I’ve come to the point where I don’t trust my brain to remember all the things. You might be the same. If you’re not sure, check out these 10 signs that indicate you could use a simple planning system: 1. You can’t remember what day it is. 2. You think of something important… and then […]
5 Remarkably Practical Strategies For A Less Busy Life
Last month, we talked about the difference between Busy-ness and Productivity. Busyness is about motion without clarity. It’s a sense of urgency that is often driven by anxiety. Productivity is about moving the right things forward. It requires intention and direction. (If you missed that post, read it here.) Now let’s bring this concept into […]
The Fascinating Distinction Between Productivity and Busy-ness
Have you ever had this exchange with someone? “How are you?”“Busy.”“Good, good.” It’s happened to me a number of times, and I started to wonder how “busy” equals “good”? Busy has turned into shorthand for useful, responsible, even successful. If we’re busy, we must be doing something right. Maybe it’s because we think that if […]
3 Habits to Get You Through a Short Friday
We’re in the season where Fridays feel like they last about seven minutes.You turn around, and somehow candle-lighting is in an hour. And for many of us, the rush leaves us entering Shabbos in a mood that feels… not very Shabbosdik. Until the days start getting longer again, we need habits that support us — […]
How to Plan When You Just Don’t Feel Like Planning
Maybe you’ve hit a lull, or maybe there’s too much bouncing around in your mind, and you just don’t feel like you can start planning. Or maybe you read these posts month after month, but put off taking any action because you’re just not feeling it. Are You Lazy? (Spoiler Alert: No.) When you can’t […]
How to Stick to Your Rosh Hashana Resolutions
Believe it or not, Rosh Hashana is coming up, and a new year is about to begin. It’s a time for goal-setting, new resolutions, and thinking forward. But the thing about resolutions is that they have a tendency to fizzle out after a few weeks. Here’s what I think: Setting goals for an entire year […]
What Overwhelm is Coming to Teach Us
Here’s the irony of the situation: I thought of this topic a while ago, and was then overwhelmed when I thought of writing this email. How did I know I was overwhelmed? There are certain symptoms that come along with overwhelm. They won’t look exactly the same in everyone, so it’s good to learn yours. […]
Big Rocks, Little Rocks, Sand
Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, brings an analogy to explain priorities. The Jar of Life Imagine you have an empty jar. This jar represents the time you have in a day, a week, or even a lifetime. Your goal is to fill it wisely. You can fill it […]
8 Ways to Declutter Mental Space
How does our mental space get cluttered? Think of your mind like a room. Every time you get some sort of input—phone calls, news, emails, work tasks—a bit of clutter is added. Over time, this adds up. Next thing you know, you’re overloaded, and you feel overwhelmed. For some of us, that looks like heightened […]
How a Bullet Journal Can Help You Make Decisions
Everyday, we make thousands of decisions. They range from small decisions that happen in an instant to big decisions that weigh heavily on our mind. On the one hand, we think about what to wear, what to eat for breakfast, and how to respond to that email. On the other hand, we wonder whether or […]