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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 7 M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 2 0 MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Congratulations to This Year's Leaders! 1-800-447-4559 | bathsavings.com Partner with a neighbor and discover why the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber named Bath Savings 2019 Large Business of the Year. Deal for trash trucks fueled by trash Ecomaine Portland announced a deal to buy two all-electric waste hauling trucks from the Lion Electric Co., a Canadian company. It is believed to be the first com- pany in the nation to employ all-electric waste hauling vehicles that are powered by its own waste-to-energy operations, according to a news release. Lion Electric is based in Saint-Jérôme, Québec. e trucks will be used to replace two diesel- powered vehicles that transport waste material from ecomaine's waste-to-energy plant to its landfill. e fuel for these trucks will ultimately be the trash that it collected from its 70 member communi- ties. e purchase of the trucks was made possible in large part by a combined grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. e grant, combined with funds matched by eco- maine, allowed the company to secure two electric trucks from the Lion Electric Co. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Pierce Atwood, a law firm in Portland, announced its attorneys provided $3.44 million in pro bono and com- munity service hours in 2019. More than 1,700 hours of pro bono legal services to 52 organizations are included in the total published in the firm's annual Pro Bono & Community Service Overview. Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, announced a new firm-wide vacation policy, which increases paid leave and provides greater flexibility to employ- ees in spending it. The policy, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, is part of the firm's ongoing efforts to provide mean- ingful employee benefits that promote S O U T H E R N Q: I have a tough time with time management. Is there a good way to stop wasting time without getting into some complicated system that I won't follow? ACE Advises: The difference between wasting time and invest- ing time is intentional action — clarifying what you are going to do, thinking through the steps to take and then putting the intended steps into action. A cautionary word here about terminology. "Goals" and "deadlines" are popular in superficial conversation, but they pale a bit when it's time to actually do something. The word goal is useful only when it is immediately linked to intentionality. The goal is the desired outcome, but is it described in concrete terms, suitable to support practical working actions? What are those do-able actions that can realistically be expected to bring it about? Is it tied to a future moment we call a deadline? This process shouldn't be complex, but we often avoid it because it's uncomfortable to task ourselves with new responsi- bilities. Maybe we had secretly expected to just coast along today. Now we're threaten- ing to interrupt that habitual activity. So, insert a little discipline. Keep focusing on the value of the intended outcome, and thinking of the quickest and simplest way to make it happen. Once you've accomplished something, however minor, you'll feel a little burst of satisfaction. Put that mood to work — find another modest task you've been intending to do. Do it. This process develops positive momentum of its own, but it is fragile and it needs encouragement. Your continuing attention is all it takes, not a lot of effort, just keep intending and doing those little things. A S K AC E A n s w e r e d B y J I M M I L L I K E N , C O N S U L T A N T Jim Milliken is a Portland-based management consultant. He can be contacted at jim@millikenproject.com. Time wasted & time invested