calendar with a big red pen and tears blotted on the page all around it. It can actually be a date to look forward. For many mommies like me out there who love their job and enjoy what they do, the key to making this transition as smooth as possible is having the option to Workshift.

A few weeks before I was scheduled to return to work my husband and I discussed the idea of my working remotely a few days a week. I set up my home office with all the working mommy essentials: A nursing pillow specifically designed for my office chair, my giant coffee mug, a Costco size bag of trail mix, a hands free headset, and plenty of bottled water. As the days went by with my Booboo (my affectionate nickname for my son) and that big red circle on the calendar came near, I actually started getting excited to work! I have to hand it to full-time moms out there. Staying home with your little one as amazing as it is begins to feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day eventually. I just couldn't keep going for walks in the AM, meeting friends for lunch, and doing laundry in the afternoons. I was really looking forward to getting back into the fast paced action of working for an innovative collaboration company.

The truth is that the hardest part about returning to work is the challenge you face with trying to continue to breastfeed. From the moment you have the baby, you are required (in the state of California) to watch a series of 15 minute videos in the hospital about the benefits of breast milk for your baby. These videos essentially program you to believe that giving your infant anything other than your homemade 'fresh from the breast' milk makes you a selfish undeserving Mother. Of course, I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the idea. So as you spend the next three months providing this liquid gold to your child every 1.5-2 hours, you are suddenly supposed to deprogram yourself, break the bond, and return to work, in a cold dark room and pump. I have to hand it to California though as they legally require your employer to allow a break and provide a room for a mother who desires to express milk in private. The point is that it's a messy and unnerving transition as you suddenly go from breastfeeding mommy to pumping mommy. Not only is pumping generally uncomfortable but your body also needs the touch and smell of your baby to produce breast milk. So there you are, sitting in this room all by yourself with only 15 minutes before your next big meeting, watching a video of your baby on your mobile device pumping when only the day before you were snuggled on the couch with your little one. Now tell me that situation isn't stressful!

I luckily got to avoid that scene at least three days a week as I sat in my home office workshifting with my Booboo in the other room playing with our Nanny. I was able to be a more productive and less resentful new mom while making the transition back to a working Mother. Our nanny would bring my son to me when he was hungry and I could breastfeed him comfortably while still attending my online meeting with my hands free headset on (thankfully no video capability at the time). Now that my son is a bit older, I only workshift when I need to but I'm incredibly thankful for the workshifting movement that allowed me to maintain the work life balance I desperately needed at the time.

Photo Credit: eamills

In business, being small has its advantages. You can move quicker, adapt and pass savings onto your customers. But it's often a challenge to get yourself noticed amongst 'the big guys'. Proving that size doesn't matter, here are five ways to 'big up' your small business...

1. Word of Mouth. One of the best and certainly one of the cheapest ways to promote your small business is by word of mouth. Write to some people you know but don't see very often, like old friends and colleagues, and let them know what you're up to. Ask for their feedback and introductions to contacts that might be able to spread the word about your small business. And don't be shy! People love to help.
   
   
2. Networking. Networking can be quite scary, but the trick is not to feel like you have to sell, sell, sell. It's all about listening, building relationships and helping others. Those are some of the best ways, ultimately, to sell your services and promote your small business.
   
   
3. The Web. We're all familiar with using the web in our personal lives. Email, Facebook and Twitter are all excellent ways to promote your small business too. But networking online is a lot like networking in person. Remember to listen, to build relationships and help others. No-one likes a spammer!
   
   There are places on the Internet where you can promote your small business to a targeted audience, like on Bitsy - one of the friendliest B2B marketplaces on the web.
   
   
4. PR. You can promote your small business by doing a bit of PR yourself. Get started by writing a press release and sending it on to five websites or magazines that are popular with your target market. Remember to make the release focused, as anything too generic won't get published.
   
   
5. Testimonials. If you've done a good job, let others know about it! Ask your existing customers for feedback and whether they'd mind you using a quote on your website. Make sure you let them know how you'll use their testimonial and give them full credit. Anonymous testimonials aren't that impressive! But positive customer experiences are a great way to promote your small business.

What other strategies have you used to 'big up' your own small business?

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks

Ah, the start of a new year. Isn't it true that a fresh outlook, new beginnings, and a happy, lighthearted attitude are driving most of us as we embark on the wonders and promise 2011 brings?

