The Daily Saint

Less is More: the Low Information Diet (or Why I Left my Blackberry Behind)

How often do you check your email?  If you're in the "more often than I'd like" category, then join the club.  At least, this was how I felt up until a week ago.  Let me explain.

In an effort to delete unnecessary expenses, I began to investigate how I could trim my cell phone bill.  The data plan was right in the middle of the bullseye.  After some online research, I deactivated my Blackberry and began to use an old Palm Treo that had been in the drawer for some time.

This of course coincided with a simple realization: I don't like surfing the Internet on a small screen.  With a laptop five feet away nearly all the time, why would I want to torture my eyes with my Blackberry?  I'm sure if I traveled more or was on the road I would feel differently.  Thankfully, my work is pretty localized.

Not to mention I could save nearly $400 a year without a data plan.

So that's what I did, venturing off without my Blackberry and with the Treo.  Interestingly, I fell in love again with the old girl.  Sure, the Treo is a little overweight and is beyond her years but she's nice in the hand and has an uber-simple operating system.  Sort of like an old car, a few scrapes don't really make a difference.  If it falls on the floor- what's the big deal?

I then inputted five phone numbers- that's it.  The calendar and other information would have to be accessed by my laptop.  Streamlined for sure.

After a week into my experiment, some realizations:

1. I don't get that many phone calls.  I'm not complaining about this, mind you.
2. There are no emergencies that arrive via email.  If someone really needs to reach me, they can find my by phone.  This has happened only once in the last ten years.
3. I don't miss my Blackberry.

While this experiment was taking place, I've been reading Tim Ferris' The Four Hour Workweek.  In this best seller, Ferris preaches what he calls the "low information diet".  He writes:

"Just as modern man consumes both too many calories and calories of no nutritional value, information workers eat data both in excess and from the wrong sources."

Was I one of those gluttons for information?  Did I really need 30 blogs in my Google Reader?  As is often the case, trial and error is a powerful teacher.

My experience has been great so far.  I don't miss the RSS reading, the emails while I'm waiting in traffic or the preoccupation with having an expensive device in my pocket.  My only regret- that I didn't streamline sooner.

Photo by velcr0

What do Whole Foods and Microsoft Have in Common?

Turns out that even Whole Foods is feeling the pinch.

As the economy worsens, the one-time Wall Street darling is trying to reposition itself as an affordable alternative to larger supermarkets like Giant and Stop and Shop. I was in a Whole Foods last week and affordable is not exactly the first word that came to my mind.  I like the idea of shopping there, I just can't seem to justify paying $5 for a pint of blueberries.  I know, I know, I must not understand the zen of their berries as opposed to the ones across the street which cost less.

Microsoft is also working hard to change perceptions of its struggling Vista platform.  The Mohave Experiment (who came up with that name?) is an effort to change people's minds about how nicely Vista behaves.  Except that it doesn't and that's a bit of a problem for Microsoft.

Is it possible to change the perception of a company?  The answer depends on how hard you try and how solid your product is.

How do folks perceive you at home or at work?  Is there anything that you can do to change their perception?  I suppose, like Whole Foods, it depends on how hard you try and how well you work.

New Definitions of Work-Life Balance?

Photo by Gilest

I love the concept of work-life balance.  Putting it into practice, now that's where things get difficult. 

Difficult, but not impossible.  Julie Mortgenstern, who writes alongside David Allen at Business Week offers this as fresh insight:

"Work-life balance is not about the amount of time you spend working vs. not-working. It’s more about how you spend your time working and relaxing, recognizing that what you do in one fuels your energy for the other."

What she's really saying is what Pope Paul VI called for in the late 1960's.  He coined the phrase, "unity of life" and he meant to encourage folks to see their work and personal values as integrated one with the other. 

One of the tragedies of the entire Bill Clinton scandal was not so much what he did (although hardly commendable).  Rather, it was the paradigm that he promoted: private life and public life as separate entities.  I have heard many of my students over the years buy into this gospel- i.e. "what I do in my own time is my business and not yours!"  Both true and false.

So, what is work-life balance?  Simply put, work-life balance is the art of maintaining the integrity of both your labor and your love.  Someone once said that a job is what you're paid for and a vocation is what you're made for.  Now that's work-life balance.

A Year ago on The Daily Saint: Free Download

Devoted readers of TDS will remember that I used to provide weekly downloads.  Since it's Friday, I dug into the vault and retrieved this post from a year ago.  (ok, not exactly a year ago but it works just as well)

Read Surefire Ways to Live Out Your Mission Statement

Quiet Moments that Boost Productivity

This morning I chose to arrive 15 minutes later to work.  Not late just later.  In that same block of time, I sat quietly and read an article that I've been putting off for a while.  A great use of a quarter hour.

Where in your schedule are 15 quiet moments?

I like to think that there is a bit of monk in all of us.  The BBC series, Finding Sanctuary was so popular because of this. When I take students away from the noise and hustle of the world, they too find that quiet moments actually boost their overall well-being when they return to the "real world".

