In many situations people keep a score. In relationships, it’s the number of times I take out the trash versus you. Or, do the dishes. In business, it’s how often you’ve worked late or cleaned up after a disaster. In any situation, keeping a score, and pointing it out, is almost second nature. It’s easy to be disturbed by how…
Category: Meaningful Management
Handling Distractions: React Differently
Once you’ve developed a spidey sense that something is amiss, when a distraction arises, you can then change how you behave. You can put down the distraction, say an email, and get back to what matters. In doing this enough times you will develop a habit of quickly getting back to what matters. Distractions will cease to distract you. This…
Indecisiveness is a lack of belief
We don’t act based on data and reason, we act based on how we feel. Feelings are a function of beliefs. So if you can’t decide how to act, it’s because you have yet to adopt a belief to guide your feelings one way over another(s). For example, if you are shopping for a new cell phone and you can’t…
You have to want to
There’s no limit to what people can accomplish if they want to. There’s no limit to what you can do to try to get someone to change that doesn’t want to.
Disturbed by Disturbances
Last night when I was getting in bed I pulled the covers aside and accidentally threw them on top of Pax, she was already asleep. I felt bad so I quickly climbed into bed and pulled the covers off of her, onto me. She barely flinched when the covers landed on top of her. Every day people bump into us,…
Waste less time by getting rid of todo lists.
As a consultant, I have a habit of keeping track of just about everything my customers ask for. At least I used to. The work I did in the past often entailed hourly work so the more there was to do, the better. And for a long time I assumed that this was beneficial for my customer too. So I…
The demo – usage gap
It is one thing to demo software that’s being developed, it can be a good way to get early feedback. But the feedback is nothing compared to the feedback you will get from people using the software. For example, a week ago I received a notice about a new software system, basically a mini demo of the new features. There…
Handling Distractions: Develop a Feel for it
Feelings dictate how we act. When you’re happy, you don’t generally worry about what you’re doing. When you’re disturbed, you tend to question what it is that you’re doing. So, if you want to avoid distractions, see if you can develop a feel for them. Doesn’t have to be a shameful feeling, just a spidey sense that something is amiss.…
Handling Distractions: Avoidance
Stop the distractions from happening in the first place. i.e.: Unsubscribe from unwanted emails. Don’t take on as much work. Say no to less important opportunities. Throw away the ideas you’re never going to get to. Turn on do not disturb. Tell yourself you don’t need to feel bad for ignoring things, then ignore them.
Getting rid of unused things requires patience
Unused things beget other unused things. For example, you might have a form that’s required for taking time off at work. That form might then be processed by someone in another department within the company and entered into a database. If you realize that the form isn’t necessary to request time off, you have to get rid of it then…