Lately I've been frustrated that, even after a very busy day, I don't have as much to show as I'd hoped. So, I have gone back to the classic approach as I wrote about last year: I'm time logging again.
This year, my time logging is going more smoothly - I'm doing a lot of it electronically. Here are the basics:
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I'm using a Microsoft Word document called "timelog.doc" and have added a shortcut to this document to my Startup group on Windows. Therefore, my time log opens up every time I boot my system.
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I have created a few
ActiveWords macros to make things easier.
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"newday" adds a divider, inserts today's date, and moves me down a couple of lines to start my logging
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"ct" inserts the current time and a couple of spaces so I can easily timestamp things
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"log" opens up my time log document (because I accidentally close it a few times a day)
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I'm logging more "extra" details than I did last time, such as:
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the activity I need to be doing (or should be doing, or want to do) for the next chunk of time ("Need to review slides for xxx meeting")
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this allows me to see how many times I end up doing something other than what I intended to do
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if I deviated from the plan, I fess up on the next timestamp if I didn't do what I set out to do
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I also record unexpected obstacles - like yesterday when I tried to print my credit card statement for expense purposes, but Chase's card member site was down for a flippin' long time
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how many messages are in my Inbox (I only do this periodically - usually before I start processing my inbox, then again when I shift to a new task
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how many caffeinated drinks I'm consuming
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my energy level (on a 1-10 scale)
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what and when I eat and have snacks
I'm only a few days into it, but I'm already uncovering some sources of unproductive time, particularly during the work day. Here are some things I'm seeing so far:
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It seems my days are either too structured (filled with meetings) or too unstructured (on days when I don't have meetings, I am not being deliberate enough about what I *want* to work on - this is what triggered
my previous post)
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Any time email processing takes me to a web browser, I'm in danger land
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My mid-morning and mid-afternoon Zone Bars are really good for my energy level
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I've been drinking way too much caffeine - I've cut it by 75% in the last couple of days
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I feel better when I take a walk outside at lunch (vs. sitting inside the whole time)
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I gain energy from making phone calls, but lose energy when I receive them
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I don't schedule enough "catch up time" after meetings to write up notes, etc.
I'm going to keep doing this for a few more weeks to see how I can tune my behavior, and I know I'll learn more. I'm also looking for a good PalmOS-based time logging system that is easy to use and (ideally) synchs easily with a PC. I'll let you know if I find anything I like.
I highly recommend time logging periodically. If you're interested, a couple of good places you can learn about it are:
Related posts:
Read MoreAt my son's Boy Scout meeting the other day, I was reminded that there are three "anchors" in scouting: duty to self, duty to God, and duty to others. The boys are encouraged to do at least one thing to benefit each area every day.
This is a good way to view various areas of responsibility and it reminded me to keep balance in my life. Each day for the next 6 weeks or so, I will consciously pursue one "hard target" for each of four main areas of responsibility: self, family, work, and community. For me:
- Self involves self-development activities such as exercise, prayer or meditation, writing, learning new skills, and things like that.
- Family involves doing something to improve my home and family life, improving some aspect of my relationship with my wife and kids, etc.
- Work involves taking concrete action toward one of my work objectives, building relationships with people I work with, and other things to help my company achieve its mission.
- Community includes involvement in church activities, my work with the Boy Scouts, and doing things to help others.
Some of these areas may be difficult some days - I imagine I'll be challenged to come up with concrete actions for Family on my upcoming business trip to Europe, for example. I won't stress out, though - this gets back to my earlier post on Intention: I'll approach each day with sincere intent to do something good in each of these areas, then that intention will create the opportunities to do so.
One other qualifier on this - try not to look for simple, "check box" kinds of activities. Instead, try to identify an action that can bring positive forward progress toward a better life for you in each areas.
In my case, I think a focus on conscious completion of at least one substantive action in each of these areas over the next six weeks will be a good thing. Who knows- it may just become a habit!
What about you - what are your anchors? As you think about what you want to do each day, decide on one thing you can do in each of your anchor areas, write it down, and make it happen.
Related posts:
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How many times have you made a plea to someone for something and not gotten what you wanted? The answer may be easier than you think: up your influence.
Upping your influence means bucking your own traditional wisdom and trying a different set of "levers" to make your case. For example:
- If you've been relying on clean, logical arguments to sell your idea, try making an emotional appeal instead.
- If your emotional approach to seeking support from others is falling on deaf ears, try creating a logical business case to convince your audience.
- If you are a calm, collected, quiet person try making a loud, brash, demanding case!
