Ah, November.  The time when we celebrate what’s arguably the best monthly tradition on the calendar?  It’s hard to believe that as it closes, we once again wrap up another National Novel Writing Month.  (What?  You thought I was going to talk about Thanksgiving?) For the second year in a row I managed to complete a 50,000 word book.  And yes, I did that in a month.  This is both impossibly harder, and wonderfully easier than it sounds.  Make no doubt about it, 50,000 words is a ...

Procrastination.  My own personal form of kryptonite.  Of course I’m not alone in that.  It’s the bane of college students, employees, and organizations around the world.  It seems to be part of the human condition.  Something that’s a fundamental experience we all share.  Regardless of our culture. I’ve tried everything to stop procrastinating.  But it always seems like I’m waiting until the last minute to get it done.  Of course over the years I’ve had to learn to procrastinate less.  I’ve learned that what worked in college doesn’t ...

Whenever I’ve flown across the country I’ve always been amazed at the Rockies.  When you’re flying you can see that it’s not so much one row of giant mountains, but several consecutive rows.  Looking out those plane windows, I always have the same reaction – what would I have done if I was Lewis and Clark? Frankly I think I would have seen one mountain range and thought, “yeah right!  Denver looks like a ...

Have you ever wanted to be more productive at work?  And yet when you get to work you find yourself unmotivated, distracted, and maybe even bored or tired? Well I have some news for you, the solution might be easier than you think, and it may have nothing to do with improving your organizational skills, time management abilities, or even professional talent.  Instead it might just depend on what you do on your way to work. Research has started to show that those fleeting emotions we feel (like when ...