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You are here: Home / 2009 / Archives for May 2009

Archives for May 2009

What I Learned About Productivity from My Son's Kindergarten Class

May 29, 2009 by Matt Perman

When I walked into my son’s kindergarten class last fall, I had the same reaction that I recently blogged about with Taco Bell. My thinking was: “These folks are more productive than I am!”

At Taco Bell, it stood out to me that they weren’t getting over-granular (that is, overly specific) in defining their next actions. The work units for the cooks were “make combo meal 4,” not “grab some cheese out of the bin….” For many people using the GTD approach, it’s easy to fall into the trap of making your next actions too specific. The result is that your next action list no longer tells you what you actually need to do — instead of identifying your next work units, it is only identifying the first step of what you actually will get you started into a more involved task. The Taco Bell cooks show us not to do this. Put on your next action list your next work unit, not your next literal, super-specific step (unless that super-specific step is the extent of your work unit).

At my son’s kindergarten class, the issue related to another common error when it comes to managing next actions.

In the short time that I was there, the kids in the class learned about the days of the week, the alphabet, and all sorts of other stuff. I also got a feel for how things go throughout the rest of the day, and most days in general. It was amazing to see everything that they were able to do in a day. And, how they were able to do it “stress-free.”

Which created a contrast in my mind. Here were a bunch of kindergartners basically implementing “stress-free” productivity without even knowing it, whereas I sometimes find that the GTD system — which promises “stress-free” productivity — sometimes creates more stress. What did this kindergarten class know that I didn’t?

The answer wasn’t hard to see. It came down to one fundamental, core concept: There was a place in their schedule for everything that they needed to do.

That’s it. Very simple.

We “get” this idea when it comes to organizing space: if you are organizing a closet, for example, you know how much stuff you have to put in the closet and how big it is. The stuff that you want to keep in the closet gets a spot. The other stuff doesn’t. And to the extent that you have stuff in your closet that doesn’t have a spot, your closet is disorganized.

But when it comes to organizing our time, we forget this. And — I hate to say this — GTD sometimes fuels this problem.

GTD can easily create a project-based mindset. It teaches you to have a list of projects, which you create next actions for, and those next actions go on your next action list. But it doesn’t train you to connect those actions with your actual schedule. And it, in part, seems to do this intentionally, because of the failure of so many systems that rely on a “daily to-do list.”

The problem that results is that you have a long list of next actions and no defined time to do them. The result is that you feel like you should always be doing them. Which is stressful. You are “always ready,” but your list often sits as you are unable to get to it.

Now, this is not necessarily an intrinsic to the GTD system. I doubt, for example, that David Allen has this problem. He’d probably say “nothing about GTD is contrary to defining a time to do your next actions.” And he’d be right. I’m simply speaking from experience of what I see tending to happen with people (including myself). It is easy for many of us to forget the fact that if you want to get your next actions done, it won’t happen magically. You have to define a time in your day to work on them.

Being intentional in this way does not eliminate the fact that we will do many of our next actions spontaneously, when we find ourselves right by Target, for example, when we have some Target items on our errands list. But this spontaneous component will actually happen more often if you also have a scheduled time to work on your next actions.

The other issue here — which, in my opinion, is even more significant — is this: What about ongoing, non-project stuff you need to be doing?

GTD can create a very project-based mindset. Your focus can be to get your projects done. But what about the ongoing things you want to be doing and advancing at?

This is where the kindergarten room was so brilliant. They had a defined time each day to work on the days of the week and alphabet. They also had defined times for reading and some other things. The teacher didn’t just have those things on a next action list to do “when we get the chance.” She was intentional about them.

Here’s the lesson: Don’t just define a time to do your next actions in general, although that alone is helpful. You should also define about 2-5 key ongoing priorities to you and schedule slots of time each week in your calendar to work on them.

You don’t need to create next actions for these areas. That’s part of the point — if HR is one of your many responsibilities in your job, for example, there is a lot of value in saying “from 3-5 every Thursday afternoon I’m going to think about HR strategy.” You don’t want to have to rely only on HR-related projects to keep your HR responsibility in motion; define some operational time for giving focused thought to the area and then work on the most important things that come to mind then.

More can be said on this — lots more. Lots, lots, lots more. What I need to do is define the time to pull that set of posts together …

Filed Under: 1 - Productivity

Wise, Unexpected Advice from Peter Drucker

May 28, 2009 by Matt Perman

I’m enjoying the book A Class with Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher. The advice is not unexpected for Drucker, but unexpected when compared to much of conventional wisdom. Here is the table of contents, which gives a good reflection of this:

  1. How I Became the Student of the Father of Modern Management
  2. Drucker in the Classroom
  3. What Everybody Knows is Frequently Wrong
  4. Self-Confidence Must be Built Step by Step
  5. If You Keep Doing What Worked in the Past You’re Going to Fail
  6. Approach Problems with Your Ignorance — Not Your Experience
  7. Develop Experience Outside Your Field to be an Effective Manager
  8. Outstanding Performance is Inconsistent with Fear of Failure
  9. The Objective of Marketing is to Make Selling Unnecessary
  10. Ethics, Honor, Integrity and the Law
  11. You Can’t Predict the Future, but You Can Create It
  12. We’re All Accountable
  13. You Must Know Your People to Lead Them
  14. People Have No Limits, Even After Failure
  15. A Model Organization That Drucker Greatly Admired
  16. The Management Control Panel
  17. Base Your Strategy on the Situation, Not on a Formula
  18. How to Motivate the Knowledge Worker
  19. Drucker’s Principles of Self-Development

Filed Under: 4 - Management

Master More Than One Discipline

May 27, 2009 by Matt Perman

From A Class with Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher:

… Drucker went on to tell us that it was essential that business executives master at least two disciplines, and that one of them must be outside of the field of business. He said this was important in the preparation of an executive for higher responsibilities because, like the corporate attorney suddenly elevated to general management, one never knew what future responsibiliteis might be thrust upon one unexpectedly. Expertise in more than one field was good training for sudden responsibilities in yet another field, and was the only evidence that the manager was capable of mastering more than one discipline.

