by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Habits, Planning, Productivity, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
“A good-day’s work”
— From Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Whether you work remotely or not, Remote offers some gold nuggets for all. One of those nuggets is how to measure progress and what’s a good-day’s work based on reasonable expectations.
In today’s working culture, it’s unfortunate that overwork and lack of sleep reign supreme. These two terrors are widespread; at best they are temporary and can be avoided, but at worse, they are carried as badges of honor horror (!). Working constantly can be a menace, because it can lead to serious burnout before you even know it. And this is true especially if you love your work. Why? Because we’re constantly connected and just a device away… thus it is easy to check email one more time, and to respond to that message at 10 pm to get it out of the way. And if you have 1 hour on Saturday morning, it’s easy to use that time to work on a project instead; or if it’s rainy outside, might as well make the most out of it and start working on the presentation for next week…
I’m not denying the importance of sprints once in a while, but over the long run it’s not sustainable and it’s not healthy. As the book says, there are no “hero awards” for overworking, as the work should be seen as a marathon instead. “It’s crucial for everyone to pace themselves.” This quote opened my eyes:
“One way to set up a healthy boundary is to […] think of a good-day’s work. Look at your progress toward the end of the day and ask yourself: ‘have I done a good-day’s work?’ Answering that question is liberating. Often, if the answer is an easy yes, you can stop working, feeling satisfied that something important got accomplished—if not entirely done. And should the answer be no, you can treat it as an off day and explore the 5 WHYs (asking why to a problem five times in a row to find the root cause). It feels good to be productive. If yesterday was a good day’s work, chances are you’ll stay on a roll, and if you can stay on a roll, everything else will probably take care of itself, including not working from the time you get up in the morning until you go to sleep.”
This is such a simple and basic but oh-so-powerful idea, because you are the judge of your progress and you can learn from this process to keep making it better. I am guilty of loving my work and trying to squeeze as much of it as I can in a day. But I have found that I work so much better and I’m so much more productive when I’m well rested and when I also do other personal things that are important for my physical health and emotional wellbeing. We all really need to take our mind off work for a while to rest and renew, and to come back better and stronger.
ACTION
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice in terms of a “good-day’s work,” keep a log (nothing complicated, any calendar will do). You’ll be able to see progress with all the yes answers, and with the 5 WHYs method you will be able to get to the core of why it wasn’t a good day’s work and solve it right away. If that or other problems keep emerging and you see patterns preventing your progress, analyze them so that you can solve them too. Get to the root: What can you learn? What can you change so that you can have more good days?
I wish you nothing but good days, and would love to hear from you: how do you measure a good-day’s work?
by Helena Escalante | Celebration
EntreGurus is celebrating 10 days since launching, WOO-HOO!
Thank you for being part of the community during these 10 days, and hope you are enjoying the daily ideas. Congrats to you too for investing the time, heart and mind to create the best version of yourself with the ideas of EntreGurus!
Join the EntreGurus community and let me know what topics or books you’d like me to write more about, I’ll be happy to do so.
Cheers to many more ideas!
Helena
Your Chief Bookworm Officer 🙂
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Habits, Mindset
TODAY’S IDEA:
Four tendencies to respond to expectations.
–From Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
If you’ve been taking action on the past two posts on creating a BHAG and asking the daily question to make sure you are constantly improving, it may come in handy to know that you are likely to fall into one of four tendencies as you respond to the expectations that you are setting.
Gretchen Rubin first introduced “The Fateful Tendencies We Bring Into The World” as a chapter on her great book Better Than Before, where she studied habit making and breaking. In her words:
“How does a person respond to an expectation?” When we try to form a new habit, we set an expectation for ourselves. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand how we respond to expectations. We face two kinds of expectations: outer expectations (meet work deadlines, observe traffic regulations) and inner expectations (stop napping, keep a New Year’s resolution). From my observation, just about everyone falls into one of four distinct groups.
- Upholders respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expectations.
- Questioners question all expectations, and will meet an expectation only if they believe it’s justified.
- Obligers respond readily to outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations they impose on themselves.
- Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.
[…] Our tendency colors the way we see the world and therefore has enormous consequences for our habits. Of course these are tendencies, but I’ve found to a degree that surprises me, that most people do fall squarely into one camp.”
This is fascinating because, once you know how you’ll respond to the expectations set by your goals, you will know what will trip you and what will make your habits stick.
For example, I am an obliger most of the time (curiously, Gretchen says that most people fall into this category). This means that I will not stop at fulfilling outer expectations (especially about work or commitments that I’ve made to others). But it also means that I have a hard time fulfilling or I am too lenient when it comes to me (promises/commitments to myself, the habits that I want to develop or get rid of). So what to do about this? Am I doomed?
