Wednesday, May 15, 2013

8 Things Productive People Do During the Workday

Written by Ilya Pozin, Founder of Ciplex. Columnist for Inc, Forbes & LinkedIn

Forget about your job title or profession – everyone is looking for ways to be more productive at work. It’s time to set down your gallon-sized container of coffee, toss out your three-page to-do list, and put an end to those ridiculously long emails you’ve been sending.
Experiencing a highly productive workday can feel euphoric. But contrary to popular belief, simply checking tasks off your to-do list isn’t really an indication of productivity. Truly productive people aren’t focused on doing more things; this is actually the opposite of productivity. If you really want to be productive, you’ve got to make a point to do fewer things.
Recently I spoke with project management and productivity genius Tony Wong to find out the secret to a more productive workday. He provided me with some excellent insight into what he and other like-minded productive individuals do during their work week.
Harness your productivity by taking note of these eight things:
1. Create a smaller to-do list. Getting things accomplished during your workday shouldn’t be about doing as much as possible in the sanctioned eight hours. It may be hard to swallow, but there’s nothing productive about piling together a slew of tasks in the form of a checklist. Take a less-is-more approach to your to-do list by only focusing on accomplishing things that matter.
2. Take breaks. You know that ache that fills your brain when you’ve been powering through tasks for several hours? This is due to your brain using up glucose. Too many people mistake this for a good feeling, rather than a signal to take a break. Go take a walk, grab something to eat, workout, or meditate – give your brain some resting time. Achieve more productivity during your workday by making a point to regularly clear your head. You’ll come back recharged and ready to achieve greater efficiency.
3. Follow the 80/20 rule. Did you know that only 20 percent of what you do each day produces 80 percent of your results? Eliminate the things that don’t matter during your workday: they have a minimal effect on your overall productivity. For example, on a project, systematically remove tasks until you end up with the 20 percent that gets the 80 percent of results.
4. Start your day by focusing on yourself. If you begin your morning by checking your email, it allows others to dictate what you accomplish. Set yourself in the right direction by ignoring your emails and taking the morning to focus on yourself, eat a good breakfast, meditate, or read the news.
5. Take on harder tasks earlier in the day. Knock out your most challenging work when your brain is most fresh. Save your busy work – if you have any – for when your afternoon slump rolls in.
6. Pick up the phone. The digital world has created poor communication habits. Email is a productivity killer and usually a distraction from tasks that actually matter. For example, people often copy multiple people on emails to get it off their plate – don't be a victim of this action. This distracts everyone else by creating noise against the tasks they’re trying to accomplish and is a sign of laziness. If you receive an email where many people are CC'd, do everyone a favor by BCCing them on your reply. If your email chain goes beyond two replies, it’s time to pick up the phone. Increase your productivity by scheduling a call.
7. Create a system. If you know certain things are ruining your daily productivity, create a system for managing them. Do you check your emails throughout the day? Plan a morning, afternoon, and evening time slot for managing your email. Otherwise, you’ll get distracted from accomplishing more important goals throughout the day.
8. Don’t confuse productivity with laziness. While no one likes admitting it, sheer laziness is the No. 1 contributor to lost productivity. In fact, a number of time-saving methods – take meetings and emails for example – are actually just ways to get out of doing real work. Place your focus on doing the things that matter most as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Remember, less is more when it comes to being productive during the workday.
What’s your secret to productive workdays?
About Ilya Pozin:
Founder of Ciplex. Columnist for Inc, Forbes & LinkedIn. Gadget lover, investor, mentor, husband, father, and '30 Under 30' entrepreneur. Follow Ilya below to stay up-to-date with his articles and updates!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The 7 Types of Digital Marketer


