I don’t have time to take care of myself. Clients tell me this all the time. I suggest that you don’t have time not to take care of yourself. Insufficient self-care was the #1 obstacle I mentioned in my earlier post, Top 5 Obstacles to Productivity. “Self-care” gets a bad rap. Perhaps it’s because many equate self-care with … Read more
During a recent workshop, Dr. Russell Ramsay offered the following definition, “Motivation is the ability to generate emotions about a task that promote follow-through.” I’m struggling with this definition. I think it’s partly correct in that motivation promotes follow-through. When we are motivated, we want a specific goal, and we’re willing to work hard, or … Read more
In my previous post, I suggested that awareness was the critical factor in figuring out how to get things done. Nothing else matters, if we don’t have an awareness of what we’re doing and why. Almost always, when clients have significant breakthroughs, they tell me it’s because they were able to notice what was happening, and they … Read more
What kind of shunning am I talking about? motivashun inspirashun activashun perspirashun determinashun Okay, I’ll stop the bad puns. But what am I talking about? Motivation is the reason we want to do something. We want the benefits that come with completing a task or project and quite often, we are willing to tolerate some unpleasantness to achieve … Read more
Life is so much easier when you clean up after yourself. In the past, I’ve cautioned about the 2-minute rule, which states that if you can do something in 2 minutes, to just go ahead and do it. There are times when this is not a good plan. Here’s that blog post, if you … Read more
Some things that we need to do are just plain yucky. They make us feel bad. → Self-compassion increases our tolerance for the bad feelings, so that we can do what we need to do. → Self-compassion leads to greater productivity. But self-compassion isn’t so easy to muster, at least not for many of us. So what to … Read more
I think we’re all familiar with struggling to say no to things that are fun or decadent, but aren’t good for us. But what about the things that don’t sound tempting at all, and still, we can’t say no? In this fourth installment of my series about learning how to say no, (click here to read earlier … Read more
Third installment of my “Just Say No,” blogging campaign, where I am examining the complexities of saying no. To re-cap the themes from my previous posts: Acknowledge when we have the option to say no. Identify the option to turn toward a healthier yes. I think I may have hit a sticking point when considering the option to turn toward … Read more
Back to my “Just Say No,” blogging campaign. My goal is to identify all the complexities of saying no, in the hope that we can someday be able to say no as easily as Nancy Reagan would have liked us to. Why is this important? If we want to change our habits around organization and productivity, we need … Read more
In my last post, I discussed decision making styles, which are inherent parts of our personality and can impact our productivity. Now here’s another trait to consider: time perspective. I’ve summarized briefly, below, but for more information, check out this scholarly article, or the two-minute summary. Five Time Perspectives Researchers have identified five distinct perspectives: Past-negative: Focus … Read more