McDonald was the keynote speaker at the recent Community Association Institute event at the Irvine, Marriott to a sold crowd of 350 on the subject of Boosting Personal Productivity. Participants were eager to discover the negotiable components of requests for their time, how to identify and avoid time traps and pitfalls as well has how to manage energy versus time.\n\n”We are our own worst enemy when it comes to productivity.  We treat life as if were a marathon – trudging along, when really we should approach life like a sprinter and mix periods of work with intermittent periods of rest and renewal.  This allows us to get more done, in less time, at a higher level of quality and sustainability,” she said.\n\nShe encouraged audience members to institute one new daily ritual – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual – to renew their energy and boost their personal productivity.\n\nHer parting advice – ditch email at least for the first 30 minutes of working and instead work on your own  priority/project during that time.  When you’re answering email, you’re generally responding to someone else’s priority not your own.