The Incrementalist

A hobby is an activity you enjoy doing with little or no focus on the long game or the end results. You do it for fun or leisure in your free time.  Your work or your business can be your passion. But even if you enjoy them, they are not your hobby. They come with risks and consequences that can affect your income, your reputation, and your status.   A hobby and a passion can be related, but there...

When I launched The Incrementalist podcast, I committed to making at least 10 episodes before I would allow myself to quit. No matter how I felt – excited or not, I would record and publish a minimum of 10 episodes. I have since doubled that metric.  Intensity of effort matters, especially in the beginning of a project. But it comes in short bursts. It is fueled by excitement and passion. You ride...

A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful. It could be a month or a few seconds. These moments often relate to a new job, a new relationship, a relocation, or a vacation. In episode 19 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn: 1) The four elements of peak moments Elevation - moments of elevation rise above the everyday, above the routine Insight - moments o...

Making time for what matters is hard when you're on the Busyness Wagon and stuck in the Infinity Pool. The Busyness Bandwagon is the culture of constant busyness. In the high tech, modern world, busyness is a status symbol – the busier you are, the more in demand you are, and the more successful you become. That’s the common belief. Infinity Pools are apps, services and products that have infinite...

The main goal of smart note-taking is not to stay informed. It’s to increase understanding and build your knowledge base, which you can apply to your creative projects and productive work.  You learn best when you connect ideas and evaluate the information. Does this confirm, contradict, or add to your existing knowledge? Have you mastered the subject enough to explain it or teach it to others thr...

When you’re being responsive and responsible, you can easily slip into reactive mode. You end up neglecting important work that is less urgent but brings more long-term value.  With the rise in social media, texting, and messaging platforms like Slack, some might say email is dead. But email continues to be alive and well. In episode 16 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn: 1. Internal tr...

Your shut-down sequence - before bedtime - creates the environment for you to rest, relax and sleep. Without a full rejuvenation overnight, it’s harder to take charge of your day.     In episode 15 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn: 1. The importance of both productive tasks and restorative tasks in your evening routine. You need to review your day and plan for the next as well as rela...

Your start-up sequence - after you wake up - affects your mood and sets the tone for your day. While you can make shifts and practice good habits later in the day, it's better to get quick wins with your morning routine. In episode 14 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:  1. A routine doesn’t have to be rigid. You could have different themes depending on your energy level, the focus of y...

If you find yourself rushing through tasks, worrying about things you’re not doing, or having items linger for weeks or months, you might think that to-do lists don’t work. Your to-do list didn’t appear by itself. You made it. So maybe the answer is not to stop making to-do lists. Instead, you need to be more intentional and organize it around your real priority or priorities. In episode 13 of The...

Linear thinking is the common, default mode when we work on projects and tackle problems. This includes making specific plans and listing action steps. It keeps us organized and on track. But linear thinking is not effective in addressing adaptive challenges with uncertain outcomes.  To get unstuck and solve complex problems, you could blend Divergent Thinking and Convergent Thinking. This leads t...

To solve problems, you must access and activate the neural networks in your brain.  There’s the task-positive network and the task-negative network. Task-positive is focused mode. And task-negative is diffused mode. You cannot use both at the same time. Instead, you move from one to the next to fully understand a problem and generate the best ideas to solve it. In episode 11 of The Incrementalist...

Work and rest are not competitors; they are equal partners. Active rest is a skill that you integrate into your day. It’s not just the absence of work.  In this episode, you will learn 6 tips to rest deliberately even when you're busy:  Tip 1: Try napping for 20 minutes, preferably after lunch when you're in the afternoon slump. If you're in an office setting where naps are not convenient, sit com...

A Weekly Planning session gives you a broader perspective of what you need to get done. It also gives you more flexibility to get the right things done. It's often more essential than a daily to-do list or a daily action plan. In this episode, you'll learn about why weekly planning works, and how it creates more clarity, control, focus and flow: 1. Clarity: Weekly planning reduces overwhelm and ma...

What do you want to have done in the week? What are the big things you can do to call the week a success and make it great?  Unexpected things will come up. Tasks will take longer than you expected. Distractions and interruptions will pull you away. But you’re more likely to accomplish what you must when you plan for it and begin with the end in mind.  In this episode, I discuss achieving more by...

Time Blocking helps you to get unstuck, stop procrastinating, and move forward on a project. It makes time and space for tasks that need attention. It’s a way to chunk projects into smaller parts so it’s easier to start and make steady progress.  You set time blocks with a start time and end time to work on a specific activity. You could single focus on one difficult, high-leverage project like a...

It's a common belief that perfectionism is one of the main causes of procrastination. Does having high standards make it harder to start?  Many of my colleagues in the legal profession, for example, have perfectionist tendencies. Procrastination can get lawyers into trouble. It creates high stress and anxiety, and often leads to subpar work and serious errors. But as it turns out, there’s no stron...

To move in the desired direction, you need more flow in your life, says Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, renowned psychologist and author of the groundbreaking book, Flow . He defines flow as the optimal experience in which you’re so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. You enjoy it for its own sake and will keep at it even with great cost. Flow is a key ingredient of a meaningful and...

When we look at a clock – digital or analog – we see the seconds, minutes and hours passing. The day starts and end, regardless of what we do. The clock tells us we have 24 hours in a day. Of that, we need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep, 1 hour for a lunch break, and a few more hours for daily routines, errands and so on. We have distractions and interruptions. Also, we’re human: our energy and focus...

Like good habits, bad habits also give you a dopamine hit. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is often called the feel-good hormone. Dopamine fires when you get the thing you crave, and when you anticipate getting that thing.  A dopamine hit is not the same as true happiness, say Dr. Jud Brewer, director of research and innovation at Brown University Mindfulness Center, a psychiatrist and an expe...

A habit starts with a conscious decision and becomes automatic through a 3-step loop (cue, behavior, reward). Building good habits allows you to make changes without relying on willpower and motivation.  In this episode, I discuss how motivation, ability and prompts drive behavior, using Professor BJ Fogg's B=MAP formula. I also cover the ABC (Anchor, Behavior, Celebration) method to create new ha...

Welcome to The Incrementalist podcast! Hosted by Dyan Williams - a productivity & purpose coach and solo lawyer - this show offers simple techniques and tools to focus on your top priorities and design a well-lived life. You will learn how to use the Incrementalist approach to turn your ideas into action, maximize focus, and make time for what truly matters.   We'll cover practical ways to imp...