Nurture your productivity with these insights

Welcome to Top Picks, which will help you discover great newsletters that can inspire you, delight you or help you get ahead. Click Subscribe above to be notified of each edition. 

How do you stay productive? For so many people around the world, this question is top of mind, especially with challenges posed by working or learning remotely due to coronavirus. Luckily, we have some amazing newsletter creators here on LinkedIn who are ready to share their expertise on how to be more productive, healthier and happier. 

Here are some great top picks on the topic of productivity:

Human Behavior and Innovation: The Snow Report: Exploring Business, Human Behavior, and Innovation - with the author of Dream Teams.

Bestselling author and LinkedIn Influencer Shane Snow writes this weekly newsletter that brings innovative research to life. As a science and business journalist, Shane focuses on how human behavior and research can help optimize outcomes for all of us - whether in business, education, or day-to-day life.

“Setting boundaries between your work life and your home life when you work from home can be especially difficult. If you work where you eat (and sleep, and hang out with your family), it can be extremely difficult to switch “off” psychologically.

Research shows that people who work from home are actually more likely to suffer from overwork than under-work. And this is a function of poor boundaries. But it turns out that a huge percentage of those who work on computers all day actually have the same problem.

Most white collar workers do eat in the same place they work—at their desks—and bring their work home with them. They think about and talk about work (and answer emails about work) while they hang out with their families, and from bed before and after they sleep.

The impact of this is huge. Burnout is at an all-time high among white-collar workers. The solution? Setting boundaries. It’s not always easy, but if you can carve out space and time for only work, and separate that from only not-work, you’re halfway there.” 

Read the latest issue and subscribe here. 

Rethink with Rachel: “Making Complex Ideas Simple.” 

LinkedIn Influencer Rachel Botsman is an author and trust expert who focuses on helping people understand how trust works in the modern world. Recognized as one of the 50 most influential management thinkers in the world, Rachel discusses big ideas like reinvention, risk, exploration and trust in her biweekly newsletter series.

“It may feel like time has slowed and the days of the week are merging into one. It may feel like life has retracted into our homes. But we're trying things, failing, and learning new behaviours. We're seeing years, even decades worth of trust leaps happening in just a few weeks. It’s a challenge and massive opportunity for many sectors including health, learning and entertainment. Global uncertainty forces us into personal uncertainty. And sometimes, when we take a risk to do something differently, we discover unexpected things.” 

Read the latest issue and subscribe here. 

Mastering Time Management and Productivity: Articles, advice and inspiration helping professionals make the best use of their time and focus on what’s important. 

Entrepreneur John Hall brings his experience of being the co-founder of productivity company Calendar.com to his bi-weekly newsletter, which shares everything from guidance on how to build positive team dynamics to respecting other peoples’ time.

“We’ve all been there at some point: As you attempt to juggle your work and home responsibilities while handling unforeseen emergencies like the current COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy for your purpose to take a back seat. But everyone within your organization, from the top to the bottom, must know the “why” behind your team’s work so they can take action and not execute tasks thoughtlessly. 

Unfortunately, research from Interact found that just one in three frontline workers has high levels of strategic understanding. Because of this, leaders have “tried to bridge the gap between strategy formulation and day-to-day implementation” through the strategy cascade. These are “tools like business strategy presentations, FAQ documents, and even dialogue training.” But they aren’t effective if leaders aren’t cascading messages. 

You can change that, however, by communicating your strategy more effectively. Keep the message simple, but also offer a deeper meaning regarding why your organization exists, as well as how each employee plays an integral part. Clearly define your company’s strategy by aligning it with its core values, mission statement, and vision.”

Read the latest issue and subscribe here. 

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