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Productivity

Focus to Win

Anyone can say no to bad ideas, but only a focused person can say no to good ideas. Focus is about saying no. When talking about one of the biggest lessons he learned from Steve Jobs, Jonny Ive said it was focus. This sounds really …

Read moreFocus to Win

Evaluating Information: Find the Signal in the Noise

We are drowning in information. Most of that information is irrelevant. If only we could sort what matters from what doesn’t. The good news is that you can train your brain to evaluate the quality of information. Not only can you …

Read moreEvaluating Information: Find the Signal in the Noise

Efficiency is the Enemy

There’s a good chance most of the problems in your life and work come down to insufficient slack. Here’s how slack works and why you need more of it. Imagine if you, as a budding productivity enthusiast, one day gained access to a time …

Read moreEfficiency is the Enemy

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Doers and thinkers from Shakespeare to Jobs, liberally “stole” inspiration from the doers and thinkers who came before. Here’s how to do it right. *** “If I have seen further,” Isaac Newton wrote in a …

Read moreStanding on the Shoulders of Giants

Smarter, Not Harder: How to Succeed at Work

The key to better results isn’t working harder. Most of us already work long hours. The problem is we don’t always work smart. We all have the same amount of time each day to invest. What differentiates us is how we invest that …

Read moreSmarter, Not Harder: How to Succeed at Work

Maker vs. Manager: How Your Schedule Can Make or Break You

Consider the daily schedule of famed novelist Haruki Murakami. When he’s working on a novel, he starts his days at 4 am and writes for five or six continuous hours. Once the writing is done, he spends his afternoons running or swimming, and …

Read moreMaker vs. Manager: How Your Schedule Can Make or Break You

Habits vs. Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life

Nothing will change your future trajectory like your habits. We all have goals, big or small, things we want to achieve within a certain time frame. Maybe you want to make a million dollars by the time you turn 30. Or to lose 20 pounds …

Read moreHabits vs. Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life

Focusing is an Art, Not a Science

Productivity is all the rage. People want to get more done in less time. Productivity systems abound: Getting Things Done, Pomodoro, the Seinfeld thing, etc. There’s certainly something to be said for each of them. But have you thought …

Read moreFocusing is an Art, Not a Science

Multitasking: Giving the World an Advantage it Shouldn’t Have

Echoing the comments of William Deresiewicz, Charlie Munger offers some sage advice on multi-tasking: I will say this, I know no wise person who doesn’t read a lot. I suspect that you can read on the computer now and get a lot of benefit …

Read moreMultitasking: Giving the World an Advantage it Shouldn’t Have

How David Allen increased Drew Carey’s Productivity

Comedian Drew Carey outsourced the development of his productivity strategy to David Allen, author of the cult classic, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, who “taught him how to adhere to specific next steps …

Read moreHow David Allen increased Drew Carey’s Productivity

The Power of Full Engagement: The Four Energy Management Principles That Drive Performance

We’re often told to manage our time, but managing our energy can be far more effective. Managing your energy lets you fully engage with whatever you’re doing. Here, we examine the four key principles of energy management. *** One of the …

Read moreThe Power of Full Engagement: The Four Energy Management Principles That Drive Performance

A Brief History of the To-Do List

To-do lists are evil from a productivity perspective, it’s much more effective to schedule time. This is something New York Times science writer John Tierney and psychologist Roy F. Baumeister expand upon in “A Brief History of the …

Read moreA Brief History of the To-Do List

How Warren Buffett Keeps up with a Torrent of Information

A telling excerpt from an interview of Warren Buffett (below) on the value of reading. Seems like he’s taking the opposite approach to Nassim Taleb in some ways. Interviewer: How do you keep up with all the media and information that …

Read moreHow Warren Buffett Keeps up with a Torrent of Information

How Successful People Increase Productivity

People ask me about productivity habits all the time. I’ve packaged most of that advice in a productivity webinar available to members but I wanted to tell you one counter-intuitive strategy that a lot of people use to increase their …

Read moreHow Successful People Increase Productivity

Eight Ways to Say No With Grace and Style

In a world of more requests than we can possibly fulfill, learning how to say no with grace and style is a skill we all need. We should be saying no more than we say yes, although the opposite is usually true. We say yes too quickly and no …

Read moreEight Ways to Say No With Grace and Style

Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Saying YES to a New Commitment

“Resist the temptation to say yes too often.” *** Everyone wants a part of your time. Even me. The problem is we don’t really understand the nature of time. And so we waste it. We can learn to better harmonize our time …

Read moreThree Questions to Ask Yourself Before Saying YES to a New Commitment

Habit Stacking: 17 Small Productivity Habits

“The goal of a mini-habit is to be consistent. In fact, consistency is much more important than what you accomplish with this daily habit.” The Mini-Habit The idea behind mini habits is that you can get to a larger habit if you start small, …

Read moreHabit Stacking: 17 Small Productivity Habits

The Common Pattern To Procrastination

“Think of all the years passed by in which you said to yourself “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and how the gods have again and again granted you periods of grace of which you have not availed yourself. It is time to realize that you are …

Read moreThe Common Pattern To Procrastination

Forget The “To-Do” List, You Need A ‘Stop Doing’ List

It’s interesting to think about the things you want to accomplish in life and work towards those goals. This is, after all, what we’ve been taught to do since birth. But over time we accumulate other habits and end up spending …

Read moreForget The “To-Do” List, You Need A ‘Stop Doing’ List

An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day And Finding Focus

We start every day knowing we’re not going to get it all done or fit it all in. How we spend our time is really a function of priorities. That’s why Peter Bregman argues in 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and …

Read moreAn 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day And Finding Focus

9 Habits You Need to Stop Now

Rather than read all of these self-help books full of things you should start doing to be more productive, it’s often better to look at what you should stop doing that gets in the way of productivity. Looking at a problem backwards is …

Read more9 Habits You Need to Stop Now

The Best way to Improve Your Performance at Almost Anything

Here are some easy tips to improve your performance at almost anything. How you practice makes a big difference. You need to think about feedback loops, deliberate practice, and working in chunks. The mindset between top performers and …

Read moreThe Best way to Improve Your Performance at Almost Anything

Work in Pulses

We’re not designed for multitasking and we’re certainly not designed to work continuously without a break. We’re designed to pulse, that is alternate between expending energy and recovering. Pulses (via Overwhelmed: Work, …

Read moreWork in Pulses

Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time

You’re busy. I get it. But what can we do about it? What would you do if your schedule suddenly opened up and we found we have more time? I bet you’d reply with read, travel, and maybe even sleep. Some of you would want to …

Read moreWork, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time
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