Future you knows more than you may realise. Here’s a technique to help you tap into your own smarts and get past whatever is blocking you.

Next time you’re lying awake at 3 am with your brain fully committed to revisiting your every life fail and mortifying moment, try this instead

The dominant message we hear is that more, more, more is always better. It’s countercultural to say no – but if it frees up your time for what matters to you, then “no” can be your secret superpower.

If you’ve been at it successfully for 20+ years, chances are you know what you’re doing. So where does the doubt come from?

You think “difficult time; I’ll get back to normal soon”, your team thinks “bad leader”. Extreme weather threw plans for a recent weekend away into disarray, but we ended up being so kindly treated by so many people it was a very positive experience. The kind acts are what count, but they are often the first to go.

You’re a bad driver, but I was just distracted. You’re a bad leader, but I’ve just got a lot going on at the moment. Understanding the tendency to excuse ourselves while blaming others can help you be a better leader under pressure.

Most drivers think they are above average; so do most leaders. So who is creating all these toxic workplaces? Could it be… you?

Ever thrown every fact in the book at someone, but failed to budge them? Or conversely, how often have you sat firm in an opinion despite the best efforts of someone to convince you that you were wrong? It happens when people use facts to try and persuade – when emotions work much more convincingly.

To be more effective and confident in a big meeting or interview, ask yourself this one question.

If I offered to pay you $1,000,000 to sit in a meeting room for an hour each day for a week, could you find the time? I thought so. Time management isn’t only about time, it’s about purpose. Here’s 3 steps to help you clear some clutter from your schedule and make some space for what matters.

If you’ve ever turned down the music to concentrate on a tricky driving manouver, you know we’re not wired to do two things at once. Interruptions at work make deep focus impossible, yet multitasking is a myth and deep focus is essential to productivity. Here’s an easy tip to help you concentrate at work… and enjoy it.

There can be nuggets of gold in negative feedback but it can be hard to find them when we feel attacked. This week I’m sharing a handy “Is it this? Or this?” table to help you work through whether negative feedback is constructive or destructive.

So you’re outside your comfort zone – what now? Understanding the four stages of learning can help you cope with the challenge and maintain your momentum. Here’s how to use the four stages of learning to make that new habit stick.

You're human; running at 110% is not sustainable. Exhaustion and burnout are serious problems in law. Setting boundaries is essential for lawyers to maintain a healthy balance in their lives. Yet succeeding in law practice can make this very challenging. Here’s 5 tips to help lawyers (and other humans) set and maintain boundaries.

Quick: you have three minutes to prepare a song to perform in front of the group! Your comfort zone is comfortable… and essential. So is challenging it. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the panic zone is where you need to be. You can be confident outside your comfort zone – it’s all about balance.

Go hard or go home! We know it’s easier for humans to make big changes by starting small, but we keep forgetting. In organisations, the impact is magnified.

If play is so good for us, smart people would spend lots of time doing it… right? Recently I’ve been revisiting Life Lessons by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler. I was reminded how central playfulness is to our wellbeing, and how often and easily we seem to put it low down on our lists.

Humans are wired, for survival, to avoid threats and pain. And we’re wired to prioritise immediate threats over distant ones. Which makes sense. If it’s a choice between fleeing a fast approaching tiger, thereby leaving some food behind and being hungry later, or avoiding later hunger by hanging around for a nice meal as the tiger runs towards you… clearly, it’s an easy choice.

I’ve learned, now, that slowing down can sometimes actually get you further than going fast. And sometimes quick, profound change is what’s needed. The challenge is knowing when to use which approach.

As a leader approaching 2021, have you considered the biggest challenges you expect your people to face this year, and how you will operate and lead?

Having a framework can really help people make positive change in their lives and can be useful tools to have in the kit. I’m sharing with you a framework I’ve developed to guide me over the summer break.