On Excellence

The various measures of central tendency within a normal distribution graph clearly tell us one thing: it is not too hard to be mediocre. The majority of any such population are, by the definition of a normal distribution, at the mean (and, for a true bell curve, the majority of people also lie at the […]

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Triangular Theory of Productivity

Although some of the techniques I’ve discussed, such as serial tasking, can be very helpful to get the right things done in a very efficient manner, these are not enough by themselves. I hope this model is helpful for thinking about your professional life. Imagine an equilateral triangle, one where all three sides are the same length […]

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The MetaGoal

Some people do not have any goals whatsoever and drift through life. Some people have vague goals, but they are not written down. Some people have written goals; nevertheless, they never act upon these set goals. You are different. Question: how likely are you to hit a bull’s-eye if you cannot see the target? Clearly […]

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Serial Tasking

Instead of Multitasking, I’d like to propose a better method: Serial Tasking. This is a great way to insure you focus on important, high-level tasks.The Serial Tasking Rules Before doing anything else, write down a ‘To Do’ List for the day. Include on this list even small items such as checking voice mail, reading email, etc. […]

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Multitasking is Not Effective

“To do two things at once is to do neither.” – Publilius Syrus Although folk-wisdom for many years has been that doing many things at the same time is good way to tackle a number of tasks, it turns out that this is not true. Let’s look at the problem from both a philosophical (logic) […]

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Seneca Speaks!

A few hundred years ago, every advanced education was a ‘classical’ education where students would read the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans. Although these works were what Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and all the other founding fathers had studied as schoolboys, in modern America, these books are fairly obscure to most people, as they have […]

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The 80-20 Kitchen

Question for the Day: Does one really need two crock-pot slow cookers or multiple blenders? A few days ago, I got a wonderful surprise from a friend: a popover pan! If you are new to joy of popovers I suggest you check out The Perfect Popover site for more background. However, after bringing this gift home, I […]

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Time Wasters

When I was in High School, I knew an old Jesuit who used to call students who wasted time in class ‘Lazy Monkeys’ or, alternatively, he would implore them to not be ‘barnacles on the Wheels of Progress’. Clearly, he had a real knack for colorful metaphors. Nevertheless, I have always tried to avoid being […]

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Choosing Reality

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” – Philip K. Dick “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be…You have to see the world in the purest, clearest way possible, or you can’t make decisions on a rational basis.” – Jack […]

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The NO TV Challenge

“When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet […]

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