I cleaned out my closet with Helene, a professional organizer, last week, in preparation for our move to a new house. I said No to countless pocketbooks and belts, all gifts from either my mother or mother-in-law. I also said No to old shoes that I am never going to use: Old top-siders I used […]
What Did You Say No to Today? Read More »
About 18 months ago, I noticed that my vertigo symptoms were changing. I brought a list of my symptoms and when things had started to change. I wrote about this and my choices in Making Difficult Choices. If you are trying to solve a nasty problem in your code, tests or your projects, it’s the
One of the problems in a job search is looking “everywhere” and not finding a job. Some people think they need to go to graduate school and get a master’s degree. One of the problems if you want to be a writer is that it’s hard to make a living at it. Some people think
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I often hear people asking for something, such as “How do I measure productivity?” In knowledge work, you can’t measure productivity. You can measure the throughput of a team, but you can’t measure the productivity of a person. But that doesn’t stop people from asking the question. What you can ask is, “What would that
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Some people fear failure. Some people, like me, fear mediocrity. Other people, fear success. Don’t worry. You can be human and fear all of them in different circumstances! But if you fear success, you are not alone. Maybe you’ve been trying to accomplish something for a long time. You may have convinced yourself that what
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Mark and I have bought a house on the other side of town. It’s a one-story house. Here, it’s called a “ranch” style house. I think in the UK, it’s called a bungalow. In any case, all the rooms we will live in are on one floor. You know what this means, though. We have
Is Anyone Using This? Read More »
I’m in London this week, teaching and speaking. I’m having a blast. When I made reservations at this hotel, I asked many questions. I looked for a hotel where I could reserve a walk-in shower. I know that many hotels in London have no facilities for handicapped people, so I asked. Yes, this one did.
What Filters Do You Have? Read More »
I discussed perfection rules in my Do Your Rules Prevent You From Solving Problems? But, other rules can prevent you from living as full a life as you might want. When I was in 10th grade, I took French (the language). I wasn’t so good at French. My teacher told me he would give me
Are You In the “Here-and-Now” or in the “There-and-Then”? Read More »
We all have rules. Some of our rules arose from our childhoods. “Look both ways before crossing the street,” is an example of what might be a good rule. Of course, it depends which way you look first, depending on the country you’re in, right? Our rules can help us live productive lives. They can
Do Your Rules Prevent You From Solving Problems? Read More »
Some people are afraid of failure. I’ve already said that I’m afraid of mediocrity. But that’s me. Sometimes that fear of failure is so fierce that it is paralyzing. Sometimes, even worse, the fear of failure produces the very thing we fear. I see this a lot in my clients. They want assurances that their