Worth Repeating – February Productivity Posts

Koi in the Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

The days of talking about resolutions may be behind us for a while, but there is never a bad time to make some small changes that will yield big results. Past February posts from the New Leaf blog suggest a few changes you may want to try now, so you can do more of what matters, and do it more easily.

A quote from Pearl Bailey reminds us of what’s really important in the world – see if you don’t agree.

Don’t feel that you must fill every bit of space or every second of time in the name of being “efficient.” Learn to incorporate and enjoy a bit of white space in your calendar and in your office.

What three words signal trouble ahead, leading to procrastination and piles? It’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Enjoy the rest of the month!

Happy Valentine’s Day

  kisses are a better fate than wisdom. ~ e.e. cummings

Floss One Tooth: How Tiny Habit Changes Can Make All the Difference

There are three ways to change your behavior. You can have an epiphany. If you know the story of Byron Katie’s remarkable turn-around, you have an example of an epiphany. These are hard to engineer, so looking for one to show up can be a long and frustrating wait. You can change your context. When…

Do You Respect Your Papers?

I have seen: a design-conscious client who felt that all her files MUST fit into a small rattan box under her table, like she’d seen in magazines. a home-based business that tried to get by with a decrepit metal file cabinet that was hard to open, harder to squeeze in another sheet of paper. a…

Delegate to a Task Rabbit: A Little Help, Quick Like a Bunny

Delegation is one of the most difficult skills for many entrepreneurs to pick up. There are  a lot of reasons for this – the skills and traits required for long-term delegation make the subject of other posts. But what if we just need a little low-stress help on a temporary basis? We don’t need to…

Why GTD Isn’t Working For You

Getting Things Done (GTD), the time management system based on David Allen’s best-selling book, is loved by many. It’s also no secret that not everyone finds it smooth sailing. GTD can become a cause of pain for some people, maybe for you. I often work with people who have tried GTD and after a while…

Worth Repeating – January Productivity Posts

Happy birthday to my New Leaf organizing and productivity blog! Begun in January, 2008, it’s now four years old! I’m dipping into the archives to offer you, my readers, a few yummy posts from those past Januarys. You know, since I can’t serve you cake digitally. In case you thought that clutter and excess stuff…

How Can a Tomato Give You Time-Management Superpowers?

We live in a world of interruptions and distractions. These interruptions can make it tough to finish the projects that matter most to us. And the answer to this problem is – a tomato. I’m talking about a time-management method called the Pomodoro Technique. First taught in the early 1990s, the technique was developed by…

Want To Save Hours Every Week? Read This Fast!

For years I considered myself a slow reader. But it wasn’t until I began to use an electronic reader that I understood just how slow. Routinely I would dawdle over a page of newspaper text for so long, that my iPad would time out and close up the document, thinking I wasn’t there anymore. I…

My One and Only Resolution for 2012

I spend my weeks helping other people make plans for their work and their lives – plans that are compelling, challenging, powerful, and juicy. And I believe that the best plans are as simple as possible. So here’s my resolution for me and my wish for you for 2012.