Crazed, furious, afraid, sad, impatient, worried, hurt, frustrated, et cetera. These are but a few states you might find yourself in that diminish your effectiveness. The trick is not to prevent those states but to ease out of them as soon as you notice you are in one. Feel good. Then act. One of the […]
When you are committed to win-win-or-don’t-play, the “how it will all work out” seems to take care of itself. What we had been worrying about melts away and we get stuff done. Frankly, it seems magical. And I’m okay with that. In your corner, Mike
Organizational culture is not made with rules, procedures, processes, and systems. It does not come as a result of publishing your mission, vision, and values. It is not a communication problem, either. The elements of a great organizational culture include A clear, compelling, and commonly-understood focus. The right people, in the right roles, collaborating with […]
How are you feeling today? We have spoken about the improved effectiveness and other benefits of deliberately tuning your thinking towards thoughts that feel better and better. (See Effectiveness Habit #2: Feel Good. Then Act and here.) Tools to help you feel good include The Flip, The Ladder, Telling Yourself a Different Lie, and Focusing […]
To stay effective and sane, balance the complexity of your personal effectiveness system. If it is too complex, you won’t use it. If it is not complex enough, it won’t be useful. Try the Barebone System if you would like to start a new system. Over time, you can add features that make sense and make […]
Essayist and cartoonist Tim Kreider wrote the following in his New York Times opinion piece called the The ‘Busy’ Trap. “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of […]
How are you doing with the Effectiveness Habits and building your lists? Back-to-school time is a good time to refocus on them. And it’s a good time for me to introduce three new habits. The original seven Effectiveness Habits are: 1 Get it Out of Your Head Write down every current and potential task so your […]
If you have a lot of work to get done today, try taking a break. Or two. Pushing hard for long periods is not that effective. It drains your batteries and dulls your abilities. Instead, follow the advice outlined in a recent New York Times article: Work in short, focused sessions. Between these bursts, take […]
While we may prefer to focus on the concrete Effectiveness Habits such as MOD It and the Refreshes, there is treasure in the less concrete habits. Take Habit #7: Cultivate Access to You for instance. It helps you Build your tolerance for life’s craziness, Approach issues from more fruitful perspectives, See the behind-the-scenes workings of […]
“Productivity” and “efficiency” are words that describe how we work, do tasks, get stuff done. Both words focus on increasing output per unit of resource. Fun, eh? Let’s instead focus on “effectiveness.” It includes efficiency and adds judgment, balance, and a focus on overall desired results. To your continued success, Mike