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.

Take Time to Pause

I just returned from the annual National Catholic Education Association convention in New Orleans.  It was a terrific event and the NCEA does a great job of bringing speakers, practitioners and vendors together for three solid days.

While I was there I purchased Terry Hershey's The Power of Pause from Loyola Press. Something about the title really caught my eye and I read it while on my two flights back to Jersey.

Hershey's point is simple enough- practicing Sabbath is important in and of itself.  Yes, it's a means to an end (deeper relationship with God) but it might also be of benefit on its own.

Pausing/Sabbath is important on any given day in that it...

• Renews your senses


• Anchors you in the ordinary


• Physically removes your stress


• Provides an opportunity to listen to God


• Slows you down


• Disconnects you from technology

Each of us can find a moment in our day to pause.  I call this a Quiet Time and I often fill it with some Scripture reading as well as a time to write in my journal. Mornings are best for me but I don't stress if it comes later in the day.  The key is to simply do it and not stress whether it's "good enough" or perfect.  Sort of like a runner, I just get out there and let it happen.  I don't wait for perfect conditions to have a Quiet Time.

I think that another of Hershey's points is that Pausing need not try to accomplish anything.  Don't try to get really, really good at your Quiet Time.  Don't try to become a Master Journaler.

Just pause and see what effects take place in you over time.

When was the last time that you had a week where Pausing was a regular feature?  Psalm 46: 10 provides a great starting point if you are hoping to add more Pause to your day:

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

Are You a Skunk or a Saint?

I attended a luncheon recently and listened to a guest tell me no fewer than five times that he was "in commercial real estate".  Then I found myself in another setting, this time with educators plus one former businessman.  The corporate fellow felt the need to continually remind everyone about how "we do it in the corporate world".

I see this phenomenon quite often.  Call it business snobbery or whatever but it seems that the folks from corporate enjoy educating even educators about "how we do it in the corporate world".

Abraham Lincoln once said, "What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself."  In other words, when you draw attention to yourself, it results in the opposite of what the person had hoped for.  Rather than puff someone up, it actually makes the person look silly.  So you have your MBA.  Should we be impressed with that?

You don't need to remind people about your role.  If you have ten kids, people don't need to hear that every ten minutes even if it's obviously an impressive accomplishment.  If you are the CEO of a company, do we really need to wear that badge on our sleeve?  If you are the principal of a school, do you need to show that off to others when you're in a meeting.

I often feel uncomfortable when people ask me what I do.  Rather than drawing attention to myself and telling folks that I'm the president of a high school, I often keep it bland and say that I'm an administrator or that I teach.  If someone pressed me, I would of course share what my role is but my ego doesn't need to get massaged by someone else's reaction to my title.  My wife, God bless her in her wisdom, is the first to remind me that I'm not the president when I'm at home, changing diapers or mowing the lawn.

Think less like a skunk and more like Chesterton who said "It is always the secure who are humble."  You are not your role or your job or your list of accomplishments.   You are secure in so far as you can remind yourself that God is at the center of who we are as faith people.

Three Things You Can Do on Friday

Friday is such a great day of the week.  Whether it's the anticipation of a few days off or the simple act of finishing something (anything ... the week!), Fridays pretty much rock.

What can you do to make Fridays even more meaningful for your week?  Here are three suggestions:

1. Conduct a weekly review.

2. Plan a meaningful weekend activity.

3. Clean off your desk.

Do these sound too simple to make a difference? Try one and let me know how it works.  Remember, Lent is the perfect time for single tasking.

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!

Why Every Leader Needs Solitude

I don't know about you but my schedule has, of late, featured a lot of meetings.  Budget meetings.  Personnel meetings.  Strategy and planning.

Before you know it, you can be left scratching your head and wondering if you'll ever be able to get any real work done.  This sentiment is really a symptom of someone who craves more solitude.  They know that meetings are work but too many of them can leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Jason Fried of 37 Signals has written about the problem of too many meetings. (see "Why You Can't Work at Work") It's no wonder that people feel so negatively about work- they can't seem to get work done when they're at it.  All of the stopping and starting creates a pace that is unsustainable for focused work.

Solitude, now that's what most workplaces could use more of.  I was reminded of this tonight as I visited our parish chapel for First Friday devotions.  For Catholics, First Friday is a chance for 24 hours of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  My time slot is 6-7pm and I get a call from someone in the church a few days before just to remind me.  It's become like an anchor for my month.

I see the same people each month for the hour that I'm there.  It's quiet.  I spend some time writing in my journal and do some spiritual reading.  The solitude is almost refreshing and is a stark contrast from the frenetic pace of meetings during the week.

Leaders need moments like these and I don't mean the ones only who have fancy titles.  Ask any mom and they'll tell you that a peaceful afternoon break is worth its weight in gold.  Solitude is so valuable that once you build it into your schedule, all of the meetings and interruptions will seem like speedbumps.

The meetings will never be completely eliminated but a lifestyle that includes solitude can transform even the most ordinary work schedule.

So, how much solitude are you getting each week?