- If you are a noisy desk-pounder, try a quiet, level-toned statement of your case
This can work for a number of reasons, depending on the situation:
- If you are perceived as a certain type of person (logical, emotional, loud, quiet, etc.) taking the opposite stance or demeanor can cause others to reconsider you in a different light. This is particularly effective if others see you as quiet, calm, overly logical, etc. - in which case a loud, emotional posture will help convey passion.
- If your audience is of a certain mindset (logical, emotional, etc.) taking an opposite stance can catch them off guard and put them into a mode in which they are not well equipped to shoot down your ideas.
Give it a try - if your requests are falling on deaf ears, you just might be able to cut through the noise and complacency by upping your influence.
Related posts:
Read MoreFrom my time spent in product development, there is an approach that has served me well: "Go ugly early."
This concept involves releasing early iterations of your products so you can allow your customers to interact with them and provide feedback. I'm not talking about releasing unstable or buggy products - I'm talking about releasing stable products that have limited functionality, but which telegraph the shapes of things to come. This can be done on a controlled basis (such as with a limited Beta program)
There are many advantages to this approach. For example:
- You allow your customers to become more involved in the evolution of your product.
- You provide functionality to the market earlier - this is good for the market and your position in it (assuming you release stable product).
- You get early feedback on whether there is even a need for what you've built, enabling course corrections earlier when your sunk costs are lower.
- You discover how your product interacts with other products, processes, etc. in the market.
- You can often increase your thought leadership and influence in the market.
A similar approach can be used for our personal ideas. If you have an idea, concept, etc. you can often advance the development of that concept by going ugly early and sharing that idea with others for input before you think the idea is "done." Many of the advantages are similar to the ones listed above.
Of course, there are risks in early disclosure. You may give away your secrets and your competitors may gain advantage from what you have released. In business, as with your own ideas, there are multiple ways to address this.
- Plentiful attitude. Assume there are enough ideas, money, opportunity, etc. to go around and share the idea openly. This approach also works for ideas you are contributing for the greater good (open standards, for example).
- Scarcity attitude. Assume that revealing your ideas early will expose you to risk of being out-executed, or having your idea show up in others' works. You can control this to a certain degree by limiting disclosure (to a selected group of early adopters, for example), or by putting a non-disclosure agreement in place. In this case, pick your friends wisely.
And there are many shades between these two. Regardless of the end of the spectrum on which you find yourself, there can be a lot of value and "time to market" benefits of going ugly early. Consider this powerful tool in your toolbox - are you incubating any ideas that could benefit from going ugly early?
Read More"Contrast that with Visions that grab ahold of you deep inside and don't let go until you reach the finish line. These are the Visions that change things."A lot is written, said, theorized, and declared about the most effective ways to get things done. This is due, in part, to the volume of things going on in our lives. Couple this with the endless ways we make ourselves feel bad because we aren't getting as many things done as you'd like, and frustration is inevitable.
Most of what I read about getting stuff done deals with Technique, Systems, and Tactics, with lots of Purpose and Balance sprinkled on. Goodness knows, I've tried various recipes - some work well, some don't, some work sometimes, some work always. They all have one thing in common - I can screw up any of them because I don't predictably play by the rules.
In my quest for the perfect system I've come to some conclusions, thanks to a number of cosmic nudges toward "Intention" over the last year. The nudges have helped me conclude that Intention is the key element that determines whether any of the other stuff works (sort of like the One Ring that rules them all, in the Lord of The Rings).
Turns out I was on a quest (or something like it) and didn't realize it. This post is quite a bit more philosophical (and a lot longer) than my usual curious musings here, but I have heard a different muse today. Here is my travelog.
Road signs
The gurus of productivity all have their own twist on creating a compelling Vision of the future. Stephen Covey tells us to "Begin with the end in mind," David Allen says "You won't know how to do it until you see yourself doing it." - My friend Gene Kim recommended "The Message of a Master" to me last year, which deals with "broadcasting" your desires (intentions, if you will) to the cosmos triggering the cosmos to respond with what you need. It's an unassuming little book, and I'd forgotten about it. I found it under the edge of my bed this weekend and it came crashing back.
- Steve Pavlina's "Million Dollar Experiment" (I'm a participant) gathered a bunch of folks to "manifest" $1 million dollars through the power of Intention. I personally attribute thousands of dollars to this simple intention technique.
- I saw a PBS special by Wayne Dyer, in which he goes through how to use the "Power of Intention" to change your life for the better. I was so intrigued, I donated enough money to Public Broadcasting to get his whole collection on the subject.
I started listening to the Wayne Dyer CD's this week, and a surprising thing happened. It was very "out there," new age sounding stuff (and I'm usually a roll-your-eyes-in-the-face-of-new-age-things kinda person). Then the connections started happening.
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