Earlier this week I mentioned that most of us need some type of wake-up call to truly come to grips with the finite nature of our time.  I also talked about it in The On Target Podcast yesterday.  That reminded me of a story I received in one of those e-mail chain letters several years ago about a gentleman who used a jar of marbles to keep track of the number of weeks remaining in his life. Through the magic of Google I found the letter...

Recently I was watching a Ken Burns documentary on PBS the other day about the history of the National Parks in the the US (at least I was until I fell asleep).  I was shocked (but not surprised) by a photograph showing hundreds of rotting buffalo carcasses slaughtered for sport. It was an example how our ancestors managed to nearly destroy the buffalo population over a very short period of time. At that time the Great Plains must have...

What’s the difference between how successful executives manage their time and the rest of us? Often people think it’s because they have an army of lackeys waiting to take care of their every whim.  That may be true to a point, but each of us is responsible for how we spend our time,  focus and attention.  No matter how many helpers a person has it’s up to them to decide where to focus their attention. After working...

Do you ever have a great idea or remember something to do at a time when it’s impossible to write it down?  What happens to those thoughts when you finally have a chance to record them? If you’re like most people they’re long forgotten.  I’ve  found a solution that you may want to check out. If you have attended our online Master Your Workload with Outlook or one of my live workshops, you know I preach about the...

Let’s face it, we are overwhelmed. We process every day than we did just a few years ago, and it’s not slowing down. Our information comes from more sources than ever (phone, cell phone, e-mail, voice mail, faxes, conference calls, meetings, and many more…see my previous post with some snappy graphics of this). In addition we are expected to do more with less, be accessible 24/7 and respond immediately…to everything. The result...