"How are you doing?" "What are you doing?" Sound familiar? One of our first questions when seeing someone is usually about the behavior of "doing something." And constantly "doing something" or keeping ourselves busy is a habit that we probably acquired at a young age. As a child we may have been told, "find something to do" or "if you don't have something to do, I'll give you something to do" And this type of thinking has stayed with us. Busyness is an ingrained habit that keeps us from identifying and accomplishing what's most important in our lives. The habit of busyness in some people has evolved into a competition. Observing a conversation in a coffee shop a couple of years back, I was amazed at how two friends went back and forth sharing all they have been doing. It seemed like a competition of "who was doing more" rather than a connection of friends. Now we check our Facebook feed and at first find an escape from our daily responsibilities, but quickly feel a restlessness that we "should be doing something" but we either can't pull ourselves away or find an ...

What does courage look like at your work? Is it having a tough conversation with a boss, disciplining an employee for inappropriate behavior, or pushing back in a meeting? Anyone of these situations requires some amount of courage. Do they happen consistently? If we are honest, probably not. I'd be willing to bet that in your office there are still conversations waiting to happen on any one of these examples: a tough conversation with a boss, disciplining an employee for inappropriate behavior or pushing back in a meeting. I believe they don't happen because we conform. We are more concerned with the approval rating of others and blending in rather than taking action on what we know is right. There is some element of fear that prevents us from taking action. "Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as ordinary courage." Brene Brown I believe courageous people get scared, but they choose to ignore their feelings and take action anyway. Courage = Taking action even though you are scared. 3 Ways To Practice Courage 1: Say "No" more often Does this scenari ...

"Your check-in time is 7:49," the receptionist told me as I arrived for an eight o'clock doctor visit. "Thank you", I responded. As I was on my way to sit down, I thought what a subtle way to inform people if they are on time for their appointment or not. We have become a society for being increasingly late. And excuses come out of our mouth like our usual cup of morning coffee. And we think rationalizing thoughts of, "they'll just figure it out and fit me in" or "I always wait for them." I came back a second time and was greeted with the same response. The reception told me about my check-in time. And then I thought this was more then just a way to let people know if they are on time, this is a structure of accountability. Structure of Accountability = something that is put in place to raise awareness of behavior I believe that when they started telling people about their check-in time, they saw an increase in more patients being on time. When the reception first told me about my check-in time at 7:49, I thought, I'm glad I'm on time. When I went back a second time, a ...

You wake up, either by the alarm or naturally. You lay in bed and decide whether to hit the snooze and get a couple of extra minutes or start your day. And then it happens... you begin to feel the increasing pressure of time. Your mind starts racing over all the things on your never-ending to-do list. And maybe questions of doubt start to arise. How will I get it all done today? Am I missing something? How can I best manage my time? As these questions come, there is one that probably does not. And that is the most important question... What do I need to stop doing? It's a great question. The best question. Here is my list of top four behaviors to stop doing so you can be more productive externally and acquire peace of mind internally. 1. Don't read or watch the news first thing in the morning or last thing at night 80% of the news is filled with something that will excite or anger you. The habit of watching the news or reading the paper was essential when information was scarce, now we suffer from information overload and don't have a proper filter as to what info ...

We live in a rapidly changing world, and for most of us, change is quickly happening at work. Disruptive technology, innovation, and increased transparency are just some of the driving factors of change. We may have little control over the future of our job or industry, but we still have influence when it comes to getting the right things done at the right times. Here are the top three productivity killers. 1. Poor Prioritizing And Planning Placing unrealistic expectations on oneself is the fastest way to becoming burned out at work. We do this all the time. We have a 'to-do list' where we put anywhere from ten to fifteen items on it. And we tell ourselves a lie. "I can get it all done." And we don't. Then we leave at the end of the day with the unfinished items on our minds and no sense of accomplishment or progress. A state of constant busyness is usually the result of lazy thinking — no prioritization or planning. 2. Procrastination When procrastination is an everyday behavior, it usually are coming from a place of fear. You may catch yourself overanalyzing som ...

I live in Tampa Bay, and as a resident of Tampa for over twenty-five years my loyalty goes to the home team. I also like competition and seeing new teams rise to the top and compete at a high level. Because of this, I find it a little frustrating that the New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl.   However, their continued success is both surprising and inspiring. Bill Belichick might not be the most charismatic leader but his results speak for themselves.   Here are three things you can learn from Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots.   1. Focus On One Game At A Time   So often I find myself thinking about the result and in my business, it is thoughts like: "How did my speech go?" "How will the presentation turn out?" "What will my monthly sales be?" It is incredible to hear how Belichick doesn't focus on the past. Not on how many Super Bowls he has won or if his team won last week. Neither does he focus too heavily on the future. He doesn't think about his team making the playoffs or who are the Patriots playing next month ...