Your Environment Is Working For You or Against You

Time to read: 60 slow and luxurious seconds

You sat down to focus.

Then you noticed the laundry. A Teams message caught your eye. Your phone pinged. Forty-five minutes later, you've done everything except the thing you sat down to do.

Your environment did that.

We like to think focus is a matter of willpower. But willpower is a limited resource, and it’s easy to drain it with distractions. Instead, how about you design your surroundings so you're not burning through your willpower in the first place?

This applies to....

• your physical space, the clutter, the noise, the phone sitting face-up on your desk.
• your digital space, the tabs, the notifications, the apps, engineered to grab your attention and keep it.
• the people around you, the open-door culture, the colleague who drops by, the meeting that could have been an email.

All these things are necessary at times. Left unmanaged, they will run your day.

The good news: small changes have a big impact. Close the tabs. Put the phone in a drawer. Signal to the people around you that you're heads-down. Clear your desk. Open only what you need and get to work.

Make focus the path of least resistance.

This week: Pick one thing in your environment that consistently pulls your attention and change it. Move your phone. Turn off notifications. Find a quieter spot, and see what happens.

Why Focus Feels Impossible Right Now

Time to read: 55 seconds

Check out this gorgeous Zuni inlaid hummingbird pendant!

Your to-do list is long.

Your inbox has thousands of unread messages.

Your phone buzzes. A meeting appears on your calendar. Someone needs something. You have three browser tabs open that you were going to handle today.

Somewhere in there, you have work to do. Important work. The kind that moves your career forward.

No wonder focus feels impossible.

Here's the thing: it's not you. When the pressure is on, your brain does exactly what brains do under stress. It scans for threats. It jumps between inputs. It mistakes busyness for progress.

Focus isn't the absence of distraction. It's a skill that you can learn and strengthen.

Over the next six weeks, that's what we're going to do: focus on focus.

You differentiate yourself when you consistently do deep, meaningful work, even when everything around you is loud and chaotic. It builds your reputation. It creates the conditions for opportunity. It delivers for your employer and is fulfilling for you.

You can't control what comes next in your career. But you do own the quality of your work right now.

That's where we start.

This week: Take two minutes and do an attention audit. Be honest. Where does your focus actually go during a typical workday — not where you intend it to go? Jot it down. No judgment. Just notice.

Awareness is always the first step.

I Missed Last Week. (And I'm happy about it.)

Time to read: 35 seconds

Gold stars, please for this clean pantry!

Twelve years. Every Thursday. Last week I failed, and I feel great about it.

Here's why:

I was in a board meeting. I was at my parents' house, helping them with the things parents eventually need help with. Thursday just slipped by. I didn't notice until Friday.

Here's what I want you to notice: I'm not apologizing.

We are skilled at apologizing for being human, and I want to model that it's ok to drop a ball sometimes.

Sometimes the most honest thing a leader can do is let a Thursday go. Be in the room with the board. Be in the kitchen with your parents. Be where life and work actually are.

Not doing something — really, consciously choosing not to — is one of the most underrated leadership moves there is. It's not laziness. It's discernment.

So if you missed something this week, or chose your people over your list, or just ran out of runway: don't spiral. Ask yourself — was anything actually broken?

I bet nothing was.

Email me and tell me. I really do want to know.

You're Not Failing. You're Full.

Time to read: 1.15 minutes

This week's popular item is this vintage letter box. EVERYONE wanted it.

You are not behind. You are overwhelmed. There's a difference.

I want to talk about that feeling. It's the one that says there is too much, that you are too slow, that everyone else has it together, and you are the only one drowning in a to-do list that reproduces overnight like a rabbit.

The Sunday scaries. The mental tab that never closes. The moment someone asks, "How are you?" and you say "busy" because "overwhelmed" feels like too much to explain over coffee.

I want to offer you something before we go any further: you are not failing. You are full. Those are very different things.

Overwhelm doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It usually means you care about your work, your people, and your commitments. It means you said yes because things matter to you. That's not a character flaw.

But here's the thing: overwhelm is also a signal worth listening to. It's your mind and body tapping you on the shoulder saying, "Something has to give."

So let's give something. A few ideas:

• Write everything down. Every single thing in your head right now. Get it out of your brain and onto paper so you can see it clearly.
• Look at your list and ask: what on here did I say yes to that I should have said no to?
• Pick the three things that actually have to happen this week. The others will wait, or they won't, and either way, you will survive.
• Pick one thing to remove from the list. Even if that means disappointing someone.
• Tell someone you trust that you're overwhelmed. Not to fix it — just to put it in the sunshine and get some support.
• Drink some water. Take a walk. Stop for a minute to quiet the overwhelm.

