Jean Moroney

Jean Moroney teaches workshops on "Thinking Tactics" to help managers and other professionals get more mileage out of their thinking time. This article originally appeared in her free email newsletter: Subscribe at http://www.thinkingdirections.com or email subscribe@thinkingdirections.com.

Speed Up by Slowing Down

Speed up confusing, bogged-down tasks by slowing down your thinking.

Three Reasons to Learn a Formula

Three Reasons to Learn a Formula

At a humor workshop I attended recently, Judy Carter taught us a formula for creating a joke around something mean that someone said to us. The steps were: 1. Remember exactly what words were used, plus the tone and body language, so you can act it out. 2. Backtrack:...

Taking Words Seriously Can Help You Get Things Done

Taking Words Seriously Can Help You Get Things Done

"I need more time." That is what a client told me was the solution to his grueling work schedule. We say such things without thinking about it, but it's worth pausing for a moment to focus on the thought. How could the solution possibly be more time? There is no such...

Coping with Interruptions

Coping with Interruptions

By some estimates, people lose 2 hours of work a day due to interruptions. The time is wasted in two ways: First, when you are interrupted, you often lose your place. You have to go back and redo some of the work to restore your working context. Second, the topic of...

The Secret to Doing Better Next Time

The Secret to Doing Better Next Time

Did something go badly? A "discussion" with a spouse or coworker that ended in acrimony? A proposal that flopped? When something goes badly, you may be tempted to forget about it and just try to do better next time. But the secret to doing better lies in thinking more...

Don't Let Pressure Sabotage Your Thinking

Don't Let Pressure Sabotage Your Thinking

Pressure can sabotage your thinking. By pressure, I mean an issue weighing on your mind as you try to concentrate on something else. Perhaps it's an imminent deadline or a desperate desire to do a fantastic job. Maybe it's a highly-charged emotional situation you...

Stuck in a Pattern? Break Out with an Experiment

Stuck in a Pattern? Break Out with an Experiment

It's easy to fall into a counterproductive pattern. Perhaps you often check email before settling down to work--and then reading the email wipes out your morning work time. Or three days in a row you put off an important call until the afternoon--then forget to make...

Find Yourself Digressing? Take a Quick Timeout

Find Yourself Digressing? Take a Quick Timeout

It happens to the best of us. You sit down to work on your top project, but soon you find yourself thinking about how to respond to a contentious email. Or after a solid hour's work, you step out for a quick break and get waylaid by a co-worker who "just needs five...

Three Good Things

Three Good Things

Here's a daily practice I learned from Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness. Once each day, write down three good things that happened in the last 24 hours. You can write them before going to bed or first thing in the morning. You can...

TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations

TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations

Many books offer great advice. Some are so powerful they change your mind on issues you consider settled. Very few are so clear you can learn something about thinking just by reading them. TJ Walker's Secret to Foolproof Presentations is all three.   At first...

Aiding Willpower

Aiding Willpower

I think willpower draws on a kind of reservoir of emotional energy. Because it is so important to be able to call on willpower when I need it, I do several things to conserve that energy by reducing how often I need willpower: 1) I schedule my activity so it matches...

Three Good Things

Three Good Things

Here's a daily practice I learned from Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness. Once each day, write down three good things that happened in the last 24 hours. You can write them before going to bed or first thing in the morning. You can...

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