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...
Do you have discretionary time? Not in the HR “time off” kind of way. The kind of time when you have autonomy to do what you want. No work deliverables you must do. No laundry. No running errands. You could choose to do those things. Or you could choose to do...
We’ve had many posts here about the benefits of slowing down. We know that while it’s counterintuitive, stepping away from a situation can make us stronger when we return to it. Enabling better negotiation, higher productivity, and increased happiness. When our brains...
Our lives can be crazy. Sometimes the days and weeks feel out of control. Over the last few years, I’ve written many posts about how to regain that control. Move from a defensive position in life to one of offense. Below is a summary of some of the ideas I’ve shared...
It’s been over 2 years since my post about the types of energy. I developed this framework to help us understand the best time of day for activities. The “when” will be different for each of us. That post highlights 7 categories: Charge – Time to rest, reflect, and...
We’re halfway through the year. Before we start power through the rest of it, this is a great time to pause. Stop checking off more tasks and instead check in with our energy. We often measure time but rarely measure how we feel during that time. Yet, energy is the...
I have posted about many topics on time management. Yet, I often shift to the idea of energy management. Considering our days, weeks, work, and leisure times based on the type of energy we have. Most of the energy posts have helped consider what time of day we are at...
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. But for many of us, it’s a day of dread. The to-do list feels like it’s growing, not shrinking. The Sunday Scaries show up. The day becomes a catch-all for everything we didn’t finish last week. What if, instead of defaulting...
When we think about the year, we each break it down in our own way. Some think in quarters. Some in seasons. Some follow school calendars. For me, the year has five distinct segments: Segment 1 (January – March): New Year Energy Segment 2 (April – Memorial Day):...
This week, I listened to a podcast from Everyday Better with Leah Smart focused on productivity. Leah interviewed Ali Abdaal and discussed his book Feel-Good Productivity. They focused the discussion on the three blockers to productivity: Uncertainty, fear, and...
Our approach to life is a big question. However, this post will break it down to look at just one layer. I listened to an episode of the TED Radio Hour podcast over the weekend. The title was “Approaches to Life: Improvise, Pivot, or Plan.” There were three...
Decisions drain our energy. A variety of sources suggest that we make 33,000-35,000 decisions a day. Many of the choices we don’t even realize we are making. Yet, each one takes mental power to execute. When we reduce the number of decisions, we have more energy...