Tips for Personal Holiday Greetings
It used to be that people sent cards at the holidays as a matter of social norm. Now with social media, most people don't send holiday greetings. After all, it is much easier to click a few times or to post once and let others see it when they may. I view social media like a book - you don't know what it contains unless you actually make the effort to open it and read it. Since the point of holiday greetings is to let people know you are thinking of them, I think the social media model is not the right one for the purpose. Does a general "I'm thinking of all you people at this time" really happen? Do you even really know everyone on your friends list? At the same time, sending holiday greetings to everyone you know might not be the best approach…
Podcast Episode 12: Two Things That Will Make Your Day Go Smoother
How you start your day impacts how the rest of your day will go. Start the morning frantic, and you will be playing catch up the rest of the day. But you can stack the deck in your favor by doing the two things that will make your whole day go smoother. Today we talk about what those two things are, and how they are interdependent.
Deliberate December
The holiday season is upon us. For most people, it hits like a blizzard tornado, and they find themselves spit out in January dazed, exhausted and bruised. And I understand, because I was like that for many years. Now, with my focus on deliberate choices, I am looking at a different type of December. I will state outright here that I am not a traditionally religious person, but I view December, with its various snowy light-centered holidays, as a time of reflection, planning, and rest. The earth is asleep at this time as the darkness grows and then starts to wane. So can one approach December’s holidays with a sense of deliberate action?
30 Day Challenge: All of the Above
It’s the last month of the year, and I was at a loss to choose a single habit. Many of the habits I have tried through my 30 day challenges over the past year needs some reinforcement, so I thought it would be good to spend a month making those habits stronger. In some cases, I have let things fall by the wayside, and I am looking to restart them. In some cases, it is a matter of making sure that they are happening as often as I can manage, and to challenge myself to do better.
30 Day Challenge Wrap Up: Exercise Every Day
My 30 day challenge of exercising every day is over. See what I learned!
Boost Productivity by Simplifying Spaces
Many years ago I saw the effect of simplifying spaces in my home. By taking away the immediate choices my daughter had for activities, she was able to settle quicker and play longer.I've used this principle in other areas of my life, always with the same result: a boost in productivity and creativity. Today we look at this and how I stumbled on it.
Don’t List Next Actions
It is really easy to get bogged down in the minutiae. We can start thinking of all the steps that need to be done to get a specific result, and lose sight of the end game: the result itself.I find that instead of writing down the next actions, it is better to write down what I am trying to accomplish.
Using the Right Tools
I've talked about how you can take a tool that is not quite right and make it work for you. This is good if you cannot use a tool optimally, or don't really know how to use it fully. There are times, though, when you do know how to use a tool, but are forced to use a sub-optimal or substitute tool. And this can be a major hit to your productivity.
