cut your losses

How To Cut Your Losses and Start Over

March 17, 2022
Have you ever gotten so far behind in something that it would be easier to start over than to catch up? Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and start over.

I recently realized I had a few hundred podcasts to listen to, and the list was growing bigger each week. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy them, I just hadn't made time to listen for the past few months.

I knew I would never get through the backlog, and I would fall further and further behind. It was time for drastic action.
Feedback Loops

Using Feedback Loops To Improve Productivity

March 10, 2022
A feedback loop is something which gives you information about an action you have taken. As Wikipedia says: "the causal path that leads from the initial generation of the feedback signal to the subsequent modification of the event".

I once heard a talk about the concept of feedback loops in relation to environmentalism. It got me thinking about feedback loops, and how they can be applied to our productivity.
Kanban

Using Kanban To Track Projects

March 7, 2022
It can be difficult to keep track of all the things you want to do at the same time as the things that you are currently doing. Having the information in one place is a start, but if you truly want to make sure that things don’t fall through the cracks, using a Kanban board is an excellent way to do this. Today we will look at what Kanban boards are, and how to use them to keep track of what you are doing as well as the things that you might want to do someday.
Afternoon Slump

Avoiding Afternoon Slump

March 3, 2022
Afternoon sleepiness is a normal function of our circadian rhythms. But our actions can make it better or worse. Here are 9 things I find help me get through the afternoon slump:
The Importance of Routines

The Importance of Routines

February 24, 2022
A friend of mine, struggling with organization and an insane schedule, has been balking at setting up basic routines to help her out. "They will limit my freedom and creativity" is something I have heard more than once.

But I believe that having routines actually frees up and creates pockets of creative time...creative time I never seemed to have before I implemented routines.
minimize inboxes

Another Take On Minimizing Inboxes

February 21, 2022
David Allen, in Getting Things Done, makes the point that we should minimize inboxes. This gives us fewer places to check to find information to flow into our systems. In the case of email, this would naturally lead one to believe we should minimize our email addresses so that we have less to check.

Over the years that I have implemented this concept, I have tried various methods. Today we will look at three approaches to minimize inboxes.
30 Things I Know about Productivity

30 Things I Know about Productivity

February 17, 2022
I've been writing this blog (or its variants) since 2007. And yet I still feel like a beginner on so many things!

Someone challenged me, in response to a comment I made about not really knowing anything about productivity, to write a list of 30 things I know about productivity. Here it is:
My Productivity System: My Email and Contacts Setup

My Productivity System: My Email and Contacts Setup

February 14, 2022
It’s hard to imagine that less than 40 years ago most people couldn’t even fathom having a need for an electronic mail account. Fast forward to today and most people have multiple email accounts to manage. Along with that comes the electronic address book for your contacts.

Today we are going to look at how my email management fits into my productivity system.
How To Avoid Rabbit Trails

How To Avoid Rabbit Trails

February 10, 2022
We've all been there: we spend hours working on things, only to look at our lists to find we didn't do anything on them. Busy, but not planned. I call these rabbit trails. I don't go down rabbit trails very often, but when I do, I can count on losing at least an hour of productive time. Today we will look at how to spot them and what to do when you're on one.