Tips and How-To

Brainstorm: For More Productivity, Pair Fun Activities With Useful Ones

Why not read Fifty Shades of Grey on the treadmill?

Published

10 years ago

July 5, 2016

INSTORE Staff Instore July 2016 Issue

Read while you exercise

A RECENT PAPER in Management Science reported that when people paired unproductive but fun things (like reading trashy novels) with health goals (like going to the gym) they were 56 percent more likely to achieve the former. So, what could you do that would be the equivalent of reading Fifty Shades of Grey while pounding the strider? How about alternating between SI.com and studying your POS guide, 15 minutes on/15 minutes off. Or setting a time to chat via your phone’s headset to your best friend from high school as you polish silver?

Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson

When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren. For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish. "Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful." The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing." Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."