BusinessWeek online has once again compiled its most alluring time management articles from 2008 and early 2009 and like last year’s collection, it is a nice mix of the truly interesting and the fluffy. Whakate would like to pass on to its readers the most intriguing offerings below:

Production Bankruptcy Day

The article is called “Workers’ Bailout Plan” by Liz Ryan and proposes a plan for companies buckling under current stress and office workers groaning under piles of email and wooshing deadlines. Why not throw a “Production Bankruptcy Day,” where workers remove focus from completing projects and “use their time to dig out, reorganise, and de-clutter their workstations and their minds?” Deadlines are rolled back, coffee and donuts are spread out for all, and office workers have a short respite to recharge, reassess and avoid burnout. This is an excellent idea for anyone working from home as well.

Workers’ Bailout Plan

“If I Want to Have Twittered….”

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace—social networking options are proliferating and opinions are vociferous: Are these tools helping us make valuable connections or are they simply a new set of internet sirens out to tempt the innocuous office worker with their procrastination song? GTD guru David Allen features in this article to give his own views: These new forums can be productive and enriching for extroverts, and anyone needing to forge far-ranging connections or wanting to keep up-t0-breast with the newest forms of communication.

Time Management In The Age Of Social Media

Finally, Someone Gets It!

If you’ve ever felt resentment for having to whittle time at your desk to visually appease a manager in regards to your “productivity,” here is the article for you: “Count Results, Not Hours.” More and more offices are trying to deal with various energy and commuter problems through flex-times and four-hour work weeks, and with the level of online connection many workers enjoy today, allowing more flexibility to complete assignments away from desks seems like a great idea. So where does the resistance come in? Writers Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson argue that it emanates from an outdated work model dictating that employee productivity can only by monitored by keeping workers under the watchful eyes of managers. Twitter and joke emails, anyone? The article “Count Results” suggests shifting the concept of productive work from “employee presence” to “assignment completion,” and allowing workers more freedom and creativity to choose when and how they work.

Count Results, Not Hours

In the Same Boat

These are rough times—so Businessweek has provided its readers with a slide-show showing clips of various workers, from entrepreneurs, contractors and consultants, to freelancers and specialists, speaking frankly on how they are dealing with the current economic situation. From productivity tips, to tips on maintaining the sanity level, this link shows 36 different views, from different ages and different perspectives. It’s a good all-around snap-shot on what is going on in the minds of Americans working today.

Readers on Time Management

And Our Honorable Mention!

Fans or familiars of Merlin Mann’s popular “43 Folders” blog may be interested in listening to an interview with Mann focusing on his concept of “Inbox Zero.” This means a simple system for processing emails so that workers can stop “hanging out in their inboxes and get back to the work they are supposed to do.”

Readers interested in downloading his podcast may go to the following link and find it under the “Related Items” heading: Time Management 2009

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