Is April the cruelest month? The poet T. S. Eliot thought so. But the New Leaf archives from Aprils past kindly produced a fresh crop of relevant articles. I’ll share them in case you missed them the first time around. When you have a lot to do, you’ll want to hurry, right? Not necessarily. It’s…
Category Archives: Eliminating Excess
What’s Better Than Perfect? Escaping the Perfectionism Trap
What’s better than perfect? Many years ago, when I applied for my first real career-launching job, I prepared for my round of interviews with practice questions supplied by a university career counselor. I remember one question we were advised to be ready for. It was this: What is your greatest weakness? And I recall my…
White Space
When you look at your office or your calendar, consider the use of white space. What do I mean by white space? In graphic or visual arts, white space is the portion of a page left unmarked. In radio, white space is the space between channels that is left unused to avoid interference. Why do…
Keeping too much? Some things never change
My organizing colleague Susan Shankle is an avid student of history. Recently she shared a discovery that illustrates our enduring human tendency to hang on to things that don’t serve us. I get a smile every time I read her note, so with her permission I’d like to share it with my readers. Susan wrote:…