Staff Picks: IPOD- Idleness; Prioritizing; Organization; Distraction
You can overcome obstacles to productivity! Great tips below:
Eek! We have a Community Team!
For those of you that want to know what we’re all about
This is 10% luck, 20% skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure, 50% pain
And a 100% pure hardcore #hustlesesh baby!
Today I’m passing on the torch to the stunning Farhana Rahman, our new social media / community intern, but not without saying a few parting words. ;) I’ll leave her to fully introduce herself in a moment, but just to give a sneak peek there will be a lot more content on the Producteev blog.
“The pivot is arguably the most important part of a startup.”
Well, in this case, it was the most important aspect of my internship. I was primarily brought on for content creation, but Ilan and Judi recognized my talent at evangelizing our app, and thanks to them I was able to pivot and run with this in hopes of getting even more market recognition for our brand. I quickly started hustling and evangelizing Producteev to every living soul around me! Even your mother - is she liking Producteev, btw? ;)
I learned how to pitch our product in a casual conversation and give sales presentations (thanks Made to Stick!) This even eventually helped me turn a “no” hiring decision from Producteev into a “We’re sold! Let’s try out your crazy marketing plan and hire you again” (more on that in a future blog post).
I’ve done everything from co-founding a new meetup group for techies to helping with copy for our web redesign to going out and attending networking events almost every night, promoting our app like crazy (and having fun while at it!)
I’ve had 7 internships so far and I never get tired of them. In fact, I highly recommend them as they’re a great learning experience. When else do you get your own personal mentor for free?!
And because this time I was working from an office as Judi’s (Producteev’s community manager) apprentice - who was already ingrained within the world of social media and community management - I got access to a wealth of information. I thought I knew all there was to know about social media before starting at Producteev, but to my surprise there was still much to learn. More importantly though, I got to make amazing connections (and eat lunch at Googleplex East) through Judi’s network. I’ve lived the startup life nonstop for the past year, with humble beginnings at Social Bicycles. Working out of an established startup’s offices every day of the week, however, allowed me to bounce ideas off Judi and get invited to impromptu outings - the best part of my job.
As of today, I’m embracing a new role as a Community Developer and heading up a new, stealth project codenamed Krazy Kangaroo. If you’re a student (or one at heart) and would like to get a taste of the life mentioned above or be involved in helping a startup expand, you can do just that by working with me! Apply here: Krazy Kangaroo
This summer’s internship has been the most exhilarating, challenging, and awesome experience I’ve ever had… and now it’s your turn, Farhana :)
Hi! My name is Farhana, and I am the new interning Social Media Manager!
I was born and raised in New York, was a writing prodigy, and was quite the social butterfly growing up. I now enjoy all things tech and all people tech! What cooler way to combine these elements than a career in social media?
Prior to joining Producteev, I have held positions that were always journalistic, writing intensive, or social media-centric. It’s difficult to describe the rush I get out of typing a storm on my keyboard. I’ve yet to type till smoke comes out of it though.
When not on social media platforms at work, you would find me engaging my wonderful like-minded buddies on Twitter. I have a reputation for being an ‘ego-booster,’ am adored for my self-depreciating humor, as well as my zany content on Twitter. I also work pretty hard to maintain a decent Klout score - my goal is 84.
Don’t be shy to drop me a line, and let me know how I may assist with your experience using Producteev!
Fuel for #productivity: #food & #coffee #nyc
You can’t get work done on an empty stomach! And for some, you can’t get work done without that jolt of Joe. ;)
The following foursquare lists, courtesy of the Producteev Beaver, were made with love:
Feel free to let us know your favorite places to eat and get coffee/tea in your cities!
Now — eat, drink, be Producteev! Seize the day and most importantly, your to-do list. :)
Updated: Support’s not moving, it’s getting a makeover!
A new Producteev help center with fewer but hopefully better organized and more helpful articles will soon be available.
In the spring, we thought it would be a good idea to relocate support. While that may be accomplished in the future, for now we’re making it our priority to:
- respond in a timely fashion
- decrease the amount of incoming requests with better documentation
The above are possible even without relocating, so although we had planned to move the support center (in order to combine it with the idea forum), it is instead staying right where it is at: http://support.producteev.com/. And like the envisioned relocation, the made-over Producteev Support will be “streamlined, simplified, and easily searched.”
