My Initial Observations About Working From Home

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There are countless articles about what it takes to work successfully from home. This post is not meant to add to that list. Rather, these are my initial observations after making a change from 20 years of getting in a car and "going to work" to going into an extra bedroom in my house for a new role at work:

1. A sense of humor goes a long way. When it's time to begin work and head into my home office, I laugh and tell the family, "I'm off to work; see you all later!" This little gesture lets them know that what I'm about to do is serious and is just as important as if I were getting into my car to go to an office.

2. A workspace you love is important. I love my office. There are pictures of my family, lights that make the space feel warm and because I got to choose the layout, it's pretty much "just right".

3. Tracking your hours (or minutes) of "deep work" is essential. Since there are fewer distractions, deep work, to quote the book by the same name by Cal Newport, is more readily available. I have found that writing down all time slots that I'm working makes a big difference. That way, I know at the end of the day exactly how much real work I got done.

4. Theming your days is important. I did this back when I drove to a workplace and it's never been more valuable than now. This means that I'll spend chunks of Monday doing content creation, and then everyday afterwards has its own theme. Very helpful.

5. Sometimes you just need to change things up. My friend Gene, who has worked remotely for almost twenty years, does this well. He'll break up his day from his home office to a co-working space that's nearby. I'm learning to do this as well.

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So far, so good. I would say that the benefits far outweigh the the negatives. I'm still learning and can't wait to become really good at working from home.

Go to the Place That Grounds You

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What do you do when you absolutely must get something out of your head or off your chest?  Where do you go when you are frustrated and need to release nervous energy? 

For some, it's out for a run. 

For others, it's to the kitchen to make something delicious. 

For me, it's writing. 

When I'm writing, everything makes sense.  My mind is literally unfolding on the page, or often through a keyboard and into Squarespace for my blog.  It's an energy that grounds me.   

The mystic Meister Eckart said, "A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don't know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox's or bear's, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there."

Cary and I had dinner the other night with some folks who happened to be former professional dancers.  They described dancing with broad smiles on their faces as if talking about "their happy place".   

My neighbor's place of grounding is out on a boat, fishing.  Everything makes sense when he's casting and looking out over the water. 

The problem is, many of us, as life goes on, ignore the places that ground us.  We instead fill our schedules with the things we "have to do" and lose the joy of the things that ground us.   

Problem #2 is that we often think that if we cannot do that thing we love "full time", we shouldn't do it at all.  Imagine if the Pope used this as an excuse before being elected, "Well, I'll take the job but only I if I get to preach all day every day."  Just because we aren't doing the thing we love full time, doesn't mean it's not worth doing some of the time.   

Go to the place that grounds you.  It's probably either physical or artistic (and sometimes both).   The key is to go there and savor every moment of it.

 

What's the Problem You're Trying to Solve?

All of us are trying to solve something.  The parent on the PTA committee tries to raise money for her daughter's school.  The plumber tries to clear clogged pipes.  The clergyman tries to lift spirits.

For me and this blog, I'm trying to help you break through the maze of the job hunt and design an extraordinary career for yourself.

What about you?  Consider the following three phases of one's career and what each might be trying to solve:

  • In our 20's & 30's:  we are often climbing the ladder, honing our skills and trying to figure out what we want to do in the second chapter of our life's work.
  • In our 40's & 50's: we are discovering "mastery" and becoming experts.  We are also trying to solve the "retirement dilemma" whereby we worry about when and how we will retire.
  • In our 60's & 70's: we are transitioning from work to helper-role, raising up the next generation of leaders as we serve as mentors and guides.

A 20-something friend of mine said recently something like this, "I like my job but I think I should find something more stable, more forward thinking."  She's trying to solve the problem of not having benefits and worrying that her job at present could be eliminated any day.  It could- her worry is justified.

Another friend in his late 40's told me recently that he's trying to "settle down" and get ready for retirement.  To be honest, I'm not sure what problem he's trying to solve.  He needs more clarity or he's going to just sit in neutral.  Neutral is not good.

