How to Enjoy the Present Moment

September 26, 2016 Mike StPierre

A bit of a confession to make here: I find it hard to be in the present moment.

I don't mean that life isn't enjoyable- it is and I'm blessed! What I mean is that, as an introvert and an achiever, it can be hard to truly, deeply enjoy being in each present moment.

Without wishing I were somewhere else...

Without imagining doing something else...

Without wondering if I should be adding something else to my current activity...

Can you relate? Some signs that you "suffer" (only partially kidding) from this affliction too include:

Finding it hard to relax
Not truly listening when others are talking
Always dreaming of a different _______________ (job, house, situation, etc.)

Some good news recently emerged and it's not clear what caused it. Maybe a realization that my kids won't be at home forever or a new job change that has given me more margin to enjoy the little things in life... I'm not sure.

Still, I'm grateful.

Rob Bell has a wonderful book called How to be Here which I'm hoping to pick up soon. It may be apocryphal but missionary Jim Eliot has that stellar quote about the present moment, "Wherever you are, be all there." David Allen (creator of the Getting Things Done movement) also has a lot to say about being fully engaged in your series of present moments,

"In order to feel comfortable with whatever you’re doing, you need to feel OK with what you’re not doing."

So that you can maximize your own experience of the present moment, I suggest trying the following:

When you listen to someone else, put everything down, look them in the eye and listen. Pause before you respond. Make a connection.
Stop rushing. If you have too many things to do in your day, you may consider crossing some of them off the list. This will free up time, space and mental bandwidth.
Practice morning rituals like prayer and meditation. I'm puttering around with the Headspace app and I like it a lot.
Look people in the eye. Play a game where you try to see their eye color and then remember that later in the day. This will help with paying attention to the other person.
Use technology less. Check out Cal Newport's recent talk on the power of giving up social media.
Do things you love. A walk, a workout, a meal, a book... whatever. By doing one or two things you love each day, you'll learn to savor the present moment with ease.

Enjoying the present moment is like flexing a muscle. It takes time. It takes practice. You can do it.

Office Gear You Should Never Skimp On

September 11, 2016 Mike StPierre

Your office, wherever that may be, is sacred. It’s the operating room for a surgeon, the kitchen for a chef, the workshop for a craftsman.

Still, too many of us “skimp” when it comes to the place where we spend most of our time.

We settle for crappy chairs, desks that bump our legs and poor lighting. The result is a space that’s uninspired and worse yet, repulsive. The quiet dread of “going to work” might be more related to your work space than you think.

So where should you draw the line between splurge and skimp? I suggest five areas:

Your desk. No company has a budget for a granite-topped desk. That’s not what we’re talking about. Rather, your desk should be big enough for the work that you do. If you’re bumping your knees, your desk isn’t big enough. You may want to experiment with a standing desk while you're at it.
Your lighting. Fluorescent lights are depressing and turn your eyes pink over time. A subtle addition to your workspace like a desk lamp can make a huge difference.
Your computer. Again, I’m not advocating for a $4,000 Apple Mac Pro. Few places have a budget for this. Your computer needs to be functional, bug free and up to date. If something is lousy (malfunctioning keyboard, fuzzy monitor, etc.), ask for an upgrade. Typically IT departments only roll out new gear when people as for it. Don't be bashful.
Your monitors. Adding a second monitor can make a big, big difference. Financial analysts have known this for years. If you don’t have one, ask someone at work if there is an extra and try it for a week. You’ll be surprised in the difference that the extra screen real estate makes in your productivity. I've used an iPad as an extra monitor and even that, albeit small, makes a difference.
Your "open thinking" materials. This was a surprise for me. By open thinking materials, I’m talking about notebooks, whiteboards, etc. The moment you feel “cramped” by your creative space, that’s an indication that you need more room to write, draw, etc. Get as much open space as you can. Turn a wall into a white board. Request additional notebooks. Give yourself permission to draw, sketch and map out your thoughts. After all, your thoughts are the seeds of your productivity.

Download The Free Daily Planning Sheet

This is the planning page we suggest using every day.

I could have mentioned plants, background music and a few other things. All are important. What gear do you value the most when you are at work?

What Collaboration Looks Like Within a Digital Task Manager

August 24, 2016 Mike StPierre

People toss around the word like it's a nerf ball.

