A while ago, I read an interesting book called The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Goals by Keith Ellis. Much of his approach is compatible with mine. Here is a clever tactic of his for using your skill at procrastination as a power for good. The problem What do you do when […] The post When You Might Want to Procrastinate… appeared first on Thinking Directions.| Thinking Directions
Do you make a list of six tasks each day, rank them by priority, and then work through them, in order? Alan Zimmerman, author of The Payoff Principle, reminded me of this classic advice. He calls the list your “6-Pack.” Many successful people say that this practice — making a list of six items to […] The post What Goes in Your “6-Pack” Each Day? appeared first on Thinking Directions.| Thinking Directions
A Thinking Labber wrote: “Contrary to your advice to have one emotionally-challenging initiative, I have 4-5 major challenging initiatives at work and 3-4 in my personal life, none of which I feel I can realistically defer without significant consequences.” This is an objective problem. It is quite common. He is likely overwhelmed. If so, my advice to […] The post Have a Warm, Fluffy Towel Available When You Take a Polar Bear Plunge appeared first on Thinking Directions.| Thinking Directions
A Launcher recently told me that her initiative was going well and she’d added another project. Then she asked, “What’s your short advice for how to be more productive, because I don’t have time for the long version.” In other words, she was now at least marginally overcommitted and didn’t have extra bandwidth to experiment with […] The post How to Be Effective When You’re a Bit Overcommitted: The 80:20 Rule appeared first on Thinking Directions.| Thinking Directions