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
November 26, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Remember Thanksgiving Is Just a Day

Travel, gatherings, high expectations, overeating and drinking--it can be a lot. It helps to... Casey's eTip: Remember Thanksgiving Is Just a Day The fourth Thursday in November is a day like any other in the sense that everything (and everyone) will not suddenly become Hallmark perfect. Focus on what you're…
eTips
November 19, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Look for the Third Option

Feeling pressure or excessive stress narrows our thinking and options. Our brain simplifies and tells us it's either this or that, right or wrong, my way or the highway, and so on. Don't believe that duality. Instead... Casey's eTip: Look for the Third Option When you notice that your problem-solving…
eTips
November 13, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Listen Without Giving Advice

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity," wrote Simone Weil in 1942 and it's true today. To give it… Casey's eTip: Listen Without Giving Advice Telling someone how to fix their problems or improve their situation can be well-meaning, but it tends to shut the speaker down. Trust…
eTips
November 5, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Set Up ICE on Your Phone

Communication is a critical element of producing the life that you want. But what if you have a medical emergency and can't speak or write? Your phone do it for you if you... Casey's eTip: Set Up ICE on Your Phone ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. You can…
eTips
October 22, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Imagine How You’ll Feel Afterwards

Motivation can be difficult to muster for some activities. It can help to… Casey's eTip: Imagine How You'll Feel Afterwards Usually people try to stimulate motivation with mild self-reproach: "Don't procrastinate!" "Think how bad it'll be if you don't do it." This approach can backfire. Its opposite, however, works quite…
eTips
October 15, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Give New Habits the Time They Need

There is a lot of misinformation out there about how long it takes to build a habit. My suggestion… Casey's eTip: Give New Habits the Time They Need Throw your ideas about the time a new habit "should" take out the window. Repetition, not days, is what matters. A behavior…
eTips
October 9, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Take a Few Minutes to Plan Q4

One reason people avoid planning is that they think it will take a long time. It doesn't have to! And early October is a wonderful time to… Casey's eTip: Take a Few Minutes to Plan Q4 One approach: Grab a tool to capture your thoughts (phone, laptop, pen & paper),…
eTips
October 1, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Make Time Talk Powerful

Our language can subtly foster a victim-of-time mindset that is discouraging. To counteract it… Casey's eTip: Make Time Talk Powerful Powerful language with self and others is factually/neutrally accurate. For example, instead of saying "I don't have time for that," you could say, "I choose not to spend my time…
eTips
September 24, 2024

Casey’s eTip: When in Doubt, Throw It Out

Here's an organizing idea that's easy to remember… Casey's eTip: When in Doubt, Throw It Out When deciding what to keep and what to delete when it comes to your digital and physical-world items, recognize that doubt means that there's no strong reason to retain something. You wouldn't hesitate to…
eTips
September 17, 2024

Casey’s eTip: See Your Real Due Dates Clearly

It's human nature to assign wishful or hopeful due dates to specific tasks. These fake deadlines can get in the way, however, because you need to… Casey's eTip: See Your Real Due Dates Clearly Your to-do system only works if you can fully trust it to alert you when a…
eTipsNews
September 11, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Ask a Question to Help You Decide

When you face a particularly challenging task (and want to run) or need to make an important life or work decision… Casey's eTip: Ask a Question to Help You Decide As Oliver Burkeman notes in his wonderful book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, the Jungian analyst James Hollis…
eTips
September 2, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Rest from Your Labor

There is a reason major religions advocate for a weekly day of rest and laborers fought (and died) for a couple days off per week--you thrive when you... Casey's eTip: Rest from Your Labor We don't need rest and relaxation simply as a way to recharge our batteries for more…
eTips
August 27, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Make Decisions Proportionately

Some decisions are worth agonizing over. Others, not so much. To spend your time wisely… Casey's eTip: Make Decisions Proportionately Some decisions are mountains, others are hills and the majority are molehills. Spend your time pondering options, etc., in proportion to the size and impact of the decision in question.…
eTips
August 21, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Outsmart Your Brain to Exercise

There is one common denominator that all my highest-performing clients share: they exercise regularly. Starting an exercise habit takes effort, though. You need to… Casey's eTip: Outsmart Your Brain to Exercise We are designed to conserve our energy. Exercising disrupts that natural tendency. As this Time article explains, simply knowing…
eTips
August 13, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Take Care of Your Precious Eyes

Focusing on screens (computer, phone, watch, tablet, etc.) for long periods of time can lead to eye strain, which diminishes productivity. To prevent such strain… Casey's eTip: Take Care of Your Precious Eyes The American Academy of Opthamology offers tips to keep your eyes healthy. Here are a few… *Remind…
eTips
August 6, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Recharge with Mindfulness Mini-Breaks

Human beings are not built to sit staring at screens for hours on end. Our energetic batteries can get low quickly, so it helps to… Casey's eTip: Recharge with Mindfulness Mini-Breaks Taking a 2-minute mindfulness break every 60 minutes (or more often if needed) is a free, discreet, ever-available way…
eTips
July 30, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Take Notes Then Let Them Go

Taking handwritten notes during meetings focuses your attention and engages multiple parts of your brain, improving your memory. Instead of keeping these notes or transcribing them, however, you might... Casey's eTip: Take Notes Then Let Them Go Ideally, there will be meeting minutes that briefly identify the decisions and action…
eTips
July 23, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Turn Off Your Email Alerts

US workers receive an average of 120 emails a day (BR.org 01/2019). If your phone or laptop notifies you when they arrive, you may be getting interrupted every 4 minutes of an 8-hour day. It's time to... Casey's eTip: Turn Off Your Email Alerts "You will never forget to check…
eTips
July 16, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Say Yes to Yourself

Boundary-setting gets a bad rap, as if it's negative: just saying "no" or even building walls. Really, it's a way to… Casey's eTip: Say Yes to Yourself Boundary-setting lets us "yes" to ourselves, meaning our needs, values, goals, passions, loved ones, most important work tasks, etc. As Brene Brown puts…
eTips
July 9, 2024

Casey’s eTip: Be Silent for 20 Seconds

Want to understand your client, connect with your boss or make your loved one feel cared for? Listen intently to what they say and then… Casey's eTip: Be Silent for 20 Seconds Listening attentively, actively and with empathy is a gift to the speaker. Such listening requires silence, too. Give…