Dont Be Busy, Be Productive 7 Ways to Use Time More Wisely

Many of us are familiar with the maxim "Don't mistake activity for productivity." It refers to people who juggle multiple tasks, under the guise of staying busy all the time, without ever inching towards their goal. Their time is completely wasted in thinking about what to do next—leaving no time for the actual job at hand. To bring a renewed sense of productivity to your work life, we offer this list of 7 ways to use your time more wisely. Related: 5 ways sleep can boost your productivity 1. Prioritize your projects Prioritization is not only about completing more tasks within a stipulated time frame; it also refers to eliminating unnecessary tasks. Planning and prioritizing offer clarity of thought when you feel like procrastinating. When backed by strong reasoning, prioritization empowers you to focus on the most important target, while shelving unimportant work for later. 2. Know yourself—and avoid comparing yourself to others It's up to each individual to discover their most productive time of the day. For some, early mornings bring a rush of energy, while for others, late evenings prove best for tasks that demand concentration and mental agility. This self-awareness relieves the confusion of how and when to engage in focused work, helping you make the most of your time. Work as though you're running your own race. Your thoughts and efforts should be focused on completing the task at hand—not getting bogged down by others' expectations or worrying about how they will meet their own deadlines. Do away with the urge to seek validation or compare yourself to others, and pour that time and energy back into your own work. The results of your work will be better, and you'll avoid a lot of unnecessary stress along the way. 3. Make time for your passions A clear-cut timetable that balances work with play is imperative to striking the right work-life balance. Irrespective of the task, everyone should engage in hobbies and sports occasionally to bring variety, excitement and rejuvenation into their lives. Good hobbies are effective stress-busters, so make space for them in your daily or weekly timetable. Not only does it give you something to look forward to, but you'll be more relaxed and prepared to tackle the day when you return to work. 4. Unlock the power of saying "No" Don't bite off more than you can chew. While proving one's competence at work is always a concern nagging at even the most accomplished of us, it's important to be firm in setting realistic boundaries about what you can and can't deliver. We all have our limits, and if you think you're going to burnout from work stress, learning to say "No" to extra assignments will save you in the long run. Rather than spreading yourself thin across a variety of projects, you can dedicate yourself to excelling with your most important ones. 5. Resist the urge to multitask Doing one thing at a time is the secret behind improved productivity. When we're in a race against the clock, we're all tempted to indulge in multitasking, hoping to complete several jobs within a stipulated time. But none of us deliver our best work this way. The lack of focus and concentration impairs the quality of our creativity, our decision making, and our results. Errors could even lead to repeat work, which defeats the whole point of saving time in the first place. If you have several items to focus on within the same day, try segmenting your work time into short, focused bursts. The Pomodoro method is a popular strategy where you spend 25 minutes working and 5 resting. This way, you're still focusing when it counts, but also giving yourself the freedom to jump between different tasks. 6. Use reminders to stay motivated The clock is ticking, and with every passing moment, you should be moving closer to meeting your deadlines. When every second counts, it's critical to stay motivated. Staying motivated will help you push yourself and inspire you to reach ever further to accomplish your goals. What motivates you? Write it down, and take a moment to review whenever you feel yourself flagging. You might even bring photos to your workplace that remind you of what you're trying to achieve. Maybe it's photos of your family, a gorgeous vacation destination, or an aspirational business card. Having a tangible reminder of what motivates you can provide that last burst of energy you need to cross the finish line. 7. Be honest about your progress Did your work today bring you closer to your goals, or did you just have a busy day? Honest introspection should become a daily practice as you find out which productivity methods work best for you. Take a few moments at the end of each day to meditate on what went well and what didn't. Consider taking notes so you can tweak your methods as you go along. There's much pleasure to be had in this time-bound journey called life, and it's important to live each moment to the best of your ability. Discipline and repetition form the key to transforming your habits. We hope these tips help you enjoy more productive and fulfilling days. Want to save even more time? Lucidpress makes it easy to create beautifully branded content in a matter of minutes.

