14 articles
Focus is essential for success in any endeavor, and I’m terrible at it (most of the time). A friend of mine used the phrase “professional squirrel hunter” to describe me. (Note: this is a reference to the dog in the movie Up. “SQUIRREL!”) But my pseudo-ADD isn’t the only reason for the lack of focus. […]
Implementing David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology has changed my life in terms of being able to accomplish tasks and especially having the creative head-space to think and dream, and execute on those dreams.  By no means have  I perfected this, and I still let a lot of things drop (something about the way I’m […]
Great post on the Harvard Business Review about Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012. I think you should stop doing them immediately. 1. Responding Like A Trained Monkey – (compulsively checking your email) 2. Mindless Traditions – Slavery to unnecessary tasks for the task’s sake. (Though I think some traditions are worth keeping, […]
Watch this excellent presentation on productivity myths and truths by Tony Schwartz, a productivity and performance consultant, over at the 99percent blog (note, this is a popular creativity site, nothing to do with occupy wall street, sort of its antithesis…)
Knowledge workers know the problem well: how to fit large blocks of creative thinking into a busy schedule? With a focus on quality and quantity output, timely response to email, etc, finding extended focused time is nearly impossible. Enter Getting Creative Things Done: How To Fit Hard Thinking Into a Busy Schedule: The Problem > […]
If you are a “knowledge worker” I’m sure you’ve experienced (or are currently experiencing) fatigue and burnout that goes with the busy pace of a productive organization. Â The constant drill of meeting deadlines, the incessant barrage of information that needs your attention, the looming demand to constantly produce all team up to destroy your […]
I’d cite studies and research and books I’ve read on the power of napping, but why? If you have the afternoon “foggies” and are having a hard time concentrating and being motivated to work, take a 15 minute break, find a tree outside (if it’s nice) or a quiet closet somewhere, or go to your […]
An interesting question came up in my “empty your inbox” post. Similar to a messy inbox, my new distraction is unread tweets in tweetie. How do you handle twitter? Do you put it off until certain times or keep up with it all day? Simple answer: I don’t. Twitter is an information luxury to me. […]
You will probably not question the fact that e-mail causes you stress. Anecdotal evidence, nascent research, and my own personal experience is saying that it is currently one of the greatest causes of stress in the workplace. I have a suggestion. It’s not the email itself that causes the stress, it’s the fact that you […]
I’m not sure how many times I’ve recently told people that “my job has changed dramatically” and “all I do” now is answer e-mail and attend phone calls, whence my comment on twitter about being able to do 90% of my job on my new iPhone 3G (which continues to amaze me). I have definitely […]
After having my head down with the Engadget / AOL Tech launch for the last month, I’ve been neglecting organization and pretty much… everything else except for my family. It’s been refreshing to get back into the groove. The inbox is cleaned out, my desktop (computer and physical) is clean again, and I’m starting to […]
It’s Spring cleaning time. This weekend I was busy uncluttering my life and minimalising my surroundings (starting with my desk). I tightened down my schedule, started a good To Do list system with Things (and pen and paper), reconciled my bank accounts for the last year (I use Mvelopes to keep track of my finances. […]