Life Of E's

When is it time to clear out some of your clutter? As Beth Morrissey said in a 2010 issue of The Writer Magazine, it’s time to clear out the clutter when “disarray” has reached “dismay.” So what to do, what to do? Where should you start? How about getting started with the book clutter you have [...]

Tags: Books, clutter, desk, distraction, work, workspace, writers

Delegating is an essential part of being productive both at home and at work. There are certainly tasks that I am sure you have done where you asked yourself “did I earn a master’s degree to qualify me to stuff these envelopes?” Other times, you wonder, “Hmmm….why am I doing this when a machine can [...]

Tags: delegate, distractions, Productivity, time, tips, work

To be productive as a writer, you need to actually write. I know this doesn’t come as a shock, yet I also know how easy it is to let other tasks, projects, people, or any number of other distractions take us away from our writing. Consider using the following words to describe your writing time [...]

Tags: Productivity, Professors, success, tips, work, writing

Your desk should be the place that simply works (and works simply) for you. It shouldn’t be a place of distraction or entertainment. If you don’t feel productive, schedule a Saturday or off-work day (give yourself a productivity furlough day) to give yourself a mini-makeover. If you spend money, save the receipts for tax time. [...]

Tags: clutter, distractions, focus, Productivity, tips, work, writing

If I asked you if you consider yourself smart, my guess is you’d have an answer right away. If I asked you if you consider yourself creative, you would probably hem and haw and eventually get around to an answer (I know because I have asked these two questions of many groups). Let me give [...]

Tags: business, creative, creativity, Productivity, work

Knowing what your strengths are and then working through your strengths will change your business and professional life. Here are three books worth reading (and I have read them more times than I can count). Now, Discover Your Strengths – Buckingham, Marcus & Donald O. Clifton I cannot recommend this book enough and even though [...]

Tags: book review, productive, Productivity, profits, strengths, work

Student evaluations are a part of every faculty member’s life. Some consider them to be a positive part of the academic life and others dismiss them as a meaningless exercise (or even worse, as a detriment to good teaching). You might as well know that I come down on the side of student evaluations being [...]

Tags: positive, Professors, students, teachers, Teaching, tips, work

Money clutter. Have you ever thought about that concept? I’m sure you’ve thought about – and maybe dealt with – your physical clutter because you know that it can take a tremendous toll on your productivity. But what about money clutter? Any possibility that you need to deal with this, too? Let’s explore a few [...]

Tags: business, clutter, distractions, money, stress, success, work

When you have been stuck with particular challenges in your life and business, you need to generate creative solutions. If you are really ready for some unique ways to bring those ideas forth, consider using graphical options and sensory prompts. As far as graphical, try out these two ideas: Mindmapping is one of my favorites [...]

Tags: business, communication, focus, management, Productivity, success, tips, work

Let’s think about the orange cones of language. As verbal beings, language is a key element in the way that we communicate with one another and even with ourselves. We think in words and we speak, write, and telegraph (do people even do that anymore?) in words or representations of words. And, words are labels [...]

Tags: business, Coaching, distractions, focus, positive, Productivity, stress, success, tips, work