I avoid unscheduled meetings at the office. If someone wants to meet to exchange information, collaborate or whatever the occasion, I usually ask that they add the item to the agenda for the weekly meeting I have scheduled with most of my team. What I do make time for are unscheduled conversations. For me, this is one of the chief gains of being focused on efficiency and productivity. I create room for conversations about life, relationships and matters of consequence without fretting about what I’m neglecting. Unscheduled meetings are a distraction and are usually the result of poor prioritization or time sensitivity on the part of the requestor. Impromptu conversations are part of the healthy cadence of life and present wonderful opportunities to invest in relationships. Say no to the meetings and say yes to the people.
be brief: write like you’re using a mobile device and have fat fingers write a helpful subject: recipients will see your name and the subject and decide whether to open based on those two bits of information use bullet points: better than sentences buried in paragraphs highlight action items: pull out from the rest of the text so they are easy to recognize and act on use a three act format: friendly intro, bullet point facts, clear action items
What’s the strategic plan for your family this year? You do it for your business or organization. You map out the year ahead, month by month, team by team or role by role. You reflect on what the accumulated effort and focus will need to be to achieve some very specific goals. Do you do the same for your family? Your children? Your marriage? Why are we so less strategic with our families compared to our businesses? Try sitting down with your family in the next few days and decide where you want to end up when the coming year is over. Work backwards to figure out what everyone needs to do to achieve individual or family goals. Be strategic, be intentional. Choose your family story. Do not just let the year happen. Plan, pursue and adjust along the way.
In 2010, I set out to read more than 30 books and share more of what I read with others. With 2010 behind me, I fell short of my goal. I finished the year reading 26. In 2011, I’m committed to crossing the 30 book hurdle. If you’re also interested in reading more, I thought I’d share some things that have helped me: 1: turning off the tv 2: getting a Kindle. I unquestionably read faster on a Kindle. Being able to control font size and thereby the amount of text on each page allows me to customize my reading experience. This is impossible with paper books. It’s also really convenient, which means I have fewer excusses not to read. I can effortlessly read multiple books at a time; it’s light, travels well and has a very long battery life; it lays flat and the new case with a light…



