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Re-post: Being More Productive with David Allen and Tony Schwartz

25 August

I can’t believe this gem of an article escaped my notice a few months back. Thanks to a friend who brought it to my attention. Maybe you didn’t see it either, or never got around to reading it.

Here’s an interview with two of the people who have most influenced my approach to working smarter and happier. You’ll need to subscribe to Harvard Business Review or pay if you want the full length PDF. What they offer you for free, though, is not half bad.

Being More Productive

An Interview with David Allen and Tony Schwartz by Daniel McGinn (May 2011)

Here’s the absolute bottom line:

Tony Schwartz: Organizations need to recognize that human beings are basically organisms containing energy. And that energy is either being renewed or being dissipated over time. An organization has to realize that part of its responsibility, whether it wants it or not, is to ensure that people have full tanks of energy. This is one of the big variables that will determine which organizations thrive in the next 10 or 20 years.
David Allen: Think about it this way: While we’ve been sitting here talking, stuff has been piling up in our in-boxes and our voicemails. Some of it has the potential to meaningfully shift our priorities. When we turn to this accumulated stuff, we’ll need to eliminate old business that is pulling on us, that’s taking our attention, and reallocate our resources to these new priorities. You can only do one thing at a time, and you only have so many resources. You either feel OK about sitting here talking to us, or you feel bad about the 9,000 other things you’re not doing. Everybody needs a system to make those choices wisely.

Read the rest here: Being More Productive

Books by Tony Schwartz

Books by David Allen

Get Empowered To Overcome Your Fears

17 May

Anxiety, stress, and nervousness. Three words that my friend Dr. Robert Maurer would surely call “adulterated words for fear”. Could it be that we’re too afraid of fear to call it by its name?

Fear, as we’re taught in psychology 101, is one of the basic human emotions. I like to call it the ubiquitous emotion. It originates from our fight-or-flight response, a brain mechanism installed to keep us from being eaten by a bigger predator.

But in our 21st Century modernized world, how much of our fear is actually adaptive? What percentage of the fear you experience each day actually helps you escape a real danger? Not much. So then what percentage is not adaptive? 90%? 100%? What are the fears that hinder you from doing, saying, even feeling, what you really want? Have you named them? Are you aware of them?

I think understanding and resolving our fears is one of the greatest challenges we face. Particularly for my generation, young people building new careers in what could only be called a difficult economic climate. Fear is everywhere. It’s in the media, politics, business, communities, and in every single human heart you’ll meet. That’s why I think it’s better to embrace it and talk about it, rather than deny it or silence it.

Fear-Less-Ness

There’s a lot to be said about mitigating fear, but for now let’s start with just a few of my favorite resources for overcoming fear:

1. fear.less is a free online magazine that empowers people through unique stories of overcoming fear. From entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists and scientists to survivors of extreme experiences, these stories demonstrate the hidden potential we have to confront our fears and come out victorious. Click here to download the new May issue.

2. I also recommend On Becoming Fearless by Arianna Huffington, arguably one of the most courageous women of our time. (That’s not an affiliate link, just a book I like.) Arianna takes an intimate look at how she overcomes fear in every area of life: career, motherhood, politics, and more.

3. One of the best discussions of fear I’ve read is Robert Maurer’s One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. When all else fails in conquering a fear to make a positive change, Kaizen works because it circumvents our natural fear of change. (That was also not an affiliate link, just one of my favorite books.)

Wise Words on The Ubiquitous Emotion

“Fear is the father of courage and the mother of safety.”

- Henry H. Tweedy

“He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (my emphasis added)

“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.”
- Arianna Huffington

Please have the courage to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
Lisa

Promises, promises: My annual review 2010

24 December

Every year, I do some version of an annual review. This is wonderful best practice I picked up from Kathryn & David Allen, probably when I was a teenager attending David’s workshop, gifted to the Ojai public schools (my parents, both educators, let me tag along). The purpose of the yearly review is to step back from the daily grind and acknowledge and celebrate the year I’ve had. It’s a really sweet process of remembering, celebrating, and completing the year.

It’s also a powerful opportunity to get more awareness about:

How am I doing with all the areas of my life?

  • Business
  • Self Care
  • Finances
  • Health & Fitness
  • Education
  • Relationships (partner, friends, family, colleagues)
  • Home & Possessions
  • Spiritual
  • Service & Giving Back
  • Fun & Recreation (hobbies, travel, sports, etc.)

