On a recent trip to Hawaii, I was driving along the Hamakua Coast, one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery on the northeast coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.How I got lost is a tale of converging factors that I hadn’t considered and some lessons learned by even this very experienced traveler.

Does it seem as though life is constantly on hold, waiting for: a response to your email, an invitation that should have arrived weeks ago, a yes or no to proceed with a project, etc.? My “waiting for responses” are often dates I have offered for meetings and social events that need to be agreed to by others . . .

When is a paper clip not just a paper clip? Good question. My thoughts this month were generated by the lowly paper clip, an item we take so much for granted that it is nearly imperceptible in our daily lives.

How often do we jump to conclusions without adequate evidence or research—or just because we’re busy and distracted? Reaching unwarranted conclusions or, in the world of psychology, “cognitive distortion” can affect decision-making big and small.

For American children of a long-ago era, school was identified by the three R’s: reading, ‘(w)riting, and ‘(a)rithmetic. (True alliteration clearly was not in vogue.) Let’s consider a different set of the three R’s, those that can be used as measuring sticks for your work life, which may also be suitable in other arenas.