Do you know the purpose of the magician’s lovely assistant?  It’s usually a “she”, wearing a form-fitting outfit, showing a lot of leg …. you get the picture. Her primary purpose is to focus all of your attention on her, as she flashes her ‘pearly whites’ and uses her hands to show that the magician is what he appears to be.   She takes your focus and puts it where the magician wants it to be.  This way, you can be amazed at the ‘magic’ you have witnessed. “She” is a reliable distraction.  She can be counted on to take your attention away from what you should be focusing on. What reliable distractions do you have in your life? What reliable distractions do you use in your life to avoid unpleasantness? Clients have told me of theirs:  playing computer solitaire, reading ‘junk’ emails, making to-do lists, rearranging the paper stacks on their desk, talking to a colleague, taking the ‘long way’ to meet with a client or someone else in the company, (more…)

I found another article that states workers admit to 47% of the time spent on-line at work has nothing at all to do with their work tasks. 47%!! That’s amazing! The article goes on to state that 60% of people surveyed “they experience mild to moderate procrastination (more…)

When you procrastinate, or when you think someone else is procrastinating, do you know why they are doing it?

Could it be that the other person doesn’t have enough information to make a decision they feel comfortable with?

I was having this discussion with Lisa and Reggie, two aviation colleagues. Actually they are top-notch dispatchers. I gave this example:

Me: Lisa, I need to be in New York at 3 p.m. What time do I need to leave Houston?

No immediate response from Lisa. Yet she is thinking: Do you have a meeting planned after your arrival? At your hotel or offsite? Location? Manhattan? Newark? Is this a day trip or RON? Answers to these questions determine our course of action.

Me: This is not a difficult question … how long does it take to fly to New York .. 5 hours? So I need tob e here at, what, 0 am? [can’t you feel the frustration on my part?]

No immediate response from Lisa. Her thoughts continue: Where exactly in New York do you need to be? (more…)

I will be hosting a webinar soon on the above three topics …. and what exactly do they have in common? It’s nearly mid-year and usually at this point in time, people will look at their goals to assess their year. What is your reaction … joy or (more…)