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Looking for the Sasuga! Podcast? After over 4 years and 219 episodes, the podcast is on pause.
The good news is you can still enjoy them here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Below, you’ll find my latest blog posts to help you do brilliant work without sacrificing your personal life – less effort, more impact!

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Productivity Tip: Know What Makes You Complete

Productivity Tip: Know What Makes You Complete

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. - William James How many incomplete tasks do you have in your life? You may have... Boxes that you haven’t unpacked since you moved… Repairs that need to be done… Dental or doctor appointments...

How Do I Make Small Talk?

How Do I Make Small Talk?

That awkward silence.  When you have to make small talk... Even though in-person networking events and meetings are less common since the pandemic, you probably still have times when you feel you need to make casual conversation with people you don’t know well. In...

How To Focus On Your Big Goal

How To Focus On Your Big Goal

Do you have a clear big goal?  Maybe not? If, like many people, you’re not clear on your big goal, you could be experiencing one of these three blocks: You’re too busy with your head in the day-to-day stuff that you don’t even think about what your big goal is You see...

Put Yourself On Top Of The Champagne Tower

Put Yourself On Top Of The Champagne Tower

– a conversation with Noriko Makino Villanti During her two decades in the corporate world, Noriko always worked hard, but it was only years later that she realized she didn’t have a goal for herself.  She was always running, but didn’t really know where she was...

I Just Kept Going Back To My Comfort Zone

I Just Kept Going Back To My Comfort Zone

– a conversation with Miki Sturges Have you had this experience? You want to achieve something, you learn all about “how” to do it, you put in the effort, and you get to a certain level… … but somehow it just doesn’t work out.  Something is holding you back.  It’s not...

How Attached Are You To Your Struggle?

How Attached Are You To Your Struggle?

How often do you tell yourself that you’ll take a break or do something nice for yourself AFTER the current busy thing that you’re dealing with? You just need to get through this and then you can make a change. And how often do you then go straight on to the next busy...

The Most Surprising And Impactful Productivity Tip I Know

The Most Surprising And Impactful Productivity Tip I Know

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with productivity. The hate side comes from my initial impression of productivity - that it was about working more and working harder. I envisaged mean bosses squeezing every last bit of effort and energy out of their employees. But...

When I Feel Bad…

When I Feel Bad…

What do you do when you’re feeling bad? When I say “feeling bad” I mean that you’re feeling physically unwell or you’re experiencing negative emotions - such as annoyed, frustrated, or sad. Do you stay in the unpleasantness?  Do you make it worse?  Or do you get...

Where Are All The Women?

Where Are All The Women?

I feel like I need to rant a little bit. Maybe it’s because I’ve started going to the gym and lifting weights regularly (yay!) - and maybe I’m being affected by all the testosterone in the air! I just keep thinking - where are all the women? Not just at the gym. In...

How To Get Others To Speak In Meetings

How To Get Others To Speak In Meetings

As you advance in your career and start to lead more meetings, you may face the common difficulty here in Japan of getting people to speak up - especially now that many meetings are online. I remember when I published my book Eigo no Shigoto-jutsu back in 2016 and was...

How To Get Heard In Meetings

How To Get Heard In Meetings

Have you ever been in a meeting and attempted to express your idea or opinion, but somehow people didn’t seem to hear it?  And then someone else said what you wanted to say, and everyone listened and thought it was an excellent idea?  How do you feel about that? I’ve...