Category: Attention

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Steps for Pursuing Purpose

More Art than Science

If we were created for purpose, why do we struggle recognizing it?

Finding my purpose hasn’t been easy and I don’t think I’m completely there. Instead of knowing my purpose, I feel like I pursing it.

Many excellent resources are available both online and offline to help with purpose and values discovery. Some of the resources can be quite expensive, even offering retreat experiences. Other resources, such as blogs and online articles, are free. Coaches and gurus will help us as well.

Finding resources will only get us so far. Our environment plays a vital role as well. We can have the best resources, but being able to focus and limit distractions can make or break our ability to discern our purpose.

Here are some important steps which aid in our pursuit of purpose: Continue reading “Steps for Pursuing Purpose”

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How to Schedule Creative Work

In a previous post, I wrote about managing energy instead of time. This article addresses how we can schedule our day to maximize our creative work.

Maker and Manager Schedules

Paul Graham is a programmer, writer, venture capitalist, and extremely smart with degrees in philosophy and computer science from Cornell and Harvard. After reading his 2009 Article, “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule”, I began to realize that energy wasn’t the only consideration when viewing my work and schedule.

In his article, Graham asserts that those who manage and those who make (create) view time and schedules differently. A manager’s schedule is a series of hour, half-an-hour, and sometimes even 15 minute time blocks. Such a schedule works well for a manager because meetings can easily fit within those time blocks. Continue reading “How to Schedule Creative Work”

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Four Practices For Processing Email – Email Management Part 2

The last article covered the consequences of ineffective email management. This article discusses some best practices for processing email keeping it under control. Over the past few years, I’ve read many articles on how to effectively use email. I’ve boiled down the recommendations to my top four practices of those who use email effectively.

Those who use email effectively:

Practice 1: Don’t Use Email for Task Management

Continue reading “Four Practices For Processing Email – Email Management Part 2”

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Effective Email Management Part One

This is the first part of a two part article on the challenges of email management. This article discusses some of the problems of not managing our email. The next article gives some practices of those who effectively manage their email.

Stolen Sanity

Email can be the bane of our days. Every hour a constant stream of emails accost us, demanding our attention. Message after message of information, requests, and advertisements pour into our inbox, overwhelming us. How we manage our email can help or hinder our day, our productivity, and our sanity.

Continue reading “Effective Email Management Part One”