Tag Archive for: how to be more organized

An Entire Store Dedicated to Pencils!

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I’ve always loved office supplies, notebooks, pens, highlighters – you name it I go crazy for it.  If you’re an organizational nerd like me you probably can identify. But for some reason pencils, in particular have always been my thing. I write with pencil pretty exclusively and only use pen when I’m writing a check or filling out a greeting card.

The main problem with being such a pencil fanatic is that it’s hard for me to find the perfect pencil. Typically I use mechanical pencils but I’m very particular  because I’m a lefty and we have a smudge problem when we write.

Imagine my excitement when my mother told me that she heard about a pencil only store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan called CW Pencil Enterprise. Given my affinity for pencils I was intrigued and had to visit.

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How to Break Down Your Goals

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Whatever project you have in mind, whether it’s writing a book, planning a big dinner party or starting your own side hustle, these big ideas can quickly become overwhelming. Thinking about all the work you have left to do can make you feel like giving up before you even begin..

To help me feel less overwhelmed I use a little trick called “backtiming.” This is a concept I picked up from my day job as a TV news producer. If your show finishes at 11pm, that’s it, you can’t over run. So to make the news work on time we start with the end in mind and work backwards. This guarantees that you’ll finish on time.

This method has multiple real world applications, if you’re a whiz in the kitchen you probably use this method to ensure all the various elements of your dish will finish at the same time. You can also use backtiming to plan out your future goals. For more on how backtiming works check this out.

It also helps to break up your goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. You can focus on one of these lists at a time to prevent yourself from getting distracted by all the other pieces of the puzzle. Read more

A Scientifically-Proven Recipe For Achieving More

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Think back to your most productive day this past week. Now ask yourself: On that morning, what did you do differently?

What did you eat for lunch that afternoon? What strategies did you use to silence distractions, eliminate procrastination, and stay focused all day long?

The truth is, most of us don’t pay nearly enough attention to our daily routine.

But what if you knew precisely the right formula? What if you had a scientifically-proven recipe for achieving top performance? What if you could bottle that one perfect day, and uncork it at will?

If you’ve ever wondered how you can take your performance to the next level, I have something that I know you’re going to love. It’s an incredible event called the Peak Work Performance Summit, and I’ve been excited about it for months. Read more

How to Be a Part-Time Minimalist

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Living in New York (or any big city) forces a person to be minimalistic when it comes to their stuff. There’s barely enough space for the things I need, let alone the things I don’t need! It’s why I’m such a huge fan of Marie Kondo, she helps you to hold on to the things that spark the most joy,  and get rid of all the stuff that doesn’t.

However, it was only when my appendix burst that I began to adopt minimalism as more of a way of life, as opposed to just a way to deal with clutter.

But what does that actually mean?

Minimalism isn’t about getting rid of everything you own or leaving everyone you know to travel around the world. It’s more about getting back to basics, relying less on material needs or obsessing over the desire to have it all. Read more

Bringing Back “Old School” Productivity Hacks

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As technology gets more and more advanced, we tend to forget how we used to do things.

Think of how shocked kids are when they hear how you did homework before the internet. (No one appreciates the dewey decimal system anymore!)

But are we becoming too reliant on technology? While it certainly makes our lives more convenient, we now bypass certain steps that helped us to stay on top of our organizational game.

Here are some ways kickin’ it “old school” will make you more productive:

Remember the Typewriter – This old piece of tech is symbolic of a whole generation, you’d be hard pressed to find a black and white movie that doesn’t include a typewriter. One of the downsides to the typewriter was that if you made a mistake you had to start over again. As much of a pain as this may be it made you more conscious of what you were typing. Read more