“Why can’t I …” “Why do I always …” “How come I don’t …” How many times have you berated yourself with one of these questions? The questions are good, but the berating, not so much. Let’s try a new perspective: compassionate curiosity. It may help if you add a thoughtful, “Hmmm,” before you ask … Read more
I have never met Dr. Heather Drummond, but I think she lives inside my brain; and she’s a much better writer than I am. I came up with an imperfect tip sheet a while back called “Ten Ways to Fake It.” It’s a teaser to get people to subscribe to my newsletter. Side note: I used … Read more
My last post was about goal attainment and the obstacle of focusing on outcome instead of process. Another obstacle to achieving our goals is not accepting where we are starting from. A lot of my clients have a long way to go. And that can be hard to accept. They want to believe they are much … Read more
Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “empty calories” to denote foods that offer no nutritional benefit. Several clients have recently described some of their time-wasting behaviors, and I realized, they are filling up on empty dopamine! Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved with sensations of reward and pleasure. We get a good hit of … Read more
One of the biggest hurdles to adopting new behaviors is accepting that there is no magic bullet. People ask me for help to find the perfect systems or tools that will allow them to finally be on top of things. If only it were so easy! A bright shiny new filing system loses its luster quickly. … Read more
Clients come to me because they want new habits. And almost always, we start with lowering expectations. Well, not exactly lowering them. Maybe “re-framing” is a better word. When I ask new clients, “What have you already tried?” It’s surprising to me how many have already taken the exact actions I would advise. The problem … Read more
We all have natural energy cycles when we are more or less productive. Ideally, we do our hardest work when we’re at our peak capacity, and save the easier work for when our energy and productivity cycle is at a lower level. Our lowest points are ideal for resting and rejuvenating. But life is rarely ideal, … Read more
I just can’t find a system that works. I try something and it works for a few weeks, and then I just stop using it. People tell me this all the time. Often, it’s the reason they call me. So what I’m about to say might just put me out of a job, but I’ll take … Read more
This is the next installment of my series on the Top 5 Obstacles to Productivity. All or nothing thinking runs closely behind perfectionism as a major obstacle. Here are some examples: I can’t start on my taxes until I find all my receipts. I can’t vacuum the rug because I don’t have time to pull out the … Read more
Perfectionism is the second culprit on my list of Top 5 Obstacles to Productivity. Often, we don’t recognize our perfectionism. We laugh and say there is no way we could be perfectionists, because we know how imperfectly we operate. Just because we acknowledge that we aren’t perfect doesn’t mean we recognize when perfectionism becomes an obstacle. Recognizing Perfectionism Any of … Read more