How Not to Fail with a New Year’s Resolution

January 1, 2019Leave a comment

new year resolution Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? While good intentions are plentiful on January 1, it is clear that many people have dropped their resolutions before the month is even a week old. So are New Year’s Resolutions just another pointless tradition or is there a way to make a resolution stick for the year?

FiveThirtyEight is a web site most famously devoted to politics and elections. However, they also include unique stories on a wide range of topics. Last week they posted thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions from Christie Aschwanden. The article reported some interesting insights into how to succeed with them. For example, Christie writes:

I dug into the literature and talked to some psychologists, and what I discovered is that science can’t tell me exactly what to resolve, but it has narrowed in on a few tricks that can help me succeed. The first, perhaps most crucial thing to do is pick a goal that you’re truly committed to. Not just something you think you should do, but something you truly want to do, said Marina Milyavskaya, a psychologist at Carleton University. “Wanted goals are much more likely to be attained,” she said.

Read more advice for resolution success on the FiveThirtyEight web site.

The Konmari of Gifts

December 30, 2018Leave a comment

mariekondo Gift giving is an integral component of the holiday season. Many of your recently experienced that joy of receiving a beautifully wrapped item. It was probably followed by a moment of anticipation where you tried to guess the contents. If fortunate, the gift was truly desired and added to the collection immediately. However, what should be done with a gift that is undesired and unwanted?

Marie Kondo has simple and elegant advice on the art of gift receiving. She shared it recently on her blog:

“Try out every gift at least one time – even those that don’t immediately spark joy. The ability to feel what truly excites you is only gained through experience. Be adventurous and welcome things that are different. The more experience you gain, the more you’ll refine and heighten your sensitivity to joy. However, you don’t have to keep using the gift forever. If you try using the item and decide that it still doesn’t suit you, thank it for the joy it brought when you first received it – and bid it farewell.”

Read the full blog entry at the Konmari web site.

As 2018 comes to an end, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year. May this coming year be your best ever!

Making Meetings Meaningful

December 16, 2018Leave a comment

It is common for people to dread meetings. However, the game of knowledge work is played out not only at your desk but in the many different conversations we have with our colleagues, clients, and collaborators. In that light, a meeting is simply a conversation that is scheduled for a specific time and place. While important to getting work done, meetings can also be a source of confusion and conflict if not done effectively. So, are there best practices to having better meetings?

gtdcover In a recent blog post, David Allen shares his insights about meetings and it starts from the top of the Natural Planning Model, that is defining purpose.

“An essential question to answer at the start of any meeting is, “What do we want to accomplish here, and by what time?” If purpose isn’t clear, no one has sufficient criteria by which to frame and monitor the ensuing conversation, nor the information to know whether he or she should participate in it. So, step one, make sure the purpose of each meeting is clear.”

Read the rest of the blog post at Getting Things Done.

Is Willpower Overrated?

December 9, 2018Leave a comment

How much self-control do you have? On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) where do you rank yourself? Many people believe that self-control is determined by our willpower. It is also believed that willpower is a fixed trait and something that determines destiny. But does willpower control how successful that diet will be, or how focused you are on that project, or whether you can complete that personal productivity upgrade?

woman working girl sitting

In a recent article on Vox, the primacy of willpower was challenged by author Brian Resnick.

“But this idea, that people have self-control because they’re good at willpower, is looking more and more like a myth. It turns out that self-control, and all the benefits from it, may not be related to inhibiting impulses at all. And once we cast aside the idea of willpower, we can better understand what actually works to accomplish goals, and hit those New Year’s resolutions.”

Read the rest of the article on Vox.

Better Brainstorming

December 2, 2018Leave a comment

Do you dread brainstorming sessions? The idea behind them is very simple, yet often unfulfilling. The intention is to bring the team together to come up with as many ideas as possible to solve a problem. Unfortunately, there are inherent flaws in the brainstorming process that can short circuit the process. So is there a way to do better brainstorming?

people sitting beside brown wooden desk near flat screen tv

A recent article at the web site ScienceNordic provides some possible ways to brainstorm better. The author, Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski writes that the following approaches have proven to be successful:

“Companies that implement a brainstorming method instruct their employees to abstain from criticism during the exercise so as to avoid ‘evaluation apprehension’. Yet others prefer to conduct electronic brainstorming sessions where participants share ideas on computer platforms without having to wait for their turn, and so alleviate the ‘production blocking issue.’”

Read the rest of the article on the ScienceNordic web site.

The Strategic Value of Clear Space

November 25, 2018Leave a comment

DA-Small At the end of an Efficient Librarian training seminar or webinar, I like to close with a phrase from David Allen that has stuck with me for a long time. To my mind this phrase encapsulates the power inherent in the GTD mindset. The phrase is “The Strategic Value of Clear Space.”

In a recent blog post on the Getting Things Done web site, David Allen expands on “The Strategic Value of Clear Space” at length. Here is a key takeaway:

“To tackle something most productively you must begin in clear space. Physically you need all your tools in order and an open space for spreading your raw elements and assembling structures. Psychically you need an empty head, clear of distractions and unfinished business holding your attention hostage. From this starting point you will have your best chances for creative thinking, optimal ability to deal with surprise, maximum flexibility to come up with workarounds and innovative solutions. You’ll be able to take advantage of serendipitous, potentially valuable ideas.”

Read the rest at the Getting Things Done web site.

Power of Gratitude

November 18, 2018Leave a comment

What are you thankful for?

affection appreciation decoration design

As we move into the American Thanksgiving holiday week, it is a natural time to reflect on life. No matter what is happening to you right now, there is something to be thankful for. In fact, scientific studies have shown that taking time to be grateful has a positive impact on your well being. In a 2011 letter on the Harvard Medical School web site, the author shares that:

“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

The letter goes on to list some simple ways to bring gratitude into daily life, including:

Write a thank-you note
Thank someone mentally
Keep a gratitude journal
Count your blessings
Pray
Meditate

In keeping with the spirit, thank you all for reading this blog. I hope these posts have made a positive impact in your life. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Advice on Tidying a Workspace

November 11, 2018Leave a comment

mariekondo Do you inhabit a messy workplace? While your desk contains clutter of your own making, most offices have communal spaces that can quickly get out of hand. What is the best approach to keeping these common areas clean?

The Konmari Method, created by Marie Kondo, is mostly devoted to helping people organize their personal home space. However, in an interview with the web site Quartz Marie Kondo shares insights into keeping office spaces clean.

“My suggestion would be for co-workers to tidy up their workplace together. There are many benefits to organizing your desk space, including increasing your efficiency by spending less time looking for the things that you need, being able to more quickly prioritize your workload, and even feeling better as a result of working in a clean environment.”

Read the other questions and answers for Marie in this short article on Quartz.

Email and Your Job

November 4, 2018Leave a comment

davidallen It seems like every year the email beast gets larger and hungrier. According to the the web site Templafy, the average person receives 121 emails a day. This sheer volume of electronic correspondence lead to a fascinating question that was posted to the Getting Things Done web site: At what point did answering e-mail become my job?

The answer from David Allen is very insightful:

“Well, at what point did answering anything—your mail, having conversations in your hallway—become your job? It’s all your job. You just have to decide what your work is. As the late, great Peter Drucker said, that’s your biggest job, to define what your work is.”

Read the rest of his response on the Getting Things Done web site.