Recipe Cheat Sheet

My Recipe Cheat Sheet

I have a tendency to make the same recipes frequently. I know the steps to make the food, but not necessarily the exact proportions. Yes, I could look them up, but just having a list with my bare-bones information was all I really needed.
Commitments

Getting Rid of Commitments

A reader asked about how to analyze and get rid of commitments that are taking up your time. It's a hard proposition: we are pulled in so many directions, and many of us really want to actively contribute to many of our commitments. However, we are still over-scheduled and over-committed and we need to cut back. Here is my take on how to get rid of commitments:
Mental Clutter

Clearing Out Mental Clutter

If we apply my standard definition of clutter to be "something that you don't love and don't use", we can define mental clutter as the "baggage" we carry around in our heads.

But what is mental clutter, and what can we do about it?
examining goals

20 Questions for Examining Goals

There comes a time in every deliberate life where you have to stop and say "What am I trying to do?" This question may be resolved by a quick examination of current goals and a re-orientation in that direction, or it may be something much deeper, requiring further questions. Either way, it never hurts to do a session of examining goals.
productive while laid off

How To Be Productive While Laid Off

Back in 2008 I was suddenly laid off from my job. My client canceled all contracts in the space of an afternoon, and my own company, which I had been with for 12 years, laid me off via email the next morning.

After years of being in an office, I was suddenly at loose ends. My daughter was in first grade, and I wasn't sure what I would do next. I wanted to take my time to find the right job, but otherwise I didn't know.
worthwhile project

What Makes A Worthwhile Project?

Not all projects are created equal. Yet many of us routinely pile things onto our already over-full plates without stopping to consider if the project needs to be done at all, or if you are the best person to do it.

And just because we are all individuals, each person must have individual standards about if a project is worth doing. Here are two ways that I look at projects:
cut your losses

How To Cut Your Losses and Start Over

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

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.
Afternoon Slump

Avoiding Afternoon Slump

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: