How to Build a Strong Work Ethic

February 24, 2014

There is no fatigue so wearisome as that which comes from lack of work. – Charles Spurgeon If you’ve been stuck in a lazy rut lately, here are some suggestions to get yourself working productively. 1. Accept that many results require hard work. Remind yourself of the simple causality chain from decision to action to…

Conserving Mental Energy

February 19, 2014

In a Vanity Fair profile piece from 2012, writer Michael Lewis shared some of President Obama’s productivity habits. One of those habits involved routinizing mundane daily decisions. Since Obama has to make many difficult high-level decisions each day, he doesn’t want to waste his mental energy on smaller decisions. So he puts the mundane choices…

Speed Up!

February 17, 2014

Don’t use the “enjoy the process” mantra to justify slogging along even more slowly and watching your goals die. It’s a huge limiting belief to assume that going faster means you’re doing something wrong and creating too much stress. Making goals happen faster is often a LOT more fun. Fast tempo is HOW you enjoy…

10 Reasons You Should (Maybe) Get a Job

February 13, 2014

1. You’re stupid. 2. You’re desperate. 3. You’re hungry. 4. You’re scared. 5. You’re unimaginative. 6. You’re brainwashed. 7. You’re a people pleaser. 8. You love taxes. 9. You’re 30 and living with your parents. 10. You’ve earned a degree in student debt. Or you could skip the job and change the world instead.

Clarity

February 5, 2014

If a lack of clarity prevents you from taking action, then find or develop a process to gain sufficient clarity to act. Stop acting like this is an unsolvable problem. It isn’t. One basic method begins with writing a mission statement that encapsulates the core purpose of your life. Mission Statement Your mission statement is…