ProdPod, a Productivity Podcast

In episode 102, I introduce the idea of managing up and discussed one leg of it--managing expectations and delegation. Here in this episode, we’ll cover the next two legs of managing up--managing collaborative time wisely and managing your manager. Read/listen more.

I’ve read extensively and have been honing my management skills over the past two decades, and something I’ve found to be universal is this: unless you’re at the top of the organizational chart, everyone must manage up in order to be most productive. Here’s what I mean by everyone manages up.

In the last episode, I spoke about using mind maps as a productivity tool. And, one of my favorite mind mapping tools is the free, Web-based software, Mind42. (Note: it is free and ad-supported.) Mind42 is a comprehensive mind mapping tool that allows you to create as many private and public mind maps as you’d like. Read on.

Mind maps are a method of capturing thoughts and ideas, dating back as early as the 3rd century BCE in Ancient Rome. The mind map is simply a diagram where you have a single, central thought in the center with branches off it in a freeform fashion. You can draw thoughts, use different colors, use symbols, and more, to be as creative with your mind map. This creates a highly visual and flexible tool for productivity. Read more.

In comics, television, film, and now Netflix, there are superheroes who come to save the day when villains attack or bad circumstances befall the vulnerable, the voiceless, and the innocent. Superheroes give us hope, and they empower us with moral fortitude to do the right thing even when the going gets tough. Over the years, I have noticed a trend among some highly productive people that has me understanding a bit more about why they get things done, even in the face of great adversity. And, it all has to do with a bit of surreality and a smidgen of gamification (even if they can’t explain it in such terms). Basically, these highly productive people, when they need to, become the superheroes of their own lives. Here’s how you can too. Read on.