Better Life Habits

Why we can't "live in the moment".

Elsewhere, U.S.A. is a fascinating and insightful read by Dalton Conley. The inside cover reads..."Over the past three decades, our daily lives have changed slowly but dramatically. Boundaries between leisure and work, plublic space and private space, and home and office have blurred and become permeable. How many of us now work from home, our wireless economy allowing us and encouraging us to work 24/7?"

Change often happens imperceptibly and when life feels out of balance or things seem to be spinning out of control it can be difficult to figure out how we got in this position. We're moving so fast trying to keep up, who has time to assess how to fix it, much less how we got there?

The book is chock full of riveting observations about society, business, relationships and life. If you do look into it (click on the book cover on the right), I'd be interested to hear your comments. Post 'em here.

Delegating is an art. Make it a habit.

For people who have too much to do, it's very often the case that they're trying to do everything themselves. Delegation is one of the most important business skills a person can have, but many folks simply aren't comfortable with it. The reasons I usually hear are...

1. It would take so long to explain it to someone else, I may as well just do it  myself.
2. I need to do it myself because it's important and I can't risk someone messing it up.
3. I hate for people to think I'm dumping the "crud work" on them.
4. The only person I have available to give work to is such a pain in the neck, I dread having to deal with him/her.
5. I don't have anyone to delegate to. (Ed note: Sometimes I do ended sentences in prepositions.)

Let's take these one at a time. As we go through these, I understand that the very process of implementing some of these ideas is going to add to the already excessive amount of work to be done. But only for a short time.

Consider it the storm before the calm. Like painting a room that's already full of stuff. Sure, you have to decide on a paint color, buy supplies, clear out the room, tape off the woodwork, paint the room, clean up and put everything back. But then you're done for a long time and you have a room that's inviting rather than one the previous owner painted baby poop green. A little extra work now pays off in the long run.

1. I may as well just do it  myself.
   If there is no process to follow, or if the process is too complicated to communicate, you'll be stuck doing this task forever. First, if there is no process, develop one. It may be two steps, but know what the steps are and document them. If a process is in place, think about whether its pared down to its simplest form. Does it have to be as complicated as it currently is? If you simplify the process and document how it's done, you'll have a training document you can share with anyone who might be able take over the task if you have a staff change.
2. I can't risk someone messing it up.
   This may be a sign of an ego, or may be sign that marginal people have been hired in support roles. Certainly, if you're charged with bringing in a sale and you're the expert, you'd be foolish to let someone present for you. But if you need to gather research on that prospect, or need presentations copied and bound, you should be able to pass those tasks along. People will often rise to whatever expectation you set. If you assume they'll mess it up, they may just hate to disappoint you. 
3. I hate to dump crud work.
   Just because you hate some tasks doesn't mean everyone does. If anyone asked you whether every role in a company is important, regardless of title, salary or size of office, you'd probably answer, "Of course every job is important!" Some of the people who do these tasks you don't like might think the tasks you have to do are pretty awful, too. And if you do have to give someone an assignment you both agree stinks, you can always do something nice for them occasionally to show your appreciation.
4. I dread having to deal with him/her.
   Hmm. How can I put this delicately? Oh, I know. Get over it. This nasty-attitude person has you right where they want you -- afraid to ask them to do work. Ideally you should have a conversation about your perception of their attitude. Not an angry, accusatory conversation, but a dialog about how you might work together more effectively. If this person is simply not having it and you're not in a position to get someone to replace them, then ignore the bad attitude and go on with your work. What you're asking them to do is their job. Neither of you should feel bad about that.
5. No one to delegate to.
   If you work in a small business or large corporation, it may be that staffing is an issue and there are not enough people to do the work that needs to be done. This is the time to do your homework,figure out exactly what you need and take that need to management. I can completely understand management's reticence to hire someone to help you if you can't articulate exactly what this person will do and how it will ultimately benefit the bottom line.
   
   If you are a sole proprietor, you simply must get better at allowing others to do what they do best so you can focus on what drives your revenue. Unless you are a web designer, hire one. Unless you're a marketing expert, consult with one to develop a solid plan. Rather than spending hours entering business card information (even using a card scanner requires the labor of checking for accuracy) hire a virtual or part-time assistant to handle administrative tasks and database management. While we sole proprietors have responsibility for everything, we also have the freedom to choose what we do and what we hire others to do. Certainly budget is a consideration, but a business can't survive if the owner is doing data entry instead of bringing in money.

