How to Deter Data Deluge
January 30, 2011
- Cover of The Effective Executive
Isn’t it ironic that I’ve been meaning to blog about information overload since last Wednesday and that I haven’t been able to get to it because of, well, information overload?! The sheer amount of call-to-action emails I received last week alone would make any IT department head’s spin.
Prioritization is indeed an important skill. Even as things are swirling about us, we need to be able to say, “I will get to this on Monday.” Expectation management, prioritization’s close cousin, reminds us (and those around us) that there truly are limits to what we are capable of doing at any given moment.
According to Peter Drucker’s 1967 classic, The Effective Executive, “most of the tasks of the executive require, for minimum effectiveness, a fairly large quantum of time.” We all need time to process, think and consider our next action steps. Yet so often we are in reaction to our environment (phones ringing, emails pinging, Skype singing) that we barely have a moment to tend to the higher thinking required in our jobs.
I was recently advised by colleagues to become more strategic in my thinking. Looking at the Big Picture can save baby steps that lead us down the wrong path. I agree. And the greatest challenge is finding the time to be in proactive, not reactive, mode.
We have to train ourselves not to pick up the phone, to let it go to voicemail or to respond only to those immediate matters that are of utmost importance. We risk disappointing people who expect you to jump when they want you (Oddly, I have easily taught my children that their ‘now’ is not always mine. Defining the when of things is key).
I pondered the ‘always on’ syndrome as I finished up some mindless administrative work that merely required concentration and an uninterrupted ninety minutes on Saturday. Yes, Saturday! I weighed my options. Was this urgent? (It was). Was it important? (It was). Would I suffer more by delaying the task until Monday? (Most definitely).
The McKinsey Quarterly ran a great article entitled “Recovering from Information Overload” that points to our collective split-screen dilemma of attention fragmentation and overlapping commitments. As things unfold in real-time and people expect you to follow their string of emails like the crawl on the bottom of a TV screen, we are literally information-saturated.
The article requires a free registration so in the event you need the lowdown on your info-saturation recuperation in thirty seconds or less, here it is:
- Multitasking kills productivity. Pruning your email inbox may feel like you’re doing something, but interrupting yourself from one thing to the next slows you down.
- It hampers creativity, makes you anxious and has addictive qualities. The next time you’re tempted to answer emails while on a Skype call, know the other people can hear you thumping on your keyboard while you pretend to listen.
- Focus, filter, forget. To deal with your data deluge, unplug, delegate and engage in physical excursion. Some executives in the McKinsey article claimed some of their most brilliant ideas came in the midst of a headstand in their yoga class.
The bottom line? “Multitasking isn’t heroic; it’s counterproductive.”
Related articles
- McKinsey – Managing information overload (mckinseyquarterly.com)
I ask you: what’s not to love? Animals
January 26, 2011
I ask you: what’s not to love? Animals go at their innate pace. Why don’t we? http://ow.ly/i/7y1F
Life’s Too Short for Bad Baked Goods
January 25, 2011
“Life’s too short for bad baked goods.”
That is, indeed, my motto.
Rob Hopkins, author of The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, gave an interesting talk about relocalizing the economy during the first session of the Healthy Money Summit yesterday. He talked about ‘intentional localization’, which involves food and energy production and local building materials. He underscored the importance of story telling and a community’s self-understanding. We can’t have environmental change until the culture transitions to support the thinking behind it. You can listen to Rob Hopkins’ 30-minute talk here, if you’d like.
But truly, the best part of his talk? About putting bakeries back into the community.
I’m all for good bakeries and would be willing to pay more for a better bun. How about you?
Top Ten Ways to Be More Productive
January 20, 2011
HuffPost’s Russell Bishop embraces the slow in his new book, Workarounds that Work. Baseline magazine did a nifty slide show (I just love their slide shows!) to illustrate the points below.
1. Tangible results come from setting clearly defined goals.
2. Prioritize. Ask yourself: Will this task make for my team or organization?
3. Examine how much time you spend working around things versus accomplishing them. Eliminate any beating around the bush.
4. Fix it, then move on. Complaining is a top time waster!
5. Those who seek to please are a time drain because they value everyone’s happiness over action. Avoid consensus seekers.
6. Don’t procrastinate. Approach undesirable tasks as you would a great workout. Remember how good you’ll feel when it’s over!
