Business Insight Zone

Skip the crossword.

Okay, that’s a trivial piece of advice — and I like crosswords enough that I won’t deny you that pleasure if you really enjoy it.

But better than a crossword is to bring your life and work into sharper focus, and to align your actions with what you really want for yourself, your organization, and the people you care about.

Yesterday I suggested that you take an hour on Sunday to figure out which projects you should abandon. This reminded me of a few other posts I’ve written that might be just the thing to change your Sunday afternoon from a last chance at laziness to a first crack at living a week that really moves you closer to your goals. Here they are:

• One big workflow. (Don’t buy into the myth that there’s “work” and “life” — it’s all one thing.)
• 60 weekend minutes that will make your week go better. (6 tasks x 10 minutes each = one hour that will start your week on the right foot.)
• The Magic Hour. (Similar idea, but focused on your #1 project.)
• Self-management tip: explode the stack. (Big stacks are daunting, and conceal both jewels and junk. Use this technique to uncover each.)
• Stress kills. (Before you get back into the stressful swing of your week, contemplate what stress is doing to your mind and your body — then nip it in the bud.)
• Give yourself the gift of calm. (Strike a pre-emptive blow against the busy-ness of the upcoming week so you can reap the rewards of calm, focused work.)

I hope you’ll find something here that’s useful — and that you’ll do something with your Sunday afternoon that will bring you better rewards than a crossword ever could.

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Image by Pete, used under a Creative Commons license.