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

How to Stay Calm in the Face of Stress

When was the last time that you flew off the handle?  Do you remember the cause of it or how it was resolved after the dust had settled?

Often, stress builds up under the surface and then, when you least expect it, rears its ugly head.  A good definition of stress is, "Pressure or tension exerted on a material object".  If the material object is you, this post will apply all the more.  

 I once had a co-worker in the office who found me at the wrong time after what had been a difficult week.  After we exchanged words, we went our separate ways.  

To this day, I have no idea what we argued about.  

Stress is like that.  It blurs your thinking so that you are more likely to react instead of respond appropriately.  Recently in the world of race car driving, a driver deliberately wrecked a competitor's car.  When he was subsequently fined $100,000 and penalized by NASCAR, he defended his actions, "I guess I had to do what I had to do."  

Doesn't exactly sound like remorse does it?

Instead of going off on someone, how can you remain calm when you would otherwise provide a knee-jerk reaction?  Here are some practical suggestions:

1. Slow the game down.  Step away from the situation.  Turn off the computer, go for a walk, breathe.  What you don't want to do is say something that you will regret so it's vital to give yourself some physical distance from the situation at hand.  Turn your attention to someone or something totally unrelated to your stress.  
2. Practice the 24 hour rule.  That is to say, do not respond within the first 24 hours.  There might be an exception to this such as an emergency scenario or when someone is in danger.  Otherwise, do your best to not respond within the first 24 hours.  This will take discipline and courage.
3. Seek advice.  Ask 2-3 people that you trust what they would do in your shoes.  
4. Watch your email.  Many email errors take place because someone was in a rush.  Guess what?  Email lives for a long time.  (for a refresher on email etiquette, read Laura Stack's excellent piece on the proper use of email).
5. Speak with the person directly.  Whomever it is that rubbed you the wrong way, approach her/him calmly and directly.  Do not raise your voice but speak in a professional tone about what bothered you previously.  If you're going to push the stress out of your body, let it begin with the words that come from your mouth.  Don't approach the person in a hallway or public place but give your conversation the right context in which to take place.  An office or meeting room make the most sense.
6. Pray over the situation.  No matter how bad the situation may seem, God has seen far worse and can handle whatever mess you are in.  Pray for yourself and for the person(s) causing you stress.  I have found that this works 100% of the time.

Believe it or not, stess both causes and creates humility.  It takes humility to present your stress to God.  It takes even more humility to approach someone who causes you stress.  It builds up humility inside of you when you admit weakness and vulnerability.  

The words of St. Peter still ring true, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Question: which technique do you use to stay calm when faced with stress?

Photo courtesy of EG.

How's Your Morning Routine?

So what's your morning routine look like?  Do you have one?  Would you like to have a flow that each day starts with?

Seems like everyone is talking about their morning routine.  Mike Hyatt's recent podcast does an excellent job of outlining successful components of his morning jig.  Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income also wrote about his to-do list and how he keeps it simple.

I'm a morning guy but not because I'm very disciplined- I'm not.  What I do enjoy is getting a lot of work done and it seems like the morning is a better time to do that.  That's just me and you could be different.  My wife, Cary is more of a night owl.  That could explain how we are so complimentary.  

The key is this: the better your routine, the less stress you'll have as the day goes on.  Anyhow, here's my current morning routine:

5:10 press snooze

5:15 wake up for real

5:15-5:20 brew coffee and do stretches

5:20-6:00 check Twitter, go through the daily Mass readings from the Bible, write in Day One journal

6:00-6:35 shave, shower and get ready for work

6:35-7:15 commute

7:20 arrive at work and attend Daily Mass

7:45 work!

Can you write down a similar schedule that almost every day follows?  What's working for you in terms of getting the most out of your day?

Photo courtesy of HM

Stop it Already

My brother worked for a start-up and would work a full day's work, then come home for dinner and then head back to work.  It was tough.  Thankfully it was only temporary.

This makes sense for a season of life but you can't do it for the long haul.  Parents know what this is like as small children drain you one moment and then make you laugh the next.  College students also can relate as their bodies become accustomed to staying up late in order to get all of their work done.  Push and pull.

But what if you weren't in one of those seasons of life?  What if you just wanted to cut the crap and stop all of the busyness?

As posted recently by LifeHack, there are times when you just need to quit being so busy.  Quoting Jared Latigo from the post:

We have to be intentional about the time we set aside to read. To watch TV. To check email. And everything else. We can very quickly fill our time with stuff if we’re not intentional about what we do.

 How intentional are you with your schedule?  Do you find that social media adds or detracts from your busyness?

Photo courtesy of FDP

How to Take the High Road

At some point, most parents encourage their kids to travel to a strange place.  It’s called “the high road” and children have no clue where it’s located.

 

We parents lump The High Road talk in with other famous bits of wisdom.  These include, but I’m sure are not limited to the following:

-“Life’s not fair”

-“You have to roll with the punches”

-“People are like that”

-“We don’t do that in our house”

And my personal favorite:

-“Offer it up”

Taking The High Road is a great metaphor for parents when they face a situation that is hard to navigate.  Exhibit A might include a 6^th grade son who faces a classmate who is a royal pain in the neck.  The High Road would translate into ignoring the other kid as often as possible.

Exhibit B could include the coach who uses a few choice words after the weekend baseball game, again showing his inability to motivate youngsters.  The High Road might supplement dinner conversation with a pleasant, “Oh well, Coach Fisher won’t be your coach next year.  There are only two games left in the season anyway.”  

All of this is fine but does it hold water once you turn into an adult?  Could it be that we should still Take The High Road when we are managing others, executing projects and maintaining standards?

This is where our faith comes in.  I suggest at least a few moments when The High Road might be appropriate after all:

-You get a nasty email from a colleague.  The High Road: go and see him/her personally to talk about it rather than fire back a “you’re an ass” email.

-You get steamrolled by a boss during a meeting.  The High Road: file that moment away in your mental Black List and never forget it.  That boss showed his/her true colors and you’ll be prepared the next time.

-You fall victim to something in the rumor mill.  The High Road: rumors are basically uncontrollable and driven by people who crave weird information.  Ignore the mill.

-Your assistant is late for three days in a row, citing elder care issues.  The High Road: show some compassion and be supportive.  After all, you’ll be old someday too.

Whether you are five or fifty five, The High Road still applies.  This is not to say that you become a pushover or compromise your standards.  Rather it means that you leave some room for God to step in and be a central part of your work.

Question: when was the last time that you took The High Road?

Photo courtesy of JW