When it comes to productivity, there is nothing more important than a TO DO list. It is the foundation of how we spend our time. And without it, the potential for dropping balls and being overwhelmed is too great. I am pretty picky when it comes to my TO DO list. I’ve tried many different systems over the years. Here's why I like Evernote best of all.
If you are like many people, you love your To Do list. Research shows nearly two-thirds of professionals rely on their lists but if you're not crossing things off the way you once used to, your romance may be slightly tarnished. There are five critical ingredients to help you fall in love with your To Do list once again...
Canadians are great at so many things. We invented the zipper, we dominate in hockey and we make a pretty mean snowball. And I am [...]
While I was packing away some of my winter gear I noticed a stack of neglected files in my front hall closet. Deep down, I [...]
Productivity is not for the faint of heart. It requires discipline and hard work. But it’s all for a good reason. Our driving motivation boils [...]
The To Do List Backlash At a recent productivity workshop, I was telling everyone that the root of any good productivity system comes down to [...]
I love when lessons are wrapped up in good stories, like in the book The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. One story described Van Halen’s concert contracts. These contracts clearly request a bowl of M&M’s “with all the brown candies removed, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation to the band”. The story goes on to say that Van Halen actually followed through on this clause at least once. My first reaction to this was: “Wow – another example of a ridiculous rock star request”. But my reaction changed as I read more …
One of the biggest benefits of working with an assistant is they can push us to plan ahead. What is the plan for today? Who do we need to follow-up with? What do we need to start working on? Yet many people struggle with how to partner with their assistant most effectively. Here are some more detailed suggestions.
Urban legend often speaks of a Harvard Business School study where a mere 3% of students wrote down their goals. Interestingly, ten years later, these [...]
Email is a critical tool in the workplace. So critical, in fact, that it makes me wonder how we got by without it approximately 15 [...]
