When it comes to setting personal or professional goals, how do you determine what makes your list? We’re often tempted to commit to important or urgent tasks that have been nagging us for a while. But that’s a mistake. A woman in our 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever private Facebook group faced this […]

Every year comes freshly stocked with 104 weekend days. That’s 28 percent of all available days in the year. It’s like a full quarter! The trouble is that we treat our weekends like a slush fund to bankroll more work. We’re forfeiting a tremendous amount of time we could invest in better uses. Almost a […]

I’m a fairly conservative person but not when it comes to setting new goals for myself or for my business. We may think setting conservative goals is wise, but it actually makes us and our teams less productive. Too many leaders believe they’ll accomplish more if they lower the bar and set goals they can […]

Did you skip lunch last week—either by gobbling down something at your desk or forgoing food altogether? The odds are good that you did. A 2012 workplace survey by Right Management found just one in five employees take actual lunch breaks. That’s a problem because both the lunch and the break are good for you.

I’m a serious reader and have been most of my life. Most leaders I know are. We realize there’s a major ROI on time dedicated to reading. As I’ve blogged about before, reading makes us better thinkers, improves our people skills, and helps us master communication—not to mention the rest and rejuvenation it offers. We […]

Great results don’t just happen. You don’t usually drift to a destination you would have chosen. Instead, you have to be intentional, force yourself to get clear on what you want and why it’s important, and then pursue a plan of action that accomplishes your objective. Sometimes, this involves setting an achievement goal with a […]

Social media remains one of the most efficient ways for leaders to get heard and make a difference. What’s not efficient for most is the management of their social media presence. Many leaders try overcoming this problem by bringing outside resources to bear. They might involve existing teammates, hire new employees, or contract with someone […]

I’ve been an advocate of goal-setting for decades. Most successful people I know are. They set big goals and recommend others do as well. But some people are more doubtful. They point to significant goal-related disasters and suggest goals can backfire. In 2002, for instance, General Motors determined to boost its share of the U.S. […]

Years ago, I heard a motivational speaker encourage his audience to “eat that frog.” The line has a long history. And it makes sense: Stop procrastinating and just do the thing you fear. Once you do that, everything else is easy. While that may be helpful in overcoming procrastination, it’s exactly backwards for big goals […]

Leadership and entrepreneurial breakthroughs depend on creativity. But we don’t always feel very creative, do we? Thankfully, research suggests we all have access to the kind of creativity we need to get the results we want—even if you don’t feel especially creative. Last week I went fly fishing on Hesse Creek in East Tennessee. Nothing […]

When I was the CEO at Thomas Nelson, one of our authors was frustrated. In response to a disappointing sales report, he fired off a blistering email to one of our divisional leaders. He complained about poor results. He criticized the sales strategy and our failure to execute. Worse, he challenged the leader’s intelligence, competence, […]

We all have things we do really well. In our businesses, these are usually the tasks that drive revenue. But if you’re like most entrepreneurs and executives, you probably only spend 20 percent of your time on these tasks. The rest goes to solving other people’s problems, wading through oceans of email, attending inefficient meetings, […]

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 […]

The way we’re doing productivity isn’t working. I hear stories and regrets that confirm it whenever I talk with entrepreneurs, executives, and other busy leaders. The old methods are no match for all the interruptions and distractions of today’s environment. Thankfully, there’s a new, emerging science of productivity—and you’re invited to listen to eight of […]

I don’t have to go to the doctor very often. But when I do go, I notice they follow the same routine. It only takes a few minutes, but they start by checking my weight, pulse, blood pressure, and other vitals. The idea is to get a quick read on my overall health. Getting a […]

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.

There’s only so much time in a day—just twenty-four hours last I checked. And there’s no optional upgrade or booster pack available. Time is fixed. But your energy has flex. Our energy expands or contracts through the day based on variables like rest, nutrition, and exercise. But another critical variable—and one we often forget—are the […]

We usually take our workplaces for granted, don’t we? But skyscrapers are colossal achievements. Architects must design them with variables like winds, earthquakes, communication, traffic, and the surrounding environment in mind. It’s impossible to imagine building one without architectural plans. But here’s the thing: The lives of everyone working inside those towers are infinitely more […]

It’s that time of year, right? Spring cleaning. It’s an annual tradition that goes back forever. And most of us get a piece of the action. Seven in ten Americans participate every year. I’ve seen dozens of spring cleaning checklists, tips, and shortcuts. But there’s one thing most of these lists miss, and it’s usually […]

I have been in and around the publishing business my entire professional life. So I understand the potential impact of a great book. In business, the right book at the right moment can tilt the playing field and give you a crucial advantage. These thirty-seven business books have personally made a huge difference for me. […]

I’ve worked with several executive assistants over the years, and I have found it is a make-or-break relationship when it comes to my success. Think about it: None of us can do it all on our own. We need to bring others into our work to help us succeed in it. And the bigger the […]

If you want your message to reach the maximum number of people, a blog is hands down the best means I know. But who’s got time? It doesn’t matter if I’m speaking with someone just starting to blog or someone who’s been building their platform for a few years, the No. 1 struggle people face […]

Because it will take longer than two minutes to write the action down on your to-do list, organize it, get back up to speed later, and complete the task. … And it will keep your to-do lists much shorter. [smartads] Here are four ways to cut your to-do list in half: Understand the five basic decisions.

For years, I have used the concept of “templating” to improve my productivity. The idea is that you create a template for any task that you find yourself doing repeatedly. So instead of “reinventing the wheel” every time, you do it once, save it as a template, and then reuse it.