Deciding On (And Committing To) New Goals
How do you get motivated to do something? You set a goal, commit to it (preferably publicly), and then take all the little baby steps needed to achieve it. But what happens when you can't even think of a goal you care enough about to achieve? Well, you get stuck in a rut - and unfortunately, this is where I'm currently finding myself. Perhaps I set off the chain of events myself through inadvertent sandbagging when I declared that my big picture theme for the year was to settle. I defended the choice of seemingly-unambitious words by talking about what settling meant to me (it's a positive thing!), but right now, I feel like I'm even further from settled now than I was when I made that goal - and in fact, am feeling completely unsettled and lost. Furthermore, it seems like every time I think I'm hitting rock bottom, something else goes wrong that pulls my attention away from the personal stuff and onto logistical challenges that are taking hours and hours to solve. (Like my car getting broken into and a lot of personal/irreplaceable/expensive things stolen. Or some stupid tax issues that mean I'm likely out a couple thousand dollars until spring 2015.) I'm really frustrated that … [Continue reading]
Links I Love: March 2
Want to stay in bed longer? Here’s what I’ve been loving, laughing, and getting intrigued by all week long. Now cozy up with your laptop/iPad and enjoy :) CAREER My friend Blake sent this to me, and I found it really fascinating. Instead of leaning in? Recline! (Foreign Policy) Great role model for girls! Entrepreneur Barbie: Mattel Premiers New Doll at Toy Fair. (Time) The Savings Habits of the New Rich: Why You Should Be Living Paycheck to Paycheck. (LearnVest) How You Can Turn A Performance Review Into A Great Learning Experience. (Barking Up the Wrong Tree) Going through a tough time? How to tighten up your game at work when you’re depressed. (Captain Awkward) And if work was what was making you depressed? On Changing Dreams. (A Beautiful Mess) PRODUCTIVITY/SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Breakpoint — Bigger is Not Better. (Farnam Street) How to Overcome Morning Peevishness: Advice from an Antarctic Explorer. (The Art of Manliness) This is a really cool psychological game: How To Connect Deeply With Anyone (In 5 Minutes). (Thought Catalog) The Simple Thing That Makes The Happiest People In The World So Happy. (Barking Up the Wrong Tree) 4 … [Continue reading]
Links I Love: February 23
Want to stay in bed longer? Here’s what I’ve been loving, laughing, and getting intrigued by all week long. Now cozy up with your laptop/iPad and enjoy :) CAREER 7 Career Cues We Can Take From Olympians. (Levo League) My team usually works remotely on Fridays, so How to Run a Remote Team Standup Meeting was really helpful. (Zapier) 10 Ways to Make Your Office Fun To Work (Lifehack) Love What You Do: 4 Things That Will Make You Happier At Work. (Barking Up the Wrong Tree) How To Write Emails Important People Actually Respond To. (Levo League) And, same topic, different author/tips: How to get a busy person to respond to your email. (Medium) 6 Things You Should Never Say to a Boss. (LearnVest) PRODUCTIVITY/SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Financial Procrastination: 4 Ways We Get in Our Own Way. (LearnVest) What Really Motivates Us to Stick to a Project? (Zen Habits) Speed not quality? Sometimes; here's why: Speed Up! (Steve Pavlina) 5 Unusual Ways to Start Working Smarter, Not Harder, Backed by Science. (Buffer Blog) Want to improve your productivity? Get a dog. My travel schedule doesn't allow me to care for a pet, but I want to get a dog very … [Continue reading]
Exercising at the Airport
What a long day of travel it has been! My trip to Nice was fun, but the real price of my cheap ticket was that it took almost 24 hours each way getting there (thanks to a strange routing going from Dallas to Mexico City to Paris and finally to Nice). This morning, I had a four seven hour layover in Mexico City (thanks to some delays), and I knew I would have to go straight to the office from the airport. Furthermore, I had meetings scheduled till 8pm, and then a business dinner after that… so literally no time to work out. Of course it’s not the end of the world to skip a day, but after 11 hours on a plane from Paris to Mexico City, I was pretty restless and ready to move! The latest trend in airport lounges has been for them to add spas, offering massages, manicures, and even facials. I took advantage of the free manicure when I was flying out of the DFW Centurion Lounge on Friday, and it was definitely nice to be able to primp like that. But what I’d really love to see would be more airport lounges offering a gym. The new “yoga rooms” at DFW, LAX, and ORD have gotten a lot of attention lately, but if I’m going to take the time to get into gym clothes and work out, … [Continue reading]
