Sometimes I Miss the Nine-to-Five (And What To Do About It)
There are many things I love about being a #solopreneur. I like answering to myself. I like giving my ideas legs. I like meeting people, creating things, making my own schedule, and simply trying such a venture. But there are things I miss about the nine-to-five. I loved working full time (not only because of the salary and […]
Vacation-Productivity At Home
I spent the weekend at the beach. We soaked up sun, introduced each other to various sites from childhood, and generally took it easy. On weekends I wake up 2-3 hours earlier than my roommates, and this held true at the beach. I had the condo to myself every morning, and I got so much done! […]
The Best Advice Ever (How Life Is Like Math)
The best advice I received in high school came from Ms. Jones, my math teacher. “Trust yourselves,” she would say. “Why trust someone else’s answers over your own?” She was encouraging us not to cheat on quizzes, but the advice applies to all situations. I was not confident in math. I peeked at others’ answers not to copy […]
Plan Your Day and Avoid Paralysis
In times of rest, my mind is often busy planning my next several moves. Sometimes this is useful – on the bus I jot down blog post ideas, or I break down tasks for a big project. Other times a busy mind is the worst – waking up before my alarm and lying there while […]
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Create Templates
At a lot of jobs and in life, there are tasks you will have to do over and over – emails to send, meetings to run, presentations to write, events to plan. Often these tasks will be months apart from each other. As you design the meeting or event in the present, it’s obvious how to do […]
You’re More Productive Than You Think
I had a client scheduled today, then woke up feeling like a knife was wedged in my throat. I rescheduled my client, and I found that I had an entire day with no plans! I briefly imagined jumping on the productivity wheel and producing results for hours and hours. But when you’re sick, it’s hard to […]
Think Big AND Small
Conventional wisdom is to set small, achievable goals. It’s great advice, and it works. You need goals that are attainable soon. These can be chores like laundry or steps for setting up your website. It’s satisfying to check things off your list. As you accomplish each item, you feel good about your progress and motivated to keep going.
I Spend a Stupid Amount of Time Searching for Things on The Internet
Today I did it again. I remembered a tiny phrase from an article I read within the last week, and now I want that article. I want to reference it. I want to reread it. I have no idea what it was called or where I read it.
How to Plan Your Best. Year. Yet.
People make half-hearted or enthusiastic New Year’s resolutions, which they end up forgetting by mid-February. Resolutions are fine. They are made with good intentions (like the road to hell), to “be/do/not-be/not-do,” but do you feel really good about them? I’m bored with resolutions, but I’m excited about plans and design. What do you plan to accomplish […]
How Do You Function Best?
How do you stay organized? There are zillions of methods to organize madness. Some include elaborate cubby-hanging-file-drawer-organizer kits by Elfa, some involve the alphabet or color coding, some include filing cabinets, folders or envelopes. When it comes to digital files, it can be trickier. You can’t physically handle any of these items, so it’s a […]
