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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

Delegate It: TaskRabbit Comes To L.A.

21 June

My great-grandparents came out West in a covered wagon. In their day, the neighbors within a 30 mile radius of your farm were your lifeline. Not just to borrow a cup of sugar. You went to them in times of hunger, medical emergency, celebration, grief, harvest. Whatever you needed, the people right next to you were, well, all you had.

Flash forward and here we are in the digital age. We’ve often feared that advances in technology would rip our humanity apart, but it’s starting to look like we were wrong about that. As Arianna Huffington put it recently, “Remember all those scary movies about how humans were going to become machines in the future? Well, as it turned out, the machines ended up enabling us to be more human instead.”

I think she’s right. The internet is finally centered around the most basic human need: belonging. I also think we’re probably spending a little too much time self-promoting on Twitter at the expense of dedicating our time to causes greater than any one of us. But, I digress…

I wanted to tell you about a fun new site dedicated to my favorite thing, making your life easier. TaskRabbit just launched their services here in Los Angeles, founded on the idea of “neighbors helping neighbors”. They’re already up and running in Boston and San Francisco.

So if you don’t have time to assemble your Ikea furniture, walk your dog, redeem a Groupon offer, or wait on hold to talk to your utility company, someone out there wants to do it for you, at a fair price. The best part is that you might meet a nice, enthusiastic (probably over-qualified) person within a 30-mile radius of you.

What do you do when you know you don’t have time for a little task? Who do you ask for help? Who can lend you a cup of sugar, metaphorically speaking?

Recipe for Holiday Peace of Mind

09 November

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and family vacations and office parties following not far behind, you may find yourself feeling short on time for doing those higher level practices that keep you on track.

The first one that goes by the wayside is the Weekly Review. People who generally do their weekly review weekly go down to biweekly, the biweeklies cut down to monthly, and the monthlies say, “Wake me up when it’s January.” But what we need during a busy season are more of the tools that keep us relaxed, not less.

Holiday Mini-Review

So here’s my recipe for a holiday mini-review starting with the runway, up to 10,000 feet, and finishing up at 20,000 feet. (If you have no idea what I just said, read about the Horizons of Focus.) I dare you to schedule this mini-review on your calendar and see if you can do it in 30 minutes. Also, if you’re not doing much of a weekly review to begin with, consider this as a probable baby step.

1. What’s hot on your To-Do list?

Review your task lists and be aware of what has your attention. What’s hot and what’s not? Make sure to write down the very next action step you need to do to move this area forward. Break it down as small as possible.

If something is hot on your radar, make sure it has a clear next action step, a due date only if appropriate, and that’s it’s bumped up higher on your digital or paper list where you can see it. Write down any new actions that spring to mind, and delete anything that is complete.

2. Every Project Counts

Review your projects list and make sure you’ve got everything listed there. A surprising amount of unnecessary stress is created by not writing down some of the big projects you are working on. You might think you don’t need to write it down because you will never forget it. Ah, grasshopper, writing down your projects is not just about not forgetting. It is about training yourself to forget Project X while you focus on Project Y. And to forget both of those projects while you go on a romantic date with your wife. So, take a tip from me, and try writing down all of your projects. Don’t spend a lot of time getting the words just perfect. Write just enough so that it has meaning to you, no more, no less.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” – Lewis Carroll

3. What’s on the back burner?

Review this Areas of Focus checklist to stay in touch with areas of your life that go “on hold” during busy times. Examples: Your work life is on hold while you take a vacation or celebrate the holiday season with 10 relatives in town. Your gardening hobby will go on hold if there’s an ice storm. Some of your day-to-day responsibilities go on the back burner when a major project deadline is approaching. All of these imbalances in your focus are normal and appropriate, if you respond to them appropriately. In order to come out of the tunnel smiling, make sure you review this checklist.

Think about your whole life:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Career
  • Education
  • Finances
  • Health
  • Spiritual
  • Home Maintenance
  • Transportation / Travel
  • Hobbies & Interests
  • Service
  • Etc.

If anything time-sensitive is coming up in these areas during the busy season, put it on your calendar and block out plenty of time to do it. You think it takes 30 minutes? Schedule an hour. Almost everyone under-estimates how much time things take. Even if you have to defer the item for a significant period, get it out of your head so that you will have the freedom to concentrate on the thing that most has your attention, that big project at work or the flood of relatives coming your way. Or that romantic date with your wife.

#1 Most Important Tip For Holiday Peace of Mind

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” – Morrie Schwartz

Be nice to yourself. Forgive yourself quickly when you make mistakes. Forgive others quickly when they make them, too. I’m pretty sure that is what all of the holidays across all religions were designed for – greater peace, greater closeness with each other and our source.

There are so many ways to be nicer to yourself. An easy one that you should do as part of your Holiday Mini-Review is appreciate yourself for at least one thing you’re doing well for each of the Areas of Focus above. If you can’t think of something for one area, I dare you to ask your business colleague, spouse, or kids to help you come up with a simple statement of appreciation for you. Then you can help that person come up with some self-appreciation statements of their own. That should make for a happy thanks-giving.

Wise Words

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.”

– Paul J. Meyer

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”

– Confucius

“There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”

– Henry Kissinger

I hope your upcoming holiday season is full of joy and peace. May your head be empty and your belly be full.