The waiter was halfway through taking my family’s order when his manager called him away. “Where did the waiter go?” Sophia, our seven-year-old, asked. Daniel,…
Time management
If You’re Too Busy to Meditate, Read This
This morning, like every morning, I sat cross-legged on a cushion on the floor, rested my hands on my knees, closed my eyes, and did…
Defend Your Sweet Spot
Spending time on projects that he considered unimportant was driving Carlos* insane. Carlos is an excellent leader. He’s turned around every business that he’s led…
What’s On Your To-Don’t List?
When the first iPad came out, I bought it, became obsessed, and, within two weeks, returned it. Why did the obsession wear off so quickly? It…
A Super-Efficient Email Process
“Here’s my problem with email,” Jane*, a lawyer friend of mine told me recently, “I open Outlook expecting to quickly check my email, but then…
Coping with Email Overload
A few weeks ago, I returned from a week-long technology-free vacation with my family. No computer, no phone, no email. When I got to the…
How to Start the Big Project You’ve Been Putting Off
I want to write a screenplay. I wanted to write one last year, but other work took more time than I expected, and I kept…
The Biggest Myth in Time Management
Brad* is as hard a worker as anyone I know. He’s not just busy, he’s keenly focused on getting the right things done. And it…
Keeping Resolutions: How to Focus on What’s Important
Your Problem Isn’t Motivation
“Peter,” my friend Byron emailed me a few days ago. “I haven’t been diligent about working out over the past five years and I’m trying…
FAQs about 18 Minutes
Over the last few weeks several people have sent me questions about 18 Minutes and using the 18 Minutes process. Rather than answer each person…
Want to Succeed? Stop Trying So Hard
“What’s eight times eight?” I asked Isabelle, my 9-year-old daughter who was practicing her times tables. Her eyes glazed over. We were on a plane…
The Right Way to Come Back From Vacation
“Daddy, come look at our island! Quick! Before it disappears!” We were in Bluffton, South Carolina playing on a sandbar that emerges only at low…
Three Questions that Help Me Live a Fulfilling Life
I am on a plane with my wife Eleanor as we fly back from our once-a-year-without-children vacation. It was, for us, the perfect week. After…
How to Stay Focused on the Important Things
“I want to pass something by you,” I said to my friend Jori* who has lost 80 pounds over the past six months. “Our ability…
Flexing Your “No Thanks” Muscle
“Would you like to save 10% on your purchase by signing up for a Bloomingdales’ credit card?” asked the sales person who had helped me…
When to say “No Thanks”
In my recent article, “Flexing Your ‘No Thanks’ Muscle,” I talk about the downsides of saying “Yes” too often. Over dinner with friends one night,…
What to Do When You Have No Time to Think
On a recent hectic business trip to Florence, I lucked out; my client booked me into the Four Seasons. The…
What To Do With Your To-Do List
Last week, in A Better Way to Manage Your To-Do List, I wrote about the importance of using your calendar…
A Better Way to Manage Your To-Do List
When my wife Eleanor was a little girl, maybe nine or ten years old, she needed new shoes. So she…
The Value of Ritual in Your Workday
I recently saw the movie The Last Samurai for the second time. Set in Japan in the 1870s, it tells…
Marc Steiner show on Managing Stress
Peter Bregman spoke about managing stress, dealing with overwhelm, structuring time, and meditation on the Marc Steiner show with Lea Gilmore: The Marc Steiner…
A Practical Plan for When You Feel Overwhelmed
In general, September is often a difficult month: I’m catching up from summer vacation as are many of my clients,…
Advice for hard times: Take sips from a full cup
A few thousand years ago, the Bible story goes, Pharaoh woke up from a dream he couldn’t understand: He was standing by a river and…
Why I Returned My iPad
A little more than a week after buying the iPad, I returned it to Apple. The problem wasn’t the iPad…
A Ritual to Help You Keep Your Focus and Your Temper
John McCaffrey* is a great guy. The CEO of a professional services firm, he’s been successful by any measure. He’s…
How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking
During a conference call with the executive committee of a nonprofit board on which I sit, I decided to send…
The Worth-Your-Time Test
Nate Eisman* recently started working for a large consulting firm after many years as an independent consultant. He called me…
Optimize Transition Time (And Stop Being Late)
At 6 pm, my wife Eleanor was looking tense. “We are so late!” she said. After a great day of…
To Get More Done, Slow Down
On a Friday afternoon almost twenty years ago, soon after I had started working at a New York consulting firm,…
An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day
Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked into my office in the morning with a vague sense of…
Two Lists You Should Look at Every Morning
I was late for my meeting with the CEO of a technology company and I was emailing him from my…