One-on-one meetings between managers and the people on their teams can be a very powerful tool, but it's also all too easy for these meetings to become routine, simply turning into regular status reports. One-on-ones should address career development, identify obstacles, and look at the big picture.

For agile software developers, acknowledging that change is inevitable is a core principle in how we work. Yet we often resist change—for a variety of reasons. By understanding human nature and being systematic about how we evaluate decisions, we can give ourselves a way of identifying changes that add value.

“Playing work” is when we do activities that look like work—they may even feel like work—but deep down, we know we aren’t being productive. These diversions are dangerous because they don't actually generate value and distract you from real work. Have you fallen victim to any of these deceptive time-wasters?