As I have done for each of the past few years, here are the many ways I enjoyed the experiences of my year: places I visited, what I listened to, what I read, what I watched, and more. Reading I love reading and I love learning. I read quite a…
As any regular reader here knows, I’ve written a lot about how to make changes stick – break down your goals into small pieces and work on one at a time for the 21 days it takes to create a habit. As I have explained, we have a limited amount…
I’ve written a lot about the way willpower impacts our ability to make changes that stick. The bottom line: we have a limited stock of willpower. It’s been studied. It’s a fact. Because of this, the key to making changes that stick is to go slow; to break down your…
In the mid-1990s, I had the good fortune of participating in the Strategic Coach® program. Its quarterly, all-day sessions helped me focus on creating the life I wanted, personally and professionally. One of the first things I learned in the program was their time management system, the most important aspect…
My friend Michael, who sends out weekly motivational messages, sent one recently with a list of “What I’ve Learned” by Andy Rooney, the late 60 Minutes personality. Rooney passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. For many years, I enjoyed watching his 60 Minutes segments. I found him…
Last year I wrote a piece on commitment devices, another practice to help you to make good habits stick. A reader sent me a note saying how much he loved the piece, and he told me what he and his wife have been doing to make changes that stick, as…
This is a guest post by Ash Govender. Making changes can be hard. In your own case, you may have often heard someone say: “make it a habit to…..” followed by some difficult to accomplish task. Then, you try it a few times until you either stop because you don’t…
I have written about the fresh start effect, which I heard about on an episode of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, When Willpower Isn’t Enough. I have written often about the way willpower impacts our ability to make changes that stick—simply, we have a limited amount of willpower (it’s been studied),…
Freakonomics, which I read many years ago, remains one of the most entertaining books I have read. Stephen Dubner, one of the book’s authors, hosts the Freakonomics Radio podcast, which I don’t regularly listen to (because I listen to too many others). The podcast’s web site describes it this way:…
A friend of mine was studying for a licensing exam. She had completed all of her schooling, and when she passed the exam she would be able to begin her career. During the couple of months when she was studying and dealing with its attendant stress, someone shared with her…
I read a good piece in Fast Company with suggestions from people who are successful with their New Year’s resolutions. The first suggestion was near to my heart: Their resolutions revolve around small changes. New Year’s resolutions tend to fail because we take on too many goals at once, or…
As I have done for each of the past few years, here are the many ways I enjoyed the experiences of my year: places I visited, music and podcasts I listened to, books I read, what I watched on TV, and more. Reading I love reading and I love learning.…