Recent Articles
Does Pushing Yourself Help or Hurt Your Productivity?
Did you ever believe you could be more productive by telling yourself: "I'm not getting enough done, and have to keep pushing myself" or "I mustn't stop thinking about my project, or I'll never meet the deadline" or "I have to be really critical of my work ... otherwise the client will never be satisfied" [...]
Why Do Todo Lists Steal Attention from Big Goals?
When you look back after a busy week, do you often notice that you worked really hard, and that it felt like you got lots done, but your big important goals didn't move forward very far? It could be that your todo list is stealing attention from your important goals.
Do More Ideas Help or Hurt Your Business?
Maybe this is entrepreneurial heresy, but here goes: beware of too many opportunities. In “America, the land of opportunity,” it’s easy to think that opportunities are the most valuable, most precious thing possible. And they are. Until you get too many, and become an opportunity hoarder. You Don't Hoard Water [...]
Need to Buckle Down? Don’t Skip this Critical Step
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. So why do entrepreneurs repeat, "I just need to buckle down", like it's the solution to their productivity problems? The thing is, sometimes it works. So we keep trying that strategy, hoping for the good results. Buckling down is that [...]
Is Focusing Harder for Women?
Is Focusing Harder for Women? Maybe. The theory: men are designed as hunters, women as gatherers. To be effective hunters, men had to be single-focused. By watching unwaveringly, a man saw and was ready to strike when his prey was vulnerable. But be effective gatherers, a woman had to have diffuse focus. She needed to [...]
Are You Weaving a Web of Activity … or PRODUCTIVITY?
The photo below illustrates what happens when spiders build their webs, while "under the influence" of several drugs. If spiders could talk, I bet that caffeinated one would say she felt really productive. Felt like she got SO MUCH DONE! But look at her web - the holes in it are so big, she'd never [...]
The Trouble With Stephen Covey’s “Rocks” Habit
Last post, I pointed you to a practice called "put the big rocks first". It's a great practice, but like I said yesterday, it is missing an important step. I've used this practice for years. But one day, I was tracking my time a little extra closely, and I realized how much was being spent [...]
Big Rocks, Little Rocks: Making Sure Important Work Gets Done
In Time Management Circles, there's a brilliant practice called "Put the Big Rocks First," popularized by Stephen Covey. The basic idea: Imagine you have a bunch of little rocks, some big rocks, and some sand, and you want to get all it in a bucket. If you put the sand and the small rocks in [...]
Creativity Jammed?
You’re creative and you know it. But even the best of us gets jammed. And sometimes trying to un-jam only makes it worse. What might kill your creativity is your own past solutions. The brain just repeats what it’s already done. This is helpful when you’re trying to solve a problem that’s similar to another [...]
