What Won't You Do This Week

This week, instead of frontloading your Monday-Wednesday block of days with MORE items to do, try taking some things off the list, in essence doing LESS.

So what could you eliminate this week?  Here are but a few suggestions:

  • one pointless meeting

  • one sarcastic email

  • one angry phone call

  • one silly online purchase

  • one dinner out (instead, try out a home cooked meal with fresh ingredients)

  • one hectic drive to a place that you don't really want to go anyways


By doing less, you may actually find that you accomplish MORE.  The point is not so much to accomplish anything but to be open to whatever grace God provides and receptive to His leads.

A friend of ours recently share the details of a day in which she felt as if she had accomplished very little.  After a glass of wine and some reflection, she realized that she had indeed accomplished quite a bit:

After getting the kids off to school, I set in to do some house work, only to be interrupted by a woman on the phone who needed some encouragement.  Her child was diagnosed with cancer and she was distraught.  Two hours later I emerged for lunch, only to receive a guest at the house who just needed to talk.  Turns out, she is going through a terrible life situation as well.  That took up another hour.  By the time the kids got home from school, the day was done.

The world would tell you that this friend had just wasted her day.  In retrospect, she has simply been open to the moments that God provided and then used them well.

That's quite an accomplishment.

How March Madness is Like Email

March Madness, you're back again this year.

My kids know nothing about Cinderalla teams, the Sweet 16 or "bubble teams".  When I came to them a few weeks ago and floated the idea of filling out some bracket sheets, they shrugged and said, "Sure Dad, we're in".  The bribe of a prize for the winner was enough to push them over the top.

We downloaded the official iPhone app to track our teams and each night we highlight those teams that won during the day.  Our conversation has been somewhat amusing.

"Who is Duke anyway dad?"

"My teacher tells me that St. John's is the best but I have no idea why."

"I should win because my handwriting is better than yours Dad."

Not surprising, I've found myself sucked into our bracket situation.  My iPhone has been busy notifying me several times a day about injury reports.  Our brackets at one point became the centerpiece of our dinner table.  I even got upset when the "special marker" that we use for the brackets went missing for a few minutes.

What I have noticed is a striking similarity between March Madness and email management.  I know, some are saying that bracketology might actually be good for workplace productivity.  Still, I just don't buy it.

Like email, anything that is holding your attention more than 3 times a day is going to produce drag on the system.  The habits of only checking email a few times per day, batching tasks and finding alone time still hold true.  These make up a strong antibody against being on all of the time.  Or checking your brackets all of the time.

As Lent continues, I'm going to refocus my energy on single tasking and doing just one thing at a time.

And on only checking my brackets once a day.  Go Duke!

The Importance of Preparation

I watched as the preacher walked through the church, talking about the Scripture reading related to the Ten Commandments. Things went south when it became evident that he himself didn't know the Commandments.

Oops, minor detail!

We saw the same thing during the SuperBowl as Grammy winner Christina Aguilera tanked on the national anthem.  I can imagine her embarrassment afterwards, wishing that things had gone differently.

What the preacher and the Aguilera had in common was talent, charisma and a platform on which to showcase their talents.  What they also shared on that particular Sunday was a lack of preparation.  It's not that they didn't prepare- I'm certain they did but their readiness wasn't deep enough for the moment of action.

Leaders know that practice makes perfect.  (And more practice and then some more.)  They are humble enough to prepare, recite and burn their rituals into their minds and bodies.  No one does this better than championship athletes.

Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics is a classic example.  He's 34 years old, and just became the all time 3-point scorer in NBA history.  What's just as impressive is his stamina and workout schedule which have actually gotten more intense as he's aged.  While many would get soft in their post-prime years, Allen still shows up four hours early for games and is said to be in the best shape of his career.

The preacher I saw wasn't into it.  Not enough at least to take 10 minutes to revisit the Commandments.

Some leaders prepare and rehearse in order to save face.  This may seem completely self serving but if you've ever sat through a Board meeting and not had the answer to a question, you know why preparation is critical to strong leadership.  Similarly when your boss has a question that you don't know the answer to- you better rebound and fast. When you don't prepare, your leadership takes  a negative hit.  People think that you're less intelligent or worse- lazy.

Here are some ways in which we can reclaim preparation as a leadership principle:

  • Write out your thoughts. Avoid the temptation to wing it.  By outlining your thoughts on paper, you'll think through issues on a deeper level.  Writing helps the brain to be more comfortable with content.

  • Rehearse with someone else.  Role playing is a powerful vehicle for precision and confidence boosting.  Find someone whom you trust who can be a sounding board and potential acting partner.

  • Anticipate questions that others will ask. If you're going to be in a meeting setting, this step is vital.  Which questions will people ask you?  How can you respond?

  • Be honest when you don't know the answer. Nothing covers for a lack of knowledge like an honest response.  "I don't know but I can definitely find out..." is valid enough once or twice.  Just make sure that you follow up and eventually provide the data that was requested.


Nothing is better than preparation.  Whether you are getting ready for a meeting or about to give a speech, 20 minutes of preparation will ensure that you not only look professional but perform as a leader.

