John and I use the shorthand of referring to our “big rocks” — what are the priority items in our lives that we should attend to before anything else? It’s a term we borrowed from this story about putting the big rocks in the jar first or there won’t be room: This post from Zen Habits is a great reminder…
How do you plan your life? Not just the to-do list activities — pay bills, go to the grocery store, order Thanksgiving turkey — but the big stuff you value most? I’ve been in a variety of conversations lately about project management. For example: My husband, John, just finished a multi-month sprint to get about a dozen new pieces of…
Like many people, it’s easy for me to get caught up in my aspirations for more — a bigger home, more money, greater success. Harvard Business Review‘s article, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, challenges that. Instead of more [fill in the blank with whatever you are chasing here], focus on the right things. Author Greg McKeown starts by defining “the…
It seems the socially correct answer to the question “How are you?” is no longer “Good,” but “Busy.” Maybe it’s all the technology that keeps us plugged in 24/7, or the never-ending flow of information from social media, websites and blogs, or the added work load on employees left at downsized companies. Whatever the cause, I frequently have conversations with…
Have you ever been at home all day when there’s nothing in the fridge? You open the door. You poke your head in. You hum a little tune and look around. You sigh. You grab a handful of pine nuts. You go back to your desk. About an hour later, you’re hungry. So you go back to the fridge and…
