Is email making you unproductive?

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion
Science is starting to catch up with what many of us figured out a while ago. Multi-tasking is not good. We accomplish more when we focus on one task, minimize distraction and have a bit of down time every hour or so. In a "Case Study: Evaluating the Effect of Email Interruptions within the Workplace" by Thomas Jackson, Ray Dawson & Darren Wilson, the impacts from frequent email interruption have been studied and documented. Studies have been out for a while about the highly disruptive nature Read more [...]

Are you sacrificing today’s happiness for the “success” of tomorrow?

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , , , , ,
We've all heard the warnings are out there that getting rich won't make you happy and highly successful business people die at a young age of heart attacks or sacrifice their families, hobbies and other dreams for the sake of success. Yet, many of us are still driven to this place.  The allure of money, success and power has become (at least in the US) a draw like a siren that tempts you with her (or his) pleasures and treasures only to see you crashing on the rocks when you finally have Read more [...]

4 ways to get more done each day

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , , , , , , ,
Let's face it, no matter how much we get done each day, burning the candle at both ends, the longer our to-do list gets. I personally run to the side of overly ambitious in all the things that I want to pursue and accomplish. In any given day, I might decide to get a lot of work done for a client, work out an hour or two, make a great meal, clean my house, write some pages in my book-in-progress and spend quality time with my kidos. Some days I accomplish all of this and some days not so much.  Read more [...]

Learn to say “no” to achieve your dreams

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , , , , , , ,
I had a great conversation with a friend yesterday that inspired me to share her story and great tips. Barbara (all names have been changed to protect the innocent) is a young professional that would like to get involved in management and be a leader in her company. She's felt frustrated in the past because while her co-workers genuinely value her "get it done attitude", teamwork and appreciate that she'll jump in and help with anything - she doesn't think they see her as a leader. At first she Read more [...]

Is Your Boss Smothering You? (Or are you the Bossy Micro-Manager?)

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, ,
Is your boss someone that although well meaning, is a bit of a control freak?  Having a positive relationship with your boss is one the key variables in enjoying our jobs. But for most folks, micro-managers make work life challenging because they feel they lack the creative freedom to get the job done. "Micromanaging can show up in many forms, but most typically in bosses who dictate how employees complete tasks, question employees’ judgments, frequently ask for updates, and check in incessantly. Read more [...]

Flexibility = key to success

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , , , , ,
One of the most important things I’ve learned in my career (and life) is that you have to be able to bend.  In our modern, stressed out, balls to the wall corporate culture, things get heated, people have differing opinions and motives can oftentimes be at odds.  This is the case even if folks have the best of intentions and are just trying to do what they think is right.  It makes it even harder when there are people that have less than the best of intentions and are so focused on getting to Read more [...]

Do Less To Achieve More

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , , ,
I found this great article in Forbes from a couple of years ago.  It really illustrates the 80/20 principal in very practical business terms. The advice here is sound - for all areas of life. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Only do the few things that actually make the biggest difference. In my life, I take all my must haves, want to do's and should do's and sort them into A, B & C lists.  The first thing I do is throw the B & C lists away.  I then take the A list and sort by Read more [...]

Making decisions is an integral part of being a leader

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , ,
Decision making is a key component to our lives and a daily element of successful leadership.  The quality of decisions and the ability to make one (as opposed to being continually un-decided) shapes our lives and our careers. I've personally honed my decision making skills by the following: 1) A lot of practice making decisions and not being stifled by indecision (remember NOT making a decision is still making a decision, you just had no input into the outcome). 2) Learning to focus Read more [...]

Embrace Change for Growth

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, , , ,
  “The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.”  ―     C. JoyBell C. What does it mean to be successful? Many times we have a vision in our heads of having "arrived" at some poignant point in our lives where we have achieved Read more [...]

Surround Yourself By People Smarter Than You

Executive with a Life, Living With Purpose & Passion, ,
I recall when Ross Perot ran for President in 1992.  I was 18 years old and fresh with optimism and a little scared that I didn't have a clue what I was doing or where I was heading.  I remember hearing that he attributed much of his success to surrounding himself by people that were smarter than him. The guy's net worth was close to $3.5 billion and he was running for president so that was likely enough of a reason to heed his advice. But more than anything, it resonated with me. I've Read more [...]