I don’t think we talk enough about the value of a peaceful, streamlined environment for combatting overwhelm. We might talk a good game about how nice it is to have a clean house and the laundry done and no piles on the kitchen counter. But we don't do (or don't know how to do) the work to get us there.

I've been thinking a lot about productivity and perfectionism. And let me be someone who can reassure you: not every day needs to be (or even can be) a superhero day ... go easy on yourself.

One of my absolute favorite books about conquering procrastination is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, by L. Michelle Tullier, Ph.D.

Sometimes if we try a little something outside our norm, some fun things will probably happen.

"The most dramatic, effective way to boost your productivity is to completely avoid e-mail for the first hour of the day."

You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning with good intentions, and then suddenly it's 1 a.m. and you're still working? Yeah. I've been living that reality for longer than I care to admit. And a couple Mondays ago I ran myself into a brick wall at 90 miles an hour like a 1980s crash test dummy.

A friend recently told me he did not like to read time management books because he then felt he had to change everything about himself at once: time management improvement meant a total makeover, immediately. I understood. I've often felt that way myself. And who would want to read such a book if they then felt compelled to change everything about themselves! How exhausting. All-or-nothing, perfectionist thinking can creep in almost undetected ...