by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Time
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 18 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Creativity is subtraction
— From: Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
In yesterday’s post we were talking about setting limits and constraints. Today we will continue along those lines, yet we will focus on creative work according to Austin Kleon’s concepts in his book Steal Like An Artist.
But first, let’s remember that we’re using the term creative in a broad sense, as described by Todd Henry (in this post) who says, “if you’re responsible for solving problems, developing strategies, or otherwise straining your brain for new ideas, I’m going to call you a creative.”
Under that light, we are all creatives and, as such, we may sometimes experience a creative block. “The way to get over a creative block,” Kleon says, “is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom. […] Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.”
Kleon points out that one way of doing this is simply choosing what to leave out and getting started. “Don’t make excuses for not working—make things with the time, space, and materials you have, right now.” You can start a business without capital, for example. “Shoot a movie with your iPhone and a few of your friends. Build a machine out of spare parts.”
This reminds me of the famous quote by Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Kleon mentions that the right constraints can lead to your best work, and shares his favorite example: “Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words. Dr. Seuss came back and won the bet with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children’s books of all time.”
“In the end,” Kleon sums up, “Creativity is subtraction. [… It] isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out.” So, he advises, “Choose wisely. And have fun.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think about the limitations that you can set for a creative project in which you’re involved now. What will you choose to leave out?
FUTURE: As you come across new projects or ideas, think of the limits you can set by leaving things out. Sometimes the selection of what to leave out is as easy as the recognition of what is missing or what we are lacking: money, a cofounder, a team, a finished product, etc. When you get started, these constraints will point you in the direction of becoming leaner and more agile, and your mind will come up with very creative ideas to make things work.
Know someone who needs to subtract things from his/her creative endeavors? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Habits, Mindset, Parkinson's Law, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 31 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Minimum and maximum limitations
— From The Art Of Less Doing: One Entrepreneur’s Formula for a Beautiful Life by Ari Meisel (read 2 chapters for free)
Productivity guru, Ari Meisel, is back! In a previous post I had shared his idea of The Hour of Power. Today I’ll share his concept of minimum and maximum limitations that comes from his awesome book The Art of Less Doing.
Let’s remember that Meisel found himself very sick and unable to work more than one hour a day for a while, so he became incredibly productive during the little time that he had to work. Nowadays, he’s made a point of continuing to set limits for his work: he gets everything done and still has plenty of time to devote to his family. “The fact of the matter,” Meisel says, “is that everyone functions better with constraints.”
We’re likely very familiar with setting time limits. We’ve talked about Parkinson’s Law before (here, here, and here). It’s the law that says: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. And if you only have a certain amount of time to do something, very likely you will get it done within that timeframe. Thus the importance of setting time limits to avoid open-ended projects that never get done. Deadlines are important.
And setting limits can apply to physical spaces too. Meisel explains, “If you’re a pack rat and have rooms filled with clutter, tell yourself you’re permitted one box of clutter per room and that’s it!”
To further understand the process of setting limits, Meisel goes into detail about the concepts of minimum versus maximum limitations. “Minimum limits are actually more challenging than maximum limits. It’s easier to be restrictive than to be expansive. For example, it’s much easier to say ‘I have to turn the TV off by ten o’clock at night’ (maximum limitation) than it is to say, ‘I will read ten pages of nonfiction every night’ (minimum limitation).”
Minimum limitations are very effective when it comes to creating habits. “Once you create a habit and couple it with another, your rate of potential success skyrockets.”
Let’s think of exercising with this concept. Find something that you love to do (Activity 1) and set a small goal. Then find something else you love to do (Activity 2) and tell yourself you cannot do the second activity until you’ve finished the first one. For instance, you cannot watch Netflix (Activity 2) until you’ve taken your yoga class (Activity 1). Meisel says this is even more effective if you can combine both, thus setting yourself up to win: “Tell yourself that you can only listen to podcasts [Activity 2] while you’re on the treadmill [Activity 1]. In that scenario, you’ve set up a restriction to help you succeed.”
Time, as we saw earlier, is an easy limitation to set. Money is another one. But you can work with setting constraints in any area of your life that you want to improve on. “This process of setting limitations can almost become a game, and you need to figure out how to work within your restrictions. […] Find a balance between challenging [yourself] and being realistic in terms of [your] lifestyle.”
