How To Eliminate Self-Generated Crises

How To Eliminate Self-Generated Crises

August 21, 2023
How many "emergencies" do you have on a daily or weekly basis that are actually self-generated crises? I'm talking about panic because you can't find something you need right then. Here are tips on the causes of these crises, and how you can stop them in their tracks.
Creating Systems To Support Weaknesses

Creating Systems To Support Weaknesses

August 14, 2023
None of us are good at everything. Many people say to “focus on your strengths.” But weakness in some areas of our life have more consequences than others, and ignoring them might not be an option. If you are in a situation where avoidance won’t work, you need to create systems to support your weaknesses. This article will help you determine weaknesses that need support, and give some examples of how to create a system.
What To Do About Busy Work?

What To Do About Busy Work?

July 3, 2023
A reader asked me, "What are your thoughts on 'busy work'? For some whose jobs are based more on time than production, it's easy to get caught up doing some busy work to justify one's existence."

I realized that there are actually two types of busy work: that which we engage in when our time is our own, and that we engage in to fill working hours owed to someone else. But we can turn busy work into productive time with a bit of planning and action.
podcast

Podcast Episode 81: My Weekly Review Questions

June 21, 2023
The weekly review, made popular by David Allen in Getting Things Done, is supposed to help you look back and assess the week as well as plan the next week. I have done various forms of the weekly review for years, but the “review” part of it always slid away in the face of planning for the next week. Recently I made a list of questions that will allow me to do a look back with intention, so that I can assess what happened in the past week - and more importantly, what is outstanding and why. I’m going to call this Episode 81: My New Weekly Review Questions.
Reclaiming Small Pieces of Time

Reclaiming Small Pieces of Time

June 19, 2023
A mindset shift and a timer can help us in reclaiming time in small pieces, yet most people will tell themselves that they can’t possibly get anything done of worth and will fritter it away.

A large part of managing time is to use the time that we have. Small chunks of time can be used effectively if we shift our mindsets and use tools to help us stay within the bounds.
My Excel Billing System

My Excel Billing System

May 29, 2023
I’ve gotten quite a few questions about how I translate my work notebook into my billing. Today I will show you how I use the OneNote notebook and an Excel spreadsheet to do my timecard, billing and status reports.
Estimating Without Time

Estimating Without Time

May 22, 2023
It’s really hard to estimate how longs things will take. When faced with a list of items and trying to figure out how long it will take to get through them, most of us will drastically overestimate or underestimate the time. It’s because humans are really not good at estimating time. But what if you could estimate without time?
How To Recognize and Avoid Extending Sunk Costs

How To Recognize and Avoid Extending Sunk Costs

May 8, 2023
According to Wikipedia, sunk costs are "past costs that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered." Usually an economic term, it also applies to other areas of our lives. Failing to recognize them means we put time and energy into something simply because you already have. That is not necessarily wise.