open loops

Projects, Open Loops and the RAM Dump

In this article, I explore the concept of projects and open loops in personal management. I discuss how we often accumulate tasks unconsciously and show you how to do regular RAM dumps to identify and manage these commitments effectively.
A 5 Step Guide to Create A Morning Routine That Sticks

A 5 Step Guide to Create A Morning Routine That Sticks

I share my 5-step guide to create a morning routine that sticks, helping you start each day with success. From making a list and starting small to keeping it logical and knowing your 'why', I provide practical tips to establish a routine. I also offer insights on making it stick and share my own morning and evening routines as examples.
How To Plan A New Year

How To Plan A New Year

It's the New Year. Have you done any planning? I sometimes feel like I have done more drifting than planning. But planning will give a sense of direction. Think of it as a road trip with some destinations in mind. I'm not talking about the high-flung promises you might make to lose weight or get more organized. I'm talking about deciding what direction you want to go in, and setting up some plans to move in that direction. No? You haven't done a plan? You should. It's not too late.
podcast

Podcast Episode 74: Things To Do In A New Year

I rarely have time to prep for the new year in December. The holiday season is a busy one for me, and it doesn’t allow for the retrospection that I find I want to give the start of a new year. I know that January 1 is only a date, but I like taking the slow weeks after the new year to consider the year ahead. I like to reflect and plan the new year in the slow weeks of January.
Getting Away From Should

Getting Away From Should

I was listening to a friend assess the earlier part of the year the other day, and I felt obliged to stop her.

You see, her conversation was peppered with "I should".
What’s in My Weekly Review And Plan

What’s in My Weekly Review And Plan

In writing, there are two types of people: planners and pantsers. Planners outline everything and have a plan, and pantsers fly by the seat of their pants. Both produce novels; however the pantsers end up having to go back and straighten out all of the little plot issues and character problems after the fact. It's like planning after you've already done the work.

Personal life is also much like this: there are planners and there are pantsers. The difference with life and time, though, is that you can't go back and change what happened in a week if it exploded in your face. I have long thought that planning is the way to make sure that I'm not wasting precious time having to rework and retry things after the fact. Today we will look at both my work and personal weekly review and plan, along with the whys of everything I do.
What’s in My Daily Plan and Review

What’s in My Daily Plan and Review

One of my coworkers was recently complaining that she never knew what she had to do during a given day and that her days always seemed to be taken up by things that landed on her desk that day. She had big projects and wasn't making any progress but wasn't sure exactly where her time was going.

A simple daily plan and review can answer all these questions. By learning how to craft a two-step routine, you can know what is coming at you during a day, what you spent your time on, and figure out where to get the time to work on projects.
cyclical tasks

Handling Cyclical Tasks: Getting Household Things Done

It's often said that out of sight is out of mind. At the same time, things ignored pile up and can get out of hand. Getting Household Things Done really has two parts: the items that process through the system, and the items that reoccur. Today we will look at how to handle those cyclical tasks within a framework of Getting Household Things Done.
time blocking

The Basics of Time Blocking

Time blocking is a great way to get things done. But it doesn't mean putting all of your tasks on your calendar.

Want to make me cringe? Tell me you put all of your tasks on your calendar so that you have time set aside to do them.

No. No. Just no.

Today we'll talk about how to do effective time blocking.
Questions for Your Weekly Review

Questions for Your Weekly Review

Far too often what is termed a "weekly review" is actually a planning session for the next week. A true review takes a look at what already has happened, as well as what is coming. The definition of review from [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) says that review means "a viewing of the past". This looking back is important, but few do it, unless it has bearing on what is coming next.

I have found that a series of questions designed to review the past week is crucial. In the first place, it fixes the events of the week in my mind. Too often the little details get lost in the rush and busyness of the passing days. Secondly, it gives me valuable insight to how I am living my life. Not in the sense of what I accomplished, but in the meaning behind it.

To that end, I give you ten questions that I try to ask myself each week as I prepare for the next.