Web Worker Daily

Improve your workgroup productivity by changing anything — In the 1920s and 30s, industrial efficiency researchers at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works plant found that raising lighting levels increased productivity… as did lowering the lights! The Hawthorne Effect describes a productivity increase due to the attention of management rather than as a direct effect of the change itself.

Maybe this applies to personal productivity as well. Do you find you get a short-term boost in productivity when you try a new personal management scheme? Perhaps it’s not the scheme itself, but just the act of paying attention — or shaking things up — that makes a difference.

14 ways to get more done — Put the Hawthorne Effect to work by running your own efficiency experiments with these tips. My favorite: “write down ideas and get back to them later.” Preferably after a nap. I find that sleeping not only improves memory, but also often leads to new insights.

9 ways to get less done — Nine allegedly addictive online games.

3 ways to get stuff done and chat with your peeps too – Lifehacker editor Gina Trapani’s tips for making yourself available by instant messaging while still getting “real” work done. She notes that using specific status messages like “busy – email pls.” helps people know when it’s okay to contact you.

Share your files on your website — With a line of code, add Box.net’s Box Widget to your blog or other website and make your files stored on Box.net available for downloading. If you have a Box.net professional account for $19.95 a month, you can allow your colleagues to upload documents into your Box.net account using the widget. That’d be an easy way to gather inputs on a collaborative project from multiple people. It supports password protection by folder too. Here’s a demo.

What would an Internet file system look like? — Rod Edwards imagines it. Maybe it includes something like Box.net and its widget.

Know when to ditch a project — Om Malik writes on FoundRead about the decision to shut down GigaGamez. FoundRead addresses itself to startup founders, but the issue of quitting is just as relevant to individual workers who are only trying to build Me, Inc into a profitable and satisfying pursuit.

Seth Godin’s new book The Dip addresses the question of when to quit by proposing that there are “dips” — temporary setbacks that you can get through — and “cul-de-sacs” — dead end roads. In his interview with Guy Kawasaki, Godin says “Smart people can see Dips in advance and plan for them.” That seems too facile. More likely, it takes some experimentation to know what’s going to work and what’s not.