Posts by Helene Segura, M.A. Ed., CPO®
How Parkinson’s Law Affects Productivity
Have you ever heard the adage that work expands to fill the time? This is called Parkinson’s Law because this theory was explained in an article written by Cyril Northcote Parkinson for The Economist all the way back in 1955. Recently, a journalist posed the following questions about Parkinson’s Law, and I shared the…
Read MoreMental Health and Productivity
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, so this is the perfect time to pause and point out that the state of your mental health impacts your productivity levels. I work with many clients who have been diagnosed with various conditions: depression, anxiety, anger issues, and so on. Receiving their diagnosis didn’t magically cure…
Read MoreTony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
Growing up in Southern California, my brother and I were avid skateboarders. We were nowhere near the professional level, but we built ramps on the sidewalk in front of our house and also, eventually, in the street in our cul-de-sac. We would finish our homework early in order to get some shred time in…
Read MoreNational Leave the Office Early Day 2022
National Leave the Office Early Day was created several years ago by Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE. This special day is observed on June 2 each year. If June 2 will fall on a Saturday or Sunday, it’s celebrated on the closest weekday. A fellow productivity specialist, Laura’s goal was to bring attention to…
Read MoreHow to Stay Focused and Productive at Work – Part 2
In last week’s blog post, I shared a quick summary of time management tips to implement in order to turbo charge your to-do list. In today’s Part 2 of that post, I’ll explain how to implement those tips, which will help you stay focused and productive throughout the workday. If you…
Read MoreHow to Stay Focused and Productive at Work
Recently, Buzz Feed journalist Fabiana Buontempo posed this question: “I’m writing a story on tips to stay focused and be productive throughout the workday. I’m looking for detailed answers that are not the typical “write a to-do list” or “make your office a zen space.” Here was my recommendation for how…
Read MoreIs Ambition Good or Bad?
Journalist Kate Orson of Breathe recently posed this question: Is there a negative side to ambition? Can it make us unhappy to always be projecting into the future, and not finding happiness in the here and now? How can we find balance? Interesting. Is ambition good or bad? Here was my response to her…
Read MoreProductivity Quiz – Unpack Your Answers
In last week’s post, I shared a quick productivity quiz you could take to gauge the probability of whether or not you’ll be weighed down by time management challenges. As I mentioned in the post, if you chose certain answers, you have a higher probability of remaining productive throughout the day, as well as…
Read MoreProductivity Quiz
Over the years, several clients have asked if I have a productivity quiz that can serve as a predictor for whether or not they’ll experience time management issues. Here’s a quick productivity quiz you can take: 1 Where do you park your car? in the garage (or I would if I had a garage,…
Read MoreProject Management Tips – 5 Key Planning Components
If you think about it, nearly everything we do at work or in our personal lives requires project management. If a task requires more than one step, and most especially if someone else needs to be involved, project management principles should kick in to make for smoother sailing. One key principle of project management…
Read More