Save the date! Ari Meisel will be at the Business Library in New York City on July 17, from 6-7:30 PM. It’s a free event. Registration and details here. I look forward to seeing you there!
ACTION
TODAY: What is a limit that you can put on yourself today for the benefit of your work, time or leisure? How about working with Parkinson’s Law and setting a time limit to finish your work at a certain time? That way you can go home to enjoy your family or to enjoy non-work-related activities.
FUTURE: Think of a habit you’d like to establish. What kind of minimum limitation can you think of to create the habit? Remember to find your Activity 1 and set a goal. Then do not indulge in Activity 2 until you have finished activity 1. Linking those activities will help you stick to them and create the habit you want. Let me know how it goes!
Do you know someone who would benefit from setting limits? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Resources, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 36 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Head-to-heads
— From The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice by Todd Henry
The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry is a great book about prepping yourself to do your best creative work and generate good ideas consistently and purposefully. By creative work Henry doesn’t mean just those professions in a typically creative field, such as the arts or advertising. He says, “You may even cringe when you hear the word [creative] applied to you. […] You may prefer the term ‘strategist’ or ‘manager’ or something else that feels more concrete. Call yourself anything you want, but if you’re responsible for solving problems, developing strategies, or otherwise straining your brain for new ideas, I’m going to call you a creative—even if you ended up being one accidentally.”
Henry shares his methods and insights for all of us, creatives or “accidental creatives,” to create faster, better and more effectively to fulfill the demands of our lives.
One of the strategies that he suggests as a way to enrich relationships and enrich our mental ability to create is called head-to-heads. “We rise to the level of our competition,” says Henry, “we need others in our life to help us stretch and grow.”
He draws a parallel with sports, where you compete with others head-to-head, such as in running, and this helps you keep the pace. The same principle is applied to your creative life as Henry suggests establishing the practice of head-to-heads.
“In a head-to-head meeting, to people get together, and each party is responsible for sharing new insights and new resources they’ve encountered since the last meeting.” Here are four principles to set up effective head-to-heads:
1. Set a time and be consistent. “Agree to a date, time, meeting place and frequency for the meetings with the other person. Choose someplace quiet and comfortable and make it a priority on your calendar. Once a month is a good frequency because it leaves enough time between meetings for each of you to have experienced something new to share and to have generated a few fresh insights that would make for interesting conversation.”
2. Vary your subject matter. “Don’t harp on the same topic month after month. The idea is to challenge each other with new insights and to spark conversation about things that may otherwise never show up on the other person’s radar.”
3. Choose someone you respect and admire. “Preferably someone within your area of expertise. This will enhance the conversation when you get together, leading to ideas and insights more appropriate to each person’s context. Ask yourself, ‘If I could see inside of anyone’s notebook right now, just to see what they’re currently thinking, who would it be?”
4. Prepare about 15 minutes of content. “Don’t just show up with a sandwich. Spend time putting together materials to discuss. Build them around a topic or insight that you are presently working on or just fascinated by. Again, choose a topic of potential interest to both of you.”
The topics you select are up to you and your creative goals. Henry suggests asking the following questions: “What are you currently interested in or curious about? What have you read or experienced recently that you think the other person knows very little about? What new insights or thoughts have you had that are ripe for application?”
These head-to-heads are a fantastic opportunity to build strong relationships as they challenge and stimulate both of you with the new insights. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
ACTION
TODAY: Think of someone with whom you would like to set up a head-to-head set of meetings and touch base with that person to see if he/she is interested. Set up a time to meet. You don’t have to make a lifelong commitment to do it, simply set up an initial amount of meetings, say 3 or 4, and then review how each of you is doing and whether you want to continue.
FUTURE: Following the principle of building a FAB PAB, where you set up your own advisory board for a particular project, think also about setting a head-to-head for a particular season or a particular project. This way it may be less daunting, more focused and then you can decide—when it naturally comes to an end—whether you want to continue.
Have someone in mind for a head-to-head? Send him or her this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 46 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Are you fighting gravity?
— From Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.
Designing Your Life is a fantastic book that guides the reader to build an intentionally meaningful and joyful life. It’s a fantastic and highly recommended read! (Hmmmm, miniseries, anyone?)
Both authors are engineers and, as such, they are very well versed in the design of solutions for problems. They teach this approach—“design thinking”—to help you design and live the life you want.