I review these life areas weekly, but it’s in the annual review that I get some of my biggest insights. Am I heading in the direction I want to go? How can I do better? What were the surprises that came up this year? How prepared am I to deal with the unexpected? How am I being with myself in relation to these different areas of life? What do I want more of in the year ahead? What is required for me to create that?

I’m spending a few hours today considering these questions, and more. What makes this annual review special for me is that I included The Promise Doctrine, a book and workbook by my friend and mentor, Jason Womack, and his father, Craig Womack. The subtitle is “A guidebook for consistently delivering on your promises”. I thought that was especially relevant for me this year, because of my 2010 goals to increase trust with myself, and get smarter about when I say “yes” and when I say “no” to opportunities that knock on my door.

What I Learned From The Promise Doctrine

Here are a few highlights of what I got out of using this book.

1. Building Trust Is Like Saving Money

“The more deposits that you can make into your “trust” bank account – that is, the more you do what you said you would do – trust builds and relationships strengthen.” – The Promise Doctrine, page 39

This quote couldn’t be more true when it comes to your relationship with yourself. Guess who is the one person who knows, 100% of the time, whether you’re meeting your commitments or not? You.

What I love about the metaphor of making bank deposits is that wealth usually doesn’t come from depositing one big lump sum (winning the lottery). A healthy savings grows because of consistent small deposits. Every promise (which could also be called every agreement) we make and keep not only builds trust with others, but more importantly, it builds the self-confidence we need to continue making and delivering on good promises.

What do I mean by good promises? Good promises would be agreements that you make consciously, with awareness of what’s involved in order to deliver on it, and in alignment with your overall priorities and goals in the life areas above. It’s not the list of things we tend to say yes to because we feel like we should, because we’ve fallen asleep at the wheel, or because we don’t have the courage to say no.

So as you look back over 2010, what promises did you keep? (Celebrate them!) Which ones did you break? Of the ones you broke, consider – were they realistic, measurable, aligned with your priorities? What else did you let get in the way keeping it? Any ideas about why you made that particular promise in the first place? Those questions might give you some clues about how to choose the kind of promises you are likely to keep: the ones that align with where you’ve been (tools and experiences in your toolbox), where you are (current resources available, based on all the other commitments you have), and where you want to go (priorities, goals and vision of the life areas above.) Until you have a total inventory of what’s on your plate, how will you know when to take another helping of responsibility, or when to pass the serving bowl?

My goal for 2011 is to get even better about making consistent trust deposits into the bank account of me.

2. Renegotiation Vs. Promise-Breaking

“Renegotiation does not mean lowering standards. In fact, renegotiation is a way of raising standards.” – page 69

“Always be honest with yourself and others about what you will be able to do.” – page 69

Do you know that everyone has to renegotiate their promises sometimes? The best of the best cannot predict all of the unexpected surprises of life. But they can adjust their promises and actions accordingly. There is a big difference between making excuses for a broken promise, and renegotiating a promise so that you can deliver on it.

How do I know the difference? A sinking feeling in my gut is a loud and clear sign I’ve broken my word with myself at some level. An increase in energy and a willingness to courageously re-negotiate with the other people involved, that means I’ve re-calculated and I’m still on track. Even if you’ve got that sinking feeling with yourself, and even if you’ve got it often, don’t despair. Renegotiate the things you can right now. A quick call, a few emails, and you’re back to being honest with yourself and others. The sooner you let other people know that you care, that this promise is important to you, and that they are important to you, the easier it will be to complete what you’ve started.

3. Start Moving and Keep Going

“Action begets further action.” – page 62

I’m constantly watching myself to find out what motivates me, and what diminishes my motivation. Inaction breeds discouragement and self-judgment. Movement, action, risk-taking all create and contribute to motivation, self-trust, and inspiration about what’s next. So as I look at the big projects I’ve accomplished this year (like moving to a new apartment, and getting two kittens), and as I choose some big goals for next year (like growing my business, and getting to my ideal fitness level), I remind myself:

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tsu

Now it’s your turn

If there is one big accomplishment you would like to have, do, or be in 2011, what is it? Another way to ask this question is, if you were doing your end-of-2011 review, what compliment would you like to give yourself for 2011?

Now, how will you begin this journey with one single, small, achievable step? Please email me your answers, I would love to hear what you are promising yourself for the year ahead.

Be sure to check out The Promise Doctrine for more on becoming a good promise keeper. I highly recommend it.