Unfortunately, around this time in January, reality starts to take hold once again. Our email inbox is rapidly filling to the brim, even though we so diligently cleaned and organized it over the holidays. The phone begins to ring, and on the other end are all of those people who said "Let's just wait till after Christmas.". They are through with waiting.

It's also around about this time that we start to forget all those new year's resolutions we made to work smarter. Your beautifully cleaned and sorted desk falls victim to clutter as chaos creeps back in.

For most of us, working from home or working remotely is the only way to work. We are happily independent, flexible, and productive. But even the best workshifters can fall victim to bad habits. So let's explore a few ways you can continue to ride high on the wave of freedom that is workshifting.

You take it out, you put it back.

Remember a few days after Christmas, when your turkey hangover subsided, and you got motivated to clean your office? You organized and filed. You dusted under the printer. You donated old books to the library. You bought new storage containers and promptly filled them. You felt somehow lighter and freer.

Now, the day to day chaos has re-ensued, and you find that your spotless desk is once again filling up with papers, books, coffee rings, and junk. Before you know it, you're drowning in a sea of clutter once again.

There's a really, really simple way to solve this. I use a simple mantra, "Everything in its place." It serves to remind me that when I take something out to use, I put it back when I'm done with it. That goes for everything...staplers, papers, books, you name it. If I take something out, I use it, then I put it back, and do it consistently, then it only stands to reason that my work space will stay clear, right?

Same goes for electronic clutter.

The thing is, by implementing the same mantra: "Everything in its place.", you can get the same results. Look at an email, deal with it, file it. Create filters to filter out all those email newsletters, Twitter follow notifications, and anything else that doesn't deserve to take up space in your main inbox. Suddenly your 500 emails are 300, or even 100. Seriously, it's that simple. Do the same with your note taking app. Build folders. Write your files directly to those folders, and you'll never feel cluttered again and it will be so much easier to find things. Don't just check things off your to-do list, archive them (or delete them).

The new year is all about developing and maintaining good habits. Start the habit today of saying "Everything in its place.". Trust me, it works. It's the only way I stay on top of the organized chaos that is my life. It's a surefire way of reducing stress, increasing productivity and improving our workshifting lifestyle.

Photo Credit: Tomas Carrillo

How do you start your workshifting day?

I've been asked a lot of questions over the years about working from home, being my own boss, finding the time or the discipline to do everything, and so forth. But it took 18 miles one summer morning before someone in my old run group asked me what I do first.

People seem to envy workshifters because we get to set our hours and select our work settings. But what often gets lost is that we, too, have to have a routine. Otherwise, how would we ever get anything done?

Here are four tips to jumpstart your workshifting day:

1. Get Distractions Out of the Way. Just as you need to warm up before a workout, you need to warm your brain before diving into the substantive stuff. While office denizens typically start off with coffee and collegial conversation, you should do much the same. If you're a café dweller, for example, you probably chat with other regulars. If you're a Facebook fanatic, spend a few minutes catching up with friends. I start my day with the online crossword and a little Twitter conversation.
   
   
2. Clear Your Inbox. Unless you are superhuman, chances are you have to peek at what's piled into your inbox while you were slumbering. That's okay. Go ahead. I skim my subscriptions folder just to make sure there isn't a header that looks too sexy to ignore. But mostly I look through my inbox to triage what's top priority (must act), routine (can be answered later), just for reference (move to another folder right away), or delete-able (done).
   
   
3. Tackle the toughest task first. It is tempting to put off the hard work, but that's a slippery slope to spending your day surfing the Web, rearranging files, reading blog posts, or whatever else it is you'd rather be doing. The key to a solid routine is to discipline yourself to get done what has to be done. When I don't have an early meeting, client work and business development get prioritized.
   
   
4. Eat Breakfast. I've had to learn this the hard way. Breakfast matters, and not just because I'm eventually going to bonk and get cranky otherwise. Putting off meals has the unintended consequence of disrupting your work flow because you suddenly have to eat something mid-morning when you should be chugging away on those tough tasks. Ideally, eat breakfast while you're warming up or clearing out your inbox.

What would you add? How do you jumpstart your work day?