Overwhelm passes. It always does. And on the other side, you will find yourself again — capable, clear, and probably a little more selective about what you say yes to.

Please email me and tell me what's overwhelming you right now. I always reply.

You're Not Imagining It. Here's What Helps.

Time to read: 76 seconds

Vintage is more fun that stock photos of random models in an office

The world is a lot right now. You still have a 9am. Let's talk about that.

This week, I want to acknowledge something out loud: it is genuinely hard to care about your inbox when it feels like everything outside is on fire. You are not weak for feeling distracted. You are human. A very tired, caring human.

You've told me you're struggling to focus. That you sit down to work and your brain is somewhere else entirely. That you feel guilty for worrying about a deadline when bigger things are happening. I hear you. I've been there too, as I've written about.

Here's what I want you to know: showing up to your work right now is an act of courage. Not the dramatic kind. The quiet, unglamorous kind — where you make the coffee, open the laptop, and do the thing anyway.

A few ideas for getting through the day:

• Give yourself five minutes before the noise begins. Close your eyes, put your fingers on the keyboard so everyone thinks you're working, and breathe.
• Pick one person you get to help today. Start there. The rest will follow.
• Step away from the headlines for a few hours. The world will need your attention later. Right now, so do the people in front of you.
• Be embarrassingly patient with yourself and the people around you. Everyone is carrying something you can't see.

You don't have to be unaffected. You just have to be present. And on the days when even that feels like too much, just show up. That counts.

Please email me and tell me how you're really doing. I always want to know. Really and truly.

How To Find The One Thing That Actually Matters Today

Time to read: 1.25 minutes

Vintage bunnies, cuz, why not?

Everything is urgent. Nothing is urgent. Let's find the thing that actually matters.

This week, I want to talk about focus — specifically, how to find it when your to-do list is screaming, and everything feels like it must happen now.

You've told me about this. The inbox that never empties. The meeting that could have been an email. The feeling that you're busy all day and somehow still behind.

Here's what I've noticed: urgency is often not a fact.

When everything feels urgent, almost nothing actually is. If the house is on fire or someone is bleeding, that's urgent. The real work — the work that moves the needle, serves your people, and matters a year from now — is quieter. It's sitting patiently underneath the noise, waiting for you to notice it, and because it's quiet, you often miss what's most important.

So how do you find what matters? Here are some ideas:

• Before you open your email in the morning, ask yourself one question: What is the one thing I could do today that would make everything else easier? Do that first.
• When someone says, "This is urgent," get curious. Ask when they actually need it. You'll be surprised how often "urgent" means "sometime this week."
• At the end of the day, look at your list and ask: What on here felt urgent but wasn't? Notice the pattern. It will teach you a lot about where your attention gets hijacked.
• Close a tab. Just one. You know the one.

The goal isn't to do more. The goal is to do the right thing, with your full attention, and feel the satisfaction of work that actually counts.

Please email me and tell me what steals your focus most. Is it the pinging? The people? The pressure you put on yourself? For me, it's the pinging. I really want to know.

Do You Need a Reboot?

Time to read: 87 seconds

TV fire in my "office"

This week is an invitation to reset, however and wherever you can. You tell me you're tired, overwhelmed, that there's a lot happening and a lot to do. You have important work, and important people to care for - customers, patients, family, neighbors, and clients.

I had the pleasure to spend last week at Rancho La Puerta, where I teach a couple of times a year. A friend invited me as her guest so I got to spend the week resting, reflecting, doing art, connecting with interesting people, exercising, and eating healthy food. The week was a complete system re-boot.

The purpose of a reboot is to refresh your mind, widen your perspective, and prepare you to return to daily life stronger and ready.

Although I highly recommend getting away, you can reboot right where you are without special equipment or getting on a plane.

Here are a few ideas to inspire your thinking:

• Close your eyes and sit quietly for 5 minutes. Do this now. If you put your fingers on your keyboard, everyone will think you are working.

• Stand up and walk around the building or the kitchen or the block (if it's not pouring snow like it is at our house). A change of scenery will change your perspective and invite fresh ideas.

• Light your fireplace. Or like us, your YouTube TV fire which I promise you is just as relaxing.

• Go to a different part of your town and eat at a restaurant you've never tried. You don't have to travel out of the country to have a fresh experience.

• Sleep. Do everything you can to get good sleep.

• Get a massage. Try a sensory deprivation tank. See an acupuncturist. Take a hot bath. Anything that gives you a few minutes of quiet, comfort, and sensory experience. (The needles are REALLY small.)

Then you open your eyes and return to life, work, and service refreshed and clear. Please email me and share with me how you reboot. I always love to hear from you. Really and truly.