Yet one of the things that they have encountered time and again is people fighting gravity, so to speak. “Gravity problems” as they’ve dubbed them, are those problems on which you cannot take any action. These problems simply exist, yet we tend to get mired in them somehow.
“I’ve got this big problem and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Oh, wow, Jane, what’s the problem?”
“It’s gravity.”
“Gravity?”
“Yeah—it’s making me crazy! I’m feeling heavier and heavier. I can’t get my bike up hills easily. It never leaves me. I don’t know what to do about it. Can you help me?”
While even the authors cite this is a silly example, it’s an accurate representation of how we sometimes spend our precious time on trying to solve the wrong problem:
- “The company I work for has been family-owned for five generations. There is no way that, as an outsider, I’m ever going to be an executive. What do I do about it?”
- “I’ve been out of work for five years. It’s going to be much harder for me to get a job and that is not fair. What do I do about it?”
- “I want to go back to school and become a doctor, but it will take me at least ten years, and I don’t want to invest that much time at this stage of my life. What do I do about it?”
The authors say that these “gravity problems” are not even problems. We may perceive them as such, but each one is “a situation, a circumstance, a fact of life. It may be a drag (so to speak), but, like gravity, it’s not a problem that can be solved.” It is the reality of things and when we argue or try to fight it, reality always wins. “You can’t outsmart it. You can’t trick it. You can’t bend it to your will. Not now. Not ever.”
So, should we just give up?
No!
What do we do about it?
One word: Reframe. “They key is not to get stuck on something that you have effectively no chance of succeeding at. We are all for aggressive and world-changing goals. […] But do it smart. If you become open-minded enough to accept reality, you’ll be freed to reframe an actionable problem and design a way to participate in the world on things that matter to you and might even work. “
The authors wisely say that the only response to a gravity problem is acceptance. And acceptance is what enables us to reframe situations and be able to solve the problems they create for us. Solving the problem will take many forms, and one of those—which is valid every time—is to simply change our minds.
So, let’s do a quick reframing of the above instances:
In the case of the family-owned company: you don’t stand a chance to be part of the C-Suite. Reframing: you can do the very best job you can do and decide to stay there and be happy, regardless of the title they give you. You can become the expert at running your division of the business. Or you can always look for a job elsewhere where you can grow if the title and position in the org chart are of utmost importance to you. Depends on your situation and your goals.
In the case of being out of work: you can’t change how recruiters think and perceive you and the gap in your resume. Reframing: you can change how you appear to recruiters. Take the volunteer roles you’ve been in and list some significant professional results, for example. That’s impressive!
In the case of med school: you can’t change the length of the studies. Reframing: you can remind yourself that much sooner than 10 years you can start treating patients as a resident in a hospital. Or you can become a physician’s assistant and do a few similar things to what doctors do, with much less training and cost. Or enter the wellness field from a non-clinical angle.
Once you reframe, then you are able to move into the direction of your choice. Prior to that, the battle has no solution and is all in your mind.
I’ll leave you with a quote from another one of my favorite authors, which encompasses the essence of reframing:
“Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer
ACTION
TODAY: Think for a moment: What sort of gravity problems are you fighting in your mind? Have they become so prevalent that they are part of your identity? (How many times have we heard someone introduce him or herself, as “I’m a frustrated teacher/lawyer/banker”? [Fill in the profession blank.]) Don’t fight gravity. Work with it instead. How can you reframe those problems?
FUTURE: As you look at new problems that emerge, give some thought to what’s going on in your mind. Are you approaching them as gravity problems, not knowing necessarily what you can do about them? How about acceptance and reframing? Easier said than done, indeed. Yet the burden is lifted almost instantly once we feel the relief acceptance brings; and we can take action to solve the problems once we have made a decision through reframing.
Know someone who’s fighting gravity? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Miniseries, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Resources, Time, Tools
Links to other parts of the miniseries:
Be Awesomely Effective Part 1: Embodied cognition
Be Awesomely Effective Part 2: Decision points
Be Awesomely Effective Part 3: Mental Energy
Be Awesomely Effective Part 4: Stop fighting distractions
Be Awesomely Effective Part 5: Mind-body connection
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 32 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Be Awesomely Effective Part 6: Workspace
— From Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done by Josh Davis, Ph.D.
Over the past few days, Josh Davis, Ph.D., has been guiding us to create at least Two Awesome Hours of peak productivity by recognizing our decision points, managing our mental energy, allowing our minds to wander, and leveraging our mind-body connection. Yet, there are still a few more things we can do regarding our immediate workspace surroundings that will help us set up the conditions to perform at our best.
