As a general rule, it is proper to trust your mind. Your conscious conclusions are based on all of your past choices, your past experiences, and the cumulative expertise you've built up over the years. However, when you make a decision based on limited information,...
One of the problems of having many projects at once is that there's a tendency to churn — to work a little on one, then a little on another, without making good progress on any. The general solution is to prioritize: to choose one project (or one chunk of a project)...
Here's an excellent piece of advice I got from small-business coach Mark LeBlanc: Whatever you are tracking — time spent during the day, exercise periods during the week, or sales during the month, make sure you reset your counter mentally at the end of the tracking...
Tactic: Free Decision Method (aka Decision Cards) Background Here's another tip I got from P. J. Eby. As with the other techniques I've shared, I'm giving my explanation, not his. When you are feeling pulled in multiple directions, either paralyzed or just indecisive,...
When you feel the impulse to procrastinate, micromanage, or any other dubious action, it can be hard to switch gears and get your head motivated in a more constructive direction.[…]
Tactic: "Complaining" Overview What: Complaining When: This is a good first tactic to use to figure out why you are floundering on a project, (e.g., stalled, going in circles, or slogging along). How: This is a variation on the 3-step process used for clearing...
There is a productivity tool that I've been using faithfully for 20 years that I've never written up: the 2-Minute Rule, which I got from David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. He explains it in the context of processing a paper inbox: If the next action [on an...
In my (free) Thinking Directions Starter Kit, I teach a foundational tactic called "Thinking on Paper." Whenever you need leverage to deal with any mental issue — cognitive, emotional, or behavioral — "thinking on paper" helps. The process of purposefully writing out...
In previous articles on "What is a Value Hierarchy?” and "How Values Form,” I teased readers with the idea that you can strategically reprogram your value hierarchy and I promised to write more on that topic. But first, there is a foundational skill that you need to...
Doctors disagree on when to prescribe medication. Sleep experts disagree on whether you should take naps. Time-management experts disagree on whether you should schedule all of your time. Therapists disagree on whether you should trace issues back to childhood...
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