Whether it’s website redesign, a new training program for your team, a cluttered garage, or choosing summer activities for the kids, all of these projects can look big and messy. You need a strategy to get your project done! Let’s start with a refresher about the difference between a task and a project: A task … Read more
“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
One of the biggest obstacles to asking for help is the belief we should be able to do something by ourselves. Many clients tell me, “I know how to do this. I shouldn’t need someone else here to help me.” Just because we know how to do something doesn’t mean we can stay focused on … 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
There are two ways you can deal with your clutter: By choice, on your own terms Or when the decisions are made for you A natural disaster may wipe out your home and possessions. A health crisis may force you to downsize and move into assisted living. Municipal authorities can mandate a clear out. If … Read more
My last post addressed some aspects of setting priorities, or more simply, figuring out what to work on. There can be lots of moving parts and I know it’s not easy. I haven’t come up with my own systematic formula, but others have and I encourage you to explore those offerings. I often see the best results … Read more
Catastrophizing is the fourth obstacle listed in my Top 5 Obstacles to Productivity. We tend to assume all the worst things will happen: We’ll do our worst work. The work will be impossibly hard, boring, complex, time-consuming, etc. We’ll never finish. We’ll be judged by our harshest critics. We’ll never be able to recover. Imagining the worst-case … Read more