7. Only have meetings with those directly involved. Eliminate external voices that only add white noise to the conversation.
8. Focus during meetings ~ gadget-free!
9. Close your inbox. Email shouldn’t disrupt, but inform.
10. Read the latest email thread while eliminating the ‘repeats. Email begets email so don’t respond when no response is needed.
A man after my own slow heart!
Slowing down your money to the pace of the Earth’s rotation
January 19, 2011
The slow movement has its roots in the Slow Food movement. Born on the Spanish Steps of Rome, the Slow Food movement started out as one man’s reaction to a global fast food chain that wanted to open its doors near the famous Roman landmark. Carlo Petrini despised the notion of junk food being sold anywhere near his beloved Spanish Steps. Thanks to him, the concept of slow seeped its way into our global consciousness.
Tying food production back to local farming is a smart, and sustainable, thing
to do. In an age of dioxin scandals and mass animal slaughtering, we have clinicalized the very thing that keeps us alive: food. We treat food as a cog in the massive economic system. It has to play a role like water and oil or any other natural resource you can think of. Produce massive amounts at the cheapest price, no matter the real cost (environmental or otherwise) behind it.
Slow money is a concept that promotes investments in local farming and the health of our local economies. This group has set a goal of mobilizing 1 million people to invest in their local food production before 2020. It is a noble cause and one I highly recommend you explore.
According to SlowMoney.org, the principles of slow money include:
I. We must bring money back down to earth.
II. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down — not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.
III. The 20th Century was the era of Buy Low/Sell High and Wealth Now/Philanthropy Later—what one venture capitalist called “the largest legal accumulation of wealth in history.” The 21st Century will be the era of nurture capital, built around principles of carrying capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.
IV. We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered. We must connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.
V. Let us celebrate the new generation of entrepreneurs, consumers and investors who are showing the way from Making A Killing to Making a Living.
VI. Paul Newman said, “I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out.” Recognizing the wisdom of these words, let us begin rebuilding our economy from the ground up, asking:
* What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our assets within 50 miles of where we live?
* What if there were a new generation of companies that gave away 50% of their profits?
* What if there were 50% more organic matter in our soil 50 years from now?
I ask you: what if we left this Earth in better shape than we found it? Give back to the soil that feeds you. Today.
Other resources:
www.CompassNaturalMarketing.com
Inquires into the Nature of Slow Money
Related articles
- Can Slow Food Feed the World? (time.com)
- Slow down. You’re moving too fast. (winningbysharing.typepad.com)
Time Warp and the Power of Slow Motion
January 18, 2011
Slow motion is cool because it helps you see everything. Viva the Power of Slow!
When to say “That’s enough!”
January 17, 2011
Boundaries ~ the line in the sand that ushers children into adulthood. When my daughter asked why she couldn’t have a mother who said ‘yes’ to everything, I said, “Because you deserve a mother who loves you.”
Blank stare. Non-comprehending stance. Arms parked in a crossed position. Furrowed brow. Then a sliver of light beaming at the bridge of her nose.
“Oh.”
We benefit from signals radiating from our surroundings that say ‘No, not now.’ Sometimes, even as adults, we ignore those signs, plowing forward as if we were invincible.
Today I went to the gym for the first time in two weeks. After having had the flu last week, I was astounded at how weak I still was. I thought about sticking it out to the end of the class, then left half-way through (I’ve only ever done that once before when the step class I was in was clearly over my head!).
I battled with that part of myself that says “You should be able to do this,” even though I was in no shape to do so. I wrangled with myself, wishing it weren’t so that I had overstepped my own limitations.
“Not now,” the power of slow part of myself gently guided me out the door. It is our higher selves, much like the mother who does not always say ‘yes’, that cares the most. It resides in the heart and speaks with a whisper.
Will you listen to your inner voice today?
2010 in review
January 14, 2011
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 25,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.
