A New Year's Resolution Worth Keeping

You could run three times a week.

You could eat more vegetables.

You could call Aunt Helen each Friday night to catch up.

You could donate all of your flannel shirts to the Salvation Army.

You could use Twitter on odd days of the week.

Or, you could do something really radical. You could carve out morning time as truly effective, meaningful d-o-i-n-g time. You could then give this gift to someone else by honoring their morning time. Have a listen to the Manager Tools podcast about taking control of your mornings as they make the case for a more productive (and fewer interruption-filled) morning.

Of all of the new year's resolutions worth keeping, this one might be the best.

Should You Go to Work When You're Not 100%?

It's winter here in Jersey.  Today was a unique blend of rain and 45 degrees.  Compared to growing up in Massachusetts, today wasn't that bad.

Still, winter isn't the best when it comes to feeling your best.  

Seasonal Affective Disorder can settle in after months of dark sky and persistant cold.  If you aren't susceptable to SAD, you might still find winter to be a challenge like I do.

So here comes the million dollar question: should you go to work when you are clearly not 100%?  You could be sick, slightly blue or just off.  What should you do?

The answer may surprise you.  

While you may not feel like heading off to brave a commute and then put in a solid 9-10 hours of work, that may be exactly what you (and your organization) needs the most.  

1. The experts at Manager Tools recommend going in to work, even if sick.  It's actually better to put in 3-4 decent hours of work than to lose that productivity completely.  Check out their podcast dedicated to the subject.  This perspective is debatable but worth a listen nonetheless.  (note: having the flu and being at work are never compatible- don't even think about it).  
2. A better reason though for going in to work is that of normalcy.  When you are at work, you jumpstart a whole series of rituals that are important to feeling useful and making a difference.  Morning coffee, driving on certain roads, greeting your coworkers, getting into a groove- all of these make workdays hum along.  Even email can seem comforting when you're less than your best.

As this post is written, a terrible tragedy just occurred north of here at a school in Connecticut.  A lot of folks are wondering if they should go to work, return to school, and resume their lives.  There isn't one answer to this and we should never minimize the hurt that anyone feels, not ever.  I can't even imagine how the parents are feeling and I want to pray for them even more.

One day, these parents will have to return to work.  Church services will resume.  Traffic will feel familiar all over again.  Somehow, someway, at some point, work will be a nursemaid of normal and normal is good on whatever level that God brings it.  God can use work even when life hurts all over.

So should you go to work when you aren't 100%?  The answer is a solid yes.  The details though, those may need a touch of Divine Providence to be realized.  

Question: when was the last time that work was comforting to the rest of your life?

Photo courtesy of GS.

How to Avoid Using the F Word (Fatigue)

To what degree does fatigue affect you?  When you find "open space" in your schedule, do you have a hard time making the most of it?  Are you tired each day?

Relaxation is vital to the longevity of anyone who wants to make a difference.  Whether you are a leader, a stay at home mom or a missionary, it's important to relax.  Relaxing then helps you avoid fatigue which is deadly.

When we are fatigued, we make bad choices.  We give in to temptations.  We put ourselves first in a negative way.  We lean into depression.

Thankfully, fatigue is not inevitable.  It's an F Word that we can avoid.

Let's connect fatigue with its counterpart, relaxation.  From a Christian perspective, relaxing is not exactly at the top of most folks' list.  The Protestant ethic, as an example, puts a premium on hard work and long hours of labor.  Catholics aren't too far behind in appreciating the value of work.

This post is meant to challenge both of these persepectives.  

There are many wise people throughout history who have found a value to relaxation or in this context, sabbath rest.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Everywhere I have sought rest and found it not except sitting apart in a nook with a little book.  (Thomas a Kempis)
• Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength... It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. (Charles Spurgeon)
• Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord and be at peace with yourself. (St. Francis de Sales)

An appreciation for rest and relaxation is not limited to the world of Christianity.  Corporate America is also rediscovering the value of designing workspaces and work schedules that have periodic rest and downtime.

Tony Schwartz, author of Be Excellent at Anything wrote this quite recently, "Sustainable capacity — meaning sufficient fuel in the tank — is what makes it possible to bring one's skill and talent to life. Not even the most talented and motivated employees can run on empty." (original post: "Fatigue is Your Enemy")

So how do you avoid a pace that leads to fatigue?  Here are six suggestions:

1. Drink a lot of water.  This implies drinking less of other things.  Keep the body lubricated via water.  
2. Get good at sleeping.  Look at your sleep as nothing short of a contact sport- it needs to be practiced and perfected over time.
3. Dump the guilt.  Stop beating yourself up if things aren't perfect.  Take it from me as a recovering perfectionist, only in Heaven are things perfect. Pick things up and begin again.
4. Enjoy one or two hobbies.  This helps you to avoid being boring and will help to channel some creative juices that might otherwise be wasted.
5. Move your body.  Walk, run, swim, whatever.  Just get moving several times per week.
6. Put God on your schedule.  Nothing is better than a day that starts with some quiet time.  Scripture, prayer, honest conversation with God.  

Now let's go out there are fend off the F Word that is "fatigue".  Instead, let's build lifestyles that honor God, are enjoyable and include plenty of rest.  

Question: What are you doing regularly to avoid fatigue?

Photo courtesy of TS

6 Things to Check Before Your Next Meeting

Wednesday was one of those days. By the time I got home at 9:30pm, I had cranked through a ton of meetings and felt as if I had little to show for it. Tired and missing my family, I looked back over the day.

Some of my meetings were brief (less than 10 minutes) while others lasted for a whole hour. One meeting was scheduled for the following week but I felt badly and met with the man anyway. A sports banquet started late and could have been done in half the time.  For better or worse, this is fairly typical for many of us who must attend events and meetings.  The question is this, "does it have to be this way?"

How about you?  What was your day like? Did meetings interrupt an otherwise productive day? Would you like to attend fewer of them?

Al Pittampalli states in The Modern Meeting Standard the fundamental problem with meetings is that they simply do not help us to be effective.  He argues that "The traditional meeting has held us hostage for too long. It’s wasted our time, energy, and drained from us the aliveness that makes work exciting and fulfilling. And for our organizations, the traditional meeting gets in the way of important decisions that need to be made for forward momentum. It forces our organization to walk, when we all have the burning desire to run."

I think that Al is on to something here- rather than letting meetings hold us hostage and derail and otherwise productive day, we can take stock of things and work through a check list prior to any meeting that you are scheduled to attend.  

Here's my list:

1. Ask: do I really need to be there? Were you invited because someone thought that it would be nice to have you attend or is your presence vital to the discussion? A lot of this answer will also depend on your role and function within the organization. As the leader of a high school, I will often "pop in" to a meeting but not have to stay for the entire time.
2. Insist on an agenda. It's a red flag if a meeting doesn't have an agenda.
3. Confirm that the meeting is actually going to happen. I can't tell you how many times I've shown up for a meeting only to find that it had been rescheduled or my Google Calendar didn't sync perfectly with my iPhone...frustrating.
4. Double check the location. Most meetings begin with a touch of drag because people aren't sure where the meeting is taking place. A quick fix is simply to be specific in your instructions to attendees. Good signage also helps.
5. Prepare yourself. Read through whatever was sent in advance. Leave time for parking. Bring your notepad. If meetings are part of work, come ready to work. Don't arrive at 2pm for a 2pm meeting. Try to get there five minutes early in order to pick out a good seat and arrange your things.
6. Muster up the courage to leave when the time is right. No, you don't have to hang out after the meeting is over. No, you don't have to waste time if a meeting is going poorly. Just close your notebook and excuse yourself.  Remember that professionals see their time as a comodity.

In closing, I realize that meetings are part of life.  To the degree that we can shift their vibe and flow, we will be more happy and productive.  Better yet, the people around us will gradually see how to use meetings effectively rather than as the default for genuine productivity. 

Question: As you look back over the week, what was the best meeting that you attended?  What made it productive?  (and no, you can't say "the one that I didn't attend"!)

 Photo courtesy of AP

Avoiding the Curse of Task Management

Today's Guest Post is from Loren Pinilis who operates Life of a Steward, a site about time management from a Christian perspective. He’s passionate about helping God’s people manage their time and showing them that busyness, stress, and procrastination are answered by the gospel.

We may use OmniFocus or Nozbe. We zealously chase Inbox Zero by using the two-minute rule.

But our focus on task management and productivity can often bring with it a curse – a weakness which actually makes us less productive.

It all started with David Allen’s Getting Things Done. Allen’s approach to the frenzied amount of decisions and information flying at us was to drill down and refine workflow. In other words, focus on mastering the basic building blocks of our day. Get really good at being efficient.

The problem is we then stay in that mindset. We stay at the “runway level” of task management. We become obsessed with efficiently adding items to our lists and efficiently crossing them off.

But we never look up to ask ourselves the big questions. In our zeal for efficiency, we move away from effectiveness. Yes, we may occasionally take a look at the bigger picture when we consider weekly planning or annual goals. But that’s not the big picture I’m talking about.

Do we ever take a step back and ask ourselves why we’re even on Earth? Do we see our daily lives in the context of eternity? Because when we do, we get a very different view of our work.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men

Colossians 3:23-24 reminds us: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

This insight absolutely changes our life.

Now, crossing things off of our list isn’t our primary focus – it’s stewarding our resources well. Now, meeting our deadlines takes a back seat to bringing glory to God. Now, we work with purpose – every second of our day. Now, we will strive towards goals that really matter.

Now, we have to depend on Christ because we won’t be able to measure up to his perfect standard in our own power.

But now, we are given tremendous freedom. We’re not called to be somebody else. We’re not punished for failing to be as influential as a celebrity, author, or CEO. The sovereign God who created the universe doesn’t call us to achievement in the eyes of the world – but to obedience wherever we are right now.

And to bring this full-circle: that obedience can be achieved, in part, by efficiency and task management.

Mastering workflow is great. Efficiency is to be prized. But be sure to connect that efficiency to true effectiveness.

Question: Do you struggle with forgetting what true effectiveness is? What are some practices that can help us remember?

*Photo courtesy of LP