The Daily Saint

The Return of Stephen Covey and What it Means for the Productivity World

Ok, Stephen Covey never left the building but you have to admit that David Allen has certainly been the favored son of the productivity world for the last 5-10 years.  As with all new things, they make the old seem, well, old.

Stephen Covey, The Community, is a new social networking site that emphasizes connections with other 7 Habits fans and those who are trying to accomplish more with their lives.  It has a slightly different feel from GTD Connect, which places more emphasis on the mechanics of productivity.

I really like this new approach offered by the folks behind SC, The Community.  It's worth joining, if for no other reason than its freeness and fantastic video content. 

Reclaim Your Productivity Rituals

This week, I'm aiming to reclaim some key rituals that I've missed from my schedule. The result has been a feeling of living "by the seat of my pants" and I've been fatigued and frustrated.  Little things start to fall through the cracks and details get missed.  This week, I'll focus in particular on the bookends of my day- mornings and evenings. 

Here are some helpful articles that may help you to reclaim pockets of productivity in a daily schedule:

8 Rituals to Crank Up Your Productivity

Workplace Rituals Enhance Productivity

The Power of Ritual: Conquer Procrastination, Time Wasters and Laziness

Create a Morning Writing Ritual

For Students: Follow a Sunday Ritual

Photo by h.koppdelaney

Who Do You Work With?

I spoke with a former colleague over the weekend.  He moved on to new challenges and it's probably a good move for him.  Interestingly, he mentioned the "new" folks that he works with and lamented the lack of fellowship and "team". 

Who do you work with?

The jerk who has all the answers.

The nudge who likes to complain.

The pal who holds lifetime membership in a Greek organization.

The soldier who just puts in his time and awaits retirement.

The flash in the pan who will be gone in no time.

You see, it matters a great deal who you work with.  A calling can only be supported as much as the community around it can bear. 

Maybe it's time to take an inventory to see if your tribe is big enough to support your ambitions, vision and goals.  Or small enough to accept you as you are and build you up.

Who do you work with?

Mission Statements and the Year of St. Paul

Roman Catholics know that this year has been declared the "Year of St. Paul", in honor of the first century man's heroic efforts to share the faith.  Yet, if you were to ask 10 Roman Catholics if they knew that this year was special, you might be surprised at the answer.  It's a classic case of too-much-going on for most Catholics. 

Sort of like your organization's mission statement- unless you hear it often and buy into it, you'll forget it.

What can you do to spread the core meaning of your mission statement?  You can become an evangelist of your mission by:

• Using a visual image to display it (Rick Warren is a master at this, using baseball diamonds to describe the purpose driven church)
• Talking about it often and then allowing others to talk about it
• Holding a corporate retreat around the mission's core meaning
• Awarding those who carry out the mission in practical ways
• Simplifying your statement (most organizations have a mission statement that's way too long)

Have some fun in the next month by finding a creative way to share your mission with those around you.

Pursuing Contentment & the Philosophy of "I'm Good"

Seth Godin wrote this past week what might be the most shocking concept of the year.  He asks marketers to tap into what America is now experiencing- the consequences of more than enough.  The swedish word lagom, implies "enough" in the same way that the Spanish word "basta" means just the right amount.  In English, we might just say "I'm good."

When you're frustrated at home or at work, ask "is this it?"  Is this what I'm meant to do?  Is this what I want to do in my life?

Rather than jump ship, try to flex your emotional bandwidth and work out the frustration.  Talk with those around you to figure out a solution to the stress you're having.  As youth minister guru Doug Fields likes to say, "pursuing contentment" is a virtue.  Why not apply that to your current situation?

An Ounce of Prevention

We often think of prevention as solely related to health.  What if your productivity had regular doses of prevention? 

I'm thinking of simple things like:

• Scheduling family and friends' birthdays into Outlook or Google Calendar
• Charging your cell phone before its battery runs down
• Clearing off your desk before you leave for the day
• Responding to email before it gets lost in the shuffle of a bloated in-box
• Touching a piece of mail once rather than marching it around your office in search of a home
• Filing a little at a time

Imagine what things would be like if we practiced preventative productivity instead of reactive work...

*photo by slambo42

The Weight of (un)Productivity

Water cooler talk the other day.  My colleague is talking about the injury she withstood last year when she missed a few weeks of work due to a broken foot.  She then had a walking cast for a while, followed by physical therapy. 

One long road just to get back to work.

Oddly enough, she remarked that the biggest thing about being hurt was the weight of the cast on her foot. "It was only when it came off that I realized how heavy it had been."  It was only when she healed and got back to healthy that she got her groove back. 

What's preventing your groove from really shucking and jiving at work?  How about with your spouse and kids?  What's the "weight" on your productivity?

Most of us are plagued by any number of the following:

• An inability to look at the calendar to see what's coming up in the week ahead
• A lack of a weekly review
• A hesitation to think, "what's the next action?"
• Allowing terrible meetings to take over our schedule
• Disorganization on any number of fronts

If you can identify just one of the items mentioned above and go to work on it, you'll feel like my friend at work- lighter, leaner and better able to handle what life throws at you.