Noise
“The research on the consequences of noise on productivity is fairly straightforward: for the bulk of the tasks performed in the knowledge economy, quiet is always better than noise.” With this in mind, here are a few suggestions from Davis to stay focused.
- Close the door. No office? “Reserve a conference room or set up camp somewhere that is largely free of noise and other potential distractions. A place with privacy that is away from noise distractions will be more favorable to productivity.”
- Cancel noise. If your space is shared and you have to stay there, wear noise-cancelling headphones. Alternatively, “those little squishy orange earplugs can sometimes do the trick too, and you can take them anywhere. You may look weird, but you’ll be more productive.”
- Turn it off. Don’t watch TV or listen to music or talk radio.
- Creativity. “If you’re taking on a task that requires lots of creativity, enjoy background noise. You may actually consider heading for the company’s busy cafeteria or a local coffee shop, or putting on a little music.”
- Carve quiet time. If you can, make some quiet time for you: get up early, stay up late or work in a quiet and uninterrupted environment.
Light
Light, just as noise, is another stimulus we can often control. “Both blue light and bright white light seem to enhance a number of the mental faculties that can help us be highly effective. […] That kind of light influences things like alertness and concentration, and it can help us recharge after mental fatigue.”
Further, our eyes were not just made for vision. There are cells in them that “connect to a part of the brain responsible for maintaining circadian rhythms… [thus guiding] sleep, wake, eating and energy cycles throughout the day.”
Davis recommends:
- More lights. “A brightly lit room is better for being at your mental best than a darker one, especially if it’s a cloudy day or the middle of the winter. If you have to, bring your own lamp to the office.”
- Natural light. “If you can, be somewhere with ambient natural light on a day with clear blue skies, and set yourself up to work there.”
- Lightbulbs. “Consider replacing the current lightbulbs in your workspace with white lights that include more of the blue spectrum, even if it’s just at your desk lamp.”
- Creativity. “Dim your lights a bit or find a spot that’s a little darker than usual when you want to work on a project that requires creativity.”
Immediate workspace
According to Davis’ research, our immediate workspace is the part of the work environment that we can influence in some important ways with some relatively minor tweaks.
- Clutter. “Perhaps clutter works for a very few people. But for the vast majority of us, clutter is a hindrance to our mental performance. […] Clear the clutter. […] If you don’t have the time to clear it, simply move it somewhere that is out of sight.”
- Expansive movement. “Place your phone, your glass of water, your pen and any other work tools at the far corners of your desk, where you will need to reach for them expansively. If you feel tense, sit back for a minute, expand your chest and spread your arms out.” Adopt some power poses to shift your mental state.
- Sitting. “Don’t sit at your desk for too long. We tend to become engrossed in working, so it will probably not be too much if you get up every time you think of doing so. If you can choose your workspace, choose one where getting up and moving around is easy to do.” Find a place where you can sit and work, and another where you can stand and work, and alternate between them.
- Personalization. Regardless of noise, light, no clutter and movement, you will eventually get fatigued. Add your personal touch to your workspace in some way with objects and visuals to recharge your mental energy. “Specifically, consider adding some plants or images of water. When you personalize your space, though, don’t do it by adding clutter to your desk.” If you have a beautiful view, don’t forget to look outside.
The strategies described here today and throughout this miniseries are effective because their implementation is simple and easy, and also because they work with your biology, not against it. Davis believes that the biggest challenge resulting from our work culture is being overwhelmed. He says, “By becoming students of how human beings can work most effectively, we all can increase our self-compassion, master our work, and gain control over our lives.” It is my sincere hope that this miniseries will help you accomplish all that and become your most effective and productive. Let me know how you liked the miniseries!
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: Take a look around at your workspace: how can you set it up to help you achieve maximum productivity?
Know someone who could benefit from reading this? Please share the miniseries with that person! You can do so via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Miniseries, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Resources, Time, Tools
Links to other parts of the miniseries:
Be Awesomely Effective Part 1: Embodied cognition
Be Awesomely Effective Part 2: Decision points
Be Awesomely Effective Part 3: Mental Energy
Be Awesomely Effective Part 4: Stop fighting distractions
Be Awesomely Effective Part 6: Workspace
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 27 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Be Awesomely Effective Part 5: Mind-body connection
— From Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done by Josh Davis, Ph.D.
