Peter Bregman

A recent early morning hike in Malibu, California, led me to a beach, where I sat on a rock and watched surfers. I marveled at these courageous men and women who woke before dawn, endured freezing water, paddled through barreling waves, and even risked shark attacks, all for the sake of, maybe, catching an epic ride. After about 15 minutes...

When I arrived at the restaurant, I apologized and told her I didn't mean to be late.
She answered: "You never mean to be late." Uh oh, she was mad.
"Sorry," I retorted, "but it was unavoidable." I told her about the client meeting. Not only did my explanations not soothe her, they seemed to make things worse.

"Watch out!" she shouted after the dog, then saw me looking at her and added, "He's always in the way."
Really? You step on a dog and then you blame the dog? Who does that?
Actually, a lot of us do.

I was running a leadership offsite at The Allison Inn and Spa in Oregon — one of my favorite hotels — and the food, as always, was exquisite. The carrot cake at lunch was so delicious that I ate two pieces. And when the staff brought out big, thick, gooey, homemade cookies during a break, I was already so far outside my circle of guilt that I ate three of them. The offsite was a success. But physically, I felt so full, it hurt. So why did I keep eating?

Robyn*, a close friend of mine and senior leader at a large pharmaceutical company, referred me to work with Dan, the CEO of one of her company’s subsidiaries and someone she knew well. She would arrange for the three of us to meet. The lead wasn’t just warm; it was hot. During the sales process

Irene* is a great colleague. A senior manager in a large consulting firm, she pitches in when the workload gets heavy, covers for people when they’re sick, and stays late when needed, which is often. She’s also a leader, serving on boards and raising money at charity auctions. She tries to be home for her

The night before our wedding, Eleanor and I stood awkwardly in the center of a large room, surrounded by our family and our closest friends. There was no particular reason to be uncomfortable; this was just a rehearsal. Still, we were in the spotlight and things weren’t going smoothly. Neither the rabbi nor the cantor

The biggest and most destructive myth in time management is that you can get everything done if only you follow the right system, use the right to-do list, or process your tasks in the right way. That’s a mistake. We live in a time when the uninterrupted stream of information and communication, combined with our unceasing

“Sophia, Daniel,” I yelled across the apartment at my seven-year-old and five-year-old who were playing together in their bedroom. “The school bus arrives in 10 minutes. Let’s see who can brush their teeth and get to the door first.” They dashed towards the bathroom, giggling. Two minutes later, Daniel had won with Sophia a close

I was having one of those days — maybe you’re familiar with them? — when I felt like a passenger on a fast, jerky subway train, holding the handrail tight just to stay standing, each turn throwing me off balance. I gave a presentation that received a standing ovation and left the stage on top