In my last article here at Stepcase Lifehack,one of the comments I received suggested that there is a fine way to get around the question of having a “sacred’ calendar. Popular books like Getting Things Done and others advocate the use of calendars for appointments, trips and other activities that “must” be performed on a particular…

While I love Getting Things Done (GTD) as one of the best time management systems around, many of its user struggle to implement its recommendations. The reason? GTD was developed in the 1990′s at a time when email volumes were low, mobile email access was limited, there was no such thing as tweeting and 2…

Most of us think of time management skills as something that we happen to have, and others desperately need. It’s easy to do so when we believe that a lifetime of learning can be contained in a single lesson that we happen to have learned. But are we as good at managing our…

GMail’s latest feature, Priority Inbox, was rolled out this week to much fanfare, amidst claims from Google that it will speed email processing and reduce information overload. The fact that it produces neither result, in spite of the latest secret technology it uses, could help us all learn some important lessons about productive…

What makes a smartphone “smart?” This may sound like a dumb question, but I have actually been asking it ever since I made a commitment to upgrade my time management system with the purchase of a shiny, new 2011 smartphone in January. Setting aside the question of the costs (which I understand can top US$2,000 per…

About a year ago, I published a question in a Blackberry forum asking how the devices had helped to make professionals more productive. The responses I received were typified by the one that I remember the most: “I am more productive because I can check my email on  the train to and from work.” This seemed like…

Imagine, 1-2 years from now, that a new kind of employee has emerged in your place of work. He’s seen as effective by executives and managers alike, and is famous for the speed at which he returns email. In fact, the new email tracking software that the company has in place then, shows…

In my recent NewHabits-NewGoals time management programs I have noticed a disturbing trend: now, there is always at least 10% of the class that is unable to comply with my request to turn off their Blackberrys or iPhones for the duration of the class. This needs to be put in context, however. None of the…

During the course of the average working day, we make a number of promises to get back to people. We make some of them verbally or in writing directly. At other times, we quietly make a personal promise to ourselves. Many of us are resigned to what we believe is God’s cruel…

“I’m feeling guilty because I procrastinate too much” A quick search on Twitter confirmed my hunch.  There are a lot of  people talking about procrastination, and the tweets I surveyed  are filled with feelings of guilt, regret and remorse. The word “procrastinate” is a heavy one, and I believe that people are  trying to solve the problem…

“Most people who attempt to learn a new time management system fail.” I can’t prove the above statement with hard facts, but I have a sense that it’s true, based on my personal experience and observations.  If success is defined as 100% successful implementation, then that statistic is most certainly true. On the other hand, perhaps 99%…

You know you are in a bit of trouble when your boss tells you that you need to improve your time management skills. In times past, when training budgets were somewhat normal the solution was easy. Sign up for a class in New Jersey, make sure that the boss is involved in…

A few months ago as I was travelling through LaGuardia airport, I caught site of a fellow traveller with his two hands clicking away on his Blackberry. What looked a bit different was the fact that both his hands were above his head, clicking away on…

A participant in one of my time management workshops recently shared that her corporate culture has evolved to the point where a manager who owns a Blackberry is expected to respond to email within the hour. In a few of those instances in which she took too long to respond, the results was an email to…