Yesterday we learned to be nice to ourselves and let our minds wander. That strategy, coupled with seizing our decision points and managing our mental energy and emotions can help us create incredibly productive chunks of time in our days. That is, of course, when we have full control over our schedules. But who does?
Life happens. Business happens. Stuff happens. We may find ourselves anxious or overwhelmed at times and still need to perform at our best. What do we do then?
Josh Davis, Ph.D., adds one more strategy to help us out. Now that we know that our physical states affect and influence our mental states, “By understanding how exercise and food affect your mental functioning, you can use them as tools to help you be more productive when work demands it.” The mind-body connection is strong and powerful.
It’s important to clarify that this strategy is not about the long-term health and wellness benefits of an exercise routine and a well-balanced diet. We’ve all heard about that many times, undoubtedly. What Davis shares here are the immediate benefits of mental functioning derived from eating in a particular way or felt after just one session of exercising. This is one more way in which we learn how to create the optimal conditions in our minds, bodies, and surroundings for peak productivity.
Exercise strategically
Exercising, for these purposes, refers to moderate physical activity (brisk walking or even light jogging) for 20-40 minutes. “Whether or not you currently have an exercise routine, you can use physical activity at specific times to boost your thinking abilities and your mental energy. […] A little exercise at the right time can help you think better, stay focused, sharpen your thoughts and reduce your anxiety—key elements of sustained productivity—in the hours that follow the physical activity.”
Davis suggests the following ways to leverage exercise:
- Mental sluggishness and inability to focus. “Get out of your office and move right away. Walk very briskly for thirty to forty minutes. Or go up and down the back stairs for ten or twenty minutes.”
- Schedule changes. “Whenever possible, schedule challenging or anxiety-provoking meetings when you can block out time beforehand for moderate exercise.”
- Draining or challenging tasks. “When you have particularly challenging or draining tasks on your calendar, either exercise in the morning before it… or exercise soon after it to restore your drained mental energy and improve your mood in time to tackle whatever comes next.
- Workouts. “In general, plan to work out for about twenty to forty minutes within a couple of hours before you next need to be awesomely productive.”
Eat and drink strategically
What happens on the day that your schedule doesn’t allow for exercise when you most need it? Davis points out that, “There are other ways to work in concert with your body to achieve peak productivity… [with] something you already do every day, even at work: eating and drinking.”
What we eat and drink, and the timing of when we do so, can affect our energy levels, moods and our brain’s ability to plan, organize and complete tasks. If you don’t believe this, just remember the sluggishness, lack of energy and overwhelming desire to sleep after a very large meal (Thanksgiving, a holiday, a celebration, etc.).
Davis says, “When you want to be firing on all cylinders, being intentional about what you eat and drink—and how you want to feel an hour later—can make all the difference.” And he gives us the following tips to increase productivity after the two- or three-hour period after our meal or snack.
- Portions. “Eat only half your breakfast or lunch and enjoy the second half a couple of hours later.”
- Quick boost. “A high-carb snack may help you focus and feel good for about fifteen minutes. If you need to be in top mental shape for longer than that, avoid carb-rich meals and snacks altogether.”
- Food mix. “Eat meals or snacks that have a nice mix of proteins, low glycemic index carbs, and good fats—vegetables and fruits are generally good carbs; nuts make great snacks for when you are on the run.”
- Water. “Drink water if you haven’t had any for the last hour or two if you’ve done any physical activity.”
- Caffeine. “If you are tired or sleep deprived, drink a caffeinated drink, but keep it small. Don’t drink more than you normally would. Give it thirty minutes to kick in. And go ahead and put cream in that coffee—the fat may help keep your blood sugar more stable.”
Whether you exercise regularly or not, or whether you are a nutrition enthusiast or a fast-food lover, hopefully this mind-body strategy will add more tools to your productivity kit.
Cheers!
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: Take a moment to evaluate how you feel before an important work event (meeting, presentation, etc.). Are there any of the exercise or food/drink tips here that can help you? How can you proactively schedule time for physical activity before an event so that you can be at your best? Schedule also time to recharge after particularly taxing activities/meetings. Your mind and body will thank you and you’ll be performing in a much more productive way!
Know someone who could benefit from reading this? Please share the miniseries with that person! You can do so via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
