by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Decisions are temporary
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
“Don’t make up problems you don’t have yet,” say Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in their book Rework. “But what if…?” “What happens when…?” “Don’t we need to plan for…?” These are not problems until they become real problems, “Most of the things you worry about never happen anyway.”
Decisions are temporary, and “the ability to change course is [a] big advantage. […] So pay attention to today and worry about later when it gets here. Otherwise, you’ll waste energy, time, and money fixating on problems that may never materialize.”
As you start planning a project or a startup, keep in mind that the decisions you make don’t need to last forever. “It’s easy to shoot down good ideas, interesting policies, or worthwhile experiments by assuming that whatever you decide now needs to work for years on end. It’s just not so [especially for nimble projects and businesses]. If circumstances change, your decisions can change.”
As a child, my mom always told me that it was OK to change my mind after I had tried and given something my best. Today’s idea is the grown-up and business version of that philosophy. Recognize that the decisions you make today are the best ones you can make based on the information you have and the tools and resources at your disposal. If times and circumstances change in the future, trust that you will make the best decision(s) then for you/your team/your business, even if they involve changing everything that you had decided previously.
“If you never change your mind, why have one?” – Edward de Bono
ACTION
TODAY: Is there something bugging you about a decision/policy/procedure that was made a long time ago and that has continued “just because it’s always been that way” but is no longer working for you? Make a new decision that will make it better to adapt to your current circumstances.
FUTURE: Keep in mind the importance of making decisions that go with the times, circumstances, and foreseeable future. Don’t be afraid of making new decisions, if they don’t work out, you can always revert to the previous one—but it’s worth trying out, as you may be pleasantly surprised by the circumstances that the new decisions bring. This reminds me of an old business joke: The CFO and the CEO are talking about making a decision to train the employees. The CFO asks, “But what if we train them, and they leave?” To which the CEO responds, “Yes, but what if we don’t train them, and they stay?”
Know someone who would benefit from realizing that decisions are temporary? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 35 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Quit before you start
— From The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
Dick Collins, the ultramarathon runner, said, “Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Well, gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.’ And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.”
In life and business, just as Collins did it with his sport, it’s important to figure out what the conditions are for quitting before you get started. In The Dip, marketing guru Seth Godin says that this is tool number one: “If quitting is going to be a strategic decision that enables you to make smart choices in the marketplace, then you should outline your quitting strategy before the discomfort sets in.”
Godin goes on to say, “quitting when you’re panicked is dangerous and expensive. The best quitters… are the ones who decide in advance when they’re going to quit. You can always quit later—so wait until you’re done panicking to decide.”
The problem with the way we quit is that, barring emergencies or life-or-death circumstances, the decision is made at a moment of great pressure or great discomfort, without much time to think and truly analyze the consequences of our actions.
“When the pressure is greatest to compromise, to drop out, or to settle, your desire to quit should be at its lowest. The decision to quit is often made in the moment. But that’s exactly the wrong time to make such a critical decision. The reason so many of us quit in the Dip is that without a compass or a plan, the easiest thing to do is to give up. While that might be the easiest path, it’s also the least successful one.”
The hardest part, Godin says, is to have the perspective to know when you are in a Cul-de-Sac to quit, and when you are in a Dip to continue. That is why setting your parameters before you get started is very powerful, because once you’re in pain, frustrated or stuck you may just want to get out, but that may deter you from reaching your goals.
ACTION
TODAY: Are you about to start something? Set your parameters for quitting before you get started. Or if you are already involved in something but have never set up your criteria for quitting, do it today. Remember that quitting is not a bad thing and we all need to do it. Here are two posts to expand on this: Selective Quitting and Understanding When to Quit and When to Stick.
FUTURE: Make it a habit of setting your quitting criteria before you start something. That way you won’t have to make a decision that you might later regret because your mind was under much pressure.
Know someone who needs to set his or her criteria for quitting? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools, Wellbeing
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 4 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 100% Commitment: The “no-exceptions rule”
— From The Success Principles™: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Ken Blanchard
Being 100% committed to something is much easier than being 99% committed or less, says personal development and business guru Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles. This is a very simple concept, “yet you’d be surprised how many people wake up every day and fight within themselves over whether or not to keep their commitments, stick to their disciplines, or carry out their actions plans.”
Why the fight?
Because they haven’t yet made the full commitment. There is no need to spend the mental energy wrestling with ourselves every day as we decide whether to do something or not. “Once you make a 100% commitment to something, there are no exceptions. It’s a done deal. Nonnegotiable. Case closed! Over and out… [You] never have to think about it again. There are no exceptions no matter what the circumstances. It ends the discussion, closes that door, permits no other possibility.”
