Office workers – stand to attention April 16, 2014 With ever more studies linking sitting down to early death, it’s time to consider losing the chair Given the prevalence of sedentary workplaces, it’s easy to forget that sitting at a desk all day is a relatively new practice. Even in the late nineteenth century, office workers were a tiny minority in the West. And [...]
Four reasons not to dismiss inbox zero April 15, 2014 Email perfectionism has a bad reputation, but you can learn something from it without going all in THE WORLD is turning on inbox zero. The craze for having no unread messages, for emptying your inbox by constantly shuffling email between “to do”, “follow-up” and “completed” folders (and myriad sub-folders), is facing a backlash. First coined [...]
Want to improve your focus? Wind up a kitchen timer April 14, 2014 The Pomodoro Technique claims to make the clock your friend, but it has a big flaw THERE may be a small device lurking in your kitchen that could transform your ability to get things done. The tomato-shaped cooking timer, known in Italian as a pomodoro, was first identified as a vital tool for better time [...]
Job title inflation: When will it end? April 13, 2014 While less is more when dressing for work, that same logic hasn’t yet reached corporate uplifts MARK Zuckerberg is guilty of it. So were the tieless bunch of world leaders who assembled at the G8 summit last June. Yet the much-criticised phenomenon of successful people dressing down – eschewing shirts, ties, suits, and proper shoes [...]
Four ways to cut down on social loafing April 10, 2014 Delegating clearly and obeying the “two pizza rule” will help your team work more effectively FRENCH engineer Max Ringelmann was measuring the force exerted by workers pulling on a rope about a century ago. He noticed something interesting. When more men were added to the experiment, the pull on the rope didn’t increase proportionally. And [...]
Four business tips from Alex Ferguson April 9, 2014 Ruthlessness and a focus on young talent may pay off, but be careful not to linger after quitting WITH 38 trophies in 26 years at Manchester United, including 13 of the 21 Premier League titles he contested, Sir Alex Ferguson can stake a strong claim as the most successful sports manager in a generation. This [...]
Why remote working may be dying April 8, 2014 Homeworkers can be just as productive but risk missing out on the corporate culture UNTIL recently, it looked like remote working was the future. Faster home broadband connections, new services like Skype, and nascent document-sharing technologies raised hopes that the daily office commute would soon be a preserve of the minority. The data backed this [...]
Getting it done: How to conquer ineffectiveness April 7, 2014 A new book finds that making progress is about more than to-do lists WHEN asked how to write a novel, Ernest Hemingway responded, “First, you defrost the refrigerator.” And today – when we can be pulled away from important tasks by the ring of our newest gadget – few are immune from the temptation to [...]
Cutting down on digital distractions April 6, 2014 Taking a break from emails and fitting your browser with productivity tools will boost concentration IT’S EASIER than ever to get distracted online. And whether it’s constantly dipping in and out of the rolling news cycle, responding to unimportant emails, or browsing social media, digital diversions are one of the most destructive office habits – [...]
How to use game theory at the office April 3, 2014 Defecting may be a dominant strategy, but cooperation and being a risk-taker can also pay GAME theory isn’t often associated with day-to-day life. Developed as a mathematical technique for studying complex, multi-party interactions (by the likes of John Nash, famously portrayed by Russell Crowe in the film A Beautiful Mind), it’s probably best-known as the [...]