Life of E's

Why, oh why do we all procrastinate? It’s so stressful. Interrupt time suckers, like TV and electronic games. Set a timer. Turn off alerts. Identify your peak productivity hour. Create a routine. Break down projects into tasks. Revive yourself with some deep breathing. Reward the completion of goals. Be accountable to someone. Make a commitment [...]

Tags: procrastination, Productivity, projects, strategies, task, timer

Recently I taught the class If You Do Nothing Else This Semester to help colleagues get organized at the beginning and throughout the semester.  One Life of E's member who also took the class asked the following: How do I go on (or how do you go on) when the myriad tasks become so incredibly [...]

Tags: master list, organize, overwhelm, plan, Productivity, projects, review, task list, tasks, time management, weekly

Recently I taught the class If You Do Nothing Else This Semester to help colleagues get organized at the beginning and throughout the semester.  One Life of E's member who also took the class asked the following: My latest problem has been the following dilemma between doing something right away and postponing it. Once I [...]

Tags: organizing, overplanning, overspend on tasks, planning, procrastination, Productivity, projects, steps, tasks, where am I

Randy Dean says, "The Time Management Tech Doesn't Matter (Much!) — it is the "infrastructure" that lies underneath the tech that matters!"   Do you have your time/life/e-mail management infrastructure in place? Do you have all of the pieces you need to manage this important stuff properly? Do you even know what the right "infrastructure [...]

Tags: components, daily routine, important, infrastructure, list, projects, tasks, technology, time management

Do you need solitude or solidarity when you write?  You might answer one way today and a different way some other time.  There is not one right answer.  It depends on you and it depends on your writing project.  Here are a four tactics to help you get your writing done – in a timely [...]

Tags: group, projects, strategies, tactics, tips, writer, writing

Recently, a subscriber to the Top Ten Productivity Tips (the original series…so named since there are now 8 different series) recently sent me this: I was just re-reading this great TTPT about using your planner productively and realize that I struggle with implementing this. I’m hoping you can point me to some answers. For many years, [...]

Tags: Circa, Franklin Covey, planners, projects, tasks

How is it that a bright, motivated professional can procrastinate day after day, month after month, and year after year? Because procrastination works. It keeps you from having to do the task that you just hate to do. Well here’s the news, folks, you can break the habit! 1.  Can you pay (a reasonable sum) [...]

Tags: delegate, Delegation, procrastination, procrastinator, Productivity, projects, put off

Could you use some tips for creating a sane and sensible schedule?  Here are 5 great ones, shared with me by folks who wanted others to know what worked for them. Mickey Schafer: Set, respect, and enforce boundaries. I divide work and home as much as possible. My students know this up front. With others, [...]

Tags: prep time, projects, schedule, time, work

As Lynne Ford says, ‘failure is a comma, not a period.’  This is the theme of this series of posts.  As you observe the failures that you have experienced (and that you will again) consider the truth of this statement:  2.  Some failures are major reliefs.  Let’s say you submitted a proposal for a large [...]

Tags: academia, failure, federal grant, projects, stress, success

Suggestion: Yesterday on the Tier 2 call, we were talking about feeling overwhelmed with projects and how to get started.  I reminded folks about the ‘Hunks, Chunks, & Bites’ concept–breaking things down into do-able ‘bites’ so that you can get moving.  If you haven’t viewed the Hunks, Chunks, & Bites webinar, this might be a [...]

Tags: bites, chunks, hunks, project, projects, webinar