No, thank goodness. The beauty of learning about the four tendencies is you’ll know what to do to support yourself in the weaker areas. Going back to me as an obliger, since I meet outer expectations, the best way for me to fulfill my inner expectations is to turn them into outer ones for accountability. What this means is that, for instance, if I want to exercise steadily, I need to tell a group of people or do it with a group or people. In this particular case, I have a group of friends and we all check in daily on a Facebook group to be accountable for our workouts. The result? Thanks to my group, so far this year (it’s January 28) I have worked out 26 days and missed only two. Prior to the group? It would have likely been the opposite: two workouts and 26 missed days…
ACTION
I highly encourage you to take Gretchen Rubin’s free online quiz to figure out what your tendency is when responding to expectations. Once you know, you can read a bit about your tendency and watch these short videos (upholder, obliger, questioner, rebel) that explain how to manage yourself better to set you up for success. And, of course, you can always get Gretchen’s newest book: The Four Tendencies to learn much more in depth about how you respond to expectations as well as the people that surround you.
Enjoy finding out about yourself. Leave a comment or share with me what your tendency is!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Mindset, Planning
TODAY’S IDEA:
“There is no limit to self improvement. Ask yourself daily, ‘how can I do better?’ and sound answers will appear.”
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
The old saying “there is always room for improvement” is so true. Especially with ourselves, we’re always trying to fix something, improve something, make something better (…to continue along the lines of the conversation from yesterday’s post on BHAGs.)
The main thing, according to some experts, is not to be overwhelmed by the amount of things we want to improve on ourselves. For that, it is recommended to start with one thing, say a good habit that you want to create or a bad habit that you want to get rid of, and work on it until it’s ingrained or no longer existing. Then move on to the next thing in your progression toward your goal, and so on. That way you will be taking baby steps and making steady progress toward fulfilling your big, hairy, audacious goals.
The key, I believe, is patience and perseverance. If you’re anything like me, you want everything done or accomplished by yesterday, which means today everything is in place and perfectly put together. It’s taken me much heartache to learn that you cannot rush processes at a personal level, and I’m learning (sloooooowly…) to see the beauty in the journey, not the destination.
So keep the end in mind always (your BHAG) to know where you are going, but make sure you give yourself the time and effort that your goal needs to succeed. Ask yourself daily “how can I do better?” and you will discover that your mind will show you the many ways in which you can do so. And enjoy YOUR journey!
ACTION
Put to the test the many ways in which your mind tells you to do something differently/better and find out which ones work best for you. There is no shame in testing and trying out new things or habits. Adopt what works, discard what doesn’t, and always keep doing this: you will see daily improvements and if you keep a log or journal, you’ll be able to assess your progress.
Remember to be inspired by others but not to compare yourself to them. The only person you can compare yourself to is YOU. Are you better today than yesterday? Than a month ago? Than a year ago? Than 5 or 10 years ago? If the answer is yes, keep going and keep growing. If the answer is no, besides asking the 5 WHYs, give more thought to “how can I do better” and give it your all. You always get out of it as much as you put into it.
I’m thinking of starting a Facebook group for accountability on our goals and to create a community of like-minded, professional and growth-oriented people. Is this something that you’d be interested in? Please let me know! (Thanks a lot if you have already responded.)
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Planning, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
Have Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals to keep you going and stimulate your progress.
— From Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins (read or listen to a sample).
Today is the last Friday in January, which means it is National Big Wig Day ™. This is a celebration of “the potential inside of all of us” and the opportunity to lead by example, as any bigwig would do! We are the bigwigs in our lives and today is a reminder that “regardless of title, we can make a difference and improve the lives of others.”
Bigwigs usually have “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals” or what Jim Collins has coined as BHAGs (pronounced “bee-hags”) in his excellent book. Yet this does not have to be a concept exclusive to the most important and powerful persons/companies in the world. We can learn from them and use BHAGs too, because they are “a particularly powerful mechanism to stimulate progress… There is a difference between merely having a goal and becoming committed to a huge, daunting challenge—like a big mountain to climb.”
A BHAG must be “clear and compelling. […] It has a clear finish line, so [you know] when [you] have achieved the goal. […] A BHAG engages people—it reaches out and grabs them in the gut. It is tangible, energizing, highly focused. People ‘get it’ right away; it takes little or no explanation. […]
The essential point of a BHAG is better captured in such questions as: “Does it stimulate forward progress? Does it create momentum? Does it get [you] going? Does it get [your] juices flowing? Do [you] find it stimulating, exciting, adventurous? Are [you] willing to throw [your] creative talents and human energy into it?”
Whether you are going strong with your new year’s resolutions (woo-hoo!) or they have fizzled out (oops!), it’s time to set a BHAG so that, as February rolls around, you don’t lose your momentum. Remember to stretch yourself and shoot for the stars with your BHAG (whatever your stars are) so that you can either arrive at your stars or land very closely in that direction. Keep in mind this great quote by Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
ACTION
Based on your new year’s resolutions rituals, goals, or intentions, pick one or two BHAGs (I suggest one personal and one professional) to get you through the rest of the year. Figure out how you will break each one down into manageable pieces month by month. Take some time during the weekend to do this and let’s get started next week on February 1st, deal?
I have my BHAG ready, will you join me with yours? I’m thinking of starting a Facebook group for accountability on our goals and to create a community of like-minded, professional and growth-oriented people. Is this something that you’d be interested in? Please let me know!
I’m cheering for your success!!
P.S. Just for fun, here’s the story behind the term bigwig. (I can’t get over the thought of scaffolding!)
