Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Be among the first to know...

I've been waiting for many months for the "official" David Allen Notetaker wallet (aka the Getting Things Done Evening Module).  They've been out of stock for many moons, and I just  noticed that David posted a note a few days ago to let people know they are back in stock.

That's old news to me - I got mine a couple of weeks ago.  How'd I do that - an insider tip from David?  No - I'm not that special.  Here's how I did it:

Rather than visiting the page all the time looking for when they restocked, I used a handy (free) service called "Watch That Page."

In this case, I set up a watch for the David Allen Company's product page.  Then, each time the page changes, I get an email showing me the differences on that page.  A couple of weeks ago, I got an email saying the price on the NoteTaker wallet had changed from "Out of stock" to $99.00 and I had placed my order about 10 minutes later.

This is handy to watch just about any publicly accessible page, and it provides a "smart" summary by sending an email showing only the parts of the page that have changed.

Give it a try - and if you like it, please donate some money to the site owner to help keep it running.

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Tinkering in the garage of my mind

You've probably seen those tinkering types who accumulate a garage full of miscellaneous spare parts (motors, belts, pulleys, etc.).  Then, one day they'll get an idea, go out to the garage, and make something out of all those spare parts.

I'm a bit like that, but not with parts.  I accumulate ideas, thoughts, concepts, and goofy ideas.  Then, they sometimes come together in the form of new ideas, lessons, and observations.  Here's an example.

Ingredients:

  • Blog posts from David Allen, Steve Pavlina
  • Lisa Haneberg's 2w2aB program

As I was catching up on my blog reading this weekend, I noticed a few posts from David Allen on conversations he's had with his seat mates on airplanes (like this one about being spread too thin at the top).  He's had a number of posts like that since launching his revamped blog, and I've been thinking about how few such chats I have on the plane, even though I fly a lot.

In just about every case I can recall, when I had a conversation like that with a stranger on a plane, it was initiated by the other person. I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm an Introvert and that makes me more likely to sit and think (or read, or listen to audiobooks, or work on my computer) than to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger sitting next to me.

However, as I read about David's conversations, I can't help but think I might be missing out on some good discussion (and even more new ideas) by being so solitary in these situations.

This is further amplified by the positive experience I had when going through Lisa Haneberg's "2 Weeks 2 A Breakthrough" process in which I was encouraged to talk about my goals with everyone I encountered, and even enlist their help. That was way out of my comfort zone, but yielded powerful (indeed, "breakthrough") results.

I've decided I want to force myself to engage in these sorts of conversations more often, to see what happens. What better way than to use Steve Pavlina's idea about personal quotas?

I've decided to give myself a quota of having a productive conversation with at least one person for every two flights I take.  I define productive to mean that I find out a little about what the other person does and one significant goal or project they are working on (personally or professionally).

I wonder what I'll find out? I know one thing - I'll probably expand my comfort zone.

What about you - are you a conversation starter, or a mind-your-own business sort of traveler?

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Lifehack: An ounce of prevention

As a very frequent flyer, I wanted to share a best practice I picked up from a friend of mine, John Palazza. After noticing that John always had a bottle of hand sanitizer with him, I realized this small idea would be handy to get rid of traveler germs as I made my way through airports and other places where the unwashed masses may gather.

I have seen the following things on planes and in airports:

  • very grungy airline tray tables that haven't been wiped in who-knows-how-long

  • people leaving public restrooms without washing their hands (not me, I assure you)

  • people of all ages coughing and sneezing all over the place

  • other things I'd rather not mention

I then see people eat off those airline tray tables.

I believe this is why I have always had at least one good bout of flu or something more exotic every year. For example, I caught German measles (aka Rubella) after a flight full of coughers about 3 years ago - apparently my childhood vaccine didn't work the way it should've.

But that didn't happen this year! I've been using John's little trick since last summer, and I've now officially made it through a season of heavy winter travel without getting the flu, or even a cold. I attribute it to the wondrous anti-germ powers of my travel-size Purell hand sanitizer, complete with its own handy little rubber harness that allows me to attach it to my briefcase.

I then sanitize my hands before and after meal and beverage service on the flight, and when I get off the plane.

If you travel a lot, why not give it a try? John puts the "Pal" in Palazza.

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Today I wil...

Ever have one of those days when it feels like the world is pushing you around?  Where you feel like you did a whole bunch of stuff, but you really didn't do anything on your own list?

I almost had one of those today.  What saved me was that I put a couple of things on my "must do" list this morning, and I made sure they got done before going to bed.  Nothing earth-shattering, but they were things on my hot list for the week, which I decided I would get done today.

It's all mental - just pick something every day that you'll do for you.  Every step forward is a step closer to your goals.

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Recharging your batteries

Lisa's got a cool post on Management Craft (it even has a picture of a fancy drill).  She asks the question "How Big Are Your Batteries?" - and it's gotten me thinking.

I'm a classic, hard-core "introvert" in Meyers-Briggs type indicator parlance (an INTJ, if it do ya).  If you're familiar with their definition of Introverted, it has more to do with how you process information than with how outgoing your personality seems to others. For me, it means that I need time to process information, and when you couple my Introversion with the other aspects of my type (iNtuitive, Thinking, and Judging) it means I like to get lots of data in, then I use my intuitive bias to see patterns, make connections, and form hard conclusions.

Lisa's post sparked one of those "connections" for me, as I realized that it's important for me as an introvert is to deliberately build time into my schedule to recharge my batteries.  You see, Introverts find lots of social stimulation to be a bit draining at times, and need some down time to process the information they've accumulated - this process is where we become energized.

So, while I think it's important to know what size battery you have, I think it's even more important to know what to do to make sure you get a full charge now and then.

For me, it's typically activities that allow me to gather new information without feeling the pressure to process it immediately.  That means things like reading, watching the Discovery channel (or the History channel or somthing like that), reading blogs, listening to talk radio and audio books, and that sort of thing.  It often involves quiet time alone.

If you're an extrovert, your recharge might look different - it may involve some social interaction, talking with someone into the wee hours, having a good debate, or just going to a party and socializing.

In any case, build in some time to recharge your batteries - it's no fun having them run down when you really need them.

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