We live in a hyperconnected, hyperactive world. Here are some recommendations to keep your focus: 1. Use Pomodoro. Default Pomodoro: 25 min focus, 5 min break. I like to do 18 min focus with 2 min breaks. (app hack: Focus To-Do) 2. Don't break your pomodoro by: a. Ignoring the message for 5-10 min until your pomodoro will end. b. Asking the person to wait 5-15 min because you want to finish something (no one usually minds) 3. When you do want to break your flow, write down where you are and what you wanted to do next, so that you don't have to spend 5-20 min remembering where you left off.

Don't feel like doing something? There may be a lot of reasons why you feel that way: - You're unsure about what you are supposed to do - You don't know exactly how to finish the task - You're afraid it may take a lot of time - etc. Analysing the motivations behind your feelings, might be useful, but in my experience it doesn't really help that much. If you just work, you'll see the negative feelings go away. So how can you take the plunge? Try this: - Log out of everything distracting: Facebook, Teams, Whatsapp, etc. - Set a Pomodoro for 7 minutes, break for 2 (app hack: Focus To Do) - Start focusing for 7 min, then gradually increase your focus time Remember: being able to focus is a skill. You'll get better as you practice.

We were sitting in silence for the past 5 minutes. Our colleague did not yet join our call. We were depending on them to give us the OK for an important initiative we were working on for the past 4 months. It took a lot of work, courage, and patience. And here we were... nothing. Not sure if this has ever happened to you, but it sure is not fun! It's wasting time, energy, and also plummets the morale of everyone. In this article you'll find practical tools to: 1. Don't get upset 2. Clarify your objectives and create a common goal 3. Make it easy for people to show up/reschedule Let's dig in! 1. Check yourself before you wreck yourself! 🤕🤕🤕😆😆😆 Getting angry is never the answer unless... the question is: What is never the answer? So, check your emotional state: Are you angry? Are you frustrated? Do you feel disappointed? Do you feel let down? Start by writing down how you feel (on a piece of paper, or any writing software - Notepad, OneNote, Word, etc.). Spend 5-10 min writing everything that crosses your mind. Get into the flow of it. It's a bit of a cathartic exercise. It will get any negative emotion off your chest and you can start going into step 2. Understand that: 1. No one owes you anything. 2. People are not actively thinking of you (a few exceptions aside). They may be busy, lazy, or maybe even uncaring. At the end of the day: It does not matter. It's their burden. Let them carry it. Don't judge. You don't know what they're going through. 3. Someone can hurt you by putting your request at the bottom of their To-Do list. Even unintentionally. Being fuzzy, unspecific, and wanting to punish the other person will not score you any points. Even though they may be wrong, no one likes to be put under the microscope. You don't either. So move on. Solution: Get on top of their mind and their To-Do list. 2. When your purpose is clear, success is very near. 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️ Ask yourself the following questions: - What's in it for me? What am I getting out of this? What do I selfishly want? - What's in it for them? What are they getting out of this? What do they selfishly want? - What do I want for the relationship?