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In my twenties, I lived in a crummy garden-style apartment. It didn't even have central air, which is unusual for Atlanta.
One Saturday, I woke up to about an inch of water in my closet. Apparently, the aging water heater had reached the end of its life. I immediately called the maintenance guy, Rex, and he came right out.
When Rex and I went downstairs to see if my downstairs neighbor, a young doctor, had experienced any water intrusion, we discovered that the answer was yes.
Read MoreI have a really hard time visualizing a room as it could be.
I can imagine rearranging furnishings in a different way, but it's difficult for me to imagine furnishings that aren't already there. I agonize over paint and textile colors. What's more, it's almost impossible for me to picture options for remodeling.
When it comes to interior design, I see only what is there. I would have to rely on someone like my friend Antonia to be able to see what could be done to create a more pleasant, attractive, and livable space.
Read More“I can’t get anyone to buy from me!”
“Did you ask anyone to buy from you? Did you offer them something to buy?”
“…No.”
I might chuckle about people missing these basics, except I know I’ve missed them, too. For example, I would always fall behind on my bookkeeping—like doing an entire year’s worth two weeks before the tax deadline—and I wondered why. The reason was incredibly simple: I wasn’t making any room on my schedule to do this work.
Read MoreWhen I first read David Allen’s Getting Things Done, there were a number of concepts that blew my nerdy mind.
Among them was the idea that you could create a file that contained only one item. For example, you make a label that says, “birth certificate,” slap it on a manila folder, and slide a single piece of paper inside.
Prior to this, I had tried to categorize papers. Naturally, I would struggle because not everything fits neatly into a category. Organizing things based on simply what they are as opposed to what they are like was a fresh and new approach that opened up a lot of potential for me (and made my files a lot skinnier).
Read MoreIt’s the moment of truth. We’ve clearly identified a problem, and it’s time to pivot to solutions.
“Now that you see this pattern, what will you do differently?”
“I guess I’ve just got to try harder to stay on top of my work,” she says.
It sounds right. It sounds virtuous. It sounds like a reasonable thing to say to get your teacher/boss/mom/coach off of your back. But of course, nothing really changes as a result of “trying harder.” If the way we’re doing it isn’t working, trying to do more of the same isn’t going to help.
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