Photo Credit: madmolecule

I said goodbye to traditional office life some 17 months ago, yet still struggle with defining my workday. Whether open-door, closed-door or cubicle-bound, office life offers a stability and consistency that come with scheduled work hours and responsibilities.

Upon entry into the Workshifting realm, the before, during and after work all become one. And, as is the case for many workshifters, your load will effectively increase if you become responsible for your own IT, marketing and the like.

How You Start and End Your Day Influences What Happens In-between

So, now, productivity not only becomes more challenging, it becomes more integral to successfully reaching any destination along the workshifting highway. Here are some ideas I am tinkering with, in order to move into the HOV lane of productivity.

Create a morning routine which invokes a positive flow of energy and ideas through the remainder of your day.

In physical terms, this ritual could involve a swim, a walk with the sunrise or a cup of freshly-brewed coffee. Sometimes, just having your coffee in a different place and checking your personal email or reading a few edifying articles will prepare your mind for the work that is ahead!

Mentally, the activity should calm you while at the same time awaken your brain to remain open to a flow of ideas throughout the day. Life coach and author, Wendi Blum, suggests that you start your day with a gratitude list - i.e., on a positive note. Or, perhaps, set the intention for what you would like to/need to accomplish on that day. Different from mere calendaring or goal-setting, setting the intention implies a connection and commitmment to the task at hand and the possession of the talent/skills/discipline needed to achieve!

Remember that the key to the morning "routine" may be keeping it exactly the same each day, or switching it up sometimes depending on what type of flow of thoughts/creativity/ energy you seek!

Create an evening ritual which encapsulates the positive aspects of your day and sets you up for success tomorrow.

As workshifters, it can feel as though our 'work'day never ends! Therefore, it's that much more imperative that we create a physical and/or mental separation to transition from work to relaxation. Whether it is an evening social activity or walk outside - find a way clear the clutter of the day.

Stop, ask your mind/heart/soul to receive the wisdom and knowledge you need to fuel the next day's tasks. These requests of yourself act like the automatic "Windows updates" your computer performs at night, readying it with the latest tools it needs to work at optimum levels.

What are your morning routines and evening rituals that make you most productive?

Photo Credit: outdoorPDK

I've recently been talking to serial entrepreneur James Layfield (whose very first business was an airport lounge concept at JFK Terminal 4) about his latest project. He describes Central as a brand-new kind of workspace, which will include a stationery shop, printing and copying facilities and a cafe, as well as various kinds of seating and deskspace.

James is keen to tailor Central to the needs and preferences of workshifters and so is asking for feedback on every element of the design - furniture, lighting, layout and so on - before opening in central London in April.

My comment, based on my own experience of workhubs and coworking spaces, was that there should be clear signage to direct first-time visitors walking in off the street, who might otherwise turn tail and leave. I'd also like friendly and approachable staff available at all times to welcome new customers, establish their needs, and then start the membership process, take orders for food and drinks, offer advice etc.

My only complaint about coworking is that some people talk very loudly on the phone - often unconsciously but also sometimes definitely to try and impress!  So I'd be interested to know how Central will juggle the phone calls that business people on the move invariably have to make with the peace and quiet that others need for concentration.

I'm not a regular user of workhubs, but as a Jelly organiser I'm always interested to hear people's opinions of working next to strangers.  Yes, it provides great opportunities to make new contacts, but what are the downsides?  Are you able to focus on work or do you use coworking as an enjoyable way of getting a bit of light admin done in a sociable atmosphere?  And if you run a workhub, are there any complaints that regularly crop up, and if so, how do you deal with them?

Photo Credit: Nathanael Boehm

2011 is in full swing. How are your new year's resolutions going? My guess is you are kicking butt and taking names. The key is for this to be the same answer after a week, a month, and six months from now.

Many of the workshifters I interact with regularly all made resolutions this year. The top three were to be more productive, get in better shape (hey, round is a shape), or become better organized. There are many more worthy and valiant choices.

This post isn't about how to do any of those things. It is about how to follow through and stay faithful to your resolutions. Here are three simple and practical steps.

One: Don't make resolutions. They are like rules that are meant to be broken and they usually are. Shift your mind. Start calling them goals or objectives. Doing this will make them more tangible and actionable. We are all accustomed to reaching goals whereas resolutions seem idealistic and ethereal.

