18 articles
Time blocking means giving every part of the day a job before it starts. Here's a free daily and weekly template with a filled-in example, seven steps, what to do when the plan breaks, and which time-management facts are actually true.
Paul · 12 min read
A SMART goal is one sentence that passes five checks. Here's a free fillable template with a filled-in example, 30 SMART goal examples by area of life, the letter most people get wrong (it's the A), and how to turn the goal into this week.
Paul · 16 min read
ADHD paralysis isn't laziness, and it isn't a diagnosis either. It's a starting problem: you know what to do and can't begin. What it is, why it happens, how to tell it apart from procrastination and depression, and how to get out of it, one small step at a time.
Paul · 14 min read
Most new journals don't make it past the second week because they start too big. Start smaller than you think: a few lines at a time you already have, a different way each day for two weeks, then keep what felt easy. Seven steps, nine ways to journal, entry examples and what research says.
Paul · 13 min read
A good evening routine has two parts: you end the day, so tomorrow stops circling in your head, and you wind down and go to bed at the same time each night. An example routine, what research says about how it works, 40 ideas, and a printable.
Paul · 12 min read
Most ADHD planner advice is a shopping list. The skills programs that did well in trials taught a method instead: one place for everything, priorities, big tasks broken into steps, time on paper and reminders. Here it is in six steps, with a day and a week to print.
Paul · 16 min read
Most lists stop at the questions. The research on journaling says the way you answer matters just as much: what happened, how it felt, what you make of it. 150 prompts grouped by what you want from the entry, and a month of them to print.
Paul · 18 min read
Writing everything down is only half of a brain dump. The research says the relief comes from the second half: giving each line a next step and a day. How to do both in 25 minutes, with a trigger list and a free template.
Paul · 11 min read
A to-do list only ever shows what's left. A ta-da list shows what you actually did, including the work no plan saw coming. What the research on progress says, how to keep one in two minutes a day, and a printable template.
Paul · 12 min read
A year is long enough to waste the first nine months of it. The 12 Week Year treats 12 weeks as the whole year: one to three goals, tactics by week, and a score every Monday. How it works, a worked example, what the research supports, and a template.
Paul · 11 min read
Most goals fail on the day they're written down, as "get fit" or "grow the business": nothing to aim at, nothing to check, nothing to do on Tuesday. Seven steps from fifty years of goal-setting research, with examples and a worksheet.
Paul · 12 min read
By December most of the year is gone from memory, and what's left is the last few weeks and the loudest moments. Walk the year month by month with your calendar open, then answer the questions: 60 of them, sets for couples and kids, and a printable.
Paul · 13 min read
A morning routine isn't a list of virtues. It's a fixed order of a few small steps, started by something you already do. Examples for adults and kids, the research on why mornings are a good time for habits, and a printable for both.
Paul · 9 min read
One sentence a day sounds too small to matter. Research from Harvard Business School found that people badly underestimate how much they'll enjoy rediscovering ordinary days. How to keep it going, what to write, and sixty prompts for the evenings when nothing comes.
Paul · 10 min read
Most weekly plans fail on Tuesday, not on Sunday. Seven steps that make a plan survive the week, the studies behind them, and a one-page planner to print.
Paul · 10 min read
Picture the goal, then picture what in you will get in the way, then decide what you'll do when it does. Why that order works better than positive thinking, ten worked examples, and an honest look at how big the effect is.
Paul · 11 min read
Night or morning? Research says each does a different job. A sleep-lab study, a study of workdays full of interruptions, and the evening routine that comes out of them.
Paul · 10 min read
A worked example from an empty canvas to a finished board, then the same job in Canva, Pinterest and Google Slides, and how to keep the board in front of you every day.
Paul · 8 min read