Productivity Lessons from a Web Designer

So I'm a pretty active guy when it comes to Twitter and the more I use it, the more I find it becomes my go to source for news, updates and general time wasting.

I happen to be following a web & graphic designer from Minneapolis, MN by the name of Mike Lane.

Now on the surface, you'd think that he and I don't have a whole lot in common and I wouldn't blame you for thinking that way.

Afterall, I'm a self professed hoops junkie that uses basketball to help people develop both personally and professionally and he talks about performance optimization, HTML and web design stuff.

What could we possible have in common??


Well, after reading his tweet that provided 10 tips on being more productive, I was quickly reminded of a Hard Court Leadership lesson.

No matter the situation, circumstance or players involved, there are a ton of valuable lessons we can learn to make us better leaders. It's up to us to use our court vision to spot them.

Here are the 10 tips that Mike shared via Clare Evans, author of Time Management for Dummies.

Thanks Mike!

1. Plan

If you want to make the biggest difference to your productivity, plan your time. You’ll ensure you’re focusing on the right things and using your time more effectively.

2. Systems and Priorities

When you’ve got to much to do, don’t expect to do it all. Make the best use of your time by focusing on what’s important.

3. Delegate

The busier you are the more you need to delegate. Spend your time on important tasks that no one else can do rather than day-to-day tasks.

4. Distractions and interruptions

We’d get more done if we didn’t keep getting distracted or interrupted. Whether it’s emails, phone calls or people stopping by our office without an appointment, interruptions are part of every working day.

5. Learn to say No!

Busy people often say yes to everything. Get back control of your time by saying ‘No’.
6. Manage your emails

Email can be one of the biggest distractions and drains on our time. Particularly if you find yourself constantly checking your inbox. Unless they’re a critical part of your work, they rarely need to be responded to immediately.

7. Setting Expectations

If you spend time working with other people, it’s important to set expectations. Let them know what it is you want and when. Don’t let other people’s actions create added effort and pressure for you.

8. Procrastination

Many people have a tendency to put things off. If the task is worth doing, don’t make it worse by leaving it. Do it sooner rather than late. Here are a few ways to deal with it:

9. Taking Breaks

Even if you’re busy, you need to take regular breaks. How often do you work through your lunch break or don’t take a break until it’s time to finish for the day?

10. Keep the balance

Working hard is all very well, but if you focus all your time and effort on work, other areas are likely to suffer.

See you on the court!

A Society of One

We all know how important it is for individuals to take responsibility for their actions, it's a core element of leadership and something everyone should be mindful of on a regular basis.

Ultimately, we're accountable to ourselves so it's important that we're 100% comfortable for the choices we make because at the end of the day, we'll have to live with ourselves and the pathways we selected.

We're the ones who'll have to evaluate whether or not the choices made are worthwhile and beneficial to us and not others. Think of yourself as our own little society where you are entirely accountable for all the decisions, it's a place where you get to make up all the rules.




It doesn't matter what other societies are doing or what rules they govern themselves with. All that matters are the decisions you make for yourself and whether or not you're comfortable with them.

Sunjay Nath joins me on the next edition of HCL Radio to explore this topic and many more. As an internationally recognized professional speaker and author, Sunjay has spread positive messages around self-esteem, leadership and goal setting to young people all over.


Sunjay chatted with me about the importance of perception.

Click here to listen to what Sunjay had to say.

For more great insights be sure to check out the program or to stay regularly up to date with new episodes, click on the follow button on slightly above the show description!

See you on the court!

Hard Court Lesson #12

Finding Your Sweet Spot

Shooters understand the importance of getting into a good rhythm and what it means to their shot. Finding that natural flow increases the chances of a better performance and increases the likelihood of success.

This is why it's critical that we find our Sweet Spot.



See you on the court!

Pulling Together

If we look deep enough, we can find life lessons just about everywhere.

For example, my friend John Murphy used the illustration of geese to teach some incredible lessons about how teams can become high performers through the power of pulling together.

Check it out this 3 minute video!

Pulling Together

See you on the court!

Think Inside The Box

If you're looking to expand your brand and stand out from everyone else, here's a key question worth putting some thought into:

What do you do better in the world than anyone else?

Do you have good organizing skills? Are you the kind of individual or organization that people want to be affiliated with? Do you consistently meet your key deliverables?

Identify a list of your top three things that you think matter most to your customers or the people around you and challenge yourself to think of how you can become 20% better.

The increase will be marginal but it'll be enough to separate you from the rest of the pack, you'll differentiate yourself so much that you'll create your own unique category.



On the next episode of HCL Radio, nationally renowned speaker, author and business expert, Joe Calloway spends some time talking about this innovative concept.


Sports and life is a game of inches and your ability to stand out and be slightly different will go a long way towards building loyalty and longevity.

During my conversation with Joe, we also chatted about the importance of innovation as it relates to leadership.

Click here to listen to what Joe had to say about innovation.

Be sure to check out the program as you'll be sure to walk away from this enlightening conversation with some great strategies you can use to make you a stand out leader.

See you on the court!

Hard Court Lesson #11

Make A Play

John Wooden once said, "The greatest failure of all is failure to act when action is needed."

There`s a variety of reasons why we don`t take action when we really should. For many, it comes down to procrastination, others believe that it`s not their role and then there are those who quite simply don`t have the confidence to do what needs to be done.

Regardless of our reason for not moving forward, its important that we recognize that the ability to take action and make a play is well within our grasp and not exclusive to the star player on the team.

We just need to have courage to believe that we`ll succeed, the determination not to give up and the effort to push us forward.

Take action and Make A Play




See you on the court!

Hard Court Lesson #10

For The Love of The Game

During the mid 90's, a San Francisco based advertising firm devised the very popular "I Love This Game" slogan for the NBA.

This four word campaign slogan proved to be very powerful as it drew a connection between the product (in this case NBA basketball) and people's passion for the game.

Using passion as a way of connecting with others can be very effective and is something that leaders can capitalize on to get the most out of those around them.

When we're passionate about what we're doing, we become better leaders because we tend to be more creative, productive and energetic.

For more on the power of passion, check out For The Love of The Game!



See you on the court!