eTips

Self-defeating "lifestyle" behaviors are a hidden cause of inefficiency, lack of goal achievement, stuckness and dissatisfaction. To move forward with greater ease… Casey's eTip: Get Help for Counterproductive Habits Drinking too much, eating poorly, using drugs (prescription or not) recreationally, living beyond your means--these habitual behaviors and others like them…

Meetings are costly in terms of time and money, so it makes sense to use clear, up-front agreements to... Casey's eTip: Run Meetings that Move Matters Forward First, agree on the agenda. It can be as simple as "What outcome do we hope to achieve from this conversation?" Second, agree…

Your work will never be done. While one project ends, another begins and many more are in mid-stream. It helps to… Casey's eTip: Get Comfortable with Your Loose Ends If your brain tells you that you must finish your work before you can play and you know that your work…

Perfectionism is the enemy of productivity. If you typically strive to do all your work as best as possible, imagine you're back in school. This time, though… Casey's eTip: Go for a B Average, Not an A The Pareto Principle (aka the 80/20 Rule) encourages you to prioritize the 20%…

Experiencing joy on a daily basis isn't the result of producing the life you want (my definition of productivity). It is the method. To begin… Casey's eTip: Practice Joy Today Being joyful is not a character trait. It is a daily habit anyone can develop. Consciously seeking awe in nature…

Developing new habits is difficult. Everyone forgets to do or not do an action, remembers too late, and/or makes mistakes. It helps to... Casey's eTip: Expect the Path to New Habits to Be Bumpy When you know that change is a spiraling, revolving process, rather than a straight, steadily-elevating line,…

Sometimes the simplest actions can make a huge difference. Take 5 seconds each time to… Casey's eTip: Date Your Docs Whether they're digital or paper, a to-do-list or meeting notes, always add the date to the top or bottom of the doc. It's astonishing how fast time goes by and…

It's easy to let one negative event define your whole experience of the day, like a drop of red dye turning water pink. To maintain perspective… Casey's eTip: Stay Present to Stay Positive As the meme above reminds us, we can choose where to focus--on the present or the past.…

When you tell someone you will do something (however big or small), you are making a promise. Not following through damages your credibility, so… Casey's eTip: Check Your List Before You Commit It's all too easy to agree to or volunteer for more than you can deliver. Optimism, enthusiasm and…

Human adults have evolved to successfully make many hundreds of decisions every day, thanks to our prefrontal cortices which handle our executive functions. That's why we should... Casey's eTip: View Decision-Fatigue as a Red Flag The prefrontal cortex is sometimes called the Goldilocks of the brain because it requires "just…