More later...

Taking work home is a lose lose situation.

In my day-to-day dealings with people who are trying to be more organized and productive, I often see folks lugging bags, totes and briefcases crammed with stuff they plan to do at home.

Here's the problem with that. If you carry all that stuff home and you actually spend your evening doing it, you feel crummy because you didn't get to spend "quality" time with your family or significant other-type person, or didn't get any time to decompress from work so you could be rested and ready for the next day.

If you carry all that stuff home and don't actually get around to it (which is the more likely scenario anyway) you feel crummy and guilty for being a slacker. Especially when you drag the giant load of stuff back to work untouched.

So how do you fix this situation?

Stop taking stuff home. Duh.

For most people, hauling work back and forth is a bad habit that increases the bad kind of stress that makes us get headaches and resemble a tightly stretched rubbber band about to snap.

There are three common responses to this idea...

Group #1
"I love my job and I like taking work home at night and wouldn't know what to do with myself without it."

To them I say, "Swell. If it's working for you, you like it, and the people you care about don't mind, go for it."

Group #2
"I hate taking work home but I have to do it in order to get everything done."

For that group I say, "Not so fast. I have some solutions that will help you change that."

Group #3
"I never take work home because I figured this out a long time ago. Next time please write about something that isn't so obvious or I'm going to stop reading your blog."

For that group I say, "You are very smart, unless you actually stop reading my blog. If you do that I would be very sad and would much prefer that you let me know (via a comment or an e-mail) what I can write about that might be more useful to you."

So for group #2, here are ideas that I will discuss in detail, one-a-day the rest of this work week.

1. Delegate
2. Plan and prioritize
3. Stop doing stuff

I could go into all of them now, but then you'd be spending so much time reading this post at work that you'd have to take work home...

Do you have a "Did" list?

A "did" list is glass-half-full way of looking at life and things to do. Everybody has a long list of stuff to get done, but how often do we take a good look at what we've actually accomplished? It's not something you necessarily have to do every day. Because, frankly, who needs another thing to commit to. It's just helpful occasionally, particularly during those times when you feel like you're spinning your wheels and never getting enough done despite what feels like a lot of effort.

Here's a picture of mine. Get a notebook or journal you like to write in. You can also do it on the computer if your more techie. When I write stuff in it I write absolutely everything -- even the most mundane things. It gives me a real feeling of satisfaction to look at a long list of stuff I completed instead of focusing on everything that's yet to be done.

Let's face it. We're going to die with stuff still on our to do list. But we shouldn't let our to do lists kill us, or our sense of accomplishment.

Can you help me finish a quote?

I'm pretty sure everyone has heard the quote "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or some variation of it.  Well I can't remember where I read it but someone had changed it to "That which doesn't kill you now, eventually will." And I thought that was very funny -- in a dry, sick humor kind of way. (My favorite kind.) So I'm asking for your help in changing the quote up a bit. And you don't have to worry about being funny, just offer a different way to end the quote, "That which doesn't kill you...." The comment section is OPEN!

And for your productivity tip of the day, I'm focusing on how to keep track of information and to dos on the go for those of us that prefer paper to electronic methods. I use spiral bound index cards.

They're better than sticky notes because...

• - The spiral keeps them together until I'm ready to tear them out and put them in my "to do" file.
• - They're micro-perfed so they tear out neatly.
• - The spiral is a great place to tuck a pen.

Build your business first, then focus on giving back

If I was starting my busness today I would wait a few years before getting heavily involved in volunteer-type organizations. When I started my business eight years ago I confused networking with volunteering and ended up spending so much time on non-revenue generating activities that I'm pretty certain I slowed my income growth considerably.

It's important to get out there, get your name recognized and do what you can to build relationships in your community. That's what networking is all about. But early on in a small business or sole-proprietorship the fees you can command may be lower, the client list smaller, and passive revenue non-existent. So the bulk of your time must be spent building an infrastructure, honing your craft, developing a solid client base, and generating revenue.

Sitting on boards and chairing major events can demand hours of your month, maybe even hours out of each week. Time, that in the early years of a business, may be better spent focusing on building the business.

When it come to volunteering your time, choose carefully. Asking yourself these questions may be helpful...

1. Are my revenues such that  can afford "x" number of hours focusing on something outside of my business?
2. Is there a way I can contribute that won't require as much time? Be on a committee instead of sit on the board?
3. Is this organization aligned with my business?
4. Am I passionate about the cause this organization supports?

