Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Manage your energy - not your time

Am I getting a cosmic nudge? I am in the midst of reading a great book called "Finding Your Focus Zone" which is about managing your energy levels to achieve maximum productivity. I'll probably review it here at some point, as I really like it.

Then