Emotional management

The fundamental change we need is a shift from a feeling- centered approach to decisions to a purpose- centered approach. The question isn’t “What do I feel like doing?” but, rather, “what needs to be done?” All the time management systems in the world won’t really help us very much until we’ve developed the capacity to make decisions based on purp

Control over consciousness is not simply a cognitive skill. At least as much as intelligence, it requires the commitment of emotions and will. It is not enough to know how to do it; one must do it, consistently, in the same way as athletes or musicians who must keep practicing what they know in theory. And this is never easy. Progress is relatively

summary, mindful productivity aims to answer three questions: Managing your energy: When is my magic window? Managing your executive function: What belongs in this window? Managing your emotions: How can I keep the window open?

The key concept to keep in mind here is that staying in control will ultimately be a function of how you manage to allocate your physical resources—quite simply, what action you are taking now, and how comfortably you are relating to that.

The more you hurry, the more frustrating it is to encounter tasks (or toddlers) that won’t be hurried; the more compulsively you plan for the future, the more anxious you feel about any remaining uncertainties, of which there will always be plenty. And the more individual sovereignty you achieve over your time, the lonelier you get. All of this ill