Yes, I know this is a weird title for a blog post. I couldn’t think of something better, and I didn’t want AI to help. Because, in some ways, technology is one of our challenges when it comes to managing time. Our digital calendar makes time look easy. A block for a...
I am a planner. Plans never happen exactly as envisioned, but I’m conscious of what I want to accomplish. My process ties back to the Hope Equation by Charles Snyder: HOPE = Goals + Willpower (Motivation & Habits) + Waypower (Alternative Paths) Yet, I realize I...
We often think of time as something we spend. But what if we started treating it like capital? A finite resource that deserves attention, intention, and strategy. Each day, we wake up with 24 hours. 1,440 minutes. That’s our daily time capital. No more. No less. We...
Several years ago, a colleague and I came up with a phrase for the year: “Do Don’t Stew” It was a reminder to us both to stop overthinking. We would analyze and rethink our approach without acting. We were stuck in the cycle of analysis paralysis. Looking for...
I’ve been following Laura Vanderkam through her blogs and books since 2019. I was excited to pick up her latest book Big Time and intrigued by the subtitle of “A Simple Path to Time Abundance”. Like many people, I think a lot about time… how quickly it moves, how full...
I have written previously about the types of energy we have in our day. Based on our personal energy map, there are times we are better at different activities. Today, I would like to go to a level deeper into the activities at work. Mapping out the times during our...
Everyone has clients in their life. These are the people who you are doing work for. In business, your “client” is typically a B2B or B2C customer of your product or service. Yet, many people don’t work directly for that customer. So, our clients are internal people...
Productivity advice has never been more available. We are surrounded by frameworks designed to help us focus, prioritize, and execute. We are told to clarify what matters most, eliminate distractions, and build better systems. And yet, despite this abundance of...
The holidays, vacation, and school breaks remove schedules. They bring relaxation and fun. They can also bring a loss of a sense of time. What day is it? What time is it? These are questions I find myself and others asking right now. I find it interesting. We all feel...
As we move into a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on our energy cycles. I’ve written about the types of energy we need throughout our day. And created audits to check in with how we are managing that energy. Yet, I have focused less on how our energy flows each...
After many years of going to Florida in December, we have moved our annual trip until a bit after the holidays. This means we have an extra week at home in the month of December. Most years, the holiday activities have all been rushed before or after the vacation....
Does the bi-annual time change affect you? Moving back and forth between standard and daylight savings? Does one affect you more than the other one? Spring forward and lose an hour. Fall back and gain one back. My Story Historically, I’ve always preferred the fall...
Have you noticed it? Forgetting why you walked into a room. Struggling to start tasks you know need to get done. Feeling overwhelmed by simple decisions that used to feel automatic. It's not your imagination. Executive function, the brain's ability to plan, organize,...
The title Stop Trying immediately caught my attention. My whole life, “trying” has been my way of exploring. Testing out new ideas, new roles, new possibilities. It’s been a word that gave me permission to be curious without pressure. So, when I saw a book...
I’ve noticed lately how many of us are stressed by last minute work. When something is on the calendar for a month or even a week out, we think we “have time”. We have time…. until we don’t. Then, the panic and stress set in. We work frantically to meet the deadline....
I spend a lot of time online. Working. Meetings. Paying Bills. Scrolling. Researching. A lot of time is spent working in programs and apps where I know why I’m there. Creating a presentation. Writing. Working the numbers. Yet, when I need to go to the browser, the...
Yesterday, I was looking for an image of balance and found a scale filled with apples. At first glance, it was exactly what I wanted, a visual metaphor for balance. But then I looked a little closer and started thinking about the apples themselves. They have a weight...
We may have heard of cognitive overload, but do we really know what it is? Or, for that matter, what to do about it? Cognitive overload happens when our working memory is overwhelmed. We have too much information. Too many tasks. We struggle to process information,...
When the weekend finally arrives, sometimes we just want to melt into the couch. Turn on the TV. Binge watch something. For some of us, the weekend may feel too full of commitments to veg out. And, during some life stages it definitely is. However, we all have at...
When I say balance, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many, it’s balancing work with life. We look to achieve an appropriate amount of time in each area. Some call it balance. Others use integration or harmony. Often, conversations about efficiency and...
There was an episode of Optimal Living Daily that caught my attention. The discussion was around the difference between planning and scheduling. Specifically, they were suggesting that the art of planning has been lost in digital calendars. As we moved from Franklin...