Someone recently asked me the question: Does a full schedule give you comfort or anxiety? I found the question thought-provoking. My Perspective As I began to consider the question, I realized the answer is “it depends”. With a full calendar of meetings that others...
You know the situation. Waiting in line. Arriving early for an event. Sitting through a child’s practice. The moments where we have time open and no plan. We tend to fill this time without intention. Scrolling social media, listening to music, or just doing nothing....
I’ve always been driven by measurement. Targets are an indicator as we move toward a goal. If we need more sales, plan strategies & tactics and track sales. If we want to increase our email list, consider how to do that and measure to see if it’s working. The list...
Earlier this week, we established that busy and productive are not the same. We likely all concluded that we would rather be productive than busy. That sounds easier than it really is. We need to push against the enemies and embrace the friends of productivity....
When asked “how are you?”, the response of “busy” is a common crutch. Many people seem to use it as a quick proxy for being productive and working hard. What is the Difference? So, I decided to look up how others define the difference. Here are two examples:...
Back in 2007, I was out of school and working full time. Yet, I was struck by this post from Cal Newport about studying. The premise was that pseudo-work does not equal work. He used exponential decay theory and applied it to marathon study sessions. The data from the...
This week, I started a year-long program focused on sustainability. A realization that is already occurring is that concepts about our planet can also apply to ourselves. One of the topics covered was the concept of “Natural Capital”. According to the United Nations,...
Last week, there was a post about the infrastructure of our lives. Our bank accounts, apps on our phone, subscriptions, insurance, and more. On the heels of that post, I heard a podcast about the cycles in our home life. Things like Laundry. Paying Bills. Grocery...
I’ve been thinking about the process moving from an overwhelming life to a life where we are thriving. Over the years, books, podcasts, and research have shaped my life on my own journey. There is no magic solution. No one size fits all process. Things that work for...
Cal Newport is working on his next book titled The Deep Life. As a fan of Deep Work, I look forward to this next book. His podcast occasionally covers ideas he is working on for the book and one of those is below. Five Laws of Less by Cal Newport Accomplishment is not...
Friday, the blog post talked about why estimating our work week could be a good planning tool. Today we’ll shift to look at 5 steps we can use to create that weekly estimate. Step 1 – Create a List: The process starts by creating a list of deliverables for the week...
Business is full of estimating. A new project opportunity emerges. The scope of work is written. Hours to achieve that scope are estimated. This determines both the cost and duration of the project. My Perspective I wonder what would happen if we applied an estimating...
There was an interesting discussion on an episode of Adam Grant’s podcast Work Life. Adam spoke with psychologist and author Brian Little about how our projects impact our wellbeing. Brian wrote the books “Me, Myself, and Us” and “Who are You Really?” He...
I came across some research statistics that I struggled to believe were true. The article suggests that 82% of people don’t have a time management system. The average worker spends 51% of every workday on low to no value tasks. Only 20% of employees feel their work is...
When we are overworked and overwhelmed, we don’t know how to slow down. We fear that stopping for even a few minutes will put us even further behind. We rush through work. Rush through evenings. Hold hope that we will catch up on the weekends. We don’t. The cycle...
Time audits are a tool to provide objectivity to where your time goes. We can use them to understand where our time goes. Many use them with the goal of increasing productivity. However, there are many other patterns they can be leveraged to detect. How we feel during...
We’ve likely all heard the quote: “You get what you work for, not what you wish for.” - Howard A. Tullman The concept is simple – achieving your dreams takes work. Wishing is the easy part. We can close our eyes and imagine a future filled with achievements and...
Procrastination and accountability are intertwined concepts that impact our productivity. They influence each other. Once the cycle starts, it can be difficult to break. The causal relationship often begins when there isn’t a sense of accountability. Because we lack...
When you think about a calm weekday, what comes to mind? This is a day when you aren’t on vacation. It’s not the weekend. Just a normal day. A day without overwhelm. You aren’t “crazy busy”. The day is calm. Productive. Full. Fun. Calm. What does this day look like?...
There is a lot written about using Friday afternoon as a time to wrap up tasks for the week and plan for the week ahead. The theory is that this is the time of the week when things are winding down for the weekend and we aren’t at our best for deep work and...
I read a blog post from Cal Newport that referenced an article by Dan Kois in Slate. The article discussed how Gen X and Boomers remember a time when there weren’t laptops, cell phones, and readily available internet enabling us to take our work home with us. In the...