The Science of Real Deadlines: Why Your Task Management System Needs the Due Date/Deadline Distinction
“I’m curious what you do with actual due dates, the deadlines by which tasks must be completed to fulfill on our promises to others or where you will miss the metaphorical boat if you miss the deadline.” This question from one of my readers stopped me cold. It came after I published my article explaining […]
The AI Bubble Is Bursting: What Smart Professionals Do Next
Little by little, the AI hype, like all hypes, starts to fade out. It always happens. Who remembers the famous blockchain or the crypto crazy days? The .com bubble that was supposed to make every business obsolete overnight? Of course, they’re still there, alive, but not grabbing the attention/impact they had years or decades ago. […]
Stop Managing Information. Start Using It: 3 Workflows That Deliver Results
Information without action changes nothing. Every day you are surrounded by it. Reports land in your inbox. Market updates flash on your screen. Competitors make moves. Customers share feedback. Opportunities appear… then vanish. We were told that having this much information would make us unstoppable. Better decisions. Faster results. Clear competitive advantages. But for most […]
Stop Managing Information, Start Weaponizing It: A Leader’s Framework
Every business leader receives around 250 decisions worth of information each day: reports, emails, market analyses, competitor updates, industry news, internal communications. By the time you finish this article, another 30 items will likely demand your attention. Picture this: You’re sitting in your office, armed with the latest productivity apps and organizational tools. Your morning […]
Why “The Most Important Tool” Is Nonsense: The System Approach High-Achieving Professionals Need to Be Fully Productive
“This is the most important tool in my productivity stack!” I’ve heard this statement countless times, from startup founders, executives, and even self-proclaimed productivity gurus. Each time, I can’t help but cringe. Why? Because this single sentence reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how true productivity works at scale. After decades in the productivity trenches, I’ve […]
Elevate How You Think, Work, and Lead: 3 AI Solutions that Unlock Next-Level Productivity
In a world where demands on busy professionals continue to multiply while time remains stubbornly finite, artificial intelligence has emerged as the definitive career accelerator of our era. The promise is enticing: AI tools that can draft your emails, create your presentations, analyze your data, and even think alongside you. Yet many busy professionals find […]
Embracing Change as a Busy Professional: Your Survival Guide in an Ever-Evolving World
Look around you right now. The device you’re reading this on didn’t exist in its current form just a decade ago. The job role you hold today likely has responsibilities that would have been unrecognizable to someone with your title five years ago. The software you use daily gets updated, features change, entire platforms disappear […]
Why Smart Professionals Never Mix Tasks With Notes: A Science-Backed and Useful Approach
There’s something irresistible about checkboxes in note-taking and PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) tools. After decades of experimenting with productivity systems, I’ve discovered why they’re also one of the biggest traps for busy professionals. This might sound counterintuitive, especially when tools like Heptabase, Craft, Notion, Obsidian, or Tana offer seductive checkbox features that promise “the perfect […]
Stop Using Due Dates Wrong in Your Task Management System: The Simple Shift That Will Transform Your Productivity
You’ve got the tools. You’ve got the workflows. You’ve even color-coded your calendar. Yet every Monday morning feels like stepping into quicksand. Tasks shifting, deadlines looming, and that gnawing sense that you’re always one step behind. Here’s the brutal truth: You’re not failing because you lack the right tools. You’re failing because you’re thinking about […]
Apple Notes vs. Craft vs. Heptabase: Are You Using the Right Tool for the Right Job?
Every week, I watch the same scenario unfold in our coaching sessions at the Paperless Movement®’s INNER CIRCLE Program. A successful professional opens their laptop, desperately searching for that crucial insight he captured three months ago. He knows it’s “somewhere in their notes,” but after minutes of scrolling through meeting transcripts, random thoughts, and project […]
