Nitpicking: Why We Do It & 2 Questions To Stop Doing It
After you've handed off a task or project to a team member, there will come a point in time when you see the results of that person's work. You may be pleased. You may be disappointed. Or you may be nitpicky. If you catch yourself being nitpicky with someone else's...
Don’t delegate what you love doing. Delegate what supports you doing it.
The biggest mistake I see people make when they start the process of delegating to an assistant or team member is to start looking for things that they can delegate. The mistake is understandable. If someone asks you, "What can I do for you?" your first instinct would...
Living Beyond the Little Right Lies
I used to say that I'm not the "entrepreneurial type." Except, apparently, I am, because I'm living it. I also used to say that I like stability, and not taking scary leaps. Except I don't (I get bored and restless when things are too stable), and I totally do get a...
Why I Stopped Working With Busy People
I no longer work with busy people. I work with people who have a lot on their plates, a lot to do, are inundated with opportunities and projects, and who find it useful to have an extra brain and an extra set of hands to help them accomplish all of it. I love working...
The Danger of Perpetual Availability and The Value of Being Unavailable
Far and away, the biggest mistake I made starting out in business was making myself too available and responding to email way too often. I wanted to seem competent and trustworthy, and the easiest way I knew to do that was to be perpetually available. I tried to be...
The truth about emergencies (it’s probably not one)
On some days, I check email all day long. Other days, I may only check it a couple of times, especially if I've got several client appointments or am working on intensive projects. When I mention that I sometimes only check email once or twice a day, people say, "What...
Two reasons email has become ineffective (And how checking it once a day addresses them)
Email, for many of us, has reached a point where it feels burdensome and out of control on more days than not. Some folks are ditching email entirely--an impulse I can't claim is unfamiliar, though that's probably not a realistic possibility for many of us. I'm not...
Showing up and letting go (plus eight others): My 10 Personal Commandments
I've been reading (and enjoying) Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project blog for a few years... which means I've been thinking about crafting my own set of personal commandments for a few years as well. Over the past week, while I've been unplugged (mostly) and in a...
The Seven Dwarves of Social Media
Suppose Snow White's produce-induced slumber lasted long enough to bring her from little-cottage-in-the-forest to profile-in-the-social-media-expanse. Accustomed as she is to identifying her companions by their most easily-recognizable traits, what floppy-hatted...
Goodbye, Grandma
Dear Grandma, You got comfy in your recliner yesterday afternoon. Snuggled up with your blanket, in that soft pink and white striped top you loved, with a kleenex or two tucked up in your sleeve. "I'm just really, really tired," you said as you reclined in your...