Slowdown Friday: Listening to Success

While studies show that multitasking isn't half as productive as we once thought, there is still value to doing multiple things at the same time. The catch is figuring which two things can coexist in happy fashion.  Whether it's listening to music while working out or making a call while you put away the dishes, sometimes multitasking can be helpful.

Productivity 501 had a great back-and-forth about the value of listening to success literature while commuting to work.  As someone who lives 45 minutes from work (as many of us do), I've devoured more books in the past three years and have grown tremendously as a result. 

For today's Slowdown Friday, here are some valuable podcasts for those who want to be productive on the go:

David Allen's Podcasts

43 Folders

Gene Monterastelli Speaks

Inside the Youth Ministry Studio

The Productivity Show

ZDnet Productivity Podcast

And last but not least, I can't pass on an opportunity to promote my own interview on Catholic Exchange. Worth a click or two.

Additional resources from the TDS Archives:

Be a Time Master This Weekend

Reflecting on our Busy-ness

How Did You Spend Your Week?

Tips for Friday: From Libraries to Lowes

Why Fridays are Excellent!

Get Into the Zone: Productivity Table Setters

So I'm driving into the city this morning and one of the top-ten coolest songs comes on the radio. No I'm not talking about the Rocky Theme song (a 9.5 on the cool meter) nor Bohemian Rhapsody (also a high scorer).  I spent 5 minutes with Delight's Groove is in the Heart.

Effects included:
-head bobbing
-hand motions
-increase in speed
-traffic weaving
-more head bobbing

In terms of productivity in every day life, what helps you to get in the zone?  I've found that the most productive people identify their table setters and use them often.

What's a productivity table setter?  I would suggest it's anything that cues something in your head that it's time to focus on what's in front of you.  Some find that the chime of a bell triggers something inside of them.  Others find background music helpful while others purchase a table-top fountain to get them in the mood for working. Sometimes a rearrangement of one's work space is all they need to maximize effectiveness.  Laura Stack recommends that you turn your desk away from the open door- folks are less likely to "pop in".  I find that the fewer things on my desk, the better.

I've recently purchased some noise-reduction headphones to help with this process.  To the degree that I can limit distractions and get into my groove, the effects will include better piece of mind and maximum productivity. And, maybe a little bit of head bobbing.

This post can also be found at the Catholic Exchange CE On Time blog.

The Mystique of the Weekly Review

What is it about the weekly review that fascinates us so much?  It's hard to do...it's easy to do...we do it one week...we don't do it the next and on and on we go.  Sometimes you just have to do it and be done with the thing!

Someone recently asked me about approaching a tough project that she'd been putting off for some time.  No silver bullet here or suave way of putting it.  "You just have to buckle down and bite off a piece of it," I said.

I've found the weekly review to be (no joke here) a lot like praying- hardly urgent but very important.  When I haven't done the weekly review, it all hits me by about Wednesday and then it's too late.  But I'd like for us to consider a very simple perspective of the weekly review: whatever it looks like, no matter how simple, just do it.

My weekly review from this past week was hardly contemplative but it got the job done: I was sitting on a step a few feet away from my office in the basement.  My son was playing a video game.  My youngest was playing on the carpet in front of me and there I was, calendars spread out before me and weekly review unfolding.  Hardly a mysterious process but it worked. 

Some great resources about the weekly review:
Michael Hyatt on automating the weekly review
43 Folders on weekly review
ToDoOrElse on weekly review
Zen Habits on weekly review
Achieve It on weekly review

Oh and by the way, in case you missed my free download from Monday about choosing the right planner, you can access it here:  Download which_planner_is_right_for_me_tds.pdf

Va Tech Tragedy a Moment for Reflection

We spend a lot of time each week trying to help one another become more productive but the tragedy at Va Tech is certainly a moment to reflect on the important things in life.  Let's keep the students, families and entire university community in our thoughts and p
rayers.

Keep it Simple: Goal Setting

Dwayne from Genuine Curiosity has tagged me to respond to Thea from Life Wealth.  Thea started a very interesting tagging process to get folks to reflect on their "top 5 to 10 goals that I gotta’ get so that I can truly say I have achieved my wildest dreams in life".  Here goes:

1. To raise a family that is healthy, sees itself in service to others and is productive.  When I think of health, I am considering a very broad view that includes the physical, financial, social and spiritual.  I want my family to make a difference in the world and to also do some amazing things (that's the productive part).  My hope is that my marriage to Cary is life-giving for many, many decades.  I've always admired those elderly couples that are still in love after all those years of sacrificing, child raising and life experience.



2. To cultivate a career-path that taps into my unique set of talents and skills. While I am currently employed by a school, I am hoping to "go out on my own" within the next few years- this is very scary, somewhat impractical and misunderstood by 99% of others but nonetheless something I'd like to do. 



3. To be set financially so that I can do wild things with my money that help others.  Who wouldn't want to give an anonymous gift to your alma mater of $1 million?  Who wouldn't want to build a school for children who have close to nothing?  Ok, I'd also like to be able to buy the latest gadget so that I don't have to stress over buying the latest gadget.



4. To motivate lots of people.  I recently asked for feedback over a workshop that I had provided for education professionals and my responder said, "You left them with hope and that's very important."  Whether I'm teaching the Scriptures or discussing productivity, I want to motivate people so that they believe that change is possible.



5. To help people of faith connect with the business world. I truly believe that the business world is a source of untapped wisdom and insight and have wanted to help folks in ministry be better stewards.  I'm not sure what this ultimately looks like but the desire to bridge two worlds is, I believe, a noble one.

Ok, that's all for me.  Now I'm going to tag the following folks to answer the same question that Dwayne gave me:

Allan from Allan Wright Workshops
Gene from Brother Blue Publishing
Mike from Mike Patin Ministries

Lisa from Catholic Mom Moments
D. Scott Miller from the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Even if you don't know these folks, their work is of high-quality, as is their character.