Once you’ve fully burned out, “the pit” is where you go to hang out for a while. And it really is not fun. (Which is, I know, diminutive, but… it’s a hard place to be.) What does the pit look like? It looks like: I try to sit in front of my computer and write,…
I was having a conversation with another coach yesterday about what our biggest learning curve has been regarding our careers. She asked me a very specific question about the type of clientele I coach (writers) that brought this answer out of me, and it surprised me. “I’ve learned that no matter how much someone dislikes…
The “Slide” metaphor is about the role that inertia plays in burnout (creative, physical, emotional, and spiritual). When you create a system (think something like a fuel injection system), and you “start” it, the system requires some sort of anti-inertia (like brakes) to stop its forward motion. Similarly, when you create the system of your…
There is a difference between “stress” and “busy-ness.” Stress is literally defined as “strain; tightness”. If you think of earthquakes, and California. An “earthquake-proof” building is one that was specifically designed to be able to withstand the stress of the shaking earth. Stress is the strain on the joints of the building, exerted by the…
Recently, I released a podcast about Questioning the Premise of “Writers Write”, which is common productivity advice, akin to “BICHOK”. The question-the-premise is important because not everyone should write every day. And not everyone does their best writing when the pressure is on for them to write more consistently. Here is just a quick reminder:…
I’ve been reading the book “When” by Daniel Pink, and it has been blowing my mind a little bit. I’m mostly surprised that more people aren’t talking about this book. The essential premise is that the most often-ignored element of the “who-what-when-where-how” of how we approach things like decision-making, will-power, and excellence, is the “when”.…
Because I do coaching in a major psychometric program, the most common question I get is about the actual tests that I use, and why I use them, and whether or not they are viable (or predictive). I like to talk about the difference between “observable” patterns and “statistical” patterns. When something is an observable…
I was flying to Phoenix the other day. I typically ignore the flight attendant’s spiel (because I fly all the time), but this time, something struck me. During the security information, they stress, “Please secure your own mask before assisting others,” and they show you a parent securing their own mask before assisting the child…