Imagine . . . you are plucked out of your ordinary life and transported to a new land. Perhaps you live in Kansas and a tornado sweeps you away. Or something like that. At first you’re completely bewildered. “What the heck just happened? Where am I? What should I do next?” Eventually you realize that [...]
Hey all. I was playing around with the tool at easel.ly, and thought I’d try my hand at illustrating the Work With Flow “Clear Mind Procedure”. After an hour, I came up with this. Not the prettiest graphic in the world, but I think the illustration makes the procedure very easy to understand. If you [...]
Not suggesting these formulas are free from counter-examples. Just playing with some rough relationships. Understanding = structural knowledge * grasp of system dynamics Expertise = breadth of understanding * depth of understanding Mastery = expertise * internalization Creative Quantity = (Mastery + Productive Focus) * Time Creative Quality = Mastery * Curiosity * Productive Focus [...]
There’s a new feature in the Fractal Planner. The 2+ minute demo video is a few paragraphs down. But first, if you’ve read the eBook, “Clear Mind, Effective Action”, you’ve seen me suggest that creative individuals can handle most of their productivity needs by using one organizational strategy (Fractal Planning) and developing one set of [...]
Is it just me, or does the word “decide” feel more ominous than the word “choose”? “Choose” feels lighter and more whimsical to me. I like that. Maybe “choose” causes us to focus on the possibilities of the thing chosen, and “decide” makes us consider the possibilities of the things not chosen. “Choose” promises adventure, [...]
Note to reader: This essay is 13,000 words long — and you should read every word. I spent 2 months writing this (and editing it ruthlessly, so it would be easy to read). I threw away over 100,000 words to wind up with these 13,000. I also spent the previous several years learning the concepts [...]
(The Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting — Part 1) “…and I’m no different. Solemnly going about my day to day duties in my life, all the while seething underneath with unrealized dreams, expectations and regrets.” — Henry David Thoreau A long time ago in a faraway land, a boy wanted to be the greatest among [...]
Happy Friday or Saturday — or whenever you’re reading this I want some help puzzling something out. But first . . . An Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting? I’m working on an “Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting.” Two weeks ago my plan was to publish the post by today. However, as I started writing and [...]
Once upon a time a little girl named ‘Goldilocks’ made a goal to read 1 book in 1 week. She finished in 2 days and sat around twiddling her thumbs. That goal was TOO EASY. Next she set out to read 20 books in a week. After reading two books, she realized it was not [...]
I’ve been busy moving the blog from FractalPlanner.com to WorkWithFlow.com. It’s also getting a big facelift! Currently it’s up at both locations. Soon the move will be complete, and I’ll redirect the Fractal Planner traffic to this domain. For now just know that things will shift around here and there for maybe another week or [...]
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I received my Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2006 in Philosophy with an emphasis in Motivational Psychology. I'm also a software developer and entrepreneur.
Since 2005 I've been building web-based software tools and writing guides to help small business owners and creative individuals be more productive and see more success.
Welcome to Work With Flow. This is where I share tips and strategies for working on your creative projects with low stress and high productivity. The tips and strategies are based on the latest research in Motivational Psychology (and years of practice).
Look for help with procrastination, keeping a clear mind, setting worthy goals, effective planning and execution, and things like that.
Institutions at which Jim has taught
productivity software – Yahoo! News Search Results