We’re currently experiencing a cold snap here in Atlanta. It was 6 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday morning! It’s not too often that I have to wear gloves while driving, and this week, I’ve still been shivering during my commute. Living in the South for almost 16 years has thinned my blood!

Unfortunately, the days after the exciting holiday season winds down can cause a bit of a mood swing for some people: the winter blues (more seriously referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder). Even if you don’t have full-blown SAD, it’s pretty common to experience some of these symptoms during the winter months:

- Increased feelings of lethargy
- Difficulty waking up in the mornings
- Difficulty concentrating and thinking creatively in comparison to the summer months
- Incorrectly blaming oneself for things that go wrong
- Difficulty performing tasks that normally seem to be easy/enjoyable

(Source)

It makes sense that the winter blues can affect your work performance. If you or your fellow association staffers are experiencing a bit of a winter slump, here are some ideas.

- Once every few hours, drop everything and do some push-ups. Exercise has been proven to reduce stress and improve your mood. (If you’re pressed for time and can’t get a 30-minute aerobic workout in, at least do some push-ups or crunches!)
- Eat an apple. An apple a day really can keep the doctor away! It’s natural to crave more carbohydrates during the winter months, and fruit is a good source of natural carbohydrates.
- If I’m having lots of difficulty focusing on what I need to get done, I like to use Online Stopwatch to make sure I work diligently for a set amount of time. I also turn off Tweetdeck notifications and hide my BlackBerry.
- Get your DIY on. Clean the closet that’s exploding with never-used linens. Re-paint your guest bedroom. Working on a project at home can give you a great sense of accomplishment.
- Read a novel. It’ll get your mind off the blah weather.

It’s crucial to take care of yourself during the winter months. No one wants to end up bedridden with the flu! It should go without saying, but the better your health, the more productive you’ll be at work and the happier you – and your colleagues and members – will be.

(Image source: Flickr)

It’s almost 2010, and I think it’s safe to say technology is a mainstay in our lives at this point. But it can be frustrating. There is so much software and information at our fingertips, and it can be difficult to know what’s worth it and what’s not.

To sort through it all and streamline your technology experience, I’ve compiled just a short list of useful applications your association could benefit from. Some have a great convenience factor, others are useful for sharing information with others. Feel free to contribute to this list and add your own favorite applications!

1. Google Reader – Some say RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is on the decline thanks to services such as Twitter, which lets bloggers and news organizations give updates as they happen. But Google’s RSS Reader also lets your tag items to share with others. You can put blogs into different folders for easy sorting (I have several related to “Social Media,” “Associations,” etc…) and you can also import your Google Alerts into the Reader. So useful.

2. Tweetdeck – I love Tweetdeck for its monitoring capabilities. I follow the #assnchat hashtag and if there is a conference going on that I want to keep up with, I add a new column with that hashtag. It lets me keep up with my personal Twitter account as well as MemberClicks’. And when I need to buckle down and get productive, I turn off those pesky notifications.

3. Evernote – If you’re on-the-go (and even if you’re not), I predict you will adore this application. Evernote claims you can use it to “capture everything,” and it’s true. Whether it’s an image, text, a screen cap or pretty much anything else, you can store it in Evernote and access it from any computer. You can tag items and have different folders for organization. And there are mobile apps for iPhones and BlackBerrys, so you can add to your account anytime. If this sounds overwhelming, check out Evernote’s About page — it will rock your world.

4. Typinator – This one can save you tons of time if used correctly. To sum it up, I’m just going to quote from its Web site: Have you ever experienced the tedium and frustration of having to repeatedly type your name, e-mail address, home page url, or other words or phrases again, again and again? Typinator is an automatic text software that helps you insert words or phrases quickly into any document. You can abbreviate any phrase and it will be updated as you type. Unfortunately, this one is Mac-only, but there is a similar one for special characters (called PopChar) that works for Windows.

I hope one or more of these can help your organization be more productive! If you use a cool application I didn’t mention (trust me, there are thousands), feel free to share it! I love finding new tools!

(Typinator screencap via its Web site.)

Merry Christmas Eve! Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? If you’ve procrastinated a bit, maybe these tips will help you out!

“There’s not enough hours in the day.”

If I had a nickel for every time I heard my mom say this while I was growing up, I would probably be pretty wealthy.

We all know that sometimes, 24 hours just isn’t enough time to get everything done – and I’m not just talking about work. Family, friends, exercise, sleep … who has time for a truly healthy balance? Throw in a killer commute (if applicable) and that’s a recipe for burnout.

Those of you at small-staff associations are probably already more aware than most of the difficulties of time management. When more responsibilities fall to you because of a smaller staff, it’s crucial to prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

1. If you’re having trouble accomplishing all your tasks within deadline or a reasonable amount of time, keep an activity log for a few days (or even a week). There’s nothing wrong with reading blogs and checking the latest on YouTube here and there, but it can become detrimental to your productivity after awhile.
2. Once you identify your distractions, try setting a few goals. Stay focused on work for 45 minutes and then check out the news or your favorite Web site. If you force yourself to work, work, work all day, every day, the quality of your work could suffer. (Of course, some days do demand this.)
3. Like I said before, prioritizing is key. Make a to-do list. Research has proven that people who keep lists are healthier and happier. (I love the feeling of crossing off an important task!) Classify your duties as Urgent, Important and Habitual. Obviously if a deadline is looming, it makes sense to focus on that task before all others. But regardless of deadlines, stay focused.
4. Which brings me to this point … stop multitasking! I’m guilty of this too (aren’t we all?), but research has also proven that multitasking kills productivity. When your brain floats back and forth between different tasks, your concentration falters (clearly) and memory retention decreases.
5. Get rid of distractions. I like to turn my Tweetdeck notifications off, change my Gchat status to “Busy” and hide my cell phone deep in my bag. If I can’t hear it vibrate, I won’t be as tempted to check it.
6. Finally, be realistic. No one is superman or superwoman – no matter how hard they try. Sometimes, you just need a good night’s sleep. A well-balanced work schedule is essential to not getting frazzled and burned out.

Make time in your busy week for yourself. For example, I go to yoga at least once a week. But it could be as simple as scheduling a lunch date with an old friend or catching up on an old episode or two of “Lost.” No matter how many “hats” you wear in your association, each one will fit better if you devote even a little bit of time to yourself. Happy Productivity!

(Image via CarbonNYC on Flickr)