Some suggestions from Finding Sanctuary:

1. Find a quiet place free from distraction
2. Sit with your limbs uncrossed and with a straight back, hands in your lap
3. Simply breathe at regular speed but breathe deeply and relax
4. Close your eyes and think of a beautiful scene from the natural world
5. Take a simple phrase and repeat it continuously in time with your breathing

Five Meditation Phrases from the Christian Tradition:

• Come and illumine my darkness
• Be still and know that I am God
• God be in my head and in my understanding
• Come Holy Spirit and inflame my heart
• Come Lord Jesus

Forget About Strategic Planning

How many people do you know that spend more time planning than doing?  Status reports, benchmarks and meetings can get in the way of old-fashioned doing. 

I'm not really advocating that we abandon effective strategic planning, but sometimes a next-action step is all that is needed.  Case in point- I gave a talk last night to a group of students and their families on the value of Catholic education.  Having given hundreds of talks, I normally prepare a rough outline and then let it happen, relying on instincts and experience.  On this particular night though, I prepared an overly detailed spec of the evening's topic. 

Too detailed.

I was overly concerned with not forgetting an item on my overly detailed outline and therefore delivered an A-minus talk instead of a homerun.  I would imagine that the audience knew nothing of my consternation but I went home and evaluated my preparation and follow through. 

What's a GTD take on strategic planning?  It's not a matter of take-it-or-leave-it.  Rather, it's about integrating next actions with the benchmarks and stages of a good plan.

The Greatest Project...Ever

I know that strategic planning produces  tangible results but I may have discovered something better.  No, it's not a staff retreat nor is it a new coffee machine in the faculty work-room. 

I put up a tree swing in my backyard.

Who would have know that such a simple project would produce such amazing satisfaction?  Had I known, I would have put one up years ago.  Remembering that a project is defined as "anything you'd like to or need to get done which requires multiple steps", I set out to give my family hours of joy. 

Tree?  Check.

Rope? Check.

Ability to tie a knot?  Check the Internet.  Kind of important.

In less than one hour, I had gone to the hardware store, purchased my gear and I was good to go.  The result: my backyard is transformed into a play-zone. 

Application
What project are you working on that is really worth the effort?  Which one will produce results that will completely transform your workplace?  Which project can you get rid of because it is a waste of time?

Today a Quote from Meister Eckhart on Silence

Photo by д§mд

Since I was in college I have been fascinated by monastic life: monks, monasteries and everything in between.  In an age of noise, here is a quote from mystic Meister Eckhart,

In silence man can most readily preserve his integrity.

As you navigate the end of your week, take a few moments to breathe deeply and enjoy the silence that already exists around you.  Close out a project, organize your work space, or bring closure to something that has been bothering you.  Before and afterwards is the beautiful gift of silence. 

Resources for the Road

BNET: Silence is Golden, is Noise Pollution Stifling Your Business's Productivity?

Productive Silence: Noise Distraction Affects Employee Satisfaction

Carefree GTD

Photo by Jovika

Elegant. I've heard David Allen use this word many times in his writings and training events.  Most men don't use this word, much less in the context of a dayplanner or to-do list.  The dictionary defines it as

"Characterized by or exhibiting refined, tasteful beauty of manner, form, or style."

Now think of the last time that you felt that someone was elegantly dressed or appointed.  I think of a fundraiser that I was attending a few weeks  back.  One woman in particular (she happens to be my lovely wife) was clearly a cut above the rest, dressed stylishly and carrying herself with confidence. 

We might also consider this a state of being "ok with yourself", or knowing what you're all about.  In my work, we often refer to this as being mission-based and having a sense of contentment about who we are and where we see ourselves going.  If you work in a competitive niche, this "ok-ness" is essential.  Without it, the soul of your company is lost. 

As I think of the word elegant as David Allen refers to it, I'm mindful of a system that is thorough and captures ideas as they come, then processing them into actionable steps.  I think of a net of sorts that can 'catch' what needs to be retained and drop what's useless. 

With this said, how carefree is GTD?  Allen wrote last week about creating systems that are not beholden to the urgent.   This harkens back to what Covey called an "urgency addiction" and he noted as far back as 1988 that the truly successful people in life are looking beyond the ringing phone and email chime.

As I was driving to work this morning, I wondered how many miles my car has- 88K or 98K?  It runs like a champ and my commute is so short that an old pick-up would get me there in one piece.  As long as I take good care of it, I (and my car) will be ok.  This is of course how GTD works as well- when you know what you're all about and do your work with consistency you can relax and get things done.

How elegant is that?

How Green is Your Workplace?

Photo by Steve Roe

Let's face it- it's in to be green and there are so many ways to participate.  Walking, public transportation, recycling, cleaning products, organic food, recycled products, sustainable goods...the list goes on and on.  I recently found these stylish outdoor pots, made from corn husks. 

The Vatican has even weighed in on greening the planet.

A green home is one thing but a green workplace may be more difficult to find.  Or create.  You see, at home, I only have five people to motivate towards recycling.  At work, forty-five.  More difficult yes, but the impact of forty-five could be tremendous.  Plus, that's nine times the amount of paper that could be reused as something else.  Nine times the amount of electricity...nine times the impact.

What's holding you back from a greener workplace?

Green Workplace Resources

How to Green Your Work (Treehugger)

10 Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Workplace (Suite 101)

Green Up Your Workplace (Big Green Switch)

Firms Taking Green Path in Workplace (Boston Globe)

Going Green in the Workplace (Entrepeneur Magazine)