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I am a small business Conversation Consultant and public speaker that uses the power of the internet to leverage your success. Productivity in Context is a web magazine focused on Productivity and tools for organizing. Make this your headquarters for improving your life and work through increased mindfulness, education, and workflow practices.

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Sorry for lack of posting, I have been been very busy with offline work. I had a little time this morning and wanted to share with you an interesting post by Jared at Technotheory.com - Should “productivity” play a role in your friendships and relationships?

When it comes to friendships and relationships, is it fair to apply principles of productivity…or is it not only a waste of time but perhaps even harsh and potentially damaging?

I say if you’ve got a system that works for you, then by all means apply it to the people in your life, too. It’ll not only help your sanity but your relationships.

Read it and leave a comment.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5rncpz. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

Hugh McLeod at gapingvoid has some thoughts here that mirror my own, lately.

But given a choice between two paths, both valid, how do you know which one to take? How do you know which one has the meaningful payoff?

The answer, of course, is that you don’t. Whether we’re talking about moving to New York to become an “Art Star”, or opening up a humble coffee shop in Alpine, Texas, that’s why they’re called “adventures”. Because you don’t how it’s going to end.

All you can do is admit to yourself that yes, this is an adventure, and to accept it as such, surprises and all. With a little bit of practice you eventually get into the flow of it.

Yes, anything worth doing takes lots of practice. Adventures included.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6qfs6p. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

Today’s post is from Kris Rowlands at Words Within:

It’s tough. It’s hard to be able to keep focused on your goals, Getting Things Done, and feel a sense of accomplishment. If anyone tells you otherwise, they have not walked in your shoes.

Goals are good things to have: they keep us focused, give us something to work towards, and give us great rewards in the end. There is nothing like working on a goal and have it come to fruition: whether it take one day or one year. The feeling is of joyous exuberance over conquering that which you put before you.

Roadblocks will come: they will arise and it will be your job to brush them away, knowing that you can dissipate them as quickly as a cobweb, and move on. Roadblocks can come in the forms of family members, demanding your time when you need to focus: your job, working so much that you have no time to work on your goals: financial strain: there simply isn’t the money to reach your goal: and self doubt. Which do you think is the biggest hindrance of them all? You guessed it….self doubt.

Self doubt can be very, very strong. It can paralyze you with fear so that you can’t even think of moving towards your goal. When times like this occur, stop, take a breath, and look at why this is occurring.

• Is there some underlying issue that you need to process to move forward?
• Do you need to have a talk with your family, boss, co-worker in order to clear the air?

I know it’s hard to approach people when you have an issue to process. It can be very hard: but know that once you walk through it and clear the air, you will be able to learn from the experience and grow stronger in order to overcome the roadblocks that are set ahead of you.

Self doubt is a tool for learning: and once you find that you can identify it, work through it and move forward, nothing can stop you. You will have the power to succeed at anything you wish. The key is to get to the root of the doubt, confront it (even if it’s something that will take therapy to address), process it and move on. You will feel such a sense of exhilaration once you do.

Will this be easy? Heck no…….it’s hard to find your issues and deal with them. Sometimes you can do it on your own, or there are times when you may need a friend to help you. There may even be times when therapy is in order. Peoples’ issues vary based on what type of life they have lived and what life has thrown at them. I can tell you this: there is nothing that a human can not accomplish. If you set your mind to it, you can do anything. Absolutely anything.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently: the human body and mind is resilient, can heal from physical, emotional, spiritual and mental damage, and move forward. I know that you can do anything, and I don’t personally know you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6f3vkv. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen

John Konrad writes at gCaptain.com — resources for maritime professionals. The full post can be read at Anywired -

Blogging From the High Seas

Today, at age 30, I’m a licensed ship’s captain working on the world’s largest drillship. I’ve circumnavigated the globe, write a successful blog about ships, have seen more countries than I can list from memory and have had short articles published in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal (ok, it was the online edition) and the world’s longest running publication, Loyds List. Most of all I enjoy what I do.

I can’t recommend joining the military, getting kicked out and spending four years stuck under a noisy bridge in the country’s most infamous community as a path to blogging success but I can share a few Lessons Learned to help you find it.

1. Forget Risk

Risk is the Winter North Atlantic or a port call in Yemen, blogging is rarely a risk.

Take bold steps. Call an expert in your niche for an interview, write the inside story that traditional media is unwilling expose, become an LLC and take out a loan. Bold steps are needed if you want to stand out.

Read the whole thing.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6f96hl. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen