Category: Productivity

Productivity content from Leo Nelson

[quote]Work ethic is about showing up, being on time, being reliable, doing what you say you’re going to do, being trustworthy, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting the organization, respecting co-workers, not wasting time, not making work hard for other people, not creating unnecessary work for other people, not being a bottleneck, not faking work. Work ethic is about being a fundamentally good person that others can count on and enjoy working with.[/quote]

Source: Work Ethic

Alumni and Emeriti

August 19, 2017

Leo Nelson

Western Michigan University has a very handy reference guide on distinguishing the various forms of Alumni and Emeriti.

Term	Description/Definition	Example
Alumna	Singular female i.e. a female graduate or former student of a particular school, college, or university.	Jane is an alumna.
Alumnus	Singular male i.e. a male graduate or former student of a particular school, college, or university.	John is an alumnus.
Alumnae	Plural female i.e. female graduates or former student of a particular school, college, or university.	Jane and Mary are alumnae.
Alumni	Plural male and plural when both men and women are included.	John, Jane and Mary are alumni.
Emerita	Singular female i.e. a female professor having retired but allowed to retain her title as an honor.	Jane is an emerita.
Emeritus	Singular male i.e. a male professor having retired but allowed to retain her title as an honor.	John is an emeritus.
Emeritae	Plural female i.e. female professors having retired but allowed to retain their title as an honor	Jane and Mary are emeritae.
Emeriti	Plural male and plural when both men and women are included.	John, Jane and Mary are emeriti.

FeeX – Retirement Fees Analyzer

May 20, 2017

Leo Nelson

Productivity No Comments

Nearly all investments — including those in IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457 and brokerage accounts — have fees. FeeX is a free service that finds these fees and helps you reduce them. FeeX’s mission is to make sure you keep as much of your own money as possible, instead of losing it to excessive fees. FeeX does not evaluate your investment choices or strategy. Instead, FeeX finds ways for you to invest according to your choices while paying the lowest fees available. In order to help you switch to similar low-fee alternatives, FeeX presents alternative investments with better past returns (when possible) than your original investments.

Source: FeeX

How To Avoid Task Saturation

January 16, 2017

Leo Nelson

Productivity No Comments

J.D. Meier talks about three solutions on “How To Avoid Task Saturation”, checklists, cross-checks and mutual support.

Solution #1: Checklists

The key here is the checklists are vital to reducing overload and helping remind you of key actions.

I’m a fan of checklists, not only because of how it helps avoid task saturation, but also because if implemented and used correctly, it has proven to be a great tool at removing inefficiencies in processes. Atul Gawande’s, The Checklist Manifesto, provides a number of examples on how various industries have successfully implemented checklists as a method to getting things done right and at the same streamlining complex processes.

Source: How To Avoid Task Saturation

Ask Better Questions

August 25, 2015

Leo Nelson

Productivity No Comments

Judith Ross on How to Ask Better Questions

Although providing employees with answers to their problems often may be the most efficient way to get things done, the short-term gain is overshadowed by long-term costs. By taking the expedient route, you impede direct reports’ development, cheat yourself of access to some potentially fresh and powerful ideas, and place an undue burden on your own shoulders. When faced with an employee’s problem, you can respond in a much more value-adding way: by asking the right questions, help her find the best solution herself. We aren’t talking about asking just any questions but, rather, employing questions that inspire people to think in new ways, expand their range of vision, and enable them to contribute more to the organization. Questions packing this kind of punch are usually open-ended — they’re not looking for a specific answer. Often beginning with “Why,” “How,” or “What do you think about…,” they are questions that set the stage for subordinates to discover their own solutions, increasing their competence, their confidence, and their ownership of results.

Personally, thanks to some excellent feedback over the years, I’ve subscribed to the 5WH line of questioning when trying to get information:

Who
What
Where
When
Why
How

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