Travel Survival Tip: Dealing with blisters on your heels

On more than a few occasions, I've worn new shoes on a business trip and been miserable because my heel(s) developed blisters because the shoes weren't broken in yet.  It makes for a miserable trip.  Fortunately, you don't have​ to suffer.

Moleskin to the rescue

Several years ago, I discovered that there was a great solution to this problem: Moleskin (not to be confused with the Moleskine notebooks - they are a completely different thing).​ Before discovering moleskin, I used Band Aids, but they just didn't stay on very well.

Moleskin is a felt-like fabric with an adhesive coating on one side.  You can find it at most pharmacies, or stores with pharmacies in them (such as many grocery stores and Target).​  It is in the foot care section, along with show inserts, corn pads, and things like that.

To use it, simply cut a square that will cover your blister (or the red area where a blister or "hot spot" is developing), apply it directly to the skin over the blister, then put your socks and shoes back on.

If you already have a blister, it will still hurt, but it won't get worse, and it won't hurt as much.  If you don't have a blister yet, moleskin can keep one from developing.​

Each day, replace the square with a fresh pad.  I find that the moleskin is easier to remove if I take it off after my shower - it's waterlogged anyway at that point, so it is a great time to apply a fresh pad.​

Keep putting it on there until the blister is healed, or your shoes no longer hurt your feet.​

​Plan ahead for more pleasant travel

With moleskin, it can pay to plan ahead.  You see, moleskin is sold in larger sheets or rolls so you need to cut it -- that can be challenging these days, since it is difficult to travel with scissors.

I buy moleskin and cut it into small squares (roughly 1" square, or 2.5cm square) and put them into my laptop bag so I have some handy if my shoes begin to irritate my feet. This has helped me on at least 4 occasions I can remember, and I make sure moleskin is a permanent part of my travel gear.

Stand up & ditch bad habits: Ways to improve creativity & productivity

Productivity — an overarching term, for sure, and your productivity can be increased or reduced by various internal and external forces. Whether it's an ambitious personality, lifestyle habits, elevated work expectations, or an innovative environment, the level of sustained work productivity is influenced by a lot of factors. For creative professionals such as writers and graphic design experts, maximizing creativity and improving productivity are essential for a successful career. The good news?  Changing your environment and breaking norms can help enhance your productivity and creativity.

Stand-Up Desks & Walking Stations

Most of us have experienced the fatigue of sitting at a desk in front of a monitor for a long time. Extensive studies confirm that a sedentary lifestyle is linked to a shorter lifespan and increased risk of certain diseases, high-cholesterol levels, blood clots and inflammation. Prolonged sitting is harsh on your body and exhaustive, and those of us who are slaves to desks and computers are reminded of the health risks.  So what can we do about it?

I've been thinking of replacing my traditional desk with an adjustable-height desk.  I think it would be a fun change of pace, but I've also been reading about some of the health benefits of standing desks.  For example, Dr. Ron Joine (vice president and medical director of GlaxoSmithKline's environmental health and safety group) says that standing while working stimulates the mind, increases energy levels and can burn up to 200 calories per day.

Change is good, too.  I've been reading that it is healthy to switch things up by using different ways of working, such as standing desks, traditional desks, walking stations (treadmill desks) and desks with yoga balls. The notion is that by moving around more, your productivity and efficiency will increase, which also boosts morale, optimizes health and sparks creativity.

For a long time, I've found that if I stand during conference calls I am more focused and the calls are not only more productive, they tend to wrap up more quickly - less wasted time, in other words.​

Performance Norms & Habits

Sitting vs. standing is only one dimension of this - you can reduce periods of low productivity by breaking bad habits, revamping your routines, changing up norms and setting more aggressive goals for yourself.

As a leader of a team, raise "the bar of performance expectations by setting elevated goals" and measure performance progress, says Forbes.com contributor Jack Zenger, a strengths-based leadership development expert. You can start by assessing where you are -- give yourself an honest performance evaluation. How would you rate your ongoing level of productivity? Mike Myatt, Managing Director of N2grwoth, tells Forbes.com that he gives himself "hourly gut checks." For 20 years, Myatt asks himself every single hour, "am I doing the most productive thing possible at this point in time?" If the answer is no, change gears an focus on something productive. I think this is an interesting approach to make accountability a person habit.  If you want to do this, a timer (on your computer, or a kitchen timer) can help remind you to ask yourself this question.

Create new, productivity-enhancing norms such as:

• Fuel up in a healthy way and nourish your body with nutrient-rich foods. Focus on how superfoods make you feel. Eating sugary or fatty foods in large portions makes you feel sluggish and dulls the brain. Sharpen your mind and creativity with vitamin and nutrient-rich fuel.
• Maintain a productive workspace that's free of distractions and clutter. Keep your desk minimally decorated and you're less likely to "drift off" while you work. Is your desk optimized for work and focused intention?
• Make small changes to feel refreshed and eliminate the mundane. Recharge by changing anything from the type of coffee you drink and lunch you eat to the light and sounds of your surroundings. If you have the luxury to work from home, add some variety by occasionally working at the library or different coffee shops as a change of scenery.

​What about you?  Do you any tips and tricks that help you feel more productive?  Have you switched to a standing desk?  I'd love to know what is working for you.

