Everyone’s heard of a to-do list. But what about a not to-do list? I know of no better way to reduce your workload than this simple tool.
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True Confessions of a Productivity Geek
I’ve been a serious student of productivity for a couple decades now. As the primary income earner in a family of seven, I had to be. When I first started in business, I lived in a constant state of feeling overwhelmed. Work took my best, and I struggled to find time for my family and […]
7 Steps to Getting Unstuck and Becoming More Productive
If you are feeling distracted and unfocused, here are seven steps for becoming more productive. They are not that revolutionary on their own. But practiced together, they are like a defibrillator for that stuck project that’s still on your to-do list.
How to Become a Morning Person
We’ve all heard the benefits of becoming a morning person. But how do you become one? In this post I provide a nine steps you can take starting today.
Declare Email Bankruptcy and Get a Fresh Start
You know it’s time to declare email bankruptcy when you are experiencing the following four symptoms. If this is true of you, I provide a seven-step strategy for wiping the digital slate clean and starting over.
Seven Principles for Setting Goals that Work
[guestpost]Matt Perman is the former director of strategy at Desiring God and is now an author, consultant, and speaker on productivity and leadership from a faith-based perspective. He is the author of the recently released What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. He blogs What’s Best Next and you […]
Yes, You Can Stay on Top of E-mail
But it is really possible to get caught up on your email and stay caught up? Yes. I’ve done so for years, even as the demands of my job have increased. I’m not bragging; it’s just a fact. But I should warn you: there is no easy fix. Taking control of your inbox means changing your behavior. You must be willing to make the investment.
Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast
I face a dragon named Lethargy every morning. It has three heads: spiritual, physical, and intellectual. If I don’t slay this dragon before breakfast, he usually gets the best of me.
How to Create More Margin in Your Life
The last five weeks have been incredibly busy for me. Honestly, it has been overwhelming. Here are the seven steps I am taking to regain some margin.
Embrace Permanent Beta and Launch
At some point, you have to stop procrastinating and launch. The easiest way to do so is to embrace the strategy of “permanent beta.” Here’s how.
When You Feel Overwhelmed by Your Workload
Are you feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks and assignments you have? Here are six steps you can take now.
Are You Tired of Feeling Overwhelmed?
Are you feeling overwhelmed with work? I was, too. Last week, I finally decided to take these seven steps to take back control.
Using Email Templates to Say “No” with Grace
I hate saying “no” to people. In fact, I don’t know anyone who enjoys it. So to make the process less painful, I have developed a series of email templates that I can use for these requests. Here is my list of requests by category with my boilerplate text.
Before You Create a To-Do List
or several years now, I have profited from using a “Master Task List.” This is a way to group your work-related activities so that you do what you were hired to do and keep from getting side-tracked by “trivial pursuits.” It is something you should develop before you start throwing together a to-do list.
How to Get a Faster Response to Your E-mail
I often hear people complain about how long it takes to get a response to e-mail. Sometimes, to be sure, it is because the person they are waiting on is inept. The simplest request gets lost in a sea of unprocessed e-mail.
The Importance of the Weekly Review
In his book, Getting Things Done he writes: If you’re like me and most people, no matter how good your intentions may be, you’re going to have the world come at you faster than you can keep up…. We book ourselves in back to back meetings all day, go to after-hours events and generate ideas and commitments we need to deal with, and get embroiled in engagements and projects that have the potential to spin our creative intelligence into cosmic orbits…. If the item requires me to take action, I can: Do it if it takes less than two minutes or add it to my Outlook task list to do later;Defer it by actually scheduling a time on my calendar to deal with it; orDelegate it to someone else for action and enter it into my Outlook task list using the “@WaitingFor” category.
Do You Have a List of Non-Negotiables?
He said, “View this list as the ten disciplines that if practiced faithfully would make the biggest impact on the quality of your life for the upcoming year.”… Daily, first thing when I get up 2 Prayer Pray for my life, my family, my church, my work, etc. Daily, on my commute into the office or, on the weekends, immediately after reading the Bible 3 Aerobic Exercise Run 4–5 miles, four days a week…. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 5:30 a.m. 8 Life Plan Review Review my written life plan (a seven-page document) Weekly, on Sunday evening with my weekly review 9 Solo Retreats Get off-site for 36 hours a quarter to review my business vision, business plan, master task list, and time block.
Goal-Setting: The 90-Day Challenge
I have been setting goals in one form or another for years. Every now and then, I stumble across an old list of goals. I am always fascinated by how many of the things I write down come to pass. And, I must confess, it often happens despite the fact that I do nothing more than write it down.