Past Forms of Regular and Irregular Verbs Practice Exercise

This exercise will give you practice in using the correct past forms of regular verbs and irregular verbs. Before attempting the exercise, you may find it helpful to review Forming the Past Tense of Regular Verbs and introduction to Irregular Verbs in English Instructions The paragraph below has been adapted from the opening chapter of  Black Boy, an autobiography by Richard Wright. Complete each sentence correctly by changing the verbs in brackets from the present tense to the simple past tense. For example, the verb tell in the first sentence should be changed to told. When you have completed the exercise, compare your answers with those at the bottom of this page. From Black Boy, by Richard Wright One evening my mother [tell] _____ me that thereafter I would have to do the shopping for food. She [take] _____ me to the corner store to show me the way. I was proud; I [feel] _____ like a grownup. The next afternoon I looped the basket over my arm and [go] _____ down the pavement toward the store. When I [reach] _____ the corner, a gang of boys [grab] _____ me, [knock] _____ me down, [snatch] _____ the basket, [take] _____ the money, and [send] _____ me running home in panic. That evening I [tell] _____ my mother what had happened, but she [make] _____ no comment; she [sit] _____ down at once, [write] _____ another note, [give] _____ me more money, and [send] _____ me out to the grocery again. I crept down the steps and [see] _____ the same gang of boys playing down the street. I [run] _____ back into the house. Below (in bold) are the answers to the exercise above: Practice in Using the Past Forms of Regular and Irregular Verbs. Answers From Black Boy, by Richard Wright One evening my mother told me that thereafter I would have to do the shopping for food. She took me to the corner store to show me the way. I was proud; I felt like a grownup. The next afternoon I looped the basket over my arm and went down the pavement toward the store. When I reached the corner, a gang of boys grabbed me, knocked me down, snatched the basket, took the money, and sent me running home in panic. That evening I told my mother what had happened, but she made no comment; she sat down at once, wrote another note, gave me more money, and sent me out to the grocery again. I crept down the steps and saw the same gang of boys playing down the street. I ran back into the house.

Reinforcing Hit Rates With Utilization Of Customer...

Reinforcing Hit Rates with Utilization of Customer Stratification: A Review of the Literature By: William G. Castillo Introduction: Protect Controls Incorporated (PCI) is a privately owned power control building manufacturer located in Conroe, Texas and has been in business for over 40 years. Fiscal 2014 gross sales revenue figures were nearly $49 Million (USD) however the Vice President of Sales Operations has identified that the quotation-to-job (hit) rate has incrementally decreased since 2012. Unfortunately, no precise correlation has been made as to why the decrease however this literature review will present well-documented approaches and research in the fields of customer engagement, profitability modeling and customer†¦show more content†¦As the levels increase, the likelihood of the customer advocating the business’s product/service improves. Levels 3-5 are classified underneath the â€Å"engaged customer† and definitively, these types of customers actively promote the product/service and increase an organization’s opportunities for long-term growth and profit. Most importa ntly, how do we create engaged customers? The four key strategic elements to capture engagement are customer value proposition, brand, internal culture elements, and customer experience. (Alpert Roberts, 2010) The deliverance of a formidable value proposition and superior customer experience are the two propelling factors in determining customer engagement. Aligning these strategic elements with the organization’s brand and internal culture will have immense effects on engagement. First and foremost, an organization must retrieve informative customer insight to develop a distinguishable value proposition. Secondly, through brand advertising, effectively market the value proposition. Tertiary, with engaged employees within the organization, delivering upon the promise guaranteed by the value proposition must be adhered to. Lastly, fortify the cultural foundation to effectively deliver upon promises innate to the value proposition. (Alpert and Roberts, 2010) Customer engagemen t and core customers

