On Monday I listened to an eye-opening interview with “Deep Work” author, Cal Newport on the Asian Efficiency Podcast.  A fan of Cal’s based on his relatively radical stances on focus and work flow, I teach his work in my talks on productivity.  Warning: nothing he suggests is easy, but based on trials with myself and my clients, I’m thoroughly convinced his ultra-strict methods WORK.

Fantasy:

You set a timer to work on a very specific project. You immediately dive into deep focus and concentration, effortlessly producing your best work within minutes.  At the end of your prescribed period of focus, you realize you have eliminated your to do list and/or written the next great American novel.

Reality:

You sit down to write your newsletter. Three sentences in, a Messages text pop-up sends you into a peripheral conversation that has nothing to do with writing said newsletter. 

When getting acquainted with a client’s home or office, I always look at the back of their doors.  Most of the time they are blank, while items desperately in need of storage sit nearby on the floor.  In this case, a small utility room off of an office needed attention.  The answer was clear: the elfa Door & Wall Rack at The Container Store.  You can either purchase one of their pre-arranged systems, or choose baskets a la carte as I did.  Here’s the demystified break-down of this exact system:

The minimalism video tutorial series is back!  I just posted a lesson on getting rid of your old MRIs and X-rays.  Yes, many of you have MRIs and X-rays that you cannot get rid of for various reasons, but many of you DO have MRIs and X-rays that are totally obsolete that you should get rid of, like I finally did. Watch the video below. Click here to watch the entire series.

A past client of mine recently asked me for some bookkeeper referrals.  This is common, and I’m happy to do it.  It’s also common for me to share referrals for graphic designers, virtual assistants, and freelance resources.  I finally learned that if I have them all in one note, I can simply copy and paste the sources into an email within seconds, instead of reinventing the wheel each time I’m asked.

It’s all too easy to get caught up in buying a little something here and there while on vacation. Vacations have us feeling freer to buy that t-shirt we’ll unlikely ever wear at home, that scarf (because it fits in our bag, not because our wardrobe needs it), or that tiny sculpture that seems irresistible at the time.