May 31, 2011 • Volume 2, Issue 11 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Maintaining Focus
♦	Ask Amanda: My work style drives others crazy. How can I reconcile my preference with their requests?
♦	Practical Tips: Using Deadlines

Maintaining Focus

Concentrating your attention and energy allows you to make substantial progress in an efficient manner. Maintaining focus is more difficult than ever in a time when multi-tasking is celebrated. “Scientists say juggling email, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information,” according to New York Times reporter Matt Richtel in his article “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price,” June 6, 2010.
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	We achieve what we believe we deserve.

Practical Tips: Using Deadlines

Ever notice how productive you become when you know you’re going on vacation at the end of the week? At their best, deadlines can be a great creator of productivity. Take advantage of this inclination by giving yourself short deadlines for routine tasks. Need to check email? Set the timer on your phone for 15 minutes.
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I do my best work at the last minute but this drives others crazy. How do I reconcile my preference with their requests? S.W., Brooklyn, NY

Your belief is a common one—many people believe that their best work happens when they’re under a deadline. First, find out if your assumption is true. Approximately 80% of the people I’ve worked with find that when they look back at the work they’ve done, there was much they could have done better. If that’s true for you, it’s important that you understand what benefit procrastination provides to you.
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About Us: Our Corporate Life LLC (OCL) is a company that offers a new system for reducing unnecessary workplace suffering caused by the organizational, interpersonal, and ethical issues of our time. It is founded on the belief that adhering to core human values and achieving business success are always compatible. Working with both companies and individuals, OCL helps create solutions that enable corporate employees at every level to optimize profits while enabling them to thrive in the corporate environment. OCL was founded by Amanda Mitchell to help meet the needs of people working in corporate America during this transformative moment in our nation’s history. The OCL system reflects her experience and insight gained from a 20-year corporate career working with Fortune 500 companies, and as an executive coach to senior-level corporate executives.