Every day, retired U.S. Army general Stanley McChrystal wakes up at 4 a.m., shaves, exercises for 90 minutes, takes a five-minute shower and then goes to the office. He doesn’t eat anything until dinner because, “It just makes me feel better,” he says. “My body has gotten used to it, and so if I eat
I recently participated in a virtual meeting that engaged everyone and wasted no one’s time. People joining from their home or office felt heard and seen. No one seemed to multi-task. And the goals of the meeting were accomplished. Can you believe it? In fact, I haven’t just experienced it once. I’m starting to see
Every day, a person walks by a house, and every day there’s a dog howling on the front porch. Every day. Howling. A man sits next to the dog on the porch, calmly rocking in a chair. Finally one day, the passerby stops. “Why does your dog howl every day?” “Because he’s lying on a
Do you want to be more productive this year even in the midst of competing demands on your time and attention? Your inbox might be one of your biggest barriers to achieving that goal. Here’s why. First, the typical email inbox is an unprioritized to-do list apart from any other planning tools you use. Emails
At a recent company meeting, one of the people on my team announced that she was “the most engaged at work” that she’s ever been. She’s worked on our team for several years, and this hasn’t been the easiest of them. Yet she is on fire. Imagine the impact her enthusiasm for work has on our
Most of my days start with the question: What do I have to do today? I run a series of filters that includes deadlines, unfinished projects, obligations, schedule, correspondence and personal needs. These filters create a specific focus for the day: Get these things done. Recently, though, I began an experiment by considering what might
I have several “to-do” lists that crowd my brain. There’s a list of personal items in my iPhone “Notes” app. There’s a list of activities queued for me on our internal workflow tool. My email inbox has its own lineup. And then my head reminds me of items I haven’t written down: pick up dinner
We were walking through our neighborhood on Father’s Day this year when we spotted a man doing yard work. “Happy Father’s Day!” I called out. “What I want to do today is be productive!” he replied. I understand that—it feels good to get things done. The most recent book I highlighted on my Recommended Resources
Chances are, your email owns you. It’s open on your computer as you read this, or it’s an app away on your device. Your inbox is an endless fountain of opportunity—and challenge. Because it doesn’t matter whether you fight to control it or resign to the flood; either way it owns you. Its constant flow
I have a confession that hurts to write: I don’t have much appreciation for people who aren’t useful to me. When someone works hard and improves their results over time, I’m invested in the relationship. When they aren’t demonstrating the activity I expect, I distance myself from them and consider ways to “fix” the situation.
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE