How Do You Manage Your Energy? Do you ever slog through the days, feeling as if you can’t get going? That happened to me last month. I wasn’t sick or depressed—I didn’t have my normal get-up-and-go. That’s when I realized I was “out of spoons.” The spoons represent our energy—and, at least for me—our resilience. …
I love to make it easy for me to do my best work. To do so, I need to think about what I want to reinforce and what I want to dampen. When I create reinforcing—or virtuous—feedback loops, I use my data to do more of what I want. However, that’s not always easy to …
Where Can You Create Reinforcing (Virtuous) Feedback Loops? Read More »
I wish I could tell you I was perfect at doing all the work on my list. Nope. Every so often, I procrastinate and delay on some specific task. In the past, I worried because I didn’t finish that work. (The more I worried, the less I did.) I created a reinforcing feedback loop that …
What Games Do You Create to Succeed in Life and Work? Read More »
Back when I was a software developer, I excelled at certain mistakes. I could write an infinite loop faster than anyone. Then there was the off-by-one mistake for arrays or tables. I repeated certain mistakes too often. Until I started an engineering notebook. Once I started to learn about my mistakes, I stopped those mistakes. I …
Mistake vs. Success: When Do You Learn from Each? Read More »
How Can You Use Optimism to Achieve Your Goals? I recently learned about “dynamic optimism” and “passive optimism.” Dynamic optimists act. They see their reality, they set a goal. They use a variety of steps to achieve their goal, using the growth mindset all along the way. They persevere. Passive optimists don’t do those things. They hope for …
CAL Newsletter: How Can You Use Optimism to Achieve Your Goals? Read More »
A colleague worries that his team wants to change too much about how they work, all at once. He said, “They have 47 ideas that they want to use, to change how they work.” I said, “47 seems like a lot.” He nodded. “I suspect there are 46 too many for now.” After we both …
I’ve been speaking a ton this year, primarily around the Modern Management Made Easy books. Some meeting facilitators have a little trouble with the idea I wrote 18 books. Some people can’t believe it. (Literally. They say, “I can’t believe it!” I laugh.) Some facilitators ask how many more I plan to write. (Many!) One …
Are You Competing With Others or Modeling Yourself After Their Accomplishments? Read More »
I have not created or maintained a sustainable pace this week. I’m finishing books. I discovered my checklists now miss some steps. I’ve been working too early and too late. Sustainable pace? Not right now. Under normal circumstances, I use these tactics: Start work at roughly the same time every day. Stop work at roughly the …
When Can You See You Have an Unsustainable Pace? Read More »
I’m holding two opposing views of my work. I see and speak with people all over the world, every week. And, I only see the people in my house in person. I feel as if my world is getting smaller. I have a long list of things I’m not doing: Traveling to clients and working …
Can You Hold Two Opposing Views in Your Head at the Same Time? Read More »
You might have heard the phrase, “May her memory be for a blessing,” when people discuss Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death. Molly Conway wrote a wonderful essay. I encourage you to read it. You also might like Rabbi Sacks’ essay about tshuvah, tfilla, and tzedaka. And, I hope you join me in mourning the loss of …