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​What does this quote say to you? It tells me in our quest for growth, the best time to act is now. So, what holds us back as we try to improve ourselves? Usually, fear and mistaken beliefs.

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I know this about myself and suspect many can relate - sometimes, I have an all-or-nothing mindset. If I can't complete something from start to finish in one shot, I procrastinate starting at all.
 

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A quick Google search of life's top stressors returns arguably positive events such as getting married, starting a new job, retirement, and moving to a new residence.
 
One might expect the positive nature of these events would negate their stressfulness. However, their persistent appearance on stressor lists contradicts this theory. At first glance, one explanation may be these life events create fear or concern about the unknown. A few of these events also involve daunting project management.

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I had a Zoom video meeting scheduled on my calendar. These days, who doesn't, right? Shortly before start time, the person messaged me saying their computer had gone into an unexpected update, they couldn't access the Zoom link, and they would have to reschedule.

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What do you think and feel when you hear the word "routine"? For some, it brings thoughts of rigidity and mind-numbing boredom. For others, it evokes calm and a sense of accomplishment. 
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No matter your reaction to the word, I promise you - you have routines. You may not have intentionally crafted them, but you have them. When we allow detrimental habits to play out on auto-pilot, these routines can work against us. When we use our routines for good, they create consistency and intention around positive behaviors.

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Many of us are facing a new clutter trap.

In the not-so-distant past, working in the office typically provided us access to a printer, making it quick and easy to print notes, meeting agendas, contracts, and more. Many of these documents landed permanently on our desks.

After being thrust into work-from-home, another clutter trap emerged. The cluttered computer desktop replaced our cluttered physical desktop.

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Leadership First recently posted a quote on LinkedIn, attributed to Tim McClure: "When passionate employees become quiet, it usually sends a signal that the work environment has become very dysfunctional."

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Before you even get started, do you hang your head in defeat when you look at your to-do list? I've been there, and no doubt many can relate to that feeling. 
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To-do lists are fantastic for capturing random tasks you think you'll remember, but let's be honest, if you don't write them down, you forget them 10 seconds later. To-do lists help map out the individual steps and the necessary order of those steps for projects. They're a great tool, whether paper or digital, but they can get overwhelming.

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No doubt, you've heard the statistic that humans have a shorter attention span than goldfish. Human attention wanes between 6 and 8.25 seconds depending on whose statistics you read, while the goldfish hangs in there for 9 seconds. The commonly held belief is that technology has eroded our ability to concentrate with continuous notifications and never-ending scrolling.

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Have you ever been so lost in the weeds you lost sight of the bigger picture? At some point, I think we all have. And while attention to detail is important, too narrow a focus often comes at the expense of the greater goal.