Time Management Resources and Blogs
Get a Grip on Your Time!
If you don’t have your time management working for you right now, we can help!
What Can You Give Up This Year?
Do you like to pick up mementos and gifts while you’re traveling? Maybe you collect a few small things along the way, thinking “I’ll find space for this later” and blissfully ignore the fact that your suitcase is already full. Later, the moment of truth comes when you have to cram two bags’ worth of stuff into one suitcase.
Are You Setting Yourself Up to Fail?
The beginning of the New Year this January might be a letdown after the festivities of the holiday season, but you’ve got to say this for it: At least you can find some bargains. Gyms offer major perks to entice new members. Big-box stores slash prices on things like workout clothes, kitchen appliances and vacuum cleaners, appealing to those shoppers who have vowed to do more exercising, home cooking and cleaning.
Simple Ways to Chart a Successful 2020
When you read this, you may already have one foot out the door on work. Now that we’re entering the holiday homestretch, many people are slowing down on productivity and ramping up their cookie consumption. I hope your time management system has given you some time and space that you can use to enjoy the holidays in whatever way you wish.
Where Were You a Decade Ago?
Do you remember when all anyone could talk about was “Avatar”? It was a monstrous hit, and even if you didn’t see it in theaters yourself, there’s a good chance you remember the way that excitement about the movie swept through the country. The year was 2009, and while it might seem like just yesterday, a full decade has passed since then.
Need More Time? There Are (Too Many) Apps For That
Patience may be a virtue, but you don’t have to like it. Just ask any toddler – waiting for things you want is hard. When you’ve ordered something you’re excited about getting, even two-day shipping seems unreasonably slow. Instant gratification is one of the things we love most about our smart phones and their apps, isn’t it?
Do You Need to Make Time for Halloween?
As a kid, the idea of a monster lurking in your closet might have been a top fear. As an adult, you’re probably less afraid of imaginary beasts and more afraid of, you know, the IRS. Or accidentally sending a text that’s meant for your spouse to a client. Or maybe, if you’re a parent, you live in fear of one of life’s scariest experiences: Realizing that Halloween is almost here and you haven’t yet figured out how to construct the elaborate robot costume your child is begging for.
Is the Ripple Effect Working For You or Against You?
Have you seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”? (No, I’m not trying to jumpstart the holiday season in October; let’s leave that to the stores that are already selling candy canes and twinkle lights.) If you haven’t seen it – well, rectify that this year, but I’ll give you a brief overview.
Could You Work From the Top of a Mountain?
Where are you right now? That’s not a trick question. I’m not asking you to analyze your journey through the world; I’m talking about your physical location right now, as you read these words.
How Do You Get Ready for Tomorrow?
Remember the agony of picking out the perfect outfit for the first day of school? Okay, you might not…
What Does This Word Mean to You?
Will you try a simple word association game with me? (I’m going to pretend you’re nodding yes right now.) I suspect that your gut reaction to this one particular word says a lot about you and your priorities. So here’s my question: What do you think of when I say the word September?
Do You Have Enough Social Support?
As kids around the country head back to school, it’s prime friend-making season. Some lucky kindergartners are meeting classmates who will be lifelong pals, awkward middle-schoolers are finding each other, and college kids are… well, they’re meeting people in all sorts of ways.
Are You in Danger of a Summer Backslide?
Summer backslide…have you heard of it? I don’t care how well you did on your final exam in 7th grade math – the first weeks of 8th grade math were probably a confusing slog. Most students forget some of what they learned the previous year during summer vacation. It’s called summer learning loss, or the summer backslide, and if your time management game isn’t on point, it might be about to happen to you.
Look to Your Past and Future to Shape This Summer
If you could travel back in time to one specific summer, which one would you choose? The one you spent at sleep-away camp? The first one you spent with the love of your life? The first time you go to take your own kids to the beach, or to Disney World?
Are You Halfway There or Falling Behind?
The halfway point. How you feel about reaching it depends on how you feel about what you’re doing. Crossing the 13.1-mile mark means you’ve finished half the marathon already! Day four of a weeklong dream vacation, on the other hand, feels perilously close to the end....
It’s Noon on Friday: Do You Have to Keep Working?
