Clearing Out Mental Clutter
If we apply my standard definition of clutter to be "something that you don't love and don't use", we can define mental clutter as the "baggage" we carry around in our heads. But what is mental clutter, and what can we do about it?
Reviewing Your Someday List: 5 Essential Questions
When you have too many things in a backlog and keep adding to it, something will eventually give. We don’t have infinite time and attention, and we can’t keep expecting that we can add to a backlog infinitely. Today we look at 5 essential questions for reviewing your someday list.
20 Questions for Examining Goals
There comes a time in every deliberate life where you have to stop and say "What am I trying to do?" This question may be resolved by a quick examination of current goals and a re-orientation in that direction, or it may be something much deeper, requiring further questions. Either way, it never hurts to do a session of examining goals.
I’m not always productive
I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm not always productive.
What Makes A Worthwhile Project?
Not all projects are created equal. Yet many of us routinely pile things onto our already over-full plates without stopping to consider if the project needs to be done at all, or if you are the best person to do it.And just because we are all individuals, each person must have individual standards about if a project is worth doing. Here are two ways that I look at projects:
How To Be Productive While Laid Off
Back in 2008 I was suddenly laid off from my job. My client canceled all contracts in the space of an afternoon, and my own company, which I had been with for 12 years, laid me off via email the next morning.After years of being in an office, I was suddenly at loose ends. My daughter was in first grade, and I wasn't sure what I would do next. I wanted to take my time to find the right job, but otherwise I didn't know.
It’s OK To Take A Break
I’m starting to hear comparisons of how people spent their isolation time. You know what? I think you’re doing well if you managed to come out of the last two years more or less intact.
How To Cut Your Losses and Start Over
Have you ever gotten so far behind in something that it would be easier to start over than to catch up? Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and start over.I recently realized I had a few hundred podcasts to listen to, and the list was growing bigger each week. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy them, I just hadn't made time to listen for the past few months.I knew I would never get through the backlog, and I would fall further and further behind. It was time for drastic action.