Working for a Disorganized Boss?

Mark Shead at Productivity501 has this excellent series on the unorganized boss and what you can do to cope with his/her style of organization. 

Productivity Interview with Blogger and Webmaster Lisa Hendey

Ever wondered how you can balance a busy family schedule with work?  Author, blogger and website founder Lisa Hendey provided me with the answers to the following questions.  I am indebted to Lisa as a friend, a productivity expert and an honest voice for strong families.  Thanks Lisa!

What led you to begin Catholicmom.com and what have been 2-3 surprises that have come with the site's enormous success?

I began CatholicMom.com back in 1999 as a hobby in an effort to learn more about both my faith and parenting.  I had volunteered to take on the webmaster duties at my children's parochial school and began contemplating the idea of using my newly learned web skills to connect with other mothers around the country. 

I am constantly amazed and humbled by the gifts and surprises that come from being affiliated with CatholicMom.com.  The first surprise is one I credit to the Holy Spirit and to the goodness of people - it's the willingness of people to step forward and to contribute their work freely towards the end goal of making our site a success. We are unable to financially compensate our writers and contributors, and yet we have over thirty people from all over the world who regularly volunteer their time because they believe in the mission of the website and our efforts to celebrate faith and family.

The second surprise is the phenomenal growth the site has experienced.  I am humbled by the fact that we have readers from around the world who regularly visit the site to read our columns and download our free children's content.  We have never spent a dollar on advertising and the site has completely grown by word of mouth.  It's a blessing to receive emails and know that you play a small part in helping families around the world.

Which types of productivity issues do you feel that parents are dealing with?

I think parents are often overwhelmed because we truly want to give our best to both our families and to our careers or other endeavors.  We are all trying to cram more and more activity into each day, whether that is our own work or carting our children off to their many school events and activities.  We have difficulty setting limits on our commitments, and as a result may spread ourselves too thin.  I speak from experience!

How has productivityathome.com helped or challenged your own awareness of productivity?

I write on personal productivity because it motivates me to try to be more effective in my own use of time, not because I'm by any means an expert on the topic.  I believe in working harder, not longer!  I find that writing for Productivity @ Home keeps me abreast of the latest trends, gadgets and techniques and puts me in contact with people in the field who are doing great things to make our world a better place.  I look at productivity from a multi-faceted approach, including everything from work and time management to life-long learning and health and fitness.  If I let one aspect of my personal productivity efforts go, the rest of the areas suffer with it.  Blogging on these topics every week challenges me to try a little harder every day!

How does your faith help you to stay productive and manage projects?

My faith is at the core of everything I do and ultimately drives every project I undertake.  I need to continually ask myself whether my projects contribute to being a more spiritual person and a better wife, mother, family member and friend.  If the answer to these questions is "no" then it's time to re-evaluate. 

Any other advice for busy families?

Just know that you are not in the struggle alone!  Take time to laugh, to play, to work, and especially to pray each day. Never assume that someone else has all the answers - you don't know what really goes on in another family outside your own.   Let all you do be a sign of your love for God and for your family and you'll be on the right path. 

For more information about Lisa Hendey, visit CatholicMom or Productivity@Home.

Can GTD Improve Your Handyman Skills?

About two years ago, I decided to become part time mason and install a paver patio in my back yard.  “How hard could it be?” Or so I thought.  Pavers, sand, earth and some man power- a piece of cake, right?  A week later and a new patio had emerged from the rubble.  Just like that.

This past week, I somehow got the itch to once again to work with stone, only this time installing a new tile floor on my porch.  Just like before, I emerged (like the phoenix) from the rubble as did my new floor.  It looks great!  If you look in the far left corner, you’ll notice a screw-up but I’m guessing that most readers won’t stop by the house.

I used GTD to do both of these projects, although I was hardly aware of it at the time.  Thankfully, GTD is firmly embedded in my productivity DNA and “works” for me without even thinking about it.  What aspects of GTD did I use?

Project List: I wrote down the materials I would need, where to get them and when I would purchase them.  I also created a list of tools that I had and needed to borrow or buy.  In this project, the tile saw was crucial.

Desired Outcome: I had a clear sense of what I wanted the porch to look like and worked towards that goal.  Every detail was arranged so that I could enjoy the porch with some friends and have a decent cup of coffee at the same time.

Next Action: Each night after I finished my work, I would look at the porch from my kitchen window, thinking about the next day’s steps that would need to be taken.

Close the Open Loops: Many weekend warriors have trouble finishing the job.  Sure, most of it is done, but they feel that a few details here and there can wait.  And they wait.  Until their spouse screams at them to finish the darn thing!  My porch project was simple enough that I could get it 100% done in order to cross “New Porch Floor” off my project list.

Now that’s GTD in action.