2010 July | Constructively Productive

Archive for July, 2010

Jul 26, 2010 by Orna Drawas

Perks that Work: 5 Ways to Motivate a Team Beyond Money

I’m freaking out. I’ve got so much to do, crazy deadlines and barely a budget to mention. My team is overwhelmed and morale is affected. How can I motivate my group to accomplish more with less time and resources when I can’t offer to pay them more? Good news! It’s not always about bonuses and raises. There are plenty of things that motivate professionals...

Jul 26, 2010 by Prime Sarmiento

Traveling is a Smart Personal (and Career) Investment

More than just a means to rejuvenate or another opportunity for sightseeing, I travel to improve my skills as a journalist. This is important for me as I’ve been in this business for the last 16 years and it’s getting more competitive. I also spend a considerable amount whenever I go on leave from my work in order to travel. I’m not...

Jul 22, 2010 by Eduard Ezeanu

Save Money by Limiting Your Need to Impress

I believe that saving money is easy once you are able to keep under wrap your need to impress others. Because a lot of the money we spend is for getting our often-exaggerated social needs met. As soon as a person makes enough money to cover her basic needs of food and shelter, she will start spending a big part of the extra money on things which are primarily...

Jul 16, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Productivity, Creativity and Money: An Interview with Suw Charman-Anderson

I’m a supporter of Suw Charman-Anderson’s Kickstarter project, Argleton: A story of maps, maths and motorways. The project got me thinking. Some types of creative projects are particularly sensitive to being squeezed out of our schedules, especially when we’re thinking in terms of finances. Making money — whether you’ve got a nine-to-five...

Jul 14, 2010 by Ali Luke

Money and Impure Thoughts

Maybe you work in the not-for-profit sector, or in academia. Maybe you’re an artist, a writer, a creative. What you do is supposed to be noble and pure, inspired by something far greater than a love of grubby money. Right? At some point, you’ve picked up the idea that money is a bit grubby and earthy. You’re trying to focus on the essence of...

Jul 12, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Thoughtful Consumption and Its Beneficial Consequences

The last few weeks, I’ve been hung up on the idea of thoughtful consumption. I’ve heard echoes of it everywhere, although it’s rarely mentioned by name. But the idea of paying close attention to what we truly want to spend our time and our money on provides a clearer picture than putting together a general budget or creating a to-do list a million...

Jul 9, 2010 by Regina Leeds

Personal Productivity & Finance

Regina Leeds is the author of One Year to an Organized Financial Life, as well as New York Times bestseller One Year to an Organized Life. She believes in step-by-step processes to get organized, whether you’re talking about organizing your home, your work or your personal finances. There was a time when I believed you had to have a trained business mind...

Jul 7, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Do Business Owners Get More Done?

I come from a family of entrepreneurs. We’re not very good at working for other people, generally speaking. We like having control over what we do each day. But when I compare the sort of task list I have or one of my other family members has to someone with a day job, it looks fairly different. For one thing, it tends to be longer. It’s enough to...

Jul 5, 2010 by Ali Luke

Why Taking a Packed Lunch is a Huge Financial Win

When it comes to personal finances, I’ve got a tendency to feel paralysed. It’s easy to stick my head in the sand. There seems to be so much to understand – plus, I’m pretty comfortable in my current routine. What I’ve found over the past few years, though, is that fairly simple changes can have dramatic results. And if you work outside...

Jul 2, 2010 by Thursday Bram

The Priorities of Personal Finance: Are You Scrooge McDuck?

My long-term financial goals don’t have a single dollar sign in them: I want to have enough money that I can travel any time I choose, that I can afford to cut back on the number of hours I work every week, that I can take care of my family no matter what. There’s no way to put a price tag on any of those goals…I may not know when I reach some...