What is the single most important thing you can do to make your dreams become reality? In this post I share a critically important success principle and three ways to apply it.
Productivity
Can the iPad Pro Replace Your Laptop?
From the day Steve Jobs first introduced the iPad in 2010, I was hooked—at least in theory. The promise of a small, ultraportable tablet was a dream come true. I saw the potential immediately. Unfortunately, it never worked out for me in practice. I bought every iPad ever produced (with the exception of the iPad […]
You Are Not the Energizer Bunny
One of the most important lessons I have learned about productivity is this: It’s less about managing time and more about managing energy. Why? Because time is fixed, but our energy can flex. Most people get this exactly backward. They cram their day with tasks, thinking they can get it all done. Instead, they end […]
Do You Have a Not-to-Do List? You Should
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.
Why You Get Distracted at Work
It’s hard to maintain your focus in an office. With so many meetings to attend, drop-ins by coworkers, calls, emails, and countless other interruptions, it can seem like a miracle that anything ever gets done. But do you know who the biggest culprit often is when it comes to sabotaging your productivity with distractions? Look […]
The Problem with Whack-a-Mole Productivity
When I started my career, I quickly discovered that I had more to do than I could get done in a forty-hour workweek. So, I worked more hours. I got to the office at 5:00 a.m. and usually didn’t leave until 6:00 p.m. I often worked on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, too. It wasn’t […]
Five Consequences of a Life Out of Balance
If you are working more than fifty-five hours a week, you are working too much. Here is what you are putting to risk.
What’s Your Productivity Personality “Type”?
Low engagement and productivity are serious problems for organizations. As I mentioned Monday, Gallup’s numbers show only a third of workers are engaged on the job. The office is actually the last place most people want to be when they need to be productive and complete a task. What about you?
5 Reasons Why People are Unproductive at Work
Take a guess: What portion of the American workforce said they were “most productive” at the office during normal work hours? According to a recent FlexJobs survey, the number could be as low as 7 percent. Many more said they get some things done at the office “because it’s not an option to leave.” Whatever […]
The Benefit of Pairing Digital and Analog to Manage Your Day
Since we announced the Full Focus Planner™ a few months ago, I’ve lost track of how many people have asked me about my plans for task and calendar management. Am I planning on going full analog? It’s an important question. When it comes to planning our time, reviewing our goals, and tracking our tasks, we […]
5 Reasons You’re Still Procrastinating
At work, you feel stuck in the deepest rut of all time. You try to move forward but the groove is deep and you’re wedged in there pretty good. Sound familiar? It happens to most leaders at some point. I’ve found the best way to get yourself out of the rut is to understand the […]
When Aptitude Is Not Enough
I’ve said before many times that the key to job satisfaction is moving away from your Drudgery and Disinterest Zones and toward the Passion and Proficiency of your Desire Zone. Some readers have raised a good question about this shift. “It’s easy to tell what I’m passionate about,” they tell me, “but how do I […]
Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity
I am not a big fan of computer mice. Every time I have to take my hand off the keyboard, it costs me a few seconds. This may not sound like much, but it adds up over the course of a day. Instead, I like to keep my hands on the keyboard. With a little memory work and the right tools, you can boost your productivity and run circles around your mouse-dependent colleagues.
How to Harness Sleep to Boost Your Productivity
No sleep.” “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” “Sleep is for the weak.” I often see motivational statements like these hashtagged on social media. The idea is to spur high-achievers on to work harder for better results. But what if that’s exactly backwards? What if our willingness to shortchange our sleep is actually sabotaging our success?
How Deep Work Can Change Your Life Forever
How many of your work hours are wasted on distractions? Probably more than you think. Financial management service Think Money researched the question, and their findings are eye-opening. According to their 2015 report, distractions annually eat up 759 hours per worker. That’s just one hour shy of twenty complete 40-hour workweeks every year! Now flip […]
Why I Decided to Publish a Paper Planner
A few years ago, I read David Sax’s book, The Revenge of Analog. The premise? After years of being pushed aside by digital solutions, analog applications have been making a surprising comeback. That resonated with my own experience. Most of my audience knows me as a techie. But I was in the book business for […]
Introducing the Full Focus Planner
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’ve got big goals for the year. Maybe for your career, your health, your family, and the like. But it’s easy to lose visibility in the whirlwind of daily life. You’re productive, no question. Sometimes you’re flying faster than a tornado. But to what end? It’s like there’s no […]
Elon Musk and the 100 Hour Error
Elon Musk is widely regarded as one of the most influential entrepreneurs working today. He’s one of the founders of PayPal and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. He wants to help put a colony on Mars and be buried there. Because Musk is considered such a visionary, many people want to learn his methods […]
What to Do When You Find Yourself Overcommitted
Have you ever found yourself feeling like you have too much work and not enough margin? The good news is that it can change. Here are seven strategies I am following.
Why Greater Productivity Leads to More Income
Productivity doesn’t just increase your efficiency. If you do it right, it can also increase your income. The problem is that traditional systems get productivity all wrong. They define productivity as the ability to do more and do it faster. But that approach just accelerates the hamster wheel we’re already on. Instead of getting ahead, […]
Why FOMO Keeps Us from Being Productive
The fear of missing out isn’t worth much, but FOMO costs us a lot. That’s especially true when it comes to our productivity. It’s like a powerful undertow, invisible on the surface of our work, which can pull us away in the current. Right after I left as CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, an online […]
What Most People Get Wrong About Inbox Zero
Email is indispensable. But it can feel like a necessary evil for a lot of us. Our inboxes are flooded with information and requests from customers, clients, coworkers, friends, and family. Not to mention all the spam, BACN, and random junk. I’ve seen inboxes with tens of thousands of emails—hundreds, even thousands unread. People feel […]
The Crazy Way We Work [Infographic]
When I think of one word to describe contemporary work habits, it’s unsustainable. We’re working drastically longer hours, while incurring high physical and emotional costs, for only marginal gains in productivity. We created this infographic to illustrate some interesting (and surprising) stats on our struggle with productivity in the modern workplace. Feel free to share […]
The Surprising Power of Daily Rituals
To some people, ritual is a bad word. Many folks recoil at the religious association, even though most rituals aren’t religious. For others, the thought of following set, predetermined actions makes them feel boxed in. But rituals are inescapable. We are creatures of memory and habit. The only question is whether our rituals are intentional […]