Strategic Marketing Growth and Development

Question: Discuss about theStrategic Marketingfor Growth and Development. Answer: Introduction Strategies are the initiatives that a company takes to increase its resources and for the purpose of growth and development of the business. Rapid changes in the business environment forces companies to adopt different strategies for the purpose of promotion of the products and services to large number of customers. Changes in the business environment in terms of technology and social and cultural factors force companies to adopt different strategies to attain competitive edge over its rivals in the industry. The adoption of different marketing strategies by the businesses facilitates in attracting more number of customers and build positive brand image among customers. This helps in increasing the sales and profits of the company. This report emphasizes on the analysis of the marketing strategies adopted by the Aldi for the purpose of increasing its market share and thereby sales and profits of the company. Besides this, it also emphasizes on the availability of different strategic options available to the company which can be adopted to remain competitive in the market (Spiller and Bergner, 2011). Background of Aldi Aldi was founded in the year 1913 in Germany. The company has entered in the Australian market in the year 2001 by opening of its first store. The company is able to create different employment opportunities for the people of Australia. It aims at providing high quality products to the families of Australia at low prices. It focuses on building strong relationships with farmers, producers and manufacturers for long time. Majority of the food products are sourced from Australia at the time when the company does not find high quality, efficient and innovative products and services from other countries. The company focuses on the provision of different opportunities to the farmers of Australia in order to reduce the level of competition in the market (Aldi, 2016). Marketing Analysis Strategies Adopted by Aldi The main aim or goal of Aldi emphasizes on providing high quality products to its customer on regular basis at low cost. In addition to this, Aldi procures products from hand- picked suppliers for the purpose of providing fresh food to its customers at low prices. The company has made partnerships with different not for profit organizations such as One Voice and Red Cross Australia in order to provide information related to healthy food products to the disadvantageous families. This results in spreading awareness regarding the c0ompany am0ong its target customers. Therefore, it focuses on increasing the loyalty of customers towards the company. It emphasizes on encouraging the existing customers to buy products from the Aldis store. In order to penetrate in the market, it has organized blind tests of taste and found that the customers also like the taste of the products offered by the company along with other food brands. The company has organized a marketing campaign named as Like B rands in order to communicate and spread awareness about the quality and value offered by the company on its brands (Doole and Lowe, 2008). The company focuses on providing high quality products to customers at a cheaper rate in comparison to the other brands. In addition to this, the company offer products at low prices without making compromise on the quality of the product. In addition to this, the company is using different promotional techniques such as above the line and below the line promotional techniques. In addition to this, the company also organizes Swap and Save campaigns for spreading awareness about the products among the customers. The company uses competitive pricing strategy to set the prices of the products offered by the company. The company buy products in bulk which helps in reducing the cost of the product as the savings are passed to the consumers or customers. Besides this, Aldi also focuses on different aspects in order to select new locations of the store such as population , good visibility from the road and accessibility of the stores through public transport (Tsiotsou and Goldsmith, 2012). For the purpose of the promotion of the Aldi products, there is a use of social networking sites such as twitter, Facebook, public and media relations and 3rd Party endorsement. The company is using e-mail marketing strategy in which the sales personnel of the company send e-mails to the existing customers related to the different deals offered by the company on its products that helps in driving direct sales of the company. Marketing campaigns such as Swap and Save and Like Brands have helped in improving the perception of brands among its customers (McLeish, 2010). The company provides products under its own brand which is considered cheaper in comparison to other brands existing in the market. The company offers products other than food products which are associated with the season such as provision of warm camping gear and snow gear during winters. The company is able to attract more number of customers due to the reason that the company provides high quality products at low prices to its customers (Ward, 2004). The company has adopted unit pricing policy which helps customers to compare the prices of the product with the products offered by its competitors. The company uses three pricing strategies in combination such as psychological pricing, price penetration and competitive pricing strategies by setting low profit margin for non food items and it is compensated by the grocery sales. The company also focuses on minimization of the wastes and the time required in transporting the goods from one place to another as it provides products to cu stomers at cheaper prices in comparison to its competitors (Colborn, 2006). Besides this, company also uses different promotional tools for the purpose of spreading awareness about the products being offered to the customers. The different promotional tools that are