If you’ve taken a management class or read a productivity blog or two, you’ve probably run into the idea of writing SMART objectives. SMART most commonly stands for “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.” SMART Basics. We want to write clear, helpful objectives. We should state exactly what we decided to do (Specific), and by… Continue Reading
Sitting with people who have big brains, talking about wide-ranging problems, sometimes there’s floundering. The conversation goes this way and that, with lots of good points made, but little hope of arriving at a plan for action anytime soon. Here are four questions you can use to move the conversation toward a solution that you’re… Continue Reading
Sometimes in life there are moments when something you know becomes something that you know. It’s a sudden insight that feels like some kind of revelation. It might be the sort of thing you would have answered correctly on a test, but maybe you hadn’t noticed it all that much until now. Or you might… Continue Reading
The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results By Gary Keller with Jay Papasan Want to be great at something? Or maybe just pretty darn good? Let’s consider that the “something” could be your profession, your role in your family, or even your whole life. “Anyone who dreams of an uncommon life eventually discovers there is… Continue Reading
If you have written goals, the end of the year is a great time to take a last review. What worked? What didn’t? Do you have a life plan? It’s a great time now to revise your plan or to create one. Why have a written life plan? It provides a longer view. This helps… Continue Reading
It’s been a busy year, and I don’t know about you, but it’s time here for some visiting, giving, celebrating, and quite possibly a nap or two. In case you are tempted to be super busy during your time off, just remember that resting is good for productivity, and time off, too. So, here’s wishing… Continue Reading
Twenty-eight days to go. For many, there’s holiday joy and madness. Cards. Presents. Visits. Extra-great food. Here are some resources to help you get through… Calm That Stress Try the calm.com app for the benefits of guided relaxation. Plug in your headset and tune out for a few minutes. For iPhone or iPad, this free… Continue Reading
By Piers Steel If we had a coin with motivation on one side, we’d find procrastination on the other. Almost everyone procrastinates. People who don’t procrastinate are so few as to be, well, odd. But some of us do it more than others. And, we can learn to do it less. It costs us: personally,… Continue Reading
Part I—Describing the purpose of your work. Part II—Creating focus areas so that you can look at your life in smaller pieces. Step Three: Divide, List, and Conquer Once you have your main focus areas, it’s time to add goals, projects, and tasks for each one. We (mostly) can’t do more than one thing at… Continue Reading
Part I is about describing the purpose of your work. Step Two: List Your Major Focus Areas Armed with an awesome or even “okay” purpose for your work, there’s still the whole of your life to take into account. But yikes! That’s what causes the “I can’t do anything” reaction in the first place. Never… Continue Reading