Article by:
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
News Editorial Intern at Mashable's New York headquarters
Original Link: 
http://mashable.com/2013/05/01/7-types-of-digital-marketer/
Social media has disrupted quite a few fields, becoming an integral part of many of them, such as journalism or marketing. And professionals in these fields have had to adapt, or, perhaps, perish. But everybody has a different way of using social media in the digital marketing world — and his or her unique own style.
Or do they? According to Optify, a Seattle-based marketing software provider for digital marketing agencies, there are just seven types of digital marketers depending on how they use social media. And they've laid out these seven categories in an infographic, which can be seen below.
But don't take it too literally.
"The infographic is just supposed to be a fun way for the digital marketers among us to see how we're illustrated compared to others," said Danie Pote, content marketing manager at Optify. "Most modern marketers likely align with not just one, but several of these."
Check out these seven types of digital marketers in this funny infographic below. If you're a digital marketer, do you see yourself reflected in any of these characters?


Infographic by Optify


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

WHAT’S NEXT? Four predictions for Web Design in 2013


There is no denying that we live in a connected world. Each day more and more consumers turn to the Internet for their information; seeking out businesses to frequent, answers to questions, and inspiration for their life. With the online world continually evolving there is also an increasing need for high quality web design. Designers have the dual challenge of meeting the needs of their clients while continuing to set trends and advance the concept of web design. As we look forward to 2013 we wonder what’s next. How can designers take the current state of web design and adapt it to make it even better?

RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN

Responsive Web DesignNew desktop and mobile devices are hitting the market at a record pace, each having a slightly different size screen and varying technical dimensions. Designing for each individual device is time consuming, costly, and unnecessary with the evolution of responsive web design. A website that utilizes this design strategy adapts to the device it is being viewed on.  Responsive web design responds to the size of the viewing device and produces a small (mobile phone), medium (tablet), or large (desktop computer) layout design. All of the design sizes share the same content and characteristics just arranged differently to maximize the screen size. Eliminating design elements to make a website more responsive also benefits the content by becoming clearer, more concise, and easier to read.

TARGETED TYPOGRAPHY

Responsive TypographyWith the advent of font design services such as Webtype, Typekit, and Fontdeck there are endless possibilities for the font selection of a website’s design.  But typography is a much bigger consideration than just which font you choose.  2013 will likely see more emphasis placed on the design of the typography as the most integral component of a website’s design. Images and design elements can certainly enhance a beautiful typography, but relying on them to sustain a website’s design is overlooking the importance of both the text and negative space. Instead of focusing so much on whether a design “pops” designers will return to the core of the design to make sure the foundation is strong.

ATTENTION TO BRANDING

Businesses want their brand to be instantly recognizable to customers who can attribute past experiences with the branding. Consider the red bulls-eye for Target or the apple logo for Apple. Once you see either of these you immediately know what the brand is and you can associate it with previous knowledge, experiences, and opinions. Branding of a business should move well past the logo into its web presence by conveying the brand clearly on its website. In 2013 designers will refocus on the core of the brand in web design instead of creating sites that follow current trends.
In a return to an emphasis on branding, designers will carefully choose page elements to maximize the brand. One of the easiest ways to brand a business is via color. Consider what tones and hues would best match a logo or already established design work. You should also find ways for the logo to be prominent without becoming overwhelming by utilizing an attractive size and position on the site. Finding clever ways to infuse the character of the business into the website is also beneficial to branding. Take a look at your design from the customer’s perspective; have you effectively translated who the business is as well as what the business does?

INCREASED USE OF PARALLAX SCROLLING EFFECTS

This design effect has been around for years in video games but was recently introduced to the web design world when it was integrated into the website for the Silverback app. In short, parallax scrolling effects control the depth of design objects on a website. Layering multiple objects and backgrounds and then varying the individual speed at which they move creates dimension and depth in a website. Designers are beginning to use this effect more frequently and there are excellent examples of parallax scrolling that you can view as inspiration to provide a different browsing experience to customers.
These predictions are just a “best guess” at what experts think will be upcoming in web design.  Do you agree with the speculation? Do you have your own ideas of what will be coming in 2013 for web design?