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The Rediscovery Of Desire: How Downturns Are Uplifting

Friday, July 24, 2009

This post certainly exposes the kernel of optimism that glows beneath my pessimistic recovering-lawyer veneer. In fact, it may uncover a certain degree of naiveté!

You see, my QuietSpacing(tm) practice was largely predicated on retreat and training budgets. Of course, those budgets were all summarily eliminated when the “economic downturn” began. As a result, my bookings have dropped off precipitously.

The same has been true for many of my friends and family, most of who work for themselves in some manner. Like attracts like, I suppose. Yet, in conversations with all these people, there is a spark of desire,  an anticipation of discovery. Most of them are working on something new or interesting. They are developing something they always wanted to create but didn’t have time to work on before. They are engaged and energized.  Dare I say that they are optimistic?

The same has been true for me. Instead of lamenting the loss of business (and possibly my Gold status on Alaska Airlines!), I began looking at my programming and asking myself the really hard questions. How could I redevelop this material to be more accessible? More interesting? More available? Pondering those questions and forcing myself to re-align both my perspective on what I did and my expectations on what results I could achieve, drove me to an entirely new business model – the delivery of my programming online by leveraging all the rapidly-changing webinar technologies.

The point of this post is not self-promotional. Rather, I’m using my own experience and the anecdotal information I’m receiving from others to point out the undying spirit to move forward that we humans, not just Americans, possess. In all the harsh reality an economic downturn delivers, it’s inspiring to see people dig down and find a way, often a better way, to carry on. It’s encouraging to watch friends look at their lifestyles and decide what’s really important, then adjust their behaviors to meet those needs. It’s uplifting to talk with people who are engaged again, striving to accomplish something new and feeling challenged all along the way.

Hardship is hard; there’s no doubt about that. But one of its benefits is the rediscovery of desire.

Ideas to Action: The Little Engine That Could

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I’ve often said that everyone has good ideas; it’s those who do something with them that succeed.

One of the most difficult things to do is convert an idea into action.  It doesn’t matter if it’s an idea for a new business or for getting new clients, a personal or professional goal, or simply visiting a new place in the world, getting it from inside our heads to the light of day is often a struggle. 

One of the biggest struggles is simply finding the time to make it happen.  Yet, time management is not really at issue here.  The real issue is prioritization.  It’s amazing what gets done simply because we decide it’s going to get done or because it is assigned some “obvious” higher priority.  High priority items are always get high priority.  No argument, right?  A bit of a circular argument if you ask me.  My challenge to you is to change that perspective. 

What I’m asking you to do is reconsider what is high priority and what isn’t.  Before tossing your coffee at the screen or stomping away from the computer convinced I’m a soft-on-work nut, consider my perspective:  Accomplish makes me feel good.  Feeling good is my definition of success.  Therefore, the more I accomplish the more successful I am.  As a result, I strongly believe in getting as much done as possible, professionally and personally, to maximize the sense of success I enjoy.

I think you’ll find that layering this accomplishment perspective onto the priority question drives some different decisions making.  Specifically, to get ideas to actions, you must really decide if the accomplishment of the idea will make you feel better.  If so, then you need to proceed to the hard part – prioritize accordingly and define the specific tasks necessary to convert the idea into action.

In addition, you’ll realize that a lot of good ideas are just that – good ideas.  They aren’t necessarily going to significantly increase your sense of satisfaction and well being if accomplished.  Moreover, you may find that  the arduousness of accomplishment doesn’t merit the reward that accomplishment will deliver. 

Try blending how valuable accomplishing a good idea will be with the effort required before you determine what priority the good idea has.  You’ll find it greatly helps in the initial decision making stage, which is often the most ambiguous.

QuickTip: Take Mini-Breaks All Day Long

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Tim Ferriss, of The Four-Hour Work Week fame, proposed the idea of mini-retirements – saving your money and taking blocks of time off (measured in months) throughout life to enjoy being alive.  It’s really a terrific concept and it works especially well for single people without kids.  The rest of us need something a little more manageable but with similar results – which is something I call mini-breaks.

A mini-break is a very short period of time – five minutes or so – during which you download all the stuff rummaging around in your brain, take a deep breath, enjoy the beautiful sunshine or heavy rain (or whatever) and generally get a battery boost.  Think of these like the portable cell phone re-chargers now ubiquitously available in every airport sundry shop or like the brief pause during a hike to train your eyes on something other than your next step.

The benefits of mini-breaks are several:

  • Time Management:  We are forever behind schedule.  A mini-break allows you to catch up just a bit.  The respite it provides allows you to regain command over your hectic schedule.
  • Workflow Processing:  A terrific use of the mini-break is between meetings.  Schedule one in between every meeting to allow you to core dump what’s in your head from the last meeting and enter the next meeting focused on its subject matter.  You can use your scheduling software – Outlook, etc. – to schedule things down to one-minute increments.  Just schedule each meeting to last until the full or 1/2 hour, but don’t start the next meeting until five or 35 after.  It’s kind of like TBS television programming!
  • Work/Life Balance:  Two of the hardest things to achieve in today’s frenetic world is a sense of peace and a sense of command.  The mini-break provides both of these.  The brief interlude allows you to simply slow down for a minute and enjoy the day.  Moreover, knowing you “have five minutes” puts you directly back in charge of your schedule and your life.

Give it a try.  Just put one or two mini-breaks into your day to start.  You’ll find that you can add them in almost everywhere once you get into the habit.

Welcome…To A New Day For Time Management

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

This blog and it’s related resources will both leverage and challenge what you know about time management and workflow processing.  We have been overrun by the very technology that was invented to assist us down the path towards a successful life.  Instead of being our ally, modern communications and productivity technologies have begun riddling us with interruptions and distractions to such an extent that we are actually less effective and less productive than before they were introduced. 

The QuietSpacing(tm) method was developed in response to this situation.  It was conceived from an immediate need on the part of my clients to regain control over their professional and personal worlds.  The method’s objectives are to (a) re-establish command over your environment and  (b) regain focus – the heart of good productivity, effectiveness and responsiveness.

The intial posts below comment on the three subject areas of this blog - Time Management, Workflow Processing and Work/Life Balance – and I have posted a number of articles under the Articles section of side bar to the right.  You are invited to review this content, visit this site frequently, subscribe to the RSS feeds, and follow me on Twitter @QuietSpacer.  You are also invited to attend an online or on demand QuietSpacing(tm) training program.  Finally, I would welcome an opportunity to work with you individually through my coaching program or provide your group a training seminar or keynote presentation,  so please contact me if you’re interested in those services.

Be well and live life on purpose!