Category: Work & Money
In Defense of No-Spend Months
Why do we need a No-Spend month? Well, two months ago my family and I experienced a fantastic couple of weeks vacationing, traveling with friends, vacations-within-the-vacation, adventures, visiting exotic locals and enjoying delicious restaurants, sometimes with friends. It was an absolute blast, making memories that we hope will last us a lifetime. But then came…
Is Notion AI Worth It For Casual Users?
Is Notion AI worth it for the casual user?
Notion’s Superpower? Clarity through Simplification
One of the most common refrains that that people don’t “get” Notion until it changes their lives. Then people love it. The make free templates for the community. They make video after video on the tips and tricks of Notion. But many people are missing Notion’s super-power, which in my opinion, is clarity through simplification….
Why Flourishing in Your Work is More Important Than You Know – Three Activities
We all want to enjoy our work, and some of us do. Unfortunately, that portion of people that feel that they really enjoy their work is much smaller than it should be. Based on Marcus Buckingham’s book “Go Put Your Strengths to Work” only about 17% of people feel that they are able to use…
Three Questions to Identify Old Patterns and Start New Patterns
One of the challenges and blessings of an expat lifestyle is the lack of consistency, especially when compared with life in your home country. This can create stress and confusion, as well as a general confusion about your own mental and emotional well-being. Just going to the grocery store or driving to a near-by park…
Barbarians to Bureaucrats – Summary and Potential Application – Part 1
Thriving Organizations Every organization goes through a natural life cycle, initially flourishing and growing, maturing and then calcifying, and then often ending with its decay, and usually, its demise. Lawrence M. Miller wrote about this progression in 1989 in his book “Barbarians to Bureaucrats”. He noted that while this cycle is likely, it is not…
Adapt or Pivot – Which is Better?
Adaption is the process of figuring out how do I continue to do the same thing, even though the conditions around me are changing. Pivoting is moving toward an end goal, one step at a time, but the movement usually isn’t a straight line, it’s more of a zig-zag pattern, where you move forward, but…
Work Pivots or Work Jumps
Learning to pivot successfully in life has become a non-negotiable skill for anyone who hopes for some degree of progress throughout their career. The idea of having a single career that spans decades seems less and less likely, and to a large degree less desirable to people who are looking for their work to provide…
The Value of Stepping Away
Stepping away from your projects from time to time can give you new perspective and new insights. After trying to focus on increasing the number of photos I was taking for a couple months, I stepped away from my photography. When I went back to review my pictures, I was surprised to see some of…
The Importance of Sounding Boards in Life
Sounding Boards in our lives are people who we can bounce ideas off without fear of rejection or undue criticism. I say “undue” criticism because one of the key roles that these people play in our lives. They help us refine ideas, solve problems, unpack emotions, brainstorm, and so much more. Part of the reason…
Process Maps and Checklists – Essential Items to Complete Complex Tasks
Some processes are too complex to be intuitively completed, but using process maps and checklists you can complete most complex tasks. We live in a world that is intuitive. This isn’t by accident. Computers give us the ability to access and manipulate incredibly complex information, however they can be navigated by an illiterate 4-year old….
Putting in the Hard Mental Work
We love the story of the hard worker, who just strives and strives and finally overcomes their adversity. We would also love this striving to be set to an inspirational music montage and be wrapped up in 60-90 seconds. That should about do it. Unfortunately social media and media in general perpetuates the myth of…
Writing a Personal User Manual
User manuals have become somewhat out-of-date. Teams are nothing like what they’ve been historically. So why have a personal user manual for your team? I’m so glad you asked! User manuals have been replaced by hyper-specific guidance given in real time digitally (I’m looking at you YouTube!). There are a small army of short video…
Solving Problems Repeatedly or Once and for All?
Solving the same problem over and over again can be either be immensely frustrating or incredibly lucrative depending on what side of the problem solving equation your standing on. Recently I was asked for updated information on a routine report. The report takes two hours to gather information, set parameters, run the report, review the…
Your Purpose in Two Minutes
I’m in a social entrepreneurship training. It’s a pretty incredible experience, only three other people and the teacher. The Elevator Pitch Today we had to do an Elevator Pitch. They seem really simple. Imagine you’re standing on an elevator and someone you don’t know asks what you do. You just say who you are, what…