When to Check Your Tech & How to Stop

November 10, 2024Leave a comment

Have you ever checked your phone for a social media update in the middle of a meeting? Or started looking at news headlines in the middle of a group lunch? Or got distracted by unimportant texts while doing deep work on a project?

It is very easy to be drawn into looking at our phones. This can lead to unproductive behavior and sloppy work. A recent article by Liz Fosslien on the Pocket website wonders why we have allowed these habits to become socially accepted.

I used to do nothing in the face of indiscriminate gadget use. Now, I’ve come to believe that doing nothing is no longer O.K. Staying silent about bad technology habits is making things worse for all of us.

How do we as a change these habits to make them less desirable? Perhaps we need to develop what investor Paul Graham calls “social antibodies.”

He uses the example of cigarette smoking: smoking in public became taboo over the span of just one generation after social conventions changed.

Like cigarettes, our personal technology use can become a bad habit. People enter a zone when they use their gadgets. Checking email or scrolling through Facebook can be intoxicating and disorienting. Tech makers design these products using the same psychology that makes slot machines addictive. The variable rewards built into apps make time pass quickly and can make people oblivious to what’s happening around them.

How can we build up social antibodies in the workplace? One way is to set up well articulated standards.

The best way to prevent this waste of time is for someone senior to mandate a “no-screen meeting.” In my experience conducting hundreds of workshops, the discussions declared device-free are by far more productive. Setting expectations up front is equivalent to administering a distraction vaccine.

Learn more about how to build social antibodies by reading the rest of the article.

To Solve a Problem, Take Something Away

November 3, 2024Leave a comment

There’s a funny thing about the human mind when it comes to problem solving. Usually, we look for solutions that add something to the equation, whether it be another resource, person, or strategy. Yet is it easier to solve problems by removing things?

In an article by Diana Kwon for Scientific America, she explores the reason that removing something is a often the more efficient problem-solving strategy. She uses the example of teaching a child to ride a bike.

For generations, the standard way to learn how to ride a bicycle was with training wheels or a tricycle. But in recent years, many parents have opted to train their kids with balance bikes, pedal-less two-wheelers that enable children to develop the coordination needed for bicycling—a skill that is not as easily acquired with an extra set of wheels.

Later in the article she explores research done at the University of Virginia. Observational studies of people solving problems highlighted some interesting patterns.

The researchers first carried out a set of observational studies, assessments without a control group, to see whether this bias existed at all. In one, they asked 91 participants to make a pattern symmetrical by either adding or removing colored boxes. Only 18 people (20 percent) used subtraction. In another, the team scanned through an archive of ideas for improvement submitted to an incoming university president and found that only 11 percent of 651 proposals involved eliminating an existing regulation, practice or program.

Is there a way to guide people to consider removing items rather than adding? Turns out a little nudge in the right direction can do the trick.

The researchers also observed that people were more likely to remove features when they were given more opportunities to consider alternative ways to address a problem: when participants were asked to create a symmetrical pattern by adding or eliminating colored blocks, they opted for removal more often if they were given practice trials than if they had just one chance to tackle the problem. On the other hand, having to simultaneously juggle another task—such as keeping track of numbers on a screen—made individuals less likely to subtract elements to solve the same problem, suggesting that it requires more effort to think up subtractive solutions than additive ones.

Read the full article to learn more about how to consider subtractive solutions.

Don’t Fall into the “McNamara Fallacy”

October 27, 2024Leave a comment

The 21st Century is a time of unlimited data points! Statistics and statical analysis are available for every topic under the sun. Whether it be Sabermetrics in baseball, or detailed demographic political polling of electoral candidates, or the circulation of library books by branch location, numbers are readily available to explore any situation. However, what happens when people rely too much on the data? In that case they may fall into the “McNamara Fallacy.”

In a recent article on the Big Think website, columnist Jonny Thomson explores how we can get so caught up looking at data points that we fail to take into account the bigger picture. He names this the “McNamara Fallacy”.

The fallacy is named after Robert McNamara, the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, where his over-reliance on measurable data led to several misguided strategies where considering certain human and contextual elements would have been successful.

Thomson goes on to explain why numbers are not the be all and end of analysis.

The “McNamara Fallacy” is not saying that using data is bad or that collecting as much information as you can is wasted time. It’s saying that fixating only on numbers blinds us to the rich stories and subtle details that truly shape experiences, resulting in choices that miss the heart and soul of the situation. If we spend too long looking at spreadsheets and data points, we forget to look around.

To avoid getting caught in the fallacy, Thomson offers a few options to expand one’s viewpoint. The first is digging into details.

