Archive for the ‘Priority Management’ Category

Against Stress and Stagnation

Friday, February 17th, 2012

I could dedicate a hundred blogs to the topic of “time.” We all seem to have so little of it these days. People everywhere are so compressed that they hardly know which way is which.

For many of us, this incessant busyness is a sure path to stress, and heavy stress indeed. And the stress that is created by an increasingly busy world is something of a silent killer.

You don’t need to be an MD to observe that stress crushes the immune system. That’s a topic for another time. Today, I want to discuss another by-product of our lack of time: a lack of self-development.

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Lighten Your Load

Friday, January 27th, 2012

I love Far Side cartoons. Creator Gary Larson retired years ago, but I am forever thankful for his work. We all need to laugh more in life, and I have enjoyed many a laugh at the twisted irony of that cartoon. What on earth was going on inside that guy’s head?

I laugh inwardly even thinking of the two deer standing up on their hind legs, one with a bull’s-eye on his chest as the other exclaims, “Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.”

This week I had two clients tell me that they receive more than 300 e-mails every day. I didn’t bother canvassing the rest of my clients and about their quantity because I didn’t have to. It is over the top.

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Back Inside the Box

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

God bless the people who provide us with the euphemisms that define our society.

“Think outside the box” has become analogous with a creative and courageous way to get out of our traditional, constrained ways of thinking so that we can create more fruitfully. But I have noticed recently that I have been coaching people to get back IN the box.

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Reactions

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Is reacting to situations causing you to not be as proactive as you’d like?

This is a phenomenally common problem. And as I have often pointed out, where there are common issues people have a tendency to treat them with oversimplified solutions. In this case you will hear advice like, “You need to be proactive.”

Really? That’s all? I just need to be proactive?

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Yes, No, and Fear

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Lately I have been coaching a lot of people to say “no.” When our busyness factor gets to be 9.0 on the Richter Scale, what we say “yes” and “no” to becomes crucial.

There is this simple advice out in the world that says, “just say no.” Perhaps it’s the word “just” that is gnawing at my soul.

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When to Commit

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

We often write and speak about “Utopia,” a fictitious place that gives us context for perfection, a place where all of our decisions are impeccable and our lives and business are in perfect harmony.

But it simply doesn’t exist.

Still, there is a need to consider it, because it can bring us context for the place we actually live – the broken, imperfect world through which we must navigate our way. Utopia is the ultimate daggling carrot. None of us will ever get there, and yet without it, we would lack direction.

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