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Everyone wants to knock things out, cross off their to-do list and enjoy that great feeling that comes with getting things done. However, sometimes getting to the point where you can cut the cords, distractions, procrastination and lack of motivation and actually get in that “zone” feels like your chasing the wind. So, how do you get more efficient, productive and get back that loving feeling of slaying that to-do list? Here are a few of my tips for organization and time management and how they play major hands in your productivity.

Organization

A lot of accomplishment really starts with overall organization. If your life, workspace or home are a mess, trying to accomplish anything is going to seem like an uphill battle. However, if you can start from a point of organization (even if it only looks organized to you at first) you can start to develop a method of accomplishment and through that method, the joy of actually getting things done.

Tips:

1. Look at where you spend the majority of your work time. Is it distraction free? What about clutter? Do you really need those papers? Try to slim down to only the bare essentials. In graduate school I had to pretty much live in the library because it was the only place I could confine myself to get my reading done. Those library desks were the closest thing to a prison cell I could have found.

2. Eliminate distractions. Those desktop weather widgets are great, but are they necessary? With more and more of what we do being in a browser or on our computer, iPad, iPhone, etc., it is critical that we maintain some sense of discipline that actually points us toward accomplishment.

3. Formulate your notes into a to-do list. Having a bunch of information is great but unless that information leads to application, it’s not that useful. I try to start each day by identifying my A1 item – the item that absolutely must get accomplished that day. Beyond that the priorities get ranked based on priority and the time in which it needs to be done. A items (note: please try to keep A’s at no more than 3) need to be done that day, B items would be items that you would love to get off your list but they are not pressing, and C items are those that are nice to get done but are not critical enough to become a B as they really don’t have a deadline.

When it comes to effectively composing that to-do list, Joshua Leatherman advocates at method called “batching” to eliminate distractions and maximize our overall impact. I have not yet used this method, but it looks like it has promise. Learn more here: http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-use-batching-to-become-more-productive.html

Time Management

Ever wonder where the last seven and a half hours went? Many of us do every day. Time management is one of the biggest areas where we all can grow a little bit (or a lot).

Tips:

1. Maintain a calendar, don’t be maintained by the calendar. Each of us likely has some sort of calendar – be it iCal, Google Calendar or Outlook. Some of us are old-school enough to actually have a paper planner or a wall calendar (special shout-out to all of my paper planner homies). Having all of these calendars is great, but unless we use them to help us getting things done the only thing they are accomplishing is ushering us from one soccer practice, board meeting, or event to another.

If you want to better manage your time, you need to take the power back. Set meetings that only involve you and yourself getting things done. Have trouble with turning in a weekly report? Make a meeting planner for the 15 minutes (you don’t need the full 30, do you?) and knock that puppy out. You’ve got to really follow through though. Don’t break your own rules.

2. Take control of corporate time planning. This doesn’t have to be anything too formal, just make suggestions that keep things in order. If you’re part of a meeting where everyone is wasting time, step up and bring some order. Ask that future meetings all have an agenda and also ask that the time of the meeting be more narrow. Making sure your meetings actually start of time is also a huge plus. Many productive teams will actually set a timer that will go off signaling the conclusion of a meeting. Try this. See what happens – my wager is that you and those around you get more things done.

One additional note on this one. Don’t believe the lie that you have no power to make an impact in this area. No one loves meeting planning… okay, very few people love meeting planning. There is generally always some opportunity for you to step up and at least give guidance. If you are low on the ladder, this is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from those that don’t seem to value time.

A great resource on this is 37Signals’ Rework, which outlines their corporate philosophy on meetings.

Question: What do you find helpful to getting you in the zone?

Photo credit goes to the beautifulpixels.com blog highlighting 6Wunderkinder’s new WunderKit App.

Watching the Grammy Awards one thing that stood out more than any award, performance or unplanned oddity was an advertisement involving Willie Nelson, a cover of Coldplay’s “the Scientist,” an animated processing plant and a farmer with a change of heart. This advertisement provides so much of what businesses struggle to supply. It supplied what Simon Sinek would call the “why” of their organization.

The why is something that is often never looked at, never communicated, and never translated into their everyday work. Chipotle’s “why” is sustainable food that is not part of a factory system that processes animals for maximum capital gain. Chipotle provides fresh and sustainable ingredients, meat from hormone free animals, good atmosphere and solid customer service and – oh yeah, they also make incredible burritos. Their goal is to do business with people who believe in what they believe. Their goal is not to do business with the Golden Arch crowd. There is no way their business model will fit that rat race. They are going for a values centric consumer.

If you want to learn more about the “why,” check out this video from Simon Sinek’s TED talk. As you go through Sinek’s talk, ask yourself what your personal “Why” is? Why is it that you do what you do – what is it the inspires you and motivates you outside of any balance sheet.

Here are my tips for an effective content marketing campaign:

Written, Measurable Goals.

Again, your goals have to actually be goals. This means that that they have to be achievable and also directly tied to whatever actions you are performing to achieve them. There are critical, tactical ties that bring your goals together into something that works for a common purpose. Start slow and purposefully.

Quality Content. (You wouldn’t kiss your mother with that content?)

Use benchmarks as you write your content to prompt yourself or your editor to say, “is this flowing clearly?” or “will my readers get legitimate value from this?”

Clear Understanding of Your Audience

One of the things that I am always reminded of as I teach others is to teach people, not content. I LOVE content, don’t get me wrong. I love facts, statistics, and diagrams like good nerds do. But no one cares about that stuff unless it is positioned to who they are. If you are writing to reach 18-28 year olds, use modern terminology and illustrations from their culture – try to find out what this specific group likes to talk about. (I would even suggest browsing their Twitter feeds if you have a chance and the luxury of knowing someone in your target demographic – to make sure that you won’t be coming at things the completely wrong way.) Make sure that you have a means through which they can interact (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.).

