Favorite David Allen Quotes

October 15, 2023Leave a comment

Getting Things Done was a book that changed my life. David Allen’s seminal work on productivity provided me with the skills I needed to succeed in knowledge work. With it being one of the bestselling businesses books of the last 25 years, its impact on millions of people around the world is very apparent.

For this post, I am simply sharing some of my favorite David Allen quotes. Enjoy!

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

“If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.”

“You must use your mind to get things off your mind.”

“Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that’s impeding forward motion.”

“Things rarely get stuck because of lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined.”

“There are no problems, only projects.”

“There is usually an inverse relationship between how much something is on your mind and how much it’s getting done.”

“There is no reason to ever have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.”

“(1) collect things that command our attention; (2) process what they mean and what to do about them; and (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as options for what we choose to (5) do.”

Learn more about David Allen by visiting the Getting Things Done web site.

Marie Kondo’s Top Five Productivity Tips

October 9, 2023Leave a comment

It is easy to find top 10 lists online with suggestions about productivity. Most of them offer similar advice, such as to tune out distractions or focus on one th i ng at a time. Marie Kondo, founder of the Konmari Method, recently shared her top five productivity tips. However, they featured items not normally found on the common lists.

For instance, her first tip focuses on the power of morning rituals.

I usually wake up around 6am with my children. When I get up, I open all the windows to let fresh air in and then burn incense. I strive to keep my home comfortable and filled with clear energy throughout the day, so starting my morning with these rituals keeps me on track.

Another tip that I found useful was about the importance of coordinating with your partner.

Sharing and discussing to-do lists is a productive habit for partners. When we got married, my husband and I wrote out every household chore in a shared spreadsheet. When I finished a task, I would put a check next to it – and when my husband noticed it, he would send a simple thank you note (and vice versa). This process helped us realize the number of tasks necessary to live comfortably together, and what kinds of tasks are best suited for each person.

Read the other three tips on the Konmari website.

Six Things That Drive a Sense of Purpose

October 2, 2023Leave a comment

For any organization to be successful, solid leadership is a key component. There are many factors that create a great leader, but one vital piece is a sense of purpose. That alone can be the difference between an average leader and a leader who truly inspires.

In an article titled, Purpose in L e adership: Why & How, on the Center for Creative Leadership web site, authors Stephanie Wormington and Paige Graham describe what they mean by purpose-based leadership:

Purpose-driven leadership means helping employees find personal meaning in their work and fostering a deeply committed workforce that thrives on shared goals and aspirations. Purpose-driven leaders model value-based decision-making, take time to learn what truly matters to their employees, connect work to a greater objective, and help employees understand their organization’s mission and find ways to personally connect to it.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

The authors proceed to identify six specific items that drive the sense of purpose. Purposeful leaders help their followers experience the following in their work:

Utility: Work is practically relevant to our goals and aspirations, either now or in the future.
Personal Development: Work facilitates opportunities for self-growth, developing either skillsets or mindsets in personally meaningful ways.
Impact: Work empowers us to make a tangible and positive difference in the world, contributing to the greater good of society, our communities, or those close to us.
Identity Reinforcement: Work reinforces our sense of self, aligning with the core elements of who we are.
Intrinsic Interest: Work is inherently fun and energizing, offering enjoyable experiences that naturally appeal to our interests.
External Rewards: Work leads to a desirable payoff, from a paycheck to a promotion.

Read the rest of the article to learn the two specific ways to cultivate greater purpose in your leadership.

The Overwhelming Cost of Book Banning

September 24, 2023Leave a comment

BOOK CHALLENGES in libraries are nothing new, but until recently they generally involved a single title, in a single library, being filed by one person. Such challenges are best handled locally, where those raising questions have, in most cases, acted in good faith. But today we are seeing the weaponization of school and public library policies by a small number of people, filing an unmanageable number of challenges that grind our public institutions to a halt.

Thus begins an article called The Overwhelming Cost of Book Banning published in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Written by Katherine Towler, Sy Montgomery, and Peter Bromberg, the article explores the current state of book challenges. It notes that the vast majority of challenges are being done by very few people. Amazingly, their impact on operations was deep.

How few people are filing complaints? The Washington Post studied more than 1,000 book challenges and found that 11 people were behind the complaints. In one Utah school district, a married couple were behind 199 out of 205 challenges. The district reported that the challenges required 10,000 hours of staff time and cost more than $100,000. In Texas, documents show that more than 16 employees spent more than 225 hours at a cost of $30,000 on a single book challenge at the Spring Branch ISD.

How can libraries respond to this sort of disruption? The trio propose several things that would remove the ability for a few people to have an oversized impact on library operations. One of the ideas has to do with placing appropriate limits on public complaint.

One policy proposal is simply to allow for public comment and feedback on public policy and law, but clarify that feedback about operations (book selection, programming, spaces, services, etc.) while welcomed, will not automatically lead to a formal, time-consuming review.

To learn more, please read the rest of the article.

The Three C’s of Courage

September 17, 2023Leave a comment

In order to accomplish great things, one must be able to withstand adversity. While some problems are overcome through ingenuity or knowledge or training, oftentimes what will get someone to the goal is a strong dose of courage. The question is, how does one develop courage?

Speaker and author Kris McGuigan believes that courage is created through a combination of three “C’s”, Clarity, Conviction, and Consistency. In her book, The Requisite Courage, she describes each of the three “C’s” in depth.

The path to courage starts with clarity. As Kris shares in Chapter 3 of her book:

The source of courage comes from within. This is well known. But the lesser-known detail is that it literally comes from who you are. Inner strength comes from having clarity around who you are and what you want. Encourage a new path to your why to crystalize and focus your energy on that which feeds your mission. You have to gain clarity in order to gain momentum towards your next objective – even when that goal is to simply identify what the next goal post should be.

