Lisa Bodell

And so as an individual, it would be really helpful to write down all the things that you do in a typical month. And circle the ones that you think are actually meaningful, valuable. And what you'll find is that not many of them are. They're obligations. They're necessary work of work things, status meetings, reports, all that.

And so as an individual, it would be really helpful to write down all the things that you do in a typical month. And circle the ones that you think are actually meaningful, valuable. And what you'll find is that not many of them are. They're obligations. They're necessary work of work things, status meetings, reports, all that.

The things that aren't circled, that aren't valuable, you really have to take a hard look at and say, can I get rid of some of these? Can I change the frequency on them? Can I put them on a time diet? And what that forces you to do is really think about why you do what you do. We don't question the way we work. And what happens is typically we get very defensive.

The things that aren't circled, that aren't valuable, you really have to take a hard look at and say, can I get rid of some of these? Can I change the frequency on them? Can I put them on a time diet? And what that forces you to do is really think about why you do what you do. We don't question the way we work. And what happens is typically we get very defensive.

We get very defensive because we think there's nothing we can get rid of and that's not true. The other thing that we, once you look through your list and you try to get rid of things or change things that you do, the other, the second half to the exercise is then defining what do you wish you could do?

We get very defensive because we think there's nothing we can get rid of and that's not true. The other thing that we, once you look through your list and you try to get rid of things or change things that you do, the other, the second half to the exercise is then defining what do you wish you could do?

What do you want to spend your, if you just don't like what you're doing, then what do you wish you were doing? And I don't mean like changing your job. What don't you like about your job? What do you wish you were doing more of in your job that you were hired to do? That's going to help you define what meaningful work is to you.

What do you want to spend your, if you just don't like what you're doing, then what do you wish you were doing? And I don't mean like changing your job. What don't you like about your job? What do you wish you were doing more of in your job that you were hired to do? That's going to help you define what meaningful work is to you.

So that kind of gives you a compass and that allows you to make better choices with your time. The last thing I would say to people, not just deciding you want to do it and then defining it, is really being good about deleting things. And deleting things means saying no. And if you can't say no to meetings or to reports or being included, opt out a couple times and see what happens.

So that kind of gives you a compass and that allows you to make better choices with your time. The last thing I would say to people, not just deciding you want to do it and then defining it, is really being good about deleting things. And deleting things means saying no. And if you can't say no to meetings or to reports or being included, opt out a couple times and see what happens.

Start using the phrase yes if. And the reason that's good is we always think we have to yes and things. In a creative setting, yes and building on is great. In a work setting, it's bad because you are constantly adding. Yes if is if someone asks you to do things, put boundaries on it. Don't just...

Start using the phrase yes if. And the reason that's good is we always think we have to yes and things. In a creative setting, yes and building on is great. In a work setting, it's bad because you are constantly adding. Yes if is if someone asks you to do things, put boundaries on it. Don't just...

make it a transaction with them it's not okay for someone to take your time so say sure i can do that if you do something for me i can do it in this timeline i can make something else not a priority right there's trade-offs and i think that starts to teach people that when you request other people's time you better be willing to know what you're willing to trade off for it and that those are some simple things to get started

make it a transaction with them it's not okay for someone to take your time so say sure i can do that if you do something for me i can do it in this timeline i can make something else not a priority right there's trade-offs and i think that starts to teach people that when you request other people's time you better be willing to know what you're willing to trade off for it and that those are some simple things to get started