Productivity starts with you. Every day begins with the same challenge: too many tasks on your to-do list and not enough time to accomplish them. Perhaps you tell yourself to just buckle down and get it all done—skip lunch, work a longer day. Maybe you throw your hands up, recognize you can't do it all, and just begin fighting the biggest fire or greasing the squeakiest wheel. And yet you know how good it feels on those days when you're working at peak productivity, taking care of difficult and meaty projects while also knocking off the smaller tasks that have been hanging over your head forever. Those are the times when your day didn't run you—you ran your day. To have more of those days more often, you need to discover what works for you given your strengths, your preferences, and the things you must accomplish. Whether you're an assistant or the CEO, whether you've been in the workforce for 40 years or are just starting out, this guide will help you be more productive. You'll discover different ways to: Motivate yourself to work when you really don't want to Take on less, but get more done Preserve time for your most important work Improve your focus Make the most of small pockets of time between meetings Set boundaries with colleagues—without alienating them Take time off without tearing your hair out Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Offers a selection of Harvard Business Review articles to help you increase your productivity. Includes techniques on how to manage your time more effectively, how to say no to more work, and approach your day more mindfully in order to stay focused on what matters.

IS YOUR WORKLOAD SLOWING YOU—AND YOUR CAREER—DOWN? Your inbox is overflowing. You’re paralyzed because you have too much to do but don’t know where to start. Your to-do list never seems to get any shorter. You leave work exhausted but have little to show for it. It’s time to learn how to get the right work done. In the HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done, you’ll discover how to focus your time and energy where they will yield the greatest reward. Not only will you end each day knowing you made progress—your improved productivity will also set you apart from the pack. Whether you’re a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you: Prioritize and stay focused Work less but accomplish more Stop bad habits and develop good ones Break overwhelming projects into manageable pieces Conquer e-mail overload Write to-do lists that really work

Get your best work done, no matter where you do it. Video calls from your couch. Project reports in a coffee shop. Presentations at your kitchen table. Working remotely gives you more flexibility in how and where you do your job. But being part of a far-flung team can be challenging. How can you make remote work work for you? The HBR Guide to Remote Work provides practical tips and advice to help you stay productive, avoid distractions, and collaborate with your team, despite the distance that separates you. You'll learn to: Create a regular work-from-home routine Identify the right technology for your needs Run better virtual meetings Avoid burnout and video-call fatigue Manage remote employees Conduct difficult conversations when you can't meet in person Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Make every minute count. Your calendar is full, and yet your meetings don’t always seem to advance your work. Problems often arise with unrealistic or vague agendas, off-track conversations, tuned-out participants who don’t know why they’re there, and follow-up notes that no one reads—or acts on. Meetings can feel like a waste of time. But when you invest a little energy in preparing yourself and your participants, you’ll stay focused, solve problems, gain consensus, and leave each meeting ready to take action. With input from over 20 experts combined with useful checklists, sample agendas, and follow-up memos, the HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter will teach you how to: Set and communicate your meeting’s purpose Invite the right people Prepare an achievable agenda Moderate a lively conversation Regain control of a wayward meeting Ensure follow-through without babysitting or haranguing Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, from a source you trust. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Managing the human side of work Research by Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and coauthor of Primal Leadership, has shown that emotional intelligence is a more powerful determinant of good leadership than technical competence, IQ, or vision. Influencing those around us and supporting our own well-being requires us to be self-aware, know when and how to regulate our emotional reactions, and understand the emotional responses of those around us. No wonder emotional intelligence has become one of the crucial criteria in hiring and promotion. But luckily it’s not just an innate trait: Emotional intelligence is composed of skills that all of us can learn and improve on. In this guide, you’ll learn how to: Determine your emotional intelligence strengths and weaknesses Understand and manage your emotional reactions Deal with difficult people Make smarter decisions Bounce back from tough times Help your team develop emotional intelligence Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Learn to assess the situation, manage your emotions, and move on. While some of us enjoy a lively debate with colleagues and others prefer to suppress our feelings over disagreements, we all struggle with conflict at work. Every day we navigate an office full of competing interests, clashing personalities, limited time and resources, and fragile egos. Sure, we share the same overarching goals as our colleagues, but we don't always agree on how to achieve them. We work differently. We rub each other the wrong way. We jockey for position. How can you deal with conflict at work in a way that is both professional and productive--where it improves both your work and your relationships? You start by understanding whether you generally seek or avoid conflict, identifying the most frequent reasons for disagreement, and knowing what approaches work for what scenarios. Then, if you decide to address a particular conflict, you use that information to plan and conduct a productive conversation. The HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict will give you the advice you need to: Understand the most common sources of conflict Explore your options for addressing a disagreement Recognize whether you--and your counterpart--typically seek or avoid conflict Prepare for and engage in a difficult conversation Manage your and your counterpart's emotions Develop a resolution together Know when to walk away Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.