You might love what you do. (And I really hope you do!) You might feel inspired and challenged and motivated by your work. But no matter how much you love it, you probably wouldn’t say no to leaving early on a sunny summer Friday, or taking the whole day off.
What Did Last Summer Teach You?
Do you remember last summer?
I know – it was a three-month period that happened less than a year ago; of course you remember summer. But I’m talking about specifics. Do you remember how last summer felt? Was it an especially good one, or an especially hard one? Were you more relaxed than you were in the spring, or was it the most stressful season of your year? Was there one particularly magical week, or day, or even just one magical moment, that you thought about all winter?
Is Your Road Map Flexible Enough?
The next time you’re nostalgic for simpler days, before you spent so much time thinking about your Wi-Fi connection, I challenge you to think about paper maps. Just folding those things was frustrating. Using them to navigate was a skill.
Psychological Safety: Quieting the Fear of Judgment
Which would you rather do: speak in front of 500 people, or find a snake in your bedroom? Sorry to put that visual in your head, but I have a point here. I suspect that would be a tough choice for a lot of people.
Your Brain: A One-of-a-Kind Masterpiece
Have you ever driven a car across a bridge or along a cliff side road and been struck by a strange impulse to go over the edge? You don’t want to, of course, but you can’t stop thinking about how you could? Maybe you haven’t had that experience, but you’ve found yourself sitting in a quiet meeting thinking about what would happen if you suddenly started cursing at people or dancing on the table.
Okay, Maybe You Should Copy This One Billionaire
Did you get a chance to read my most recent blog? It was all about the time management strategies that some of the world’s billionaires share, and how many powerful people including Elon Musk and Alan Greenspan schedule their days so carefully that every minute is accounted for.
What Not to Learn from the World’s Billionaires
Sure, no one needs a billion dollars (although I wouldn’t say no to it 😉). It’s fun to think about what you would do with the bank account of Elon Musk or Bill Gates, isn’t it?
Could Working Less Make You More Productive?
It’s a credo we’ve probably all heard before, one of those philosophies that sounds good on the surface but isn’t so easy to put into practice. If there was an obvious way to make work easier, wouldn’t you already be doing it? For people like me who are interested in time management, the quest to work more productively is ongoing.
This, That or the Other Thing: Getting a Grip on Prioritizing
From the time cavemen decided to hunt first and rest later, humans have been prioritizing.
Being able to prioritize confidently is a huge piece of the time management puzzle, and it’s time to master that skill.
Give Me a Break: Making Mental Space for Productivity
When your focus is fading and your mind is wandering, which are you more likely to try: double down and try to concentrate harder, or go grab a snack? I know a lot of busy working professionals try to avoid the latter.
If that line of thinking sounds familiar to you, it’s time to rethink.
Need to Reboot Your Focus? Try This 20-Second Exercise
How long has it been since someone compared you to a preschooler? This week we’re talking about how treating yourself a little bit like a toddler might actually help you improve your productivity. I’m also sharing instructions for a simple strategy that you can use to refocus your attention and determine what to do next.
Want to Change Your Year? Change Your New Year’s Resolutions
“This is going to be the year,” millions promise themselves on January 1st. “This is the year that I finally [lose weight/get out of debt/learn to skydive]!” Ahh, the promise of a fresh New Year’s resolution. If you’ve ever made one, you can probably recall the...
What’s on Your 2018 Top 10 List?
To anyone who loves top 10 lists, the end of the year is like, well, Christmas. Everyone from Buzzfeed writers to scientific researchers are busy compiling lists about the biggest TV moments, the worst financial trends and the most popular tweets of the year. The...
Taking Control of Your Holiday Schedule Before It Controls You
Does anyone remember the movie “Inception”? (Stick with me! I swear this has something to do with holiday productivity!) When it came out in 2010, seemingly everyone who saw it wanted to talk about the ending scene. If you haven’t seen it, all you need to know is that...
Practicing Gratitude: A Path to Productivity
This week, millions of Americans come together to give thanks and eat too much. The food part of the holiday tends to get a lot of attention (with good reason; hello, pumpkin pie), but the gratitude piece is what I’m thinking a lot about this week. I see a clear...
Our Programs