Isn't your career worth it?

Your Least Favorite Day of the Week?

Which day do you dread each week?

Some would say Mondays.  After all, the stress of work shocks most people out of their weekend leisure.  For others, the mid-week grind of Wednesday is least favorite.

For me, it's Tuesday. Each week, I pump myself up on Sunday night, readying for the strain of the week.  It starts at around Sunday lunchtime.  The feeling of dread and sadness.  As I pour myself into my work each week, I know that I lose a little of myself each week.  That's why the sadness comes and visits me each Sunday.  I greet it and have learned to accept it.  As an introvert, I don't particularly enjoy being in the spotlight from Monday-Friday so I have to ready myself for the challenges that each week brings.

By Monday morning, I'm ready to rock and roll.  The day is usually smooth as the table is set for the rest of the week.

It's Tuesday that I struggle with.  It's like a letdown of sorts.  All of that psychic energy into the front bookend of the week leaves Tuesday to pick up the pieces.

Whatever day you struggle with, here are some suggestions as to dealing with it:

  • Change up your schedule. Arrive early or show up late.  Take an alternate route to work.  These small changes can make a huge difference.

  • Give yourself permission to be less than 100%. This sounds counterintuitive but it works.  By giving yourself a green light to not be obsessed with high performance for one day a week, you may actually be improving your productivity.

  • Build your week around your best days. When you can identify the day (hopefully not days!) that is least favorite, you can then put more emphasis on the stronger days.  This will allow for better spaces for tough meetings and higher level tasks.


Which day do you least enjoy each week?

*photo by pouwerkerk

Manage Your Time and Your Energy

We have all read about enough about time management.  From the Mayo Clinic to how Web Workers deal with time, everyone's got a tip or two for those who are stressed out.  You've heard them before but it's always good to be reminded of the basics:

All well and good but Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project encourages us to leave much of this in our system.  The key is to counterbalance it with an equally strong dose of energy management.  From his Harvard Business Review article Six Ways to Supercharge Your Productivity, he makes his case for energy management:
Schedule your bedtime, and start winding down at least 45 minutes earlier. Ninety-eight percent of all human beings need at least 7-8 hours a night to feel fully rested. Only a fraction of us get that much regularly, in part because we buy into the myth that sacrificing an hour or two of sleep a night give us an hour more of productivity. In reality, even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a dramatic toll on our cognitive capacity, our ability to think creatively, our emotional resilience, the quality of our work, and even the speed at which we do it.

A powerful balance of time and energy management creates a dynamic system that is ready for anything.  Interruptions- no problem.  Work fatigue- bring it.  Attacking competitors- hi there.  With both time and energy management in place, we can better serve God and those entrusted to our care.

Question: what are you doing to manage energy on a daily basis?

*photo by expressmonorail


Getting Things Done: To-Do App Smackdown!

Last week I hinted that I was doing a test drive through three apps that I find helpful.  Since the arrival of the iPad, my measuring stick for apps has risen as I'm always on the lookout for productivity apps that sync three ways:


  • iPhone to cloud

  • iPad to cloud

  • Cloud to iPhone and iPad


As I'll mention in a cast due sometime this week, I'm digging the three-way standard because there are times when the iPad is the tool of choice and at other times, I'm on the go and only have the phone with me.  Cloud syncing is really important because if your computer blows up, you've got a backup.  My wife likes to remind me that this has yet to happen in my life.  True enough.

Price

ToDo comes out on top here as it's vastly cheaper than both Nozbe and Things. For those on a budget, you can't go wrong with ToDo. As for product support, there are a lot of complaints against both ToDo and Things on the message boards. Nozbe would not provide me with any feedback when I asked for an educator discount so I guess you can say all three leave something to be desired in the customer support department.  As you can see from the chart above, there is a wide price difference between the three apps.  Here's how I look at this- how much is your productivity worth?

Favorite iPhone App

Nozbe was my favorite with Things as a close second. Nozbe really flies and has a wonderful single button that can then add Project, Action, Note, etc. The green UI is pleasant and very quick.

Favorite iPad App

Things was my favorite with ToDo as a close second. Things has a nice project page which lists each project as a separate sheet of paper.  You can then move each around by simply dragging it where you want it to go.  As for ToDo, it's one of the most beautiful iPad apps that I've seen, with a virtual notebook that you can customize.

Best Cloud Sync

This one is a toss up as Nozbe would be my favorite if it weren't for the high price.  ToDo syncs with Toodledo.com but it's about as spartan as an Excel spreadsheet.  While it's only a wi-fi sync, Things for the MAC is really excellent.  The company behind Things is promising a true cloud sync in the near future.  For right now, I'm content with the wi-fi sync.  I like to plan my week from my laptop so the lack of full cloud is not a negative thus far.

And the Winner Is

Things.  I can't really explain it except to say that it works.  It's not the cheapest.  It's not the fanciest.  I just like using it and is captures what I need from a suite of devices.  Simple as that.  I asked for an educator discount from Cultured Code, the maker of Things and they provided me with one- that was icing on the cake.