The Web Worker Daily weblog rounds up a handful of useful tweaks for using an instant messaging application at work without letting it ruin your productivity. For example:

Many IM programs allow you to be "invisible" to different contacts or contact groups when you come online. You can also be invisible to clients who rarely IM you anyway, and leave yourself visible for a few clients whose projects are more urgent. Taking advantage of your visibility settings can also come in handy if you use the same IM accounts for both personal and business contacts.

Instant messaging gets a bad rap in the workplace, but studies have suggested that instant messaging increases workplace productivity when compared to email, and IM can even reduce workplace interruptions. The catch: You need to know how to use IM effectively or the constant ding can ruin your productivity, and Web Worker Daily's list offers a nice take.

If you're on the hunt for a strong IM app, check out the five best instant messengers.

Essential time management yields increased success and productivity, according to weblog QuickSprout. By eliminating distractions, getting enough sleep (especially power napping), and maintaining a balanced diet, you can maximize your productivity and get more done in the few hours you have available. One productivity killer is beating around the bush.

Tell people what's on your mind—being honest and to the point is a great way to accomplish things quicker. When you beat around the bush things don't get accomplished as fast. Just think about boardroom meetings, people are hesitant to say what is on their mind, which causes meetings to drag on forever.

In other words, be direct and hope that your boss won't spend precious meeting time criticizing the feedback. What are your biggest time saving tips, and how do you make time to save time? Share your tips in the comments.

Even if you're a hyper-organised, task-oriented worker with an expansive mind and endless ambition, you won't get a lot done if your mind and body are demanding you curl up and doze off. Luckily, you can overcome a late night of net surfing, a rough morning, or just the post-lunch stupor without becoming an over-wired mess. We've put together 10 of the best ways to jumpstart your brain and get back into a productive groove, and all of them are tricks you can put to work this Monday. Photo by neps.

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Zen teacher Marc Lesser offers some great advice on how to put more things on your "not to-do list" and accomplish your goals without getting caught up in meaningless busy-ness. This talk, which happened at the Google campus back in January, is lengthy at almost an hour, and some folks might find it a bit woo-woo. If you're ok with getting a little Zen mixed up in your workday, it's a worthy watch before you plan your upcoming workweek. Keep a notebook and pen handy while you watch this one.

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The closing keynote at Cisco's video-chat heavy Networkers Conference was given by innovation expert Charles Leadbeater. Along with covering how innovation and collaboration need to work hand in hand -- the theme of his recent book We Think -- Leadbeater also made an interesting point regarding how Japanese business, often regarded as particularly convention-driven, ensures a productive workplace environment:

I went to Japan in the early 1990s to discover how Japanese companies collaborate and I met a guy who told me: 'Once every three months we got away to a hot springs hotel, we get completely naked and we get completely drunk. If we didn't go away get naked and get drunk, we'd never come up with any ideas.'

Editor: Welcome guest author Jason Womack who's got some advice on how to get back to work on a slow day.
You just don't want to do it anymore. No more task folders, no more email labelling, no more index cards in your back pocket. You just don't have the energy today; the power of your productivity is at a low ebb. What do you do now? How do you flip that switch to get going again? Photo by Stewf.

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Apple has convinced millions that they can make the switch from Windows to OS X, but those curious about Linux have to see for themselves if they can work or play on a free desktop. The short answer is that, for most halfway tech-savvy people who aren't hardcore gamers, yes, you can. There are positively addictive productivity apps available for Linux, along with tools to make switching between Linux and other systems easy, or just running Windows programs themselves if you need to. Today we're detailing a Linux desktop that helps you move quickly, work with Windows, and just get things done; read on for a few suggestions on setting it up.

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I've long been a passionate advocate of keyboard shortcuts, and they're a core part of the Lifehacker ethos; if you want to make your time in front of a computer more productive, then learning the keyboard shortcuts for your commonly used apps can save considerable time. But it seems that lots of people don't see it that way.

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For a quick rundown of how to overhaul your work habits Lifehacker-style, check out my most recent PC World story, 20 Tech Habits to Improve Your Life. Most of the items on the list will be old hat to longtime readers, but it's a good overview for newer folks looking for better ways to telecommute, back up, use keyboard shortcuts, and get email under control.

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In a fast-paced business culture of "get everything done yesterday," it's easy to admire and reward those busybusy people who always seem to be juggling 14 things at once. But business coach Dave Crenshaw argues that the most common kind of multitasking doesn't boost productivity—it slows you down. In his new book, The Myth of Multitasking: How "Doing It All" Gets Nothing Done, Crenshaw explains the difference between "background tasking"—like watching TV while exercising—and "switchtasking," juggling two tasks by refocusing your attention back and forth between them, and losing time and progress in the switch. Crenshaw's on a mission to reduce distractions, interruptions, and fire-fighting at work, and create environments that let employees see through tasks with their full attention before moving onto the next thing. Here's what Crenshaw had to say when I asked him a few questions about changing perceptions and habits around multitasking. Photo by Elsie esq..

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