Two: Stay in the Present. Nothing challenges the development of new habits like thinking about the long road ahead or worse, past failures. When you stay focused daily, moving towards your goals, you have greater success. It is what you do daily that ultimately decides your success or failure.

Three: Be Accountable. There is strength in numbers. It is lonely flying solo. Find at least one other person and form an accountability team. It doesn't have to be formal, complete with meetings and funny hats. It can just be a few other folks traveling a similar journey who you can lean on during the tough times and celebrate with during the successes.

If you follow these steps I believe you will find success in making your new year's resolutions goals stick. The final thread you need to weave through all of the steps is grace. Give yourself a break if you slip up or fail a time or two. You are changing habits that you have been ingrained and practiced for years. Enjoy the journey and this will be your year.

Photo Credit: Jeff Golden

Recently I read an interview with someone from an internet marketing firm. One of the questions asked of this person was about how she managed to accomplish all she did each day. It seems she is a prodigious writer, is active in social media, and services clients without missing a beat. Plus she maintains a personal life, something I only have a distant relationship with. Her explanation involved Parkinsons' law, and how she incorporates it into a mindset which leads her to ruthlessly schedule work time and organize her day.

Time Management Superstardom

An organization nut myself, I naturally did a quick search to find out more about this Parkinson fellow. If he had good tips I hadn't yet tried, I wanted to know about them. I already color-code my To Do lists and place reminders in Outlook to trigger certain tasks and appointments, but hey, I figured there had to be someone more put together than me. Maybe Parkinson was that guy. I wanted his secret powers.

It turns out Parkinson didn't offer special tips so much as he had a theory. Originally prefaced on bureaucratic waste and bloat, his idea centers on how ineffective most of us are at using our resources. The most precious resource work shifters and the self-employed have is time, and this guy basically said we don't manage it well.

The Letter of the Law

The gist of the theory is "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." It was true in 1955 when Cyril Parkinson wrote a semi-scientific paper about his observations; is it still true today, with all of the gadgets and apps we have? Aren't we consummate multi-taskers?

Think about it. Let's assume you have one active To Do list, the one with things that have to get taken care of imminently. It's neatly written on lined paper in a bound notebook or in Tom's Planner (not on a Post-it note) so you mean business, right? The items on your list may range from things you know you have to do today to things due a few days out. They're a mixture of stuff you feel OK about (like creating a project estimate) and stuff you'd rather not (like getting new insurance quotes). You may even have a separate semi-soft To Do list, one listing things you'd like to squeeze in, if ever the stars in the universe align.

Distractions, Distractions

How do you go about tackling your lists? Do you consciously mix in things like status updates and Google Reader between tasks? Is LinkedIn Q&A an actual item on your list under a "Networking" heading? How many times do other things (Twitter time suck) pop up? Creep in? Do you ever look down at your still-long list at the end of the day and wonder where the last hour went?

It's Not Me, It's You

Often times, several (or more) of the less interesting items "roll over" to the next weeks' list. We'll get to them soon, right? This week just got away from us. Uh, no. Parkinson advocates say the problem is you, and your inability to hold yourself accountable with boundaries.

No More Failing Your To-Do List!

I decided to try the theory out myself. Last week, instead of simply surfing my way through my active To Do list, each night I created a mini-list for the next day. I used the mini-list to itemize specific tasks I planned to do along with respective time allotments for each. An hour for this, fifteen minutes for that. I found out a couple of things by mapping the tasks which needed doing to the hours I knew I had available:

1. I still can't mind-meld time to stretch farther than it does. Time is fixed.
   
   
2. I spent more time on certain things than I ever would have guessed. Need to adjust mental note or risk continually shortchanging myself.
   
   
3. Sometimes we just need no choices. When I put "Get new insurance quotes" next to a time slot, I really had no option but to just do it. I had completed the prior task and it wasn't time yet to do what came next. I was out of excuses.
   
   
4. Time is money. By selectively ignoring annoying yet important tasks like getting new insurance, I was not only letting some of my hard-earned cash fly out the window (due to high premiums), I was wasting my own time and mental energy transferring the item to new lists and thinking about it each week. For six whole months.

This approach may sound a little rigid to some of you. I'll agree that unless you build in, say, 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon for the unexpected, you just may overschedule yourself. We can't anticipate everything, and some things just have to be taken care of when they come up. Flexibility will be important, so long as it doesn't become a crutch.

