Welcome back to the weekly Work Management Roundup, where we share the week's best links to articles on work, productivity, focus, and success to inspire you to do great things. This week, our post title is an homage to a phrase in Frank Herbert's Dune novel ("Fear is the mind killer"), but we look at how fear blocks productivity and what we can do to get past it. Plus, learn how to create a work environment where productivity and creativity are abundant. Read on!
My Most Important Productivity Method (Zen Habits): Productivity expert Leo Babauta pinpoints the one thing that gets in the way of our productivity: fear. In order to combat the fear of losing control, certainty, or comfort, he lists 5 steps that help you dive right into that uncertainty, and come to terms with how this fear is driving you to distraction.
Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace: Amy Edmondson at TEDxHGSE (YouTube): In an earlier roundup, we linked to an article about what makes a great team, based on results from Google's Project Aristotle research. A chunk of that research stemmed from the earlier work of Amy Edmondson, a Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, who is well-known for her work with teams. Her take on what makes a team successful? You must build a psychologically safe workplace. Watch her 11-minute TED talk for her suggestions on accomplishing this in your own workplace.
The Career Advice No One Tells You (Quartz): Over on Quartz, entrepreneur and marketer Raghav Haran doles out 11 unspoken rules for career success, which includes nuggets such as "job requirements are negotiable," and "pick a boss, not a company." A good article for those trying to land their dream job, and a great reminder for those of us already in the workforce.
What to Automate, What to Outsource and What to Do Yourself (Quuu): If you're feeling overwhelmed by your work, you can outsource and automate a lot of menial tasks. Just make sure that it supports, powers-up, or adds value to your workflow.
Is Solitude a Key Element of Creativity? (Lifehacker): Creative insight depends on free-flowing ideas and emotions that go through our subconscious mind. Yes, we can nurture and control our subconscious mind through mindfulness exercises, but we also need periods of isolation to let ideas incubate properly.
More Work Management Reads
Think About This:
- What Happens When Millennials Run the Workplace? (New York Times)
- How Tracking Time on Projects Boosted One Company's Profits Almost 50% (A Girl's Guide to PM)
- Parental Leave (AVC)
- 10 Companies That Hacked Traditional PR for Big Digital Marketing Wins (Contentmarketer.io)
Go Try This:
- Show Your Work (Seth Godin)
- Working for a Workaholic: 10 Tips to Reclaim Your Work-Life Balance (Infographic) (Wrike)
- This Cable-Wrapping Technique Will Stop Headphone Tangles And Change Your Life (Video) (Digg)
- How to Disagree With Your Boss Without Getting Fired (Lifehacker)
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