The new year provides us a great opportunity to reflect on what we’ve done as we look forward to the year ahead. In that spirit, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve written this year and call out some of my favorite posts.
In order of their appearance:
- Be the Dragon Warrior. First post, and one of my daughter’s favorite movies.
- Today: A Due + Flagged Perspective for OmniFocus. The first of a three-part series on the custom perspectives I use. See also “Scheduling Tasks in OmniFocus” and “Batching Errands and Keeping Others on Track with OmniFocus”.
- The Genius of Banishing Brown M&Ms. I had heard the anecdote about the mercurial rock star, but didn’t realize there was a reason behind it.
- What I Learned About Priorities from Grandma’s Fine China. We still use the expression “Grandma’s fine china” to describe doing something simply (and quickly) so you can spend more time someplace else.
- Why Everyone Should Have a Personal Mission Statement. The exercise at the beginning of this post (with the 3×5 card) was a powerful activity for me. I’ve revisited my mission statement several times since then, and I haven’t changed it yet.
- The Ivy Lee Method: Simply Productive. This has probably had the biggest impact on my day-to-day productivity this year.
- Why Settling for “Good Enough” Might Be Even Better. The phrase “good enough” used to drive me nuts. Now I embrace it wherever I can.
- How Not to Score a Touchdown and Other Lessons from Danny Trevathan. I still chuckle every time I see this post. I think it’s the only time I’ve referred to current events, and it shows how there are lessons all around you if you’re watching for them.
- Forgetting Everything You Need to Do. It sounds strange at first, but it gets at the heart of personal productivity: spend less time doing what you have to so you can spend more time doing what you want do.
- Schrödinger’s Cat and Incoming Email. This is how I think about unread messages. Once I know they’re there, I need to classify them and turn them into what it is. It’s also why I’m trying to check email less frequently.
Have a safe and happily holiday season. Here’s to the wonder and potential of a new year!
