Title your set of tips, e.g., “Top Ten Productivity Tips to Help You _________.”

Write an introduction. Your introduction can be one sentence or a full paragraph. It’s just a little introductory piece that prepares everyone for the tips you have written. For example, “You know how you always wonder about this…” or “If you’ve ever had this happen and you’ve tried to figure out if there are any solutions, well, here are 10 tips for…”. All you need to do is just give the reader a little bit of an intro so that he/she doesn’t just see your title and then Tip 1, Tip 2. People like just the tiniest bit of preparation, that is so that they think, Oh, here’s what I’m about to read about.” So one sentence up to about a paragraph is usually plenty.

Write your tips. This is what people are there to read, i.e., your top ten productivity tips for ______. And if you are wondering “Now, how long do these need to be?” the answer is, “It depends.” It might be a short, bulleted list. Other times, you may have a tip and then an explanatory sentence or two. That is up to you and generally depends on whether you need or want to add more explanation (or even examples). Remember, however, that even though you could talk about the information in some of your tips for about 16 pages, people were attracted to your list or article because they saw the word “tips.” They are looking for something quick. If you are writing for the web, know that people are more likely to read what you have written if it shows up on their screen without a great deal of scrolling. If they choose to print it in order to have the information handy, they often like the tips to print in one, no more than two, pages. So you want to keep it reasonably succinct.

Write your closing. Write a sentence or paragraph (which follows the tips) that provides some kind of a closing idea. This is where you are just pulling your ideas together for your reader. You could make a recommendation for a book by writing, “One of the good resources I’ve read to learn more about this was…” and you would just put the name of a book in there. That might be your closing. Or, you could summarize the ideas in a sentence or two. Another way of pulling it all together is writing a ‘call to action’ for your readers to implement one or more of the ideas you have shared with them in your article or blog post.

Create a resource box/contact information section: Lastly, you will need to have what is called your “resource box.” Realize that at the end of your tips, you want to let people know who you are, what you do, and how they can get in touch with you to learn more. There are MANY ways of setting these up depending on who will be reading your tips and what your overall purpose is for sharing your ideas. The main idea to keep in minds is that you want to provide an invitation to readers to make contact.

Now get started generating lists of ten productivity tips (or whatever number of ideas you are ready to share). Use the structure of this article to help you get those ideas into a format so that you can help others.

And if you would like a venue for sharing your Top Ten Productivity Tips, then feel free to access

** http://toptenproductivitytips.com/ContributorInfo.php

It’s a great new project and you can be part of it! I look forward to reviewing what you’ve written and sharing it with a global audience!

Distracting sounds include:

• email sounds
• telephones ringing
• other people’s voices
• sounds made by others (barking dogs, mowers, equipment, hammering, etc.)
• sounds made by particular electronic devices (TVs, radios, CDs, fans,

Maybe there is some other sound that distracts you and if so, identify that now and add it to the list above.

Another sense that leads to distraction is the sense of sight.  Sights that may distract you include:

• clutter or other visual mayhem on your desk, workspace, office, etc.
• movement by others (walking by your office, by the window, and so forth).
• the email ‘shadow’ that shows up letting you know you have email coming in…as if you didn’t already know that it’s constantly arriving.

Right now, just look around your workspace or home and SEE what it is that pulls your attention away from your work.  Add that to the list above. 

Our own brains and thoughts are often highly distracting. Those distracting thoughts might include…

• things you need to do (or think you need to do)
• things you are concerned that you will forget
• things that you are worried about – either in the personal or professional arena
• thoughts of ‘should I be…?’ (doing this, doing that…)
• brilliant ideas – particularly if they seem more interesting than what you are currently working on

What is swirling around in your head right now?   If there are some particular types of mental distractions that you experience, add them to the list above. 

A fourth category of distraction may very well be your own habits. These include, for example:

• non-productive routines, such as:  dinking around when you first get to the office, i.e., fixing coffee, checking your email, chatting with a few colleagues, shuffling around with items at your desk.  Or, what about the non-productive routine that occurs when you get home, i.e., aimless meandering around – not relaxing, not doing anything, just frittering away your time (and your life).
• not keeping a prioritized list of what you need to be and want to be doing.
• not scheduling your time properly or not scheduling it at all.
• not having what you need when you need it
• And let’s not forget the habit (and it is a habit) involving the inability to say ‘no’ to others (or to yourself).