Short-circuit your task list

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me, both professionally and personally, and I've been a bit negligent in regularly reviewing my task list.  I didn't want to lose track of my commitments, high priority items, etc. but I also didn't want to be distracted by the volume of "candidates" in my task list.  I'd like to share a technique that works for me in these situation, in hopes that it may add a tool to your toolbox.

Limit your options to increase your leverage

For this technique, I continued with one of the tools from my last post:  index cards.  Here is how I used them for this technique:

Weekly:  Pick your targets for the week

• At the beginning of the week, do a quick and dirty review of your task list.  
• Decide no more than 10 things you feel your must get done this week - these should be items that create meaningful outcomes, or fulfill important commitments you have made.
• Grab an index card and write those items on the card.  This is your target list for the week.

Daily: Pick two priority outcomes

• At the beginning of the day, pick two things (ideally, outcomes - not granular tasks) on your weekly target card that you will focus on for the day.
• Write them down on a different index card.  This is the one card you'll carry with you all day and use to focus your attention.  Try not to exceed two - remember this is all about focus.

During the day: Focus yourself and manage the distractions

• Any time you have discretionary time, take out your card and decide on a next action you can take that will help you achieve your two targets for the day, and begin working that next action.
• If you find yourself working on another item, stop it if you can (I know there are emergencies you can't just say "no" to, but make sure it really is a non-optional item if you're going to do it).
• If you work on anything other than your "big two" for the day, write it on the back of the card so you can reflect on it later and determine if it was really necessary or not.

At the end of the week: Study how you did and learn from it.

• Repeat this process every day during the work week.  
• At the end of the week, look at what you've done, review the distractions you've noted on the back of your daily cards, and see what there is to learn.

I think you'll find you have either completed quite a few (if not all) of your "must do" items, renegotiated them, or decided they weren't really "must do" after all.  

I also think you'll have some good insight into the things that detract from your focus during a typical week.  What (or who) are your biggest distractions, and what can you do to overcome them?

Keep in mind, this is not a technique I use very week -  I just fall back to it when I feel overwhelmed by the choices in front of me.

What about you?  Do you have any good techniques that work for you?  I'd love to hear them.  I'd also like to know how the technique I describe works (or doesn't work) for you.

​

What's Most Important for Focus?

For the past month, I’ve been working with Jason Womack  as part of a group coaching program based on this book, “Your Best Just Got Better” (you may recall I reviewed his book last month).  The program, called “Achieve Your Next” is all about clarity, focus, and outcome-oriented thinking.  I have really enjoyed the program, as well as the group approach Jason has taken.  

What are your MIT’s?

One key takeaway has been to move away from focusing only on tasks, projects – and even goals – and spending some of your time focusing on your roles and areas of responsibility.  Jason refers to these as MIT’s or “Most Important Things.”

For the past week, Jason has asked me to pick 3 MIT’s I want to focus on each morning, and try to deliberately engage in activities that help me improve in those areas.  Incidentally, this approach is also described in the book.

Earlier in the program, we began to achieve clarity about what our MIT’s were, so I already know what mine are (at least right now).

MIT’s drive focus

MIT’s can be things like “Thought Leader,” “Provider,” “Leader,” “Amazing Parent,”  or they can be even more tangible.  For example, Jason’s MIT’s for his business are Lifestyle, Revenue, Client List, and Products.

As you can see, however you define your MIT’s, they provide a lens to evaluate your tasks, commitments, projects, meeting, actions, and more – and to make sure you get what you want out of life.

If you're overwhelmed by stuff you could  do, maybe focusing on your MIT's will help with prioritization.  If you want to give it a try, check out Jason't book.

Reflect on the old year, plan the new year

Last week, I wrote about Beeminder, to help motivate you to keep your New Year's resolutions, and a few weeks ago, I reviewed the book "Your Best Just Got Better," which is a great book to read to figure out how to set meaningful goals.

This week I want to share some tools and methods to get past the "writer's block" that often stalls people when they sit down to write their goals and resolutions.

Getting your goals out of your head

It's pretty common for people to carve out a few cycles this time of year to make plans, new year's resolutions, and such.  I'm a very visual person, so I find that using a mind map helps me organize my thoughts and stimulates my thinking.  My tool of choice is MindManager from Mindjet, but you can find lots of other mind mapping alternatives on the other end of Google (FreeMind, for example, is free and Open Source).

I organized my map into three main "zones" (which you can see in the diagram below):

1. A review of last year, where I identify highlights, lowlights, and missed opportunities
2. A look ahead to help me frame my main areas of focus (more thematic or directional in nature)
3. Making more concrete commitments I want to achieve (specific commitments and projects I want to focus on)

I've included my blank map below, and you can download my "New Year Reflection" mind map here.  You can also launch an interactive (but not editable) version of the "New Year Reflection" mind map via this link (give it a bit of time - it has to download a Flash-based player).

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Feel free to customize it so the prompts are more meaningful to you.  And, if you use this approach, please let me know how it works out for you.

Still stuck? Try thinking about it another way...

If you'd rather think about your goals in terms of the roles and "categories" in your life, I have another template that may be useful, as well.

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You can download my "2013 Success Planning" mind map here.  And, if you don't have MindManager or a compatible alternative, the interactive (but not editable version of 2013 Success Planning can be accessed via this link (give it a bit of time - it has to download a Flash-based player).  In this map, the "writing prompts" are in the Notes attached to each of the major categories - click on the little notepad icons and you'll see the prompts over in the notes pane on the right.