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Is your motivation flagging at 3:00 pm? Set an egg timer for thirty or sixty minutes and challenge yourself to get as much done as possible. You can always revise this fast-paced work later.

One of my challenges is my habit of working constantly, around the clock. As soon as I wake up, I check e-mail, during the day I make phone calls, and as the rest of the world leaves the office, I continue writing e-mails, reports and articles. No 8-hour work day for me. This is good in the sense that I can take time off whenever I feel like it, and it usually does not matter if I am finished with whatever I am doing at 3PM or 3AM.

The downside is that there are periods of the day – and the week – when I am more productive. And I am constantly trying to find ways to increase my productivity also in the down periods. Beat the clock work great for me. I am not yet at the 60 minutes interval, the 30 minute works wonders for me. I have had to add rules like “No twitter, No e-mail”, and lately also “No Internet”. Then I can focus on what I am supposed to do, and usually I find that I produce quite some results. And that is a great energy booster!

What is your experience with beating the clock? How do games like this improve your efficiency? What variations of this game do you do?

Check in with each other once a week about your creative aspirations and how you’re going to achieve them. It adds accountability when those personal goals start slipping to the bottom of your to-do list.

Setting and achieving goals are two very different things. At least in my life. I use many different means to remember my goals – long term and short term. I have pictureboards where I have images of my visualized goals, and I use lists. And I find it a challenge to focus both on personal goals and on business goals. Some how it seems so much easier to focus on the business goals – perhaps it is because so much time of my life is spent working?

Goal buddies are great. We use them at work – where our project manager, boss or someone else constantly asks how we are progressing on our tasks, and how we are reaching the goals. But who is there in your personal life to guide you, kick your but and to keep you from letting yourself down?

A goal buddy can be a private affair, like your partner, a friend or your workout buddy. Or, in the world of social media, it can equally well be a public thing – nothing is more motivating than all your online friends asking how you are progressing on your goal. As you know, I have used this very blog to promote my goal of running a half marathon this year. And dammed if I want!

Who is your goal buddy? How has having a goal buddy helped you achieve your goals?

How would a carpenter handle a difficult client? What would a lawyer do if he or she were snowed under with deadlines? Look for approaches and best practices to adopt from other business arenas.

Chances are you know your job very well. You are the specialist, or at least one of the specialists. And even as a specialist – some times you encounter a challenge that you are not able to solve just like that. When that happens – what do you usually do?

Next time, consider what a specialist in a different field would do. Try to attack the challenge from the point of view of someone in a totally different industry from your own. Step outside of what you know. Look beyond what you see.

This step is easier said than done IMO. When I need to apply this trick, I tend to forget about it. Those times I do remember, I find fascinating results. Like when I where to make a training for information security for top level management, and I where stuck. After a while, I considered what my friend Terje would have done. He is a car mechanic, and his knowledge of computers are, well, he do not send e-mails to anyone. Thinking of him, I came up with a series of examples where I used cars as examples. Needless to say, the training went on as a dream.

What are your experiences with this approach? How do you apply this tip?

Buy a small notebook and tuck it in your bag. Then use life’s spare moments – standing in line or sitting in gridlock traffic – to write or draw.

I love drawing and writing in my notebooks! It channels out excess energy, and helps my creativity flow. Sometimes I wish it was connected to my computer, so I could easily use the ideas, drafts and stories I jot down on paper. On the other hand, the paper allows a different form of creativity to flow.

If you have never done this, I suggest you go out and buy a notebook that fits in your pocket right away. My preference is the Moleskin notebooks, but there are many alternatives available. Find something that suits you, and your style. Also pick up a few different pens and pencils. Try them out to find the one(s) that is most suitable to you.

Then, then next time you sit on the bus, or wait for a plane, or just want to turn on the TV without having planned what to watch, bring out your notebook. Do not plan what to write, or draw, just let the pen and the paper interact – like two persons about to get acquainted. Dribble. Make lines, circles, squares – any shape your want! When you feel the urge to write something, do it! One word, one letter, a sentence – perhaps even a poem! You’ll be amazed at what may show up on your notebook after a while!

What do you find in your notebook? How do you use this scribbling to boost your creativity and inspiration? Where is your favorite location to bring out your notebook? What is your best tip on using it?

When you feel stuck, pack up your laptop and head to the park or the corner coffee shop. An environmental shift might be enough to shake things loose.

I did this today, as a matter of fact. My office was not a giving me the energy to fulfill my work, it was draining all my energy instead. I were sitting there, pondering all the things I need to do, trying to find the inspiration to write the reviews, stories and reports I am supposed to deliver. And all I seemed able to do was wasting time on Twitter.

I then decided that I should move over to a new coffee shop I found the other day. I brought my laptop, my phone, went there. I ordered a Chai Latte, read the business newspaper, and then picked up my laptop. And started writing on this series. I probably would have written it sometime anyway, but probably not today, had I not changed my scenery.

What are your experiences of changing scenery? How does it help you do your work? Where is your favorite spot?