Just aiming to make it leaner, meaner, and having it better serve you! Stay tuned via blog this month. :)
Thanks for your patience with our recent growth and new users, and sorry for lags with our back-to-back releases. Summer’s been busy with the launch of our mac desktop app, mobile web app, crowdsourced tasks, and email sync for outlook and google tasks. More improvements across the board — support, community, and especially product — to come!
We <3 # 5-8: Make Your Team Happy to Increase #Productivity
Are your employees happy and productive?
Or do they waste inordinate amounts of time complaining and procrastinating?
Employee productivity is a challenge that faces all companies.
Are your employees happy?
And more importantly, what are you doing about it?
Happy is Productive
When was the last time your company made an effort to keep its employees happy?
Too often companies neglect their employees’ well-being.
Many leaders think a touchy-feely issue like “employee happiness” is better handled by the HR department. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Employee happiness is not an HR issue. It is a leadership issue.
Good leaders know that happy employees are productive ones.
Yes, times are tough. And money is tight.
However, that doesn’t mean that you have to make your employees live a miserable existence. Good leaders know that taking care of their employees leads to increased worker performance.
Happy employees not only work harder but have higher feelings of company ownership.
Unhappy employees often will not go the extra step when it comes to work.
Happy employees have higher retention.
And despite what HR will tell you, unhappy employees will leave. Yes, even in this economy. (And the good ones leave first.)
So, when was the last time that you (or your company) did something to make employees happy?
Productive and Happy About It
There are some HR types who will argue that happiness does not equate to productiveness.
And it doesn’t by itself. It takes leadership, purpose, and drive.
However, in the same situation, who do you think will perform better? Happy employees or unhappy ones?
I guarantee that happy workers will out perform unhappy ones every day of the week. (Especially on Mondays)
Here are just a few tips to help “Keep Your Employees Happy and Productive:”
- Recognize Them – Most companies are very poor at this. In fact, a large number of companies have no employee recognition. Publicly recognize your best employees and reward with something that is important to them. (Danger: Recognizing the wrong employees can be an explosive issue. But, that is a topic for a different leadership article.)
- Thank Them – Sometimes you don’t even have to recognize them, how about just thanking them. Employee happiness is not tied to awards and rewards. Sometimes a well-placed and sincere “Thank You” is all it takes.
- Listen to Them – Want your team to be happy and productive? Listen to them. Leaders sometimes think they have all the answers and fail to listen to the team. Not only does the team often have the “answer,” but sometimes they just want to be heard.
- Be Straight With Them – Employees want the straight scoop and they feel respected when they get it. Don’t wrap announcements in legalese or HR speak. Any leader that thinks that employees can’t “read between the lines” on corporate memos shouldn’t be in charge. Instead, tell your employees the truth.
- Give Them a Day Off – Rewards don’t have to be trips and monetary incentives. (Although those are nice!) Try rewarding hard work with time. Time off that is. A simple day off can be the difference between a happy recharged top performer and burnt out jaded one.
- Pamper Them – As I have mentioned, rewards don’t have to be expensive or lavish. Sometimes it is the little things. Go for the small ones. Sometimes they make all the difference. I once worked with a call center and one day we replaced all the workers chairs with brand new rolling ones. People were literally “rolling” through their day and were on cloud nine.
- Remove Obstacles – Want happy employees? Then don’t put silly rules and obstacles in the way of them doing their job. As a leader, your job is to remove the things in their way. Except when it comes to safety, problems are not solved by putting “rules” in place. Want increased happiness and productivity? Remove the red tape! (See: The Difference Between Blue Tape and Red Tape.)
- Surprise Them, In a Good Way – Surprises can be a great motivator for employees. Just make sure you are in tune with your employees or else you risk surprising them with something that could backfire.
Happy and Productive
When your employees are not happy, they are not as productive as they could be.
Unhappy employees are unmotivated and uninspired to work at their potential. Even your best performers will leave when they are unhappy.
Many companies do not make the effort to keep employees happy because of the assumed costs. However, most employees are not looking for expensive perks to encourage them.
They will be driven with a little recognition, support, and thankfulness.
Oh, and don’t forget to listen to them.
When was the last time your company boosted productivity by making employees happy?
Beloved Mac Desktop App FAQs
There’s been a surge of questions lately, so we wanted to address those while working on the next update.Producteev for Mac crashes at launch?Deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.producteev.Producteev.plist should do the trickI signed up for Producteev with Facebook, Yahoo, Google / Google Apps and don’t know my password to login to the app?We wanted to have our apps out to you as soon as possible! =) As such, unfortunately, some of our apps don’t have single sign on integrated yet. If you originally signed up with facebook, yahoo, google/google apps, and try to use another app (like Mac, Astrid, iPhone, etc.), you’ll have to create a password in order to proceed. Select the ‘forgot password?’ link on the website homepage and enter your email login. Follow the email prompts to create your password. You will then be able to access all apps.I’m loving your Mac app. Is there an iPad app on the roadmap, and, if so, when is it planned for?An iPad app has been started, but there is no planned release date yet. Follow our twitter for updates. Some of us at the office are pushing just as hard as you are, though =)Are you going to update the iPhone app soon to coordinate with super cool desktop app?Yes, we have started working on an update to the iPhone app.
Producteev Native Android App 5* ASAP
Release of the highly anticipated, native Producteev Android app is again post-poned. Now before you go all Angry Birds on us, you should hear us out.
The latest version of a Producteev Android app was indeed beta tested by a select group of superusers. Their verdict? The app, in its current form, is not ready for public release.
Like the previous two 3rd party Android developers, the most recent 3rd party developer is also unable to continue the project and make the necessary changes to improve the app and bring it up to par. Which leaves us right back where we started a year ago – still without a native app to complete our Google suite.
Before making the difficult decision of whether to launch the app as is – since we had no other viable option with this 3rd party developer – the team thought long and hard. Ultimately, we could not put the app on the market as is. Sorry to repeat another delayed release and for your disappointment and frustration with us.
Below, however, is just one example of beta tester feedback which speaks to the condition of the current app.
I think you have the basis of what could be a good app but I really don’t think you should consider releasing it at the moment as I think you will get negative feedback from the majority of users…. I hope you find this email constructive as this is how I mean it to be.
ING New York City Marathon 2010
Now the reason a native Android app was not initiated in-house in the first place was because no one on the Producteev team had the related experience and skill set. Starting this week, however, a fully-dedicated in-house developer has begun a native Android app from scratch. He, along with the rest of the team and beta testers, are determined to see this project through to completion. Or Ilan, CEO, will have his head! ;)
We know that we dropped the ball, perhaps we shouldn’t have made launch estimates based on an app that was not being built by our team. We know that our Android users deserve more and are not secondary to our iPhone users. A native Android app is Producteev’s top priority – not just in theory but in practice. We can only hope for the opportunity to make it right and keep the community updated with its future development.
We really do want to make an app that is awesome! In the meantime, the new mobile web app may help make your wait more bearable.
Say Hello to Producteev for Mac
We just had a baby! Say hello to Producteev for Mac, currently available in the Mac App Store.
This was truly a labor of love, taking nearly nine months from start to completion. We’re so proud of our new addition to the Producteev app family that, like many beaming new parents, we’re sharing photos with the world!
Join us in welcoming the beautiful Producteev for Mac app, and download it now. And give us some love with a wonderful App Store review! :D
A special thanks goes out to all our beta testers — you really helped the last couple of weeks. We appreciate you!
staff picks: advice from Winston Churchill & other #productivity gurus
A guide to academic productivityThe productivity trifecta for a balanced life6 productivity tips that are like treadmills for the mind5 places to focus on to declutter 80% of your lifeWinston Churchill’s top 6 fundamentals for a successful lifeStop Procrastinating By Thinking of Your Future SelfHow to adopt a growth mindsetAre you taking productivity too far?Don’t Exist, Live: powerful ideas that will bring greater clarity into your lifePhoto credit: Ornella M
You just unlocked the universal Producteev mobile web app
As previously mentioned, we left some things off of the public roadmap. Our new mobile web app is one of them! Now you can add, organize, assign and track your to-dos without any native or 3rd party mobile applications — all you need is a Wifi hotspot or 3G connection and you’re good!
Jon Steinberg of Buzzfeed, one of the earliest adopters, calls the app, “a work of art.” It’s pretty amazing, if we don’t say so ourselves ;) What once started as a side project in one dev’s spare time (talk, dedication!) has really taken off and become completely company-backed.
Access the mobile web app on your device by going to: producteev.com or m.producteev.com. It works on works on iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry….you name it!
Below’s another attractive screenshot. Happy Hand-held Tasking!