Peter said that mastering at least two disciplines would have a number of beneficial effects. First, the executive would have the self-confidence of knowing that he was not limited to a single field. That he could, if called upon, do something entirely different, and do it well. Moreover, Drucker continued, great advances in any field rarely come from a single discipline. Rather they come from advances in one discipline being transplanted to another sphere, which is totally unfamiliar with these procedures, ideas, or methods which have never been applied to problems in this other domain” (p 74).

This is worth repeating: great advances in any field rarely come from a single discipline; rather they come from advances in one discipline being transplanted to another sphere.

Filed Under: 3 - Leadership, c Career Navigation Skills

I'm Not Sure This is the Best Recommendation…

May 23, 2009 by Matt Perman

The items on this menu are apparently “state fair quality.” I’m not even sure how to process that. State fair food can be tasty, but I’ve never thought of that as some sort of standard to aspire to…

Filed Under: 6 - Culture

Seth Godin's TED Talk

May 22, 2009 by Matt Perman

Seth Godin’s TED talk on tribes is now online. He argues that “the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change.”

(And for more on this, see also his latest book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.)

Filed Under: 3 - Leadership

The Best Way to Eat an Oreo Cookie

May 22, 2009 by Matt Perman

I commend to you the best, most flavorful way to eat an Oreo cookie: Hold it under water for about 8 seconds. This makes it way better.

Update: Yes, this is definitely an unconventional method. Some of you may want to slot this under “what’s not best.” But if you give it a try, you might be surprised!

Filed Under: 6 - Culture

So, Which is It?

May 21, 2009 by Matt Perman

If “this is NOT a public phone,” then why are there instructions on how to make outgoing calls (with a request to keep all calls under 3 minutes)?

I get what they mean. But, sending clear messages is a good idea…

Filed Under: Communication

An Update on Slack Work

May 21, 2009 by Matt Perman

A few weeks ago I posted on how slack work is a cousin to vandalism because both create unnecessary work for others. I used a hose box I had recently purchased as an example because its low quality made it almost impossible to hook up.

Now the story has taken a new turn, and right on cue: the hose box has broken. I don’t know the right terms for everything, but the gist is that the hook-up valve came out and won’t go back together.

So now the hose box has officially cost me both time and money.

But it gets even worse.

I had bought two of these things, because we have two hoses (I thought I’d be a good neighbor). The second one is now broke as well. I can’t even remember what happened to it. All I know is that it started leaking, and the leak would not go away.

If someone had deliberately taken a sledge hammer to these things and vandalized them, the outcome would not have been any worse. Making cheap, shoddy products that break is just as bad as taking a sledge hammer to your neighbor’s stuff because the end result is the same: broken items that need to be fixed or replaced.

And here’s the worst part of all, though I hesitate to mention this: Both of these hose boxes proudly display a “Made in the USA” sticker.

Filed Under: 1 - Productivity

Advice For Those Starting Anything

May 20, 2009 by Matt Perman

Read Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything.

Whether you are starting a business, non-profit, division within your company, or church plant; or if you are launching a new product or service within your company, this book will be worth your time and help improve your chance of getting off the ground well.

I regard it as one of those extra-useful books because, when reading it, I felt like I was reading about a lot of my own mistakes. That was a humbling experience — especially because it actually took a second read for the lights to really come on.

So maybe read it twice.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship

iPhone Plans May Become Cheaper

May 19, 2009 by Matt Perman

From the Infinite Loop blog:

AT&T is listening to customers and is considering slashing its monthly iPhone plans, according to a new rumor out of BusinessWeek. “People with knowledge of the company’s thinking” have told the publication that the carrier has thought out some lower-priced data options, including a limited data plan for $10 less than the current offerings.

The news comes just weeks after Cote Collaborative analyst Michael Cote sent a research note saying that there was a “strong possibility” that AT&T planned to drop its entry-level iPhone plan from $69 per month to $59. At that time, Cote offered no real support for his premonitions aside from the fact that it would make sense if AT&T wanted to continue bringing in new customers, noting that the current data plan pricing “does not address the whole market.”

Before that, Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu said that AT&T was “more open to developing tiered data plans that fit more in line with today’s environment.” He suggested that there may soon be multiple levels of data to choose from, which seems to support the buzz out of BusinessWeek. Given the language used in the BW piece, it sounds as if the unlimited data plan might remain the same price, with a likely download cap for $10 less per month.

The price cut may be part of negotiations between Apple and AT&T, as the carrier is currently trying to extend its exclusive contract until 2011. Apple is undoubtedly looking for its carrier partners to start offering more attractive plan options in order to expand market share, and AT&T is likely willing to bend over backwards in order to keep Apple to itself for a little while longer.

Filed Under: Technology

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What’s Best Next exists to help you achieve greater impact with your time and energy — and in a gospel-centered way.

We help you do work that changes the world. We believe this is possible when you reflect the gospel in your work. So here you’ll find resources and training to help you lead, create, and get things done. To do work that matters, and do it better — for the glory of God and flourishing of society.

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About Matt Perman

Matt Perman started What’s Best Next in 2008 as a blog on God-centered productivity. It has now become an organization dedicated to helping you do work that matters.

Matt is the author of What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done and a frequent speaker on leadership and productivity from a gospel-driven perspective. He has led the website teams at Desiring God and Made to Flourish, and is now director of career development at The King’s College NYC. He lives in Manhattan.

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