McGuigan goes on to describe conviction and consistency and how when they are combined together leads to fearless execution. Learn more about Kris and her book by visiting her website.

The Last-Minute Mindset

September 10, 2023Leave a comment

Do you only work when a deadline is right in your face? For example, if there is two weeks until the work needs to be completed, do you wait until the final 24 hours to start. For the determined procrastinator it often takes an outside factor to get work done. It begs the question, why do they let this happen?

In an article from Stylist magazine, Katie Rosseinsky explores the procrastinator’s mindset to learn why they behave the way they do and how they can improve. The question is important as it relates to her own experience.

My last-minute mindset is something I’m well aware of, and yet whenever I’m presented with a deadline, I follow the same pattern: put the work off for as long as humanly possible, then cram it all into a condensed, chaotic period of ’productivity’, which often involves working late into the evening. Even if I make time, say, in the week coming up to the cut-off point to focus on getting this task done, I inevitably waste it.

Proving she is not alone; she then points out the wide-spread reality of the procrastinator mindset.

A 2007 study published in Psychological Bulletin found that 15-20% of people chronically procrastinate, with 25% describing this as their dominant personality trait. And it doesn’t have to be confined to a work context; as Christmas approaches, many of us will once again come face to face with our last-minute tendencies when we end up doing all of our present shopping in a panicked 24th December dash.

For the rest of the article, Rosseinsky proceeds to explore why how this mindset works before sharing a few ways to avoid the temptation to wait until the last minute, such as:

So, how can hardened last-minute scramblers find a way to break out of this cycle, and is there any way of turning these tendencies into a positive? In the short term, Dignan suggests trying out the ‘two-minute strategy’. “If you can do something in two minutes, you’ve got to do it now.” Another tactic she often recommends to clients involves the humble egg-timer.

To learn more, please read the rest of Rosseinsky’s article.

Getting Stuff Out of Your Head

September 4, 2023Leave a comment

Think for a moment – right now, is there something important that needs to be done for which the only reminder is in your head?

For most people relying on memory is the default way to keep track of all the things they need to do. This includes remembering deadlines, commitments, obligations, or simply keeping track of fun stuff to do someday. The problem is that our minds are a poor tool for this job. In fact, David Allen, founder of GTD, often says that our heads are “crappy office spaces.”

Consider how easy it is to forget something. In the morning you open the refrigerator and discover there are no eggs. After making a mental note to drop by the store on the way home you head off to work. After a busy day on the job, hitting the grocery store is long forgotten. The next morning you are once more reminded of the lack of eggs at breakfast and are forced to make yet another sketchy promise to hit the store on the way home.

According to GTD, the best way to remember something is to place it in a trusted system outside of the head. On a practical level, that means as soon as something comes to mind it is immediately written down on paper or placed into electronic storage. So long as the reminders are kept in a place that you frequently return to, these items will never be lost.

What are the best ways to get stuff out of your head quickly? Below are common options:

Use your phone’s reminder app
Have a note pad on your desk or counter top along with fresh pens
Enable a digital voice assistant, like Alexa, to capture voice reminders
Use sticky notes to post reminders in prominent places

For electronic reminder systems, consider setting a day/time reminder that pops up at the right time. For example, a reminder set for arrival at the office can be helpful to knock out an item right away. Or a reminder that pops up before leaving work will ensure eggs are picked up on the way home. By offloading memorization, stress levels will drop as efficiency increases.

No matter the method, constantly get stuff out of your head and into a trusted system. You will be glad you did.

Preview the New Library Website

August 27, 2023Leave a comment

I’m proud to share that the Palm Beach County Library System is upgrading its website. Right now, we are offering a preview of the new site to get feedback from the public. Take a look by visiting: https://palmbeach.bibliocms.com/

The new site features:

easier to navigate drop-down menus
an upgraded catalog overlay to more effectively display search results
easier to sort event listings
“staff pick” book lists
and quick links to all of our electronic media offerings

Please use the new contact us page to provide your thoughts on the site.

We look forward to launching the new website by October 1.

Hot Summers and Cautious Decisions

August 21, 2023Leave a comment

Chances are that wherever you have living, it has been a hot summer. In fact, heat records have been shattered across North America and Europe. Surprisingly, hot weather has an unexpected consequence beyond our health or comfort, it can actually lead us to make risk adverse decisions.

In Matthia Sutter’s book, Behavioral Economics for Leaders, the author looks at data which seems to indicate that the outside weather affects our decision-making process. This is true even if we make our decisions in a climate-controlled environment. Sutter notes:

Conventional models of human decision-making behavior completely ignore the factor of heat. According to these modes, referred to as neoclassical in economic theory, only the costs and benefits of specific decisions and the choices they are based upon play a role, while things such as heat, tiredness, or general mood are seen as insignificant. However, psychological research shows that heat reduces general wellbeing, mood and a willingness to perform.

Sutter goes on to reference studies that show how judicial decisions become more risk adverse as outside temperatures rise. Specifically, a judge was less likely to give a defendant a favorable ruling on hotter days. But it is not only temperature that had an effect. Sports scores would also influence decisions.

For example, if the local football team wins big, there are more judges’ decisions favorable to the defendant. This again is a question of predominant mood.

As we move through the remaining hot summer days, take a moment to consider your own decisions. If the heat outside has risen, or your favorite team has lost, you may want to take extra care with your choices or defer them entirely for another day.

Efficient Librarian

Exploring the Intersection of Efficiency and Librarianship