Collaboration.

Some (think, Susan Cain) feel that it's been overused and that schools have hurt students in an effort for kids to work together. As an introvert, I tend to shy away from using the exact word collaboration and instead, favor "working together". Same thing? Maybe but it doesn't conjure up bad memories of having to work in a group in middle school.

How about task managers and collaboration?

I've been using Nozbe, a digital task manager, for several years but only recently did I find that it can help a team collaborate. Todoist and TodoCloud do this as well so Nozbe isn't alone. It's just the app that works best for me.

Getting Started with Nozbe

Download the Free Guide w/6 Easy Nozbe Tips

Here's the process that my assistant and I use and it works so well, I thought I would share a sample from a project called "Podcast":

I created a project called Podcast.
I shared it with Karen. At that point, the project became a shared initiative.
Inside the project, I provided the script that I wanted Karen to use when she invited people to be a guest on the podcast.
Karen then invited guests via email with the script that I had provided. As guests indicated their "yes" or "no" to being on the podcast, she would then enter into Nozbe a separate comment with the guest's name and email.
From there, I would then follow up with each guest, scheduling them. I would add a subsequent comment for Karen to see such as , "Just spoke with Barry; scheduled for October."

The end product was a truly collaborative process, resulting in a new podcast that has now recorded five episodes. We simply could not have done this without having a digital task manager like Nozbe. Want to check out the podcast? You can listen to it here.

What My Non-Smartphone Taught Me About Life

August 18, 2016 Mike StPierre

I'm a techie.

I admit it- if it's new, shiny and requires a power cord, I'm interested. If Apple makes it, I'm looking for my wallet.

For better or worse, this "trait" has been passed on to my children. They know the value of data. They routinely look for wifi in public places. They are a chip off the old block...

And then something serious happened about a month ago: we ran out of data. This was cause enough for a Family Meeting, which of course the kids hate. Bear in mind that not ten years ago, this concept (losing data) would have made no sense at all but in 2016, data is a big deal.

We see data as a right, an entitlement and a part of everyday life.

I was traveling for work that month and needed to use a lot of data and returned with two weeks left in our billing cycle with (gasp!) very little data to spare. Since we have a family shared-data plan, this became a family problem.

We shut down almost everything that would consume data and by the end of the month, just made it with .07GB to spare. Phew!

But you know what? Those two weeks with basically zero data taught me a few things. First, I learned that most of the stuff I do on my phone is kind of lame and going without it was no big deal. So I can't check Facebook? Ok. So I can't see Instagram updates when I'm at the grocery store? No big deal.

And, even better, I learned to daydream. I learned to be bored again. To stare out the window and watch stuff. It was nice.

As it turns out, my not-so-smartphone without data taught me a great deal. It made it easier for me to unplug and just be with my family and friends. It taught my kids the value of margin and open space.

One final thing: it taught me that Facebook and Instagram aren't nearly as interesting as I had previously thought.

Here's to the simple things in life... With or without data.

When We Grow

August 9, 2016 Mike StPierre

My kids are shifting to a new school this Fall and while I'm excited for them, they are (understandably) a bit anxious. My son said yesterday, with a bit of sadness in his voice, "the thing is that I was so comfortable at the old school and now, I just don't know..."

Totally normal right? What 12 year old wouldn't have the same reaction?

Old school- comfortable. New school- unknown and scary.

I felt the same way when I went to Washington, DC for undergraduate studies. I distinctly remember feeling that if I could get through it, I could probably get through anything.  

Life is often like this: when we are stretched, we grow. When we step out of the boat, we get a chance to drown or to walk on water. When we serve someone we previously considered alien, we destroy a boundary. When we pray deeply, we cross a bridge. When we give freely, we become more generous.

I'm doing new work these days, out of the boat kind of work. Higher education is very different and universities move s-l-o-w-l-y. Staying in K-12 education was comfortable, this is, similar to my 12 year old, unknown and scary. Still, it's incredibly energizing to be challenged and be a little bit uncomfortable.

That's when we grow.

My Initial Observations About Working From Home

August 1, 2016 Mike StPierre

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.

Download The Free Daily Planning Sheet

This is the planning page we suggest using every day.

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.