It's not about whether to volunteer is about how much to volunteer and when. Priorities shift as a business evolves. When your business is on solid ground you can volunteer to a greater degree and have more business wisdom as well as discretionary revenue to offer.

I'll bet happy people are more productive than unhappy people.

Just using myself as an example I know that I get more done when I'm in good spirits than when I'm in a funk. In the funk state, one of the best ways to get out of it is simply by forcing yourself to do something productive, then inertia takes control and you start feeling better.

But that's not the point of this post. I was packing lunch for my little one's first day at summer camp today and as I was listing what was going in it to make sure he'd have enough to eat, he asked if I was going to put a note in it. See, during the school year he buys his lunch, but during summer camp we pack it ourselves and sometimes I put a note in it for him to find when he eats lunch. It makes him happy. And of course when he's happy, I'm really happy.

I'll bet it would make grownups happy to find a nice note, too. Not an e-mail, but a handwritten, one sentence note dropped on their desk saying something nice about how a they handled a client or task, thanking them for their help, or letting them know you're in their corner if they are having a tough time of it.

If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Ever had overload paralysis?

I have. That's when you have so much to do you can't get yourself to do anything. In fact, in a dizzying act of unexplainable dumbness, on occasion when I have been overwhelmed with stuff to do, I've actually checked my e-mail. Yep. I've willingly sought out a place where in all likelihood more work will land in my lap. And I hadn't even been drinking.

Too much to do and not enough time to do it, blah blah blah. We've all been there. So how do we laugh in the face of inertia and get moving? Here are some ideas, in no particular order.

• Make a list of all the stuff you have to do. Get it out of your head and put it on paper. Like David Allen says, "You can't be confortable not doing something unless you know what it is you're not doing." Just write and write and write until you get it all out. No filtering. I don't care if you never look at the list again (But you will. You won't be able to stop yourself). It's just better to get it out of your head.
• Set a timer and do something, anything, for ten minutes. The rule is you have to stick to that one task for the whole ten minutes. No jumping around from task to task.
• Call someone who can give you verbal support or a kick in the butt -- whichever works best for you. It's best to have these kinds of people briefed and in the wings for occasions such as this.
• Think about how awful it feels to have all this stuff to do staring you in the face. Think how much more awful it will feel if all this stuff plus some is still staring you in the face 24 hours from now. Be OK with some level of progress.

Remember -- and I mean this in the most positive, uplifting kind of way -- we're going to die and still have stuff on our to do lists. Don't let it kill you.

Recognizing the difference between a brick wall, a roadblock and a speedbump.

My last post was about the difference between not knowing how to do something and knowing how to do but not how to make yourself do it. Clear as mud? If not, scroll down and read the previous post.

But sometimes the stumbling block is when you don't know how to do something. This blog is a fine example. When I first started this over a year ago I'd known about blogs for a long time, but since I'm not a techie I thought it would be too difficult. But I picked up a how-to book, set the blog up, posted once or twice...and promptly quit.

I quit for many reasons but mostly because I thought my posts had to be perfect or earth-shattering to be worthy of posting. Those expectations created a roadblock in my brain that halted all blog traffic for a full year. (Check out the dates on my posts.) Then I read a fantastic article by The Nametag Guy and started writing with newfound energy. I sure hope people find what I write helpful. If they (meaning you) do or don't, I'd sure like to know. But the perfection-induced roadblock that was there is gone for good.

There are still some speedbumps. I have all sorts of ideas about linking to articles (like the one above), other blogs, etc. and I'm not just a little stymied by that. I posted this later in the day than intended because I wasn't sure I'd know how to link to the article. A little nagging voice in my head kept telling me the process was complex. It wasn't.

Compared to what else is out there in blogworld I've gotten into the game in the fourth quarter. But I'll do my best to put interesting stuff out there that folks will find helpful. These occasional speedbumps won't turn into roadblocks.

What about brick walls? It's vital to know when you've hit one of those because you're not going to win no matter how long you keep banging your head against it. Staying with the "tech" train of thought, a brick wall for me would be creating my own website. That, my friend, is left that to the pros. In eight years I've had three or four websites created by other people. Left to do it myself, website #1 would still be in development.

Navigate around brick walls. Do what you must to tear down roadblocks. And though you may slow down for the speedbumps, keep moving forward. It's all about making steady progress.