This is tremendously liberating and it makes life much simpler and easier because there is no internal debate as to whether you’ll do something or not. “It’s like brushing your teeth before you go to bed. You always do it, no matter what. If you find yourself in bed and you have forgotten, you get out of bed and brush them. It doesn’t matter how tired you are or how late it is. You just do it.”
Eliminating choice and making 100% commitment can free up much time and energy that can go into other things to bring about excellence in your life and business. Canfield powerfully makes the case for why 100% commitment is so important and necessary, as he points out why the “no-exceptions rule” is critical in many areas, such as in our health and the workplace:
A commitment to just 99.9% quality would mean:
- One hour of unsafe drinking water every month.
- Two unsafe landings at [Chicago’s] O’Hare International Airport each day.
- 16,000 lost pieces of mail per hour.
- 20,000 incorrectly filled drug prescriptions every year.
- 500 incorrect surgical operations performed each week.
- 50 newborn babies dropped at birth by doctors every day.
- 22,000 checks deducted from the wrong account every hour.
- Your heart failing to beat 32,000 times each year!
“Can you see why 100% is such an important percentage? Just think how much better your life and the whole world would work if you were committed to 100% excellence in everything you do.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of an area in your life or business where you have not made a 100% commitment. What does that look like? Where does it fall through the cracks? Where do you wrestle with yourself to do it or not do it? Think of the benefits of committing 100% and having no exceptions: how could this benefit your life and/or your business? Make a list of benefits vs. remaining as you are. Once you are convinced, commit yourself. And as part of that commitment, set a time to review in a near future how you are doing. The further you move along the 100% and the more you review its benefits, the more you’ll want to continue. It’s all about building the habit.
FUTURE: Stay committed to your 100%. Once you have built the habit in one area and it’s firmly entrenched, then move on to another area. The disciplined pursuit of your commitments will lead you to your goals.
Know someone who could benefit from 100% commitment? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Habits, Mindset, Parkinson's Law, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 41 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Most important tasks
— From The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman
We all have a very long list of things to do on a daily basis, but not all of our tasks are the same: some of them are very important and some are not important at all. “Everything on your plate is not critically important, so don’t treat everything on your task list equally,” says Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA.
“A Most Important Task (MIT) is a critical task that will create the most important results you’re looking to achieve. […] If you want to make the most of your limited time and energy, it pays to focus on completing the tasks that will make the biggest difference first…”
As simple as this is, by taking a few minutes every morning (or preferably the night before) to identify the most important tasks, you’ll be able to focus on accomplishing them first. Kaufman recommends creating a list of two or three MITs and focusing on getting them done as quickly as possible. Further, he suggests keeping your MITs separate from your general to-do list, by using such things as a 3 X 5 index card or Dave Seah’s awesome Emergent Task Planner (free).
The key to figuring out what your MITs are, according to Kaufman, is to ask yourself the following questions: “What are the two or three most important things that I need to do today? What are the things that—if I got them done today—would make a huge difference?” Those are the only things that should go on your MIT list.
And to be über productive, Kaufman recommends combining your MIT’s with Parkinson’s Law. Remember, this is the law that states that, work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. (Wikipedia).
How do you do this?
Easy: set an artificial time limit. “If you set a goal to have all your MITs done by 10:00 am you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can complete the day’s most important tasks.”
And by doing this, you will create a state of focus and effectiveness (flow) that will give you permission to decline interruptions that aren’t important. “If you’re working on your MITs and someone calls you, it’s easier to ignore the call or tell the caller, ‘I’m working under deadline—I’ll get back to you later.’ By definition, everything that’s not an MIT is not as important, so it’s easier to say no to noncritical interruptions.
Combine this with the Be Awesomely Effective miniseries and you’ll be ultra-productive. And you’ll have the rest of your day to deal with anything else that comes up, or to dedicate to crossing off items on your non-MIT task list.
ACTION
TODAY: Take 5 minutes to figure out your MITs for today. Also, take a look at Dave Seah’s Emergent Task Planner. If you like it, download it, print it, and use it today (it’s a great, free resource). If not, think of the best method for you to have a separate list with your MITs.
FUTURE: As you continue to use the MIT + Parkinson’s Law concept, go back and read the Be Awesomely Effective miniseries. This will help you create the best environment where you will hopefully achieve a state of flow.
Know someone who could use some advice on creating MITs? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Resources, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Fresh start
— From WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Dan Pink
July is the start of the second half of the year. Where did the first half go? It evaporated!
How did you do? Did you move forward in your goals? What did you accomplish? Where do you need to change course? Where do you need to start again?
I did very well in some areas and, frankly, I’m not proud to admit that I had no progress whatsoever in others… (!). But I must accept and learn what went well and what didn’t, so as to course-correct and move forward.