And that's the problem with problem solving- it's actually healthy to be solving something.  It means we are still growing and expanding our horizons.  It's when you just "maintain" that your career will sputter.  Worse yet, you'll get fired.  

I like it when people in my organization tell me that they want to grow and get promoted.  That means they still haven't hit their ceiling of growth and that's good.

So my advice is this- get clear on the problems you're trying to solve in your self and in your work.  Then go at them with intentionality and vigor.  

After all, life is too short to just sit there and wait for retirement.  

An Inside Look at my Social Media Fast

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Fasting is not something I particularly enjoy.  When Lent (a period of fasting prior to Easter) began a few weeks ago, I wasn't really sure what to "give up" or fast from and then it hit me- social media.   

Again, to reiterate, I don't love giving things up- who does?   

Still, I decided to craft a few guidelines that I would explore in the weeks leading up to Easter.  They included:

  • No Facebook browsing
  • No Twitter browsing
  • No Instagram browsing
  • If I had to post something to one of those networks, I would use the share sheet in iOS to do so but not log into the network and putter around. 

I'm not the only one either giving up social networks for a period of time or paying attention to what's got my attention.  I really like Cal Newport's idea of an Attention Charter.  Maybe he's on to something. 

So how's it going?  I've noticed some really surprising results just a few weeks in: 

  1. I have more time.  I didn't realize that Facebook and Twitter were taking up so much of my attention and time. 
  2. My blog traffic hasn't suffered at all. 
  3. While I'm "less social", I also don't feel so pulled in so many different directions.  This is nice. 

You might try this yourself.  Especially if you feel like you have to be checking your social networks all the time...that's a sure sign that you might be giving them more attention than they really deserve.   

Will I go back to Facebook (et. All) after Lent?  I'm not sure but for now, the extra time it's providing is really fantastic.   

 

How to Become a reader Even if You Don't Like to Read

I run into people all of the time who tell me that they don't read.  This makes me wonder how they consume information- Tv? Radio?  Web surfing? After all, we all "get" our information from somewhere.

The mindset of not being a reader is common enough and unfortunately it can start at a young age.  Scholastic has a list of the top 10 reasons why people don't read as much as they would like.  Some of the common refrains sound like this:

  • I'm not a good reader
  • I can't concentrate
  • I can't sit still long enough
  • I don't have the time

Can you relate to any of these?  Even though I'm an avid reader, I can!  It takes discipline for me to sit with a book and read it for more than 15 minutes.  Maybe it's ADD or just a consequence of the "always on" internet world we live in.

Still...I don't want to give up on reading and neither should you.

The benefits of reading are too many to list but here's an example of why I read so much. 

It was a Chinese New Year's party and two people at my table were talking about various things.  One was from China and the other from New Jersey. One spoke of Asian cuisine and another about investing in socially responsible funds.  To my delight, I was able to have really interesting conversations with both people, mentioning things I had read about or heard in podcasts.  Because of my reading, I had an instant connection with them. 

The reading had come in handy... 

For those who don't see themselves "as readers", I suggest five things that can turn anyone into a reader in no time: 

1. Listen to podcasts.  This might include the Emergent Leader Podcast, just sayin'!

2. Listen to books.  Whether it's Audible.com or just audio books from the library, audio books count as "real reading".

3. Combine "reading" with working out. 

4. Read five blogs every morning or evening. I like to start the day with some Seth Godin, Fr. Richard Rohr and Fast Company.  Just as with audio books, blogs "count" as real reading.  

5. Take a day off each week and use this as "permission" to read day.   I started doing this about a month ago and it's been magical. I'm more present to my family and I check a new book out of the library each week, anticipating that I will take some time on Sunday to sit and read- and I do.  

Whether you find reading easy or if it's a struggle, my hope is that you'll try the five steps above and cultivate your reader's muscle.   You can do it!