Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
We live in a world that obsessed with productivity, technology, and productivity technology. Conduct a Google search, or look in any app store, and you’ll find a seemingly endless supply of productivity tools. Yet despite all this amazing technology, do you feel like you’re more productive today than you were 10 years ago? I’m both … Continue reading Why The Index Card Is My Most Important Productivity Tool
The great Eric Barker has another informative post up on his blog. The dilemma we all face is that saying “Yes” makes us happy, but we have to say “No” in order to stay focused and accomplish anything of note. So how does one do both? Eric cites a number of accomplished experts: http://bit.ly/1nUBFrs “So … Continue reading How To Protect Your Time (20 minutes at a time)
Think back to your last long weekend (perhaps even the one that just concluded). In your mind, you probably had a long list of things you wanted to get accomplished. How many of them did you complete? If you’re like me, most long weekends and holidays end up as a “lost weekend,” where you accomplish … Continue reading Doing more by aiming lower
Life is too damn short, and there is always too much to do. None of us has time to waste (especially entrepreneurs), though we always have to decide how to spend it. The ideal, at which I often fail, is to act decisively and intentionally. Or to put it another way, do or do not. … Continue reading Do Or Do Not
One of the most important things for entrepreneurs learning to be managers and leaders is to learn not to rush. It’s always tempting to rush, especially in a startup setting. There’s always too much to do, not enough time to do it, and taking the time to thrash through management issues can seem like a … Continue reading Why You Can’t Rush Management
One of the thing that always amazes me when I visit my in-laws is the condition of their household. Everything is always completely clean and tidy. There isn’t even a stack of old mail near the door–somehow, even the products of the direct mail industry are whisked away to some hidden repository. After observing my … Continue reading Lessons from my Mother-In-Law
Most busy professionals view the working poor who struggle from paycheck to paycheck with barely veiled contempt. These holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers marvel at the poor decisions of the poor, whether in consumption of fast food, using payday loans, or worst of all, buying lottery tickets. What these yuppies don’t realize is that they’re doing … Continue reading What busy professionals and the working poor have in common
I’m a big fan of to-do lists, but I’ve noticed something about them. If I have too few to-dos, I’m not really productive because I’m still trying to keep all my tasks in my head. If I have too many to-dos, I’m not really productive because I’m getting to far down in the weeds, and … Continue reading The bell-curve of to-do list productivity (and how to manage it)
Dan Ariely has a new book out where he discusses the psychology behind why we overinvest in email, to the detriment of more important priorities: http://bit.ly/12XYjqu “First, people have a really bad habit of coming in and checking e-mail first thing in the morning. And for many people, the morning is the most productive time. … Continue reading Overcoming Email’s False Sense of Progress
Focus, focus, focus. Focus is the key to startup success. You have fewer resources than established companies. Your only path to success is to focus those limited resources in a tightly-defined problem space, so that your concentrated effort burns the hapless ant of success. Easier said than done, right? I have a very simple system … Continue reading Do something every day towards your three big priorities