Just Do It

Overall, I think the benefits of following Parkinsons Law outweigh any negative factors. I can't say I'm committed to scheduling every minute of my work, Monday through Friday 7am to 5pm from here to eternity. But I really do want to get more control over what gets accomplished. It's not enough to remember or make note of what needs doing. It actually has to get done.

Must run. I'm officially 8 minutes behind schedule.

Photo Credit : Ani-Bee

I've spent the last month planning and preparing for the work of 2011.  I will be doing a great deal more writing, speaking and as if it's even possible, I will be traveling even more in 2011 than 2010.  Knowing this, I spent the last month using various tools to analyze how, where and when I use my time.  The results proved that the greatest thief of my time has, of course, been email.  So, I'm kicking the "always on inbox" habit with a few little changes I talk about in this video.

(If you can't view the below video, check it out here .)

What are some of your tips for kicking email addiction?

Oosouji is a Japanese New Year custom. Akin to the Western notion of "spring cleaning," it takes place precisely as one year draws to a close and a new one begins. The timing is important: It's considered inauspicious to drag old business, clutter and dust into a brand-new year.

This resonates with me. I know all too well that clutter can derail productivity. It's distracting. And it can be downright depressing.

For me, the most sabotaging kind of clutter isn't a sloppy stack of papers on a desk or a collection of Hummel figurines (though that's definitely distracting and borderline disturbing). The clutter I'm talking about is more emotional.

Like every writer I know, I have a multitude of projects large and small percolating at any given moment. I also have a stack of books in various stages of digestion. I don't punish my mind for its curiosity or creative meanderings. But time moves on -- sometimes leaving incomplete projects and unfinished books in its wake.

That's when enthusiasm starts to wane. Waning leads to nagging. And nagging eats away at creative energy. I, like most folks, want to finish what I start, but suddenly there's a more important deadline. Or a holiday. Or I simply don't feel like it.

I decided enough was enough. On a whim, I gave myself the last week of the year to clear out withering projects. I just couldn't stand the thought of hobbling into the New Year dragging the dead weight of lingering projects and mostly read books. I craved a fresh start. Renewed enthusiasm. Creative momentum.

I have to say that the experience was enlightening -- actually more lightening than anything else. In the span of a week, I knocked out a book a day (not that impressive since they were already mostly read, but I still felt accomplished), hammered out a handful of writing projects I had started earlier in the year (beyond satisfying), and even picked up my dusty violin (one of my goals for the coming year). Interestingly, clearing my dead-project queue seemed to have jump-started my resolutions for 2011.

I'm not waiting for next year to continue this new tradition. I think a clearing of the queue every quarter sounds about right.

Here's to a fresh start, renewed enthusiasm and creative momentum for all in 2011.

Photo Credit: Vicki Ashton

As a workshifter, I have had to learn to literally shift from multi-tasking to mono-tasking. Make no mistake, I need to master multiple tasks a day, but I choose to focus on one at a time - which means I am constantly on the move from one task to the next, as they are completed to my satisfaction and/or reach a logical stopping point.

This takes a considerable amount of momentum and stamina. Surprise, Surprise! As I carried my "portable office" to my extended family's home on Christmas Day (so I could knock out some research and still be among family), I realized that workshifting also takes commitment and passion. If I did not enjoy what I was doing and if I were not deeply committed to producing quality output, I would have been a very unhappy elf. Working while everyone else was playing with their new electronic toys and eating dessert may seem, to some, like torture. But to me, a seasoned workshifter, I craved the opportunity to create while inspiration was flowing and to capture as much of my otherwise "free time" to do the research I rarely have time to do on more structured workdays when the phone is ringing and emails won't cease. As workshifters, to whom much is given, much is still expected. We are blessed with the freedom to be and to create on our own timetable, yet we are fully accountable for what we produce on that same timetable.

Passion is a crucial ingredient to any workshifter's recipe. Without it, other ingredients such as organization, expertise and timeliness would fall flat like a failed soufflé. In each task, project or assignment you undertake, passion will provide differentiation; timeliness and quality are expected - so, in essence, it's not what you do but rather the je ne sais quoi of how you do it which ultimately makes your product shine from the inside out!

Without passion for what you are doing, you might as well_________?

Photo Credit: Nick Wheeler