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.

 

[Updated] Review: "Danger - Quicksand - Have A Nice Day

[Note: Update is at the end of the review]

I've just finished reading David St. Lawrence's book "Danger Quicksand - Have A Nice Day." After reviewing David's blog, Ripples, I found out he'd published the book and I ordered it. After I placed the order, I read the cautionary post on the Bent Crow Press site. I began to brace myself as the book came to me via the US Postal service.

I'm very happy with my job and company at the moment, so I tried to read it with the lens of someone in a job that's sucking the life out of them and negatively impacting work/life balance (yes, I have those memories and can draw on them vividly when I choose).

To me, the book felt like a journey seen through David's eyes. The book begins with a primer on how to determine whether your job truly is a pit of despair. During this portion of the book, I was a bit unnerved by David's cynical tone - perhaps the old feelings were becoming too vivid... He calls them like he sees them, and his unvarnished observations were eerily close to some of the experiences I've had.

Suddenly I realized, "Wait - this is Quicksand. Don't fight it, you'll only make it worse." I pressed on - and I'm glad I did. The cold sweats were worth it. I feel I got a glimpse of the pain and frustration David experienced while trying to be effective in dysfunctional environments.

The book then moves in to the "OK, so do something about it." phase. The next several chapters deal with creating your exit strategy so you can move out of bad situations with as much dignity as possible. There are also pointers on how to recognize when your employer has flipped the bozo bit on you, in which case it's time to start updating your resume' - and fast.

Once you get out of the pit (regardless of how you leave), the book talks about how to get to the next phase of your life. In this section, the positive side of David's philosophy really comes through. These chapters are all about what to do next, how to take responsibility for your post-Corporate existence, and how to create a new reality in which you can work with integrity, fulfillment, and life satisfaction.

If you (or a friend) are working in a dysfunctional environment, this book can help you move on to a better situation. If you are having a tough time finding a new job after leaving you old job, the last 1/3 of this book provides great methods to lift your spirits, design and define your 'dream job.'

There is also an interesting section on how to start a "micro business" and some terrific insight on working for yourself.

In summary, I liked it. This book is unique blend of dry wit, cynicism, and practical advice. If you work in a dysfunctional company, or have unexpectedly lost your job, I recommend this book. David's hard-won lessons may be what you need to get up the gumption to move on sooner rather than later.

Update: July 10, 2005

This past week, I recommended David's book to a guy I met who feels like he is either a) being set up to fail, or b) hung out to dry in his current job. I think there are some great techniques to help him in these pages.

Like Bren at Slacker Manager, I yearn for an index so I could just point people at specific topics. Also like Bren, I think this book works better when you're having less-than-ideal work experiences. If your job sucks, this book could be just what you need to get yourself out of the pit of despair.

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Updated: What my diet can teach me about personal productivity

In a previous post, I shared my success with The Zone Diet.  I am now one year into it, and as I reflect, I realize that I can learn a lot about personal productivity.  When you boil it down to its essence, The Zone Diet is all about managing your hunger through portion control, planning, and maintaining a balanced diet.  Furthermore, it tells you what to do if you eat a really unhealthy meal, and makes it easy to get back on track if you have a weekend of decadent food.

How does that relate to personal productivity? Let’s take them one at a time:

Portion Control: Don’t overeat, and don’t over-commit.

You start with The Zone Diet by calculating what you should be eating based on your height and body size, and you start eating that way from day one.  This is followed by monitoring and controlling what you eat at every meal. 

With personal productivity, you can start with an accurate assessment of what you can handle, by figuring out what your hard commits are versus your discretionary time and activities.  This is followed by monitoring and controlling what you do (and don’t do) each day.

Planning: Success favors the prepared

With The Zone, I can resist the temptation of junk food because I always carry healthy snacks.  I also spend more time planning what I buy at the grocery store, and choose restaurants that will provide me with options compatible with my diet. 

With Personal Productivity, I follow David Allen’s advice and spend time doing (mostly) weekly reviews, I resist the urge to waste time by bringing my Read & Review folder and other optional work with me in case I get stuck in some kind of delay, I listen to audio books in the car, and use other techniques to make the most of my ad hoc time.  I’ve also become more mercenary about accepting meeting requests – so I can choose meetings that are more compatible with my time management goals.

Maintaining a Balanced Diet:  Stability comes from balance

With The Zone, you strive for 40/30/30: 40% of your calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat.  This keeps your metabolism and blood sugar in balance, making it easier for you to eat a healthy diet and not send signals to your body that might encourage it store fat or cause fluctuations in your energy levels. 

With Personal Productivity, we all need to maintain balance of health, work, and family to increase our success and happiness.  This is similar to the Covey philosophy of “First Things First” and its “Sharpen the Saw” mantra.

Knowing what to do when you fall off the wagon:

With The Zone, you forget about it and try to get back on track at the very next meal.  Persistence and the law of averages will pay off. If you stick to it most of the time, and don’t let yourself get out of control when you stray from the diet, you’ll do OK. 

With Personal Productivity, I find it helps to get back to the basics.  As a follower of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology, when things get crazy a good mindsweep and a comprehensive weekly review do wonders for me.

Whether I’m dealing with diet or productivity, the more disciplined I am, the more dramatic your results.  The same will be true for you.  It’s important to find a system or philosophy that fits your lifestyle and philosophy.

This reflection has also helped me spotlight an area where I need improvement in my Personal Productivity world: Balance.  I'm way too skewed toward Work with the way I balance things now, and need to adjust my "diet" to include more time devoted to my family and personal fitness.

Update, July 7, 2005:

I have spent some time this week with folks who haven't seen me in a while, and we've been talking diet.  This has made me realize another common trait of diet and personal productivity:  Knowing what to do is quite different from doing it.  And, you don't get the results without being willing to change what you're doing. 

Simple as that.

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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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