Assuming we know the outcomes we want to see, there are two ways we can approach any given situation. We can worry about how it will happen. Or we can watch with excited expectation as it unfolds. Whichever we choose will determine how effective our planning and actions will be. We take the heavy, former […]
How we (deep down) feel about ourselves determines much (almost all) of our effectiveness at work and in life. We can see this easily. If we doubt ourselves or have something to prove, we will be strongly driven to perform but also easily discouraged. If we see ourselves as connected and worthy, we will be […]
It’s not about getting it all done. We can’t even get most of it done. There’s just too much we could do and more is always coming. The trick is to get good at selecting only the best things to get done. And to actively NOT do the rest. To do this, we first give ourselves […]
Listen to conversations on the street, through the media, at work, and even at home. Much of what we hear is complaint. And too much complaint is bad for our health. Just being around it, our buzz drops and we become less vibrant, healthy, and effective. We need a little complaint (from ourselves and others) […]
It’s hard to say no to all the emails, meetings, interruptions, and other demands on our time. It is hard, that is, until we commit to something bigger, better, and more important to say yes to. Yes. It’s that simple. In your corner, Mike PS: Easy? Nope. Simple? Yes. Doable? By you!? Of course. […]
What is something you really want to do or even might want but haven’t done yet? What’s the smallest, thinnest sliver of a possible next step you can take towards that goal? Right. Off you go, then. In your corner, Mike Today’s photo credit: A C cc
What’s the best way to get something unpleasant done? We can use various techniques to push ourselves to do it. Or we can find ways to avoid it until it goes away or becomes unbearable. But both of these approaches drain us. A better way is to ask ourselves, “What end result do I desire […]
What if we could only get three things done today? Or if we could only get three things done this week? The answer is straightforward: we’d get very clear what the most important three things are, we’d do them, then we’d relax or go for a walk or something. Of course, we can choose to enforce this creative […]
When we fall a bit behind in our work, we deploy our standard strategy: working a bit harder. But when we are feeling overwhelmed, our standard strategy backfires. We try to work harder but, under stress, we are so much less effective. Which makes us feel more overwhelmed, stressed, behind which leads to even crappier […]
Have you ever started using a new productivity system (app, list, notebook, cards, etc.) then abandoned it? This usually happens because we let our systems get full of stuff to do that we haven’t done yet. As the pile of things to do grows, we add “do it today” flags and reminders to all sorts […]