In 2010, there were 228 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 449 posts. There were 128 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 112mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was January 7th with 897 views. The most popular post that day was The Anti-Resolution Solution.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were thedailybrainstorm.com, facebook.com, wordpress.com, beliefnet.com, and twitter.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for the power of slow, difference between purpose and mission, difference between mission and purpose, power of slow, and quality time quotes.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
The Anti-Resolution Solution January 2010
17 comments
Difference between vision, purpose, values, and mission March 2009
4 comments
About November 2008
11 comments
Time Abundance Quiz October 2009
4 comments
Forest Bathing August 2010
3 comments
What topics would you like to know more about? Less? Feel free to weigh in because a blog without readers is like, well, the Taj Mahal without visitors.
Thank you!
Show me your digital face and I’ll show you mine
January 13, 2011
- Image via Wikipedia
“Never write anything down that you wouldn’t be proud to show a nun,” my mother once advised me. Curious advice for a then seven-year-old, but she saw the sparks of my word-smithing passion early.
To divulge or not to divulge. That is the question in our Web 2.0 lives.
Lately I have been fascinated with the concept of our digital selves as social media and the notion of transparency continue to shape the public relations industry (of which I am a part). We reveal what seem to be our deepest secrets (I prefer dark chocolate) and stay in touch with people via Facebook that we haven’t seen in twenty-five years. We create a false sense of familiarity, as if we really know what’s going on with the other person, only to be shocked when we see that person in the flesh to realize all is not well in the State of Denmark.
In truth, through our online self-branding management efforts, we develop a pseudo-reality for ourselves and, along with it, pseudo-selves.
Roaming about as the avatars of our own creation, we have reached a Brave New World of information exchange at the highest (and lowest) level. But much of what gets belched broadcast out onto the Internet has the life of a match. It fizzles out of existence as quickly as it was written. All the while we self-soothe, thinking someone might be listening or care what we write. We yearn for connection and get it in some way ~ oftentimes through people we don’t know. We meet on a virtual plane for a passing moment at a cross-section in time that can be instanteneous or time-controlled, should we choose not to respond just yet.
I have ambivalent feelings about the very medium that has granted me much of the freedom to pursue my life’s work. The Internet is more powerful than most of us realize.
Despite its influence (or perhaps because of it) transparency and authenticity are great challenges in today’s 24/7 world. As a human race, we may be more connected than ever before, but our digital existence is merely a part of our greater selves.
Will our children realize there is a parallel universe beyond the screen? I am optimistic that they will.
Better Diet, Better Life
January 11, 2011
- Image via Wikipedia
Marilu Henner provided some interesting tips recently that underscore the saying “You are what you eat.” If you fill up on junk food, chances are you feel that way, too. As a coach for the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Ms. Henner reveals her secrets to help Kickstarters remove junk from their diet and life.
A sample of her tips inlcudes:
- People tend to eat right and exercise only when they need to look good and be their best. Learn to develop good eating and exercise habits that will be a permanent part of your lifestyle. Eat right and exercise as a daily habit. Make it your new normal.
- Before you eat anything today, close your eyes for a second. Meditate on how wonderful it is that you’re fueling your body with such good food. If you’re about to eat something that does not honor your body, close your eyes for a second. Talk yourself out of it.
- Take five minutes today and go through your refrigerator. Instead of forcing yourself to face temptation, remove it. Throw out all the food saboteurs you find there. That means anything that’s not plant-based—lunchmeat, cheese, and dairy-based salad dressings and condiments.
I would add that poor nutrition starts at the shopping cart. Before you put it in, think about it.
RECIPES:
Butternut Squash Soup
Pick up some squash for this soup that’s easy, delicious, and budget-friendly!
Makes 6 servings
1 large butternut squash, peeled, cubed, steamed, and puréed
2 stalks celery hearts, sliced thin
1/2 small sweet onion diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
3 tablespoons flour
8 ounces vegetable broth
16 ounces nondairy milk (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons rubbed sage
salt and pepper (white pepper) to taste
In large saucepan sauté celery and onion in olive oil until translucent. Add margarine and when it melts, add the flour, stirring to coat vegetables. Slowly stir in the veggie broth. Simmer 5 minutes and add the cooked, pureed squash. Stir squash into broth and simmer on low for 10 minutes. With the heat on low, add the milk and herbs and heat gently for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Ginger-Jalapeño Slaw
Makes 6 servings
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
1 pound cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
1/2 pound red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
3 medium carrots, finely shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced kale
In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, ginger, salt, and jalapeño peppers until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients and toss well. Refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour before serving.
The Power of Slow 