Tama Kieves, in her book A Year Without Fear, says “Focus on your present chances, not your past disadvantages. Are you repeating history by repeating the story of your history? The past is over. It’s a new dawn. It’s a new you. There are infinite chances to reinvent yourself. The past is over.”
As we move on with the rest of the year, today is one of those infinite chances to reinvent yourself. So, how about starting again in this second half of the year with those goals that stalled somewhere between January and June?
Dan Pink, in his book WHEN, says that “Just as we human beings rely on landmarks to navigate space—‘To get to my house, turn left at the [gas] station’—we also use landmarks to navigate time.” These dates are called temporal landmarks.
Further, some people use these temporal landmarks to start anew, and this is called “the fresh start” effect. Pink explains, “ To establish a fresh start, people [use] two types of temporal landmarks—social and personal. The social landmarks were those that everyone shared: Mondays, the beginning of a new month, national holidays. The personal ones were unique to the individual: birthdays, anniversaries, job changes.”
“Temporal landmarks interrupt attention to day-to-day minutiae, causing people to take a big picture view of their lives and thus focus on achieving their goals.”
Pink offers a list of 86 days in the year that are especially effective to make a fresh start:
- The first day of the month (12)
- Mondays (52)
- The first day of spring, summer, fall, and winter (4)
- Your country’s Independence Day or the equivalent (1)
- The day of an important religious holiday—for example, Easter, Rosh Hashanah, Eid al-Fitr (1)
- Your birthday (1)
- A loved one’s birthday (1)
- The first day of school or the first day of a semester (2)
- The first day of a new job (1)
- The first day after graduation (1)
- The first day back from vacation (2)
- The anniversary of your wedding, first date, or divorce (3)
- The anniversary of the day you started your job, the day you became a citizen, the day you adopted your dog or cat, the day you graduated from school or university (4)
- The day you finish [reading WHEN] (1)
ACTION
TODAY: Decide to make a fresh start on those goals that you want to get done this year. Today is the beginning of the second half of the year and a Monday too. Happy temporal landmarks!
FUTURE: Pick a few temporal landmarks between now and the end of the year to check in on your progress. That way you can always course-correct, pivot or start anew, remember that there are infinite chances to reinvent yourself.
Know someone who could use a fresh start today? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 11 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Make time your friend
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
“I wish you had more time for me” is what author and social media guru, Dave Kerpen, kept hearing from people important to him, both at work and at home. Kerpen gets requests every week by dozens of people who want his help or to work with him. Since he is so likeable and responsive, he replies to each person who asks for his help. (I know this first hand, because he responded to my request to interview him about his book, The Art of People, when it came out. You can watch the interview here.)
“If you’re at all like me,” Kerpen says, “you try to be nice—or helpful—and take every call, reply to every email, or even agree to every meeting. Yet he had a powerful realization when he attended a conference hosted by Verne Harnish (entrepreneur extraordinaire and author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up). Harnish said, “You can understand your professional strategy with one quick look at your weekly calendar.”
Kerpen took a look at his calendar on his phone and realized “it was filled up with meetings and phone calls with people [he] didn’t know who probably would make no difference to [his] business or [his] life.” At that point he had to set his priorities straight: first was his family, and second his employees, investors and customers.
The natural question that ensued for Kerpen was, “Why was [he] sacrificing time with [the people who were his priority] to take all those meetings with strangers?”
So he decided to set aside a two-hour slot every week that he calls office hours. During two hours every Thursday, Kerpen talks with the people who have reached out to him for help, by scheduling 15-minute conversations. Kerpen explains, “I still reply to and try to help each and every person who comes my way. But once the time slots are full, they are full, and people have to sign up for the following week’s office hours, or the next week’s hours, and so on.” This has made it easier on him to say no or to refer the person to the next available slot during his office hours.
In reflecting about his system, Kerpen advises, “You don’t have to create an office hours system and meet with everyone who wants your time, of course. But you do need to figure out a way to prioritize your time, the most precious asset you’ve got, carefully.”
Whether it’s plainly saying no or limiting the time you give others, the reality is that we all need a system that works for us. So take a look at your calendar and determine whether you need to make changes as Kerpen so aptly did.
ACTION
TODAY: Take a look at your calendar over the last month. What do you see? How are you prioritizing your time and with whom? Make a list of all the people with whom you’ve spent time and determine whether they fall into your priorities or not.
FUTURE: Develop a system that works for you, your priorities and your goals. Put it to the test for the next month. Explain to the people in your priorities what you are doing, so that they can give you feedback at the end of that month. After the 30 days are up, check in with yourself and with the people with whom you want to spend more time whether it’s working. Compare your calendar to the past month’s and see the difference. Adjust accordingly and test again, and keep going until you’ve built a system that works well for you.
How about sharing this post with someone in your priority list so that they can make you a priority too? You can share via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
