Knowing what needs to be done is only part of the fuel that helps us move a project to finished. That doesn’t take into account all the underlying obstacles (many of our […]
GTD
Core Conversations on Start Finishing: The 3 Simple Steps You Need to Hold Up Your Projects as Mirrors
Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversations on Charlie’s book Start Finishing. In our last conversation, Danielle LaSusa talked about the five key virtues for doing our best work. In today’s […]
New Year, New You: Do You Need to Refine Your Family Scrum?
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Jenn Labin. A year ago, I shared the process my family uses for our weekly scrum. I described how scrum changed the way we communicate […]
Beware the Siren Call of the Easier New Project
I’m just coming back from CampGLP, where I gave a couple of Start Finishing workshops. The key point of my workshops is to give people the tools and mindset they need to […]
Those Who Finish, Win
It was an honor and a blast to be able to present an academy at World Domination Summit (WDS) with Marc and Angel Chernoff, Kendra Wright, and Mike Vardy. We each brought […]
Take the Next Small Step and Build From There
Ever notice how quickly a small idea that we can work on today turns into a Big Thing that keeps us from doing something with the idea? An idea to explore turns […]
If You’re Planning Effectively, You’ll Always Be Changing Your Plans
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower I want to let you in on a secret: planners and strategists […]
Use the Two-Hour Rule to Make Progress on Your Creative Projects
Are you having trouble getting started with a creative project or figuring out how to keep momentum with it? Try using the two-hour rule. One of the reasons people get stuck with […]
Time Management: It’s Not Rocket Science
I co-led a conversation earlier today on the topic “Time Management: Tips & Tools for Managers Who Don’t Have Enough Time” with a team of plant managers. I had five ideas I […]
3 Things to Do When You Just Don’t Get an Idea
We’re deep into the work for the course I’m currently teaching and we’re reaching the point I’m all too familiar with: some students are reaching the confusion point that happens right before […]
Reflections On This Year’s Productivity Explorations
It’s been an active year of productivity explorations for me. Rather than present conclusions – partially because I haven’t gotten to a point of clear conclusions – I thought I’d share some […]
The Last 15%
The difference between good performance and excellent performance comes down to the last 15% of the activity. It doesn’t matter what domain of our lives we’re considering – the rule is still there. It’s […]
7 Ways to Write Better Action Items
Do the items on your action lists tell you what actually needs to be done? A routine observation from facilitating workshops and coaching people on issues related to productivity and strategy execution […]
50+ Better Questions to Ask Than How to Be More Productive
“How can I be more productive?” It’s a question that many of us ask ourselves without realizing that the question, as stated, is impossible to answer. Just as I prefer achievable goals, […]
Choosing Engaged and Meaningful over Comfort
Nearly two years ago, Catherine Caine sent me this topic request: While going through the idea garden this morning, I came across it again. Given some of the things I’ve been thinking […]
Clear the Deck Before You Deck the Halls
Managing yourself, your business, and the holidays can be a tricky balancing act. There’s only so much of you, at the same time that there are a lot of places you need […]
Steer Through the Skid
When you’re driving on ice and your vehicle starts slipping, one of the worst things you can do is slam on the brakes. The counter-intuitive but right course of action is to […]
Adding to the Heap Won’t Help You Work Through It
If you’ve already got too much to do, adding more to the heap won’t help you work through the heap. This is obvious at a conceptual level. Yet, in our daily practices, […]