Are there any habits that you think contribute to being and staying distracted?  Add it to the list so you can go back later to consider some remedies.

You want to make a complete list of all the occurrences, senses, and habits that distract you.  Then, you can start to deal with and diminish those distractions.   

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To begin accessing MANY more tips and suggestions **for free** just join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (and see what is available for download at no cost at the following website):

**Keys to Keeping Chaos at Bay (http://www.KeepingChaosatBay.com)

(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/10/02/technology/circuitsemail/index.html?8cir&emc=cir

If we could all learn one new tip each week, it would increase our productivity…let alone if we learned a few new ones each week.

I will be gone tomorrow so I wanted to email you a question in advance. I have been answering questions from former collegues regarding working with a certain type of student.  It has occurred to me I need to write a “tips” book to get all this information down. How do I get started?  Should I go off of the questions or should I just brainstorm? I don’t want it to be too long but I do want it to be usable for teachers who are short on time and need a quick resource to go to.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Response:

Good morning and great question. 

1. Definitely write a tips booklet!!!
2. I would do both…brainstorm but use the questions that others have asked as a jumping off point, too.  When I created my first tips booklet, I sat down with a pile of index cards and just started writing…you will have SO many ideas that you generate that you will likely have more than one booklet…or better yet, a booklet and then some Special Reports or downloads that people can get/purchase from you. 
3. Go back and listen to Paulette Ensign’s teleseminar (http://www.meggin.com/downloads.php).  It’s one of the free downloads that is there.  I’ve listened to her materials MANY times over.  You can go to her site and take a look at some of what she has for free and might also consider some of her products. 
4. So for now, start writing your ideas (and doing so on index cards or something like that make it easier to move them around and arrange them in ways that you like, but the computer works great, too, of course). 
5. And you are exactly right…teachers have got to have something QUICK that they can access so you might even call yours Quick Tips for _________.

Great question!  I’ll also post this on the blog.

Licensing my Tips Booklet:

I recently had the benefit of a 30 minute consultation with Paulette Ensign of Tips Products International. 

Here are some of the ideas she gave me that I thought I could share with others who want to license their tips booklets or have written tips booklets or are interested in doing so.

My specialty is English as a second language and my tips booklet is called Building Background.  She suggested I focus on professional associations where other ESL/ELL folks would look or belong.  Consider two doors of entry:  membership benefits and meeting planners. 

Membership Benefits
Consider these applications:

• a copy of TB either in digital format or hard copy could be a good, inexpensive member benefit for new and/or renewed memberships
• market my TB to their members
• members are potential large quantity buyers too

In the letter,

• be aware of the benefit to the decision maker
• this TB will help them to become more valuable to their members/membership
• attracting and retaining more of their members
• benefits statements to that department

Meeting Planners

Consider these applications:

• welcoming packet imprint with sponsor logo on cover,
• sponsor a keynote
• at a lunch–instead of only having the sign outside the luncheon door, could also include copy of TB at each place setting-=extend their sponsorship dollars much further than just having a sign at the door that says this luncheon is sponsored by

The association gets to keep difference between my charge and their charge to the sponsor.
This is called mission related non-dues revenue.  She said it’s an important buzz phrase in the meeting planners industry.  Associations need to make money from sources other than just membership dues.

Posted by Linda Evans | 7/30/08

From Meggin:

WOW!  Linda…thanks so much for sharing this info with us!

Greetings MEM Club,

Today I announce that I have my free Weekly Tips available on my web site.  They are called KJ’s Book Tips.  I have chosen some favorite titles, written some questions prompts, and a positive reading habit to develop.  While I have written these with parents in mind, the titles and questions are the result of the hours in the elementary classroom and may spark interest for other teachers.  My home page is http://www.kjscottage.com.  On the home page you will find the description of the weekly tips.  The sign up page is http://www.kjscottage.com/coaching.htm.

I have asked my web master to also put a button for the sign up on the home page, but just in case it isn’t there when you visit my site, you’ll know where to find it.

Thanks and Enjoy!

Posted by Kelly J. Eveleth | 1/16/08