In many companies, employee performance is measured solely by quantitative metrics like sales numbers or the number of tasks completed. While these figures provide some insight, often the important information is buried in the details. Let’s imagine two people, Jane and Jack, who need to bring in a client. Last year, Jack secured 20 and Jane 15. Good job, team! But, behind the numbers, there’s more to be seen. Jack’s clients really didn’t like him. He had a sleazy, insensitive manner that was off-putting. Within a year, most of his clients had left. Jane, on the other hand, wooed and won her clients by dint of personality. She cared about the person she met. Her clients all stayed around. So, who is the better employee?

To learn about the other strategies to avoid the fallacy, please read the rest of the article.

Do Our Projects Define Us?

October 20, 2024Leave a comment

What projects do you prioritize with your free time?

Whether we spend the time on entertainment, home maintenance, or personal development, the choice of our personal projects impacts our lives. But do these projects end up shaping the nature of who we are?

Tiago Forte believes that our projects shape our identity. In a recent article on his website, Tiago looks at recent research into the topic, first by explaining exactly what a personal project is according to the researchers.

“Personal projects” by his definition include not just formal ones you might focus on at work, but informal ones as well. Toddlers are pursuing a project as they learn to walk. Lovers are pursuing a project as they fall in love. All the way to the highest reaches of human achievement, like landing on the moon.

The key factors in making them “personal” are that they are personally meaningful and that they are freely chosen, not imposed from the outside. Little’s research has shown that such “intrinsically regulated” projects tend to be more successful and lead to greater well-being than “externally regulated” projects.

In fact, Tiago believes that our choice of projects demonstrates who we are at our core.

This is a fundamentally different view of “personality”: We are not limited to a collection of traits fixed at birth, or shaped in childhood. We evolve over time through personally meaningful pursuits we decide to take on. This opens up the possibility that we can purposefully choose the ways we want to change, by choosing projects that give us new skills, perspectives, and ways of thinking.

In other words, by changing what you do, you can change who you are.

To learn more, please visit the Forte Labs website to read the rest of the article.

Tips for Staying Focused While Stressed

October 13, 2024Leave a comment

Are you stressed?

It is common to hear people say that we live in anxious times. Whether this stress comes from politics, relationships, or simply making ends meet, it is easy to lose focus while worrying about life. Yet if we are unable to purposely bring our attention to the important things we need to do the stress will only build. The catch then is to figure out how to focus when stressed.

Scott Young has looked into the problem and recently published an article titled 5 Tips for Staying Focused (When You’re Stressed). If you are looking for ways to help yourself move forward when things seem tough, then you will enjoy his insights. The first one is a bit philosophical. Scott suggested applying Socratic questioning to our reflexive thoughts.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (which I review in-depth here) is the gold standard for psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. A basic tenet of this therapeutic approach is that a combination of situational factors and our background beliefs triggers automatic thoughts. If you’re stressed, those thoughts often fixate on potential dangers that are out of proportion to the actual risks.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

So how do we change our thought patterns?

One way to break this cycle of anxiety spurred by reflexive thoughts is to question the content of those thoughts. Notice a thought you’re having, and give yourself some reasons it might be true and some reasons it may not be. Ask yourself if you think it’s 100% true, 0% true, or somewhere in-between.

Questioning our reflexive thoughts can help stop irrational behaviors we often fail to interrogate.

Learn the other four ways to stay focused while stressed by reading the rest of Scott’s article.

What Does “Organized” Mean?

September 29, 2024Leave a comment

Have you ever said to yourself that you need to get organized?

It is common for people after looking at the mess covering their desks to want better organization in their spaces. However, very few stop to ask an important question: what does it mean to be organized?

Does it require fancy software? Do you need high priced planners and office supplies? Does it mean throwing everything out and keeping almost nothing? Or none of the above?

Not surprisingly, David Allen of Getting Things Done fame has thought deeply about what it means to be organized. He even has a simple definition which he shared in a recent article on the GTD website.

You are disorganized if you need something somewhere that you don’t have or have something somewhere that you don’t need.

David then shares a fun challenge that he does with audiences.

An exercise I’ve done in my seminars is to have everyone reach into their purses or wallets and get something that doesn’t belong there permanently, and which has been there longer than a few hours (besides money). Almost all have at least one thing in that category—a receipt, a business card, a scrap of paper with scribbled notes, an old parking ticket. These are things whose location does not map to their meaning to the person who has them. If the item has no further usefulness, it is trash, but it’s not in the trash. Often it is something they need to store somewhere else—it is reference, but it’s not appropriately accessible as such. Sometimes it’s something that they need to do something about, but it is not in a place to remind them to do it. There is lack of coherence between what the thing is and where it is.

So how does one decide what items should go where? David created a cheat list to decide what to do with any item. Here are a few examples.

I don’t need or want it = trash
I still need to decide what this means to me = in-tray item
I might need to know this information = reference
I use it = equipment and supplies

To see the rest of the list, please read the entire article on the Getting Things Done website.