adopted by the company include advertising, public relations and provision of special offers to the target customers (Rogers, 2001). Along with this, there is also a publishing of the printed catalogues on a regular basis for the purpose of providing information related to the products offered by the company. In the Aldis layout, the employees are seated and products are displayed in such a manner that the customers can easily reach to the product. This helps in increasing the sales at the store and results in an increase in the performance and productivity of the company. The company provides majority of its products at 50% less price in comparison to other national brands which facilitate the company to gain competitive advantage over other players in the Australian market (Paley, 2006). Strategic Marketing Options for Aldi moving Forward It is requisite for the company to give priority to the expectations and needs of the customers. It is necessary for the company to provide products witrh new features that can help in fulfilling their needs and demands. Nowadays, there is an increased use of internet due to which, it is necessary for Aldi to provide an opportunity to its customers to develop the product as they needed. When customers get the opportunity to get customized products and services then they are ready to pay premium prices for the product. This helps in increasing the customer base of the company (Ryan, 2014). This also helps in providing products with standardized quality to its customers. This helps in increasing the loyalty of the customers towards the product and the company. The company might sponsor different events which help in spreading awareness about the company among large number of potential customers (Ulph, 2011). In addition to this, the company might also provide free samples of the new product that has been launched by the company which helps it to penetrate in the market. The company should also provide discounts on the products in order to attract large number of customers as it helps in creating value for customers. There is a need to create strong relations with customers by sending personalized messages on different occasions such as festivals and birthdays. This also helps in creating a positive brand image among the customers. In addition to this, the company can also advertise on different social media and networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Dobkin, 2007). Besides this, the company should also receive feedback from customers and make required changes in the products offered by the company in order to meet the demands and needs of the customer. It is requisite for the company to develop marketing partnerships with other companies that facilitate in increasing the customer base of the company as it helps in spreading the knowledge of the products and services to the customers who do not the knowledge regarding the same (Shankar, et al. 2012). There is a need to provide an opportunity to the customers to provide their views and opinions on making changes in the products and services in order to make it innovative which results in increasing the number of existing customers by meeting the unmet needs of the customers. Other than this, the company should make harmonious relationships with the influencers of the industry which results in influencing the buying behavior of the customers. This also facilitates in creation of the positive brand image regarding the company attract more number of new customers to the company which in turn results in an increase in the sales and profits of the company (Ottman, 2011). Conclusion It can be concluded that Aldi has adopted different marketing strategies in order to fulfill its common goal. The company provides different products and services at low cost. The company has adopted cost leadership strategy for the purpose of gaining competitive edge over its rivals. It has organized different marketing campaigns in order to spread awareness about the products and services offered by the company. It publishes different advertisements on television and social networking sites for the purpose of gaining more number of customers. Besides this, the company may also make marketing partnerships with other companies in order to attract more number of customers. It has also provide an opportunity to customers to provide feedback on the products offered by the company and make required changes in it in order to achieve high level of customer satisfaction. References Ottman, J. 2011. The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Shankar, V., et al. 2012. Handbook of Marketing Strategy. Edward Elgar Publishing. Ulph, C. 2011. Marketing Strategies Used by Intel to Create a Sustainable Market Position. GRIN Verlag. Dobkin, J. 2007. Direct Marketing Strategies: Forget Theory - Here's What Really Works!. Danielle Adams Publishing. Ryan, D. 2014. Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation. Kogan Page Publishers. Paley, N. 2006. The Manager's Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies. Thorogood Publishing. Rogers, S.C. 2001. Marketing Strategies, Tactics, and Techniques: A Handbook for Practitioners. Greenwood Publishing Group. Colborn, J. 2006. Search Marketing Strategies. Routledge. Ward, K. 2004. Marketing Finance: Turning Marketing Strategies Into Shareholder Value. Routledge. McLeish, B.J. 2010. Successful Marketing Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations: Winning in the Age of the Elusive Donor. John Wiley Sons. Tsiotsou, R.H. and Goldsmith, R.E. 2012. Strategic Marketing in Tourism Services. Emerald Group Publishing. Doole, I. and Lowe, R. 2008. International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation. Cengage Learning EMEA. Spiller, L.D. and Bergner, J. 2011. Branding the Candidate: Marketing Strategies to Win Your Vote. ABC-CLIO. Aldi. 2016. ALDI Australia, discount supermarket offering great quality at incredibly low prices. [Online]. Available at: https://www.aldi.com.au/ [Accessed on: 19 January 2017].