• Productivity

    Three Strategies To Deal With Interruptions

    One of the challenges to staying focused is interruptions from others. Being pulled off task can result in anything from loss of train of thought to major interruptions that pull you off task for others. Since we can't lock ourselves into a room to avoid distractions, we have to learn how to deal with them. Here are three strategies I use to deal with interruptions.

  • Simplify

    How To Simplify Social Social Media

    I've written before about Facebook being a time sink. But more and more things are happening in the world that require us to be on social media. So how can one strike a balance with something that can suck up large amounts of time but may be necessary to use?

  • Planning,  Productivity

    How To Plan A Month

    Many productivity systems focus on the task list. You might have a calendar, but that would be only for fixed appointments. If there aren't any fixed appointments, the calendar gets ignored so you can focus on your task list. It is far too easy to slip into a pattern of glancing at the calendar, then plowing through tasks.

  • Planning,  Simplify

    How To Streamline Inputs

    One of the best ways to swamp yourself is to have too many things coming at you from too many directions. If you were in a canoe and the waves started coming at you from all sides, it is guaranteed you would go for a swim. It is also the same with the information we take in.

  • Planning,  Productivity

    Do You Have Brain Thrash?

    Since we have a computer metaphor going here for revamping your life, I wanted to talk a bit about thrash. Thrash is where "computer resources are used to do a minimal amount of work, with the system in a continual state of resource contention." Humans can thrash too, except we have a nicer word for it: multitasking.

  • Planning,  Productivity

    Doing A Time Audit

    In knowing how you are spending your time, you can find the places for improvement. As we reboot our lives, we need to have an accurate assessment of how you are spending your time. Enter the time audit.

  • Planning,  Productivity

    Life Reboot: Thinning Projects

    In the last article, I talked about how to figure out what your projects are. Chances are, that if you made a complete list, you will find it is much longer than you thought. If your project list doesn't seem do-able, you need to thin your project list.