Problem: You can’t seem to make any progress on your projects. You’re always getting distracted and rationalizing other activities that are not helping you move toward your goal. Solution: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ” (Lao-tzu said.) And that entire journey consists of a whole bunch of steps, one [...]
Archive for the ‘Productivity’ Category
20 Jun
Resistance: 1 Rex: 0
Problem: You haven’t written a blog post in a long while, and your last one was about how to get unstuck. Solution: Write a blog post. It’s amazing how I have to read my own posts to get motivated. And what an ironic last post to get stuck on – The Number One Way to [...]
10 May
Make a WIP (Work In Process) Board
Problem: Your boss has no idea what you’re working on, and he or she is always giving you items that are number one priority, causing you to drop what you’re currently doing (which used to be top priority) and switch to this new item. Solution: Showing status is one of management’s favorite pasttimes. There are [...]
5 May
Work in Pairs
Problem: You want to bounce ideas off of someone else, but everyone is so busy. Also, some people appear to be slacking in their projects because there’s no real accountability. Solution: Work in pairs. Give a project or a pretty meaty task to two people and have them work together to get it done. They [...]
26 Apr
Carve Out Some Focus Time
Problem: You’re constantly bombarded with interruptions, requests, action items, meetings, phone calls, emails, etc. that you can hardly get any one thing done. Solution: Don’t be. In other words, choose not to. There are two types of interruptions, 1) by someone else, called an interruption, and 2) by your self, called a distraction. Distractions may still [...]
