Same deal applies if someone offers us $50 today versus $100 tomorrow -  most of us would choose to wait one day for the higher pay-out.

But as the wait time increases, most of us change our mind. If someone offered us $50 today versus $100 in a year, most would choose $50 today. The dollar difference remains the same, but something about the delayed reward prompts us to choose the immediate pay-out.

Even Kids Find it Hard to Resist Temptation

Not surprisingly, kids are no better off. A rather ‘cold-hearted’ group of Stanford researchers asked children to resist eating a marshmallow right in front of them. They told the children that they would get two marshmallows if they simply waited for 15 minutes. Then the researchers left the room and watched the children squirm. The request proved to be far too tempting for most children who gobbled up the single marshmallow within minutes.

Goals and Actions Don’t Always Line Up

Despite our best intentions, immediate actions don’t always line up with obvious long-term gains. We might want to wake up early to get cracking on that project, but our warm bed is just too cozy. We may want to lose a few inches for the upcoming holiday party, but find it hard to resist that double-chocolate fudge cookie at today’s luncheon buffet. You get the picture.

Short-term Sacrifices Are Not in our Nature

Scientists talk about our preference for short-term rewards, versus larger payoffs later. They use the term “hyperbolic discounting” to describe how we discount future gains when it requires short-term sacrifices.

In other words, we deem $50 today as more valuable than $100 a year from now. One marshmallow now is better than two later. And that cookie at lunch sure was yummy.

But What about Our Long-Term Goals?

It is worth saying that some children were able to resist the initial marshmallow temptation, thereby reaping the rewards of more treats. These children did so by distracting themselves with other short-term interests like turning away and kicking the desk.

And clearly, there are many times when we adults are able to achieve big, long-term goals.

How exactly are we able to do this, given our tendency to be side-tracked by short-term distractions?

Project managers talk about breaking big goals into smaller steps. David Allen talks about focusing on the next actionable step. And I consistently tout the benefits of short-term goals.

There is nothing like a little deadline pressure and accountability to help face a short-term sacrifice head on.

Sure, most of us procrastinate from time to time (myself included; don’t let my ‘Productivity Consultant’ title lead you to think that I don’t get tempted from time to time).  But now that I have learned the importance of the short-term, I am closer to kicking this habit for good.

Movement does wonders

I am not referring to the structured exercise and sports activities here (even though these do wonders as well), but to the few minutes of stretching, walking around, climbing a few flights of stairs, or whatever movement you can fit in in a few minutes to get re-energized and ready for the next task. Here are some basic ideas as a starter and I would also like to help you design your own breakthrough movement routine–so stay tuned for a follow-up blog article on the topic:

1. Adopt a stretching routine that you like or design your own. If you search for “stretching videos” on the web, you get about 14,000,000 results. So plenty of ideas out there. I included 3 of these results below to get you started.
2. Walk to the other side of the office, or office complex, or maybe around the block! Fresh air would be a highly desirable added benefit if at all possible.
3. Go up and down a few flights of stairs and do it intentionally as if you had a purpose. By the way, you “do” have a great purpose.
4. Go to the kitchen area, but this time go briskly and instead of food or coffee, get some water, and get back briskly!
5. Organize your desk and your files but again, do it with intention and with energy.
6. In addition, when on the phone, or in a web conference, stand up, move around, and stretch. Take advantage of the web in a different way!
7. Finally, find a companion who likes to do this with you a few times a day, so you can remind and encourage each other.

Most importantly, it would help to have a variety of these movement activities ready so you can spontaneously use the one that is most applicable to the situation at hand. Keep a list handy. Maybe post one closeby. Put a check mark every time you do one.

When making your list, have some activities that are short for times when all you have is a minute or two. Have others that are longer for these 5 or 10 minute stretches. Maybe one or two that are even longer for when you really need to get away from that chair!

Remember to not let more than 40 minutes go by without invoking movement! If you guess why 40 minutes, you will get a copy of my Accomplishing More With Less book!

Screeeeeeech!!!

It's important to take breaks during your work day

Wait a second. Is it just me, or is life as busy as ever? I feel like that ‘zen’ summer feeling has snapped shut, as quick as a brand new school backpack.

Not that I am afraid of working hard, but the ‘relentlessness’ gets to me at times. With that said, I am determined to maintain a teeny bit of that good ol’ summer feeling all through the fall and winter.

I know, I know …

I know that the secret is to take more breaks. (I also know that I am supposed to floss each night but that isn’t happening too often.) The trouble is that once I ramp up with work, it doesn’t seem as though there is time to stop. There is always more to do.

A Lesson Learned

I needed to really convince myself that breaks were a good thing before committing to them. So I dug in and did some research, coming up with a pretty inspiring list.

Three great reasons to take a break:

1. We get more done

After a break, we come back to work more refreshed and focused, able to produce more work at a higher quality in less time. With less time available to work, we are forced to go right to the core of what needs to get done. We strip away the distracting tasks. We focus on our priorities. And at the end of the day, our impact is often higher.

2. We become more creative

Breaks can expose us to a different context and new ideas. Our imagination works best when we are relaxed and we often come back to work with some amazing ideas that lead to better work.

3. We keep things in perspective
Breaks provide us with an outlet from work frustrations. Whether we sweat it out at the gym or laugh it out over lunch with a friend, it is important to have releases in our day. When we step back, we often realize that things are not worth worrying about. (When we step really far back, we realize that most things fall into this category.) Breaks help us to roll with the punches at work, and not get too emotionally charged about the little things.