If you are writing to lawyers, make sure that you use proper grammer and syntax. This audience reads for a living. The same goes with authors, doctors and other white collar demographics. One word of caution though. Don’t let the need for technical perfection outweigh your ability to communicate. You can still use modern “hooks” regardless of audience.

Trial Run – Calling All Friends and Guinei Pigs

I know this sounds basic, but we living in a hasty culture where we want to get things done (GTD). But please, please do a test run on those who love you, know you and have the courage to tell you your stuff stinks. A bit of correction up front can go really far down the road (queue the illustration of a ship being navigated.)

Once you have good content, circle back to your goals and look for tools that will help you effectively launch your content. Make sure you can measure analytics, capture leads, and provide a means for them to contact you.

I wish you the best with your next content marketing strategy.

If you have any questions, shoot me an email at jud@mackrillmedia.com.

Technology, coupled with an economy that fell tremendously in 2008 is completely changing the way we work. Or at least this is true for those of us that get to do work behind the warm glow of a screen or the grip of a phone.

Seth Godin, stated in a recent Business Insider article that the new economy of work leaves no room for an “average employee.” I tend to agree with him.

If you’re the average person out there doing average work, there’s going to be someone else out there doing the exact same thing as you, but cheaper. Now that the industrial economy is over, you should forget about doing things just because it’s assigned to you, or “never mind the race to the top, you’ll be racing to the bottom.”

Lets take this further. If you’re an average company doing average work – there is going to be someone else doing the exact same thing, but cheaper. Simply put, we are in an innovate or die environment.

However, innovation does not necessarily mean that your have to churn out a life simplifying app or revolutionary new service platform. Innovation can mean that you are distancing yourself from the pack in a way that shows your values, integrity and willingness to produce quality rather than a profit for profit’s sake.

A great example of this idea is the Butcher & Larder in Chicago. Sustainable, responsible meat supply is no new concept. If fact, it is likely how your grandparents once purchased meat. The Butcher and Larder is simply putting sustainability and quality as their innovative quality. This, in effect, has created tremendous brand identity for them in their community – removing them from the same work, less money depletion economy that Godin is referencing.

About Butcher & Larder
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The mission of The Butcher & Larder is to be Chicago’s first sustainable, all whole animal butcher shop. We custom cut meat from animals that are responsibly raised on small, Midwestern family farms. In addition, we make a variety of sausages, patés and prepared deli items such as ham, bacon and corned beef for retail sale. We offer butchering and charcuterie classes (sausage making, etc.) at the shop, and plan to periodically hold small, casual family-style dinners.

About P&S Series
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P&S (Practice & Space) is a web series that investigates people’s commitments to their craft and is filmed on location in their unique spaces. There is a growing movement of people that dedicate themselves to more sustainable, more difficult and more expensive practices in order to produce a higher quality result. This series examines these stories.

Music from Vimeo Music Store
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Psychic Soy by Morusa
Like a Movie by Nicole Reynolds

I hope everyone has had a great week. Here are some links we thought were worth sharing.

Great tips for starting a business under $500.00.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222636

An Omaha area analysis of future data center migrations to the midwest.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120119/MONEY/701199969#area-cities-top-list-as-data-center-hosts

Apple is looking to take its innovation to the classroom with its iBooks platform – also creating more opportunity for indie authors.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/19/a-closer-look-at-ibooks-author-textbooks-and-exclusivity/

The Facebook timeline is one of the newer ways for you to communicate who you are. The flexibility of the activity timeline has allowed for some creative ways to communicate.

For example, the Israeli Anti-Drug Campaign created this timeline to communicate a before an after of a drug user to raise awareness of the impact of drugs over a one year period.

Israeli Anti-Drug Campaign: One Year on Drugs

Creative Director, Jessica Bernard uses the Facebook timeline to communicate what she does and where else to find her.

Jessica Barnard Facebook Timeline

Antonio Fadda integrates a passport look into his timeline to tell you he loves to travel sport his Guinness t-shirt.

Antonio Fadda Facebook Timeline

In what way can you use your timeline header to better communicate what you’re all about?

It is officially Stop SOPA day. Wikipedia, Google, and many many others will go dark as a sign of resistance to proposed legislation that would add a layer of government control over the internet. SOPA and PIPA are legislative vessels that have been heavily lobbied by large media companies such as Disney and Viacom in an effort to protect the use of their media products from being part of websites like Youtube and others. The problem is that this legislation puts everyone’s freedom at risk. If you are not familiar with SOPA, we thought it helpful to share the following infographic.

SOPA Infographic by http://visual.ly/users/youcom

We’re about 50/50 around our shop.

infograhic by Lee @ http://visual.ly/mac-person-vs-pc-person

Apple is struggling with Google for domination in the mobile ad market, making rare compromises.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204336104577094872512502942.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

New Twitter Tool “Bottlenose” is making ripples in the social marketing space.

http://allthingsd.com/20111212/bottlenose-is-a-web-based-twitter-client-for-power-users/

Kansas City based Leap2 launches their search or find based iPhone app.

At Mackrill Media, we are really into the ideas of timeless success, providing exceptional value, and continually innovating while maintaining excellent standards of service. IBM and other companies that have endured over time are a major source of inspiration. A special thanks to Brad Bukacek Jr. for sharing this video from IBM, celebrating their centennial.