Casey’s eTips

eTips are quick suggestions for improving productivity.  You can quickly digest the tip and put it to use immediately.  Sign up to receive eTips via email using the form on the right, or read them online, below and on Casey’s blog.

eTips
December 5, 2023

Casey’s eTip: End Your Obligation Streak

This holiday season, I encourage you to examine your list of things you "have to do" because you've always done them. It might be time to… Casey's eTip: End Your Obligation Streak Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann wrote: "And so, for the sake of momentum, I'm condemning the future to death so…
eTips
November 28, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Stick to a System, Even an Imperfect One

Are you someone who goes from one task-management method to another, trying to find what works for you only to discover that the constant change leaves you with no method at all? You're not alone! My recommendation is to… Casey's eTip: Stick to a System, Even an Imperfect One No…
eTips
November 21, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Give Thanks and Be Happy

I wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving. Abraham Lincoln, who presided over very challenging times in our nation's history, issued nine proclamations calling for days of thanksgiving during his tenure (the October 1863 one set the timing for our national holiday--
eTips
November 15, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Keep All Your To-Do’s on Your Calendar

Daniel Markovitz makes a compelling case in a Harvard Business Review article for ditching to-do lists (although there are ways of managing such lists that address his concerns). Instead, he suggests you… Casey's eTip: Keep All Your To-Do's on Your Calendar Putting tasks on the calendar ensures there is time…
eTips
October 31, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Learn How Your Brain Works

We live with our brain our whole lives but we probably never received an instruction manual about how it works when we were children. Fortunately, it's not too late to… Casey's eTip: Learn How Your Brain Works When you understand the neuroscience of how your brain functions, you increase your…
eTips
October 24, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Leverage the Rhythm of Attention

Our ability to direct our own attention influences both our productivity and our quality of life. We are more productive when we focus on what matters. We are happier when we focus on gratitude. These are just a couple examples. Still, it's important to realize that our attention naturally wanders.…
eTips
October 17, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Presume the Best in Others

This eTip stems from my experience this past week, making avoidable mistakes and encountering others doing the same. I'm reminded that it's useful to… Casey's eTip: Presume the Best in Others It's easy to take one data point from someone, especially someone new, and form an opinion of that person,…
eTips
October 10, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Picture the Person You’re Contacting

As we communicate more and more with people we've never met, especially via writing only, it's easy to forget their humanity. We can see them as obstacles to or levers for our goal achievement. To combat this effect… Casey's eTip: Picture the Person You're Contacting Imagine this human with a…
eTipsNews
October 4, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Review and Update Your To-Do System

People ask me about the "best" way to manage to-do's. The reality is that what's "best" depends 100% on the person and their needs. Whatever method you use, though, it's imperative to… Casey's eTip: Review and Update Your To-Do System A habit of a consistent deep review of your to-do's…
eTips
September 26, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Use Summaries or Videos to Stay Current

A client recently reminded me of Blinkist, the book-summarizing app that I posted about as an eTip in 2015. Eight years later, it's the top in the field. But there are also other options if you want to assimilate the latest and/or greatest business, productivity and personal growth books. Casey's…
eTips
September 19, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Get a Diagnostic Assessment

Does your life history, especially your childhood/school days, suggest that you have ADHD, dyslexia or developmental coordination disorder (DCD)? Do you believe that you are currently experiencing depression, anxiety or OCD? If you wonder, you might… Casey's eTip: Get a Diagnostic Assessment If you suspect that you have a brain-based…
eTips
September 12, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Respond Skillfully with Emotions

Timing matters when it comes to speaking up for ourselves about an injustice or boundary-crossing at work or elsewhere. Speak too soon and a tsunami of emotions can damage our relationships with others. Wait too long and the energy and urgency dissipate so we don't say what we need to…
eTips
September 5, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Own Your Emotions

Years of working with clients has shown me the surprisingly large impact of resentment and blame on people's performance. It's the not-so-silent productivity killer. Here's one way to stop the drain on your time and energy... Casey's eTip: Own Your Emotions Owning your emotions begins with understanding them. When we…
eTips
August 29, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Connect Face-to-Face, Especially in the Beginning

In the age of automation and digital communication, face-to-face meetings still matter. Even one encounter where both parties can see each other as human eases future digital exchanges, as old research* shows. Casey's eTip: Connect Face-to-Face, Especially in the Beginning Observing how people move, carry themselves and make eye contact…
eTips
August 22, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Engage Fully to Function Optimally

"This is the real secret of life--to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play." These are the words of writer/philosopher Alan Watts, urging you to... Casey's eTip: Engage Fully to Be Function Optimally When…
eTips
August 15, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Empower Yourself to Handle Power Outages

Summer heat and AC overuse can result in storms that knock out your power. To stay productive, be prepared. Casey's eTip: Empower Yourself to Handle Power Outages This Wirecutter article offers a useful list of suggested tools that can keep your equipment safe and functioning. It also helps to create…
eTips
August 8, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Believe It and It Will Be True

Some research found that willpower was finite, wearing out by the end of the time. Later studies revealed that believing willpower runs out led to people giving up compared to those who thought willpower was unlimited, who endured. The moral? Casey's eTip: Believe It and It Will Be True Our…
eTips
July 25, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Consider Using a Digital Notepad

Do you like taking handwritten notes but need the information in the notes to be digitized and accessible to others? Then… Casey's eTip: Consider Using a Digital Notepad These handy devices are like high-tech etch-a-sketches: They are slim, light and highly portable. You save what you've written to the cloud.…
eTips
July 18, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Take Time Off and Reap Rewards

Some people dread returning from vacation so much that they don't take time off. But it's worth it (and not only because a study of 13,000 heart patients slashed their risk of death from heart disease by 29% and from any cause by 17%)… Casey's eTip: Take Time Off and…
eTipsNews
July 12, 2023

Casey’s eTip: Think Begin Rather than Finish

After working with clients for over 20 years, I have observed that to-do items such as "finish report" and "send email" are often doomed to be ignored until the 11th hour, even when they appear as the subject line on a scheduled block of time. Clients have shown me that…