A reader asked about how to analyze and get rid of commitments that are taking up your time. It's a hard proposition: we are pulled in so many directions, and many of us really want to actively contribute to many of our commitments. However, we are still over-scheduled and over-committed and we need to cut back. Here is my take on how to get rid of commitments:
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Ironically, it takes a time commitment to learn how to manage time. Some of us are faster learners than others, and there are some lessons I wish I would have absorbed at a much earlier time than I did.
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One of the most powerful things about Gmail is that you can add a “+tag” to your email address, turning your single email address into an infinite amount of addresses. These modified plus addresses can then be used to filter email with great precision.Microsoft finally is getting on board with this, setting the Plus addressing as a default as of April 22, 2022. It can still be overridden by system administrators, but hopefully most people will take the default.
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If we apply my standard definition of clutter to be "something that you don't love and don't use", we can define mental clutter as the "baggage" we carry around in our heads. But what is mental clutter, and what can we do about it?
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When you have too many things in a backlog and keep adding to it, something will eventually give. We don’t have infinite time and attention, and we can’t keep expecting that we can add to a backlog infinitely. Today we look at 5 essential questions for reviewing your someday list.
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There comes a time in every deliberate life where you have to stop and say "What am I trying to do?" This question may be resolved by a quick examination of current goals and a re-orientation in that direction, or it may be something much deeper, requiring further questions. Either way, it never hurts to do a session of examining goals.
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I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm not always productive.
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Not all projects are created equal. Yet many of us routinely pile things onto our already over-full plates without stopping to consider if the project needs to be done at all, or if you are the best person to do it.And just because we are all individuals, each person must have individual standards about if a project is worth doing. Here are two ways that I look at projects:
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Back in 2008 I was suddenly laid off from my job. My client canceled all contracts in the space of an afternoon, and my own company, which I had been with for 12 years, laid me off via email the next morning.After years of being in an office, I was suddenly at loose ends. My daughter was in first grade, and I wasn't sure what I would do next. I wanted to take my time to find the right job, but otherwise I didn't know.
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I’m starting to hear comparisons of how people spent their isolation time. You know what? I think you’re doing well if you managed to come out of the last two years more or less intact.
