Posts Categorized: Productivity

Life Management

When reflecting on today’s topic, I was reminded of poem by Stephen Crane: A man said to the universe: “Sir I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” Time is much like the Crane’s depiction of the universe. It constantly passes without waiting. Once a day […]

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Focused Procrastination

A while back, I wrote about serial tasking. The flip side of this approach is focused procrastination. Together they make up different parts of the same strategy. As a thinking, sentient agency in the world, it is important to realize the following about your actions: All activities are choices. You decide who to see, where to […]

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Play as a Strategy

Last night, I spent the evening at Summerfest, one of the largest and longest running music festivals, on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was an ideal mix of summer weather (cool breeze, clear skies, setting sun), amazing music (Brandi Carlie, Paul Simon, The Revivalists), great company (old friends), and local cuisine […]

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Golf and Life Management

On Father’s Day for years, my Dad and I would play a round of golf. This year, instead, we are attending the US Open Championship at Erin Hills together. In honor of the holiday, I thought I’d look at the Seven Ways that Golf is Like Life Management. I hope you enjoy this analogy. Goal-Oriented: […]

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The 70/30 Rule of Time

This rule is for managers and others who do not have full control of their time. I developed this ‘rule’ 15 years ago when I was managing an IT department with 20 associates, 200 projects, and 2000 computers…and I learned this lesson the hard way. Often, due to the number of meetings I had to […]

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Email Best Practices

Sometimes, it seems as if an email inbox is a bottomless pit! The good news is that the majority of replies do not need to be masterpieces of prose nor the length of a Victorian novels (although every email should be orderly, neat, and spell-checked). Here a few guidelines for processing your email rapidly. Reply […]

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Meeting Minutes

The content of a meeting, such as decisions and action items, should always be recorded for future reference. It is a good idea for the facilitator to appoint someone as a formal scribe to take detailed notes and then produce the meeting minutes (ideally, this role can be assigned before the meeting). Yet, the appointment […]

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Micro Meetings

I define a micro meeting as an event with four or less individuals that quickly reviews, discusses, and decides on a single problem within 15 minutes. I know from experience that these can be very effective and efficient uses of time. While micro meetings are often employed by a wide variety of organizations when a […]

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Task Candy

Last Week, I discussed the Simple Delegation Formula (SDF), systematic way to evaluate your regular tasks to begin the delegation process. Yet, another road block to successful delegation is what I call “task candy”. These are items that have a low overall long-term value; however, are extremely enjoyable. Years ago, when I managed an IT […]

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Simple Delegation Formula

Delegation is a complex skill to learn, especially for individuals who are experts within their own field. It is sometimes hard to trust others to perform to one’s own high standards; however, this fear can limit everyone within a team, as the failure to delegate prevents people from learning as old roles are never properly […]

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