Without a doubt, there are times when we have to work hard. Really hard. Sure, we can all push through and skimp on sleep to meet a deadline. But using this approach over the long term seriously harms are productivity.

At the end of the day, breaks help to remind us to make time for the things that are important to us. And that leads to a better life. Now that is a balance I am willing to strike.

While I naturally want to get everything done, sometimes I need to juggle.  Not being a circus star, I need to prioritize all the balls I have in the air.  Otherwise, I may end up dropping the wrong one.

When I consider my range of tasks, there are usually three types: the must dos, the should dos and the could dos. 

Three Balls Approach to Prioritizing

Glass balls refer to the things that I must do.  If I drop one of these balls, they tend to break and damage occurs.  Typically, glass balls need to be handled in the short-term and are directly related to a strategic priority or key opportunity.

Rubber balls refer to the things that I should do.  If I drop one of these balls, they tend to bounce up and I generally get a second chance at them.  But I need to be careful, because eventually they will stop bouncing and the opportunity to act will be gone.

Lead Balls refer to the things that I could do.  If I drop one of these balls, they tend to fall to the ground and sit there.  These lead balls are rarely addressed as they typically get bumped by new glass or rubber balls.  While occasionally one or two lead balls survive, if I’m honest, the impact of lead balls is minimal.

What if there is still too much?

There have been times when I have simply had too many glass balls.  In these situations, I have been honest.  I have lobbied for assistance and/or flexibility with a deadline.  The trick here is to communicate upfront.  There cannot be any surprises.

Delegating goes Hand in Hand with Prioritizing

Delegating is another great opportunity to manage a full plate.  Over the years, I have gotten much better at delegating.  More precisely, I have dedicated a great deal of time to building and coaching teams.  My philosophy is to hire great people who can do the work. 

Prioritizing is no Circus Act

At the end of the day, I strive to make sure that everything that I do lines up with my strategy.  And while I do need to juggle at times, I don’t need to be a circus star.  As long as I stay focused on those glass balls (and to some extent the rubber balls too), I am bound to feel good about what I can get done.

100 days is a lot of time – even though in some ways it feels like the end of the year is around the corner.

I don’t want to let the fall slip away from me.

This  fall to get my book done – and I’m using the last 100 days to track my work.

Do you have something big  that you’re trying to accomplish during these last 100 days?  We’d love to hear your stories.

Yes, we all need to be available to our colleagues, but sometimes our willingness to help others comes at the expense of helping ourselves.  If I had a dollar for every time someone told me “I need to say no more often” I would be one wealthy individual. 

Some people can naturally say no.  The rest of us need to have a few other tricks up our sleeve.  Read on for some of the best ways to say no without using that oh-so-hard to vocalize word.

1.       Know your plan

Plan what you need to accomplish and when you plan to do it.  Obviously, you need to leave some time open for the unknown.  Once you have a plan, it becomes much clearer for you to evaluate whether you have time to help someone else.

2.       Say “Yes” instead of “No”

Consider what you can do to help your colleague.  It might be relatively easy for you to do part of what they are requesting. 

Example: “If you need help writing a press release, I suggest that you talk to John in Marketing.  He has an intern working with him right now and they may even be able to write it for you.  I’ll send an email to John for you.”

3.       Don’t offer up your prime time

Your involvement may be mitigated if your availability is in ‘off-prime’ hours (i.e., before 8am; after 5pm; during an evening call).  Your colleague may be more inclined to keep the conversation ‘tight’. 

Example: “I’m pretty booked today, but I could go over it with you at 5:30pm.”

4.       Who’s Got the Monkey?

I am a fan of this Harvard Business Review article that advises us to avoid taking on problems as our own.  You alone do not need to solve everything. 

Example:  “Have you tried …” (instead of “Let me try …”)

5.       Cite Your Current Workload

Be honest.  Let the person know that you would like to help them but you are fully booked until [insert date that works for you].     

Example: “I’m pretty busy until the end of January.  Can this wait until early February?”

So there you have it.  My (up until now) secret tips for getting out of work.  Just please don’t get offended if I use these lines on you.  Remember – I’m trying to role model productive working.

Some people need to leave the office at a specific time each day (i.e., if they have a train to catch). However, when such a ‘hard stop’ does not exist, I find that many professionals are reluctant to define a specific “closing time”. They may want to leave the office at 6pm but without a ‘hard stop’ this can too easily slide into 7pm or 8pm. The same could be said for those of us logging on from home in the evenings. Our work sessions can go on and on – until we are too tired to respond to another e-mail.

This routine is hardly surprising given demanding workloads. There are always more things to do and it can be so rewarding to knock just one more thing off of our plate.

Let’s review some of the benefits of hard stops:

1) Imposes deadlines – and many would agree that deadlines heighten our productivity!
2) Requires us to optimize our productivity during the time we have allocated for work. Saving a minute or so each hour (which is easy to do) can quickly add up to an hour a week or four hours per month. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a spare four hours?
3) Forces us to prioritize our work and more accurately evaluate our capacity when we consider taking on more work. This keeps us more focused on high- value, high-impact activities which improve our overall effectiveness.
4) Allows us to preserve our precious and limited time that we want to allocate to other things. And I have yet to meet someone for which there were not many, many other things!

If you start to find that work is becoming all consuming, it’s time to start putting some boundaries around your workday. (Creating a schedule structure aligned to your key priorities is another strategy, but that is the subject of another e-newsletter).

A specific closing time requires your full commitment to leave at that time – and not 5, 9, or 29 minutes after that time. It’s a slippery slope once we start delaying our closing time.

I’ll end this note by posing the question again: when does your work end? It’s definitely something worth thinking about.