Possibilities are Not Probabilities – Comprehending Chance

September 22, 2024Leave a comment

The most popular article on my Efficient Librarian website is Deal or No Deal Mr. Hall – How We Misunderstand Probability. That article was framed with a real story from the game show Deal or No Deal. This week I published a follow up article to dive deeper into the Deal or No Deal problem to demonstrate the fact that possibilities are not probabilities.

Below is the start of the article:

When are airplane comes in for a landing there are two possible outcomes: a safe landing or a crash landing. Therefore, what is the probability that the plane will crash?

Recently during a presentation of my seminar, Why Did I Make that Dumb Decision? Understanding Common Fallacies of Decision Making and How to Avoid Them, I asked this question to the audience. Immediately, someone answered 50%.

Of course this was not accurate. Commercial airplanes rarely crash. The website, FlyFright, shares government statistics that show odds of a plane crashing are 0.000001%. Also, there is a 1 in 816,545,929 chance of dying in a plane crash.

In fact, the most dangerous part of air travel is driving to and from the airport! Data from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department shows 3,454 fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2021. That is only one state out of 50! Given the higher frequency of car crashes, why are more people afraid of flying than driving? One reason is that we are primed to hear about plane crashes since these rare incidents are covered widely in the national media. Car crashes by contrast only get brief mention on the local news.

This example highlights the simple fact that possibilities are not probabilities. In the majority of cases where there are multiple possible outcomes, they are not equally likely to happen. Yet, our minds often default to thinking all possibilities are equally likely. This can lead to poor decision making.

Read the rest of the article on the Efficient Librarian website.

Shola Richards Webinar – Mon. September 16!

September 14, 2024Leave a comment

Please review this wonderful opportunity to watch one of my favorite authors, Shola Richards, be interviewed about his latest book, Civil Unity. This event is hosted by the Florida Library Association.

Shola Richards – In Conversation with Kris McGuigan

Monday, September 16, 2024, 12 PM – 1 PM EDT
Free for FLA members; $25 for non-members

REGISTER HERE!

Join us for a thought-provoking and inspiring webinar, featuring best-selling author Shola Richards as he discusses his latest book, Civil Unity: The Radical Path to Transform Our Discourse, Our Lives, and Our World. In a society where division and discord seem to be at an all-time high, Richards is leading the movement to reverse these destructive trends and bring more connectedness, respect and civility to our world.

During this one-hour session, Richards will be interviewed by FLA 2024 Annual Conference keynote presenter, Kris McGuigan. The discussion will delve into the key themes of the book, exploring how we can unite behind a new kind of civility to create safer communities, reduce toxicity in our political discourse, and build supportive environments in our workplaces and schools. Moreover, Richards will share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process, points of inspiration, and favorite chapters.

The webinar will feature a live Q&A session, where attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. This is a unique chance to engage directly with two authors who are passionate about transforming how we engage with one another and the world around us.

Whether you are looking to deepen your understanding of civil discourse, seeking practical tactics to implement in your library, or simply want to be inspired by a conversation that matters, this webinar is not to be missed.

Avoid Enormous Emails

September 8, 2024Leave a comment

Have you ever opened an email and found it to be the size of a short novel? Did it make you want to close it up and not read a word? Now have you ever sent one of those emails?

Sending enormous emails is not ideal. Email works best when it is brief and to the point. Earlier this year I wrote on an article on my website about email etiquette. In that piece, I shared several tips on how to craft your messages to avoid the enormous emails problem. Below is that section from the article.

Well, there is no hard and fast rule on the maximum length of an email, there are general guidelines based on purpose, content, and preferences of your audience.

Brevity is Key: Aim to be clear and concise in your communication. Most people appreciate emails that get to the point without unnecessary details. If you have multiple topics to discuss, consider breaking them into separate emails. This helps the recipient to absorb information more easily.
Use Paragraphs and Bullets: Organize your content into short paragraphs and use bullet points to make the text easy to scan for recipients to grasp the key points quickly.
Avoid Information Overload: Too much information in a single email can be overwhelming. Focus on the most important details and provide additional information or attachments if needed.
Effective Use of Hyperlinks: Instead of including lengthy information within the email, use hyperlinks to direct recipients to additional resources or details.
Closing and Call to Action: Clearly state your closing remarks and any necessary calls to action. Be specific about what you expect from the recipient if any action is required.
Proofread and Edit: Before sending, review your email for unnecessary information or repetitive content. Edit for clarity and brevity.

One final point. If you need to share large amounts of information through email, consider sending it as an attachment. Whether as a Word of PDF document, it is easier for the recipient to open the information in a more readable application and print out cleanly if needed.

To learn more about effective email etiquette, please read the rest of the article on the Efficient Librarian website.