How Constraints Unleash Creativity and Productivity
Constraints can enable innovation and efficiency. By knowing what boundaries limit us and what ones are bendable, we can use constraints to inform decision making as well as cultivate creativity in our worklife. Here is an example of using both…
How Parents Can Maximize Mornings
Making the most of mornings leads to increased productivity, heightened efficiency, better health, and, probably, improved happiness, too. Personal and professional development gurus – from Robin Sharma to these ridiculous entrepreneurs – argue that our potential is best realized with…
Five Productivity Lessons from Espresso
I love coffee. It’s delicious, chock full of life-enhancing antioxidants and fosters connections and collaboration, too. After spending a few weeks in Italy last year, I developed a love of espresso. In addition to the concentrated caffeine boost that a…
Five Simple Ways to Build Everyday Vitality
Everyday vitality means cultivating “the feeling of aliveness and energy that lies at the core of well-being.” According to Samantha Boardman, psychiatrist and author of Everyday Vitality, investing in energy inoculates us against disruption, unpredictable hassles, and micro-stressors that erode…
Where We Work Should Be Beautiful
When I was in Italy as a member of Vancity’s Co-operative Study Tour we visited a worker co-op called Kilowatt and I fell in love with the space and its people. The organization focuses on consulting, communication and education that…
Why You Should Have an End of Work Ritual
Lately I’ve been struggling with time management. Following a recent promotion (mine) and a recent leave (an awesome manager who is having an awesome baby), I temporarily have a lot of people are reporting to me and the complexity of…
Six Tips for Staying Sane While Working from Home with Kids
Many parents are working from home with our kids as COVID-19 burns its way around the world. Canada has been impacted by mass unemployment. Offices are shuttered and employees in most industries have been sent home – some with pay,…
Five Ways to Get Work Done Over the Summer
It can be hard to move work forward during the summer. People are away, the out-of-office replies are everywhere, the weather is hot, and things slow down. The problem is that projects need to be completed and results still need…
Three Tips for Achieving Mid-Holiday Productivity
It’s in between Christmas and 2017 and you’re staring down the business end of a messy home and counting the days before New Years Eve sucks up a lot of your energy. Here are three tips for achieving mid-holiday productivity…
The Morning Efficiency Routine for Parents
At least once a month my newsfeed produces an article from Inc, Fast Company, Huffington Post, or some other “efficiency expert” about why I should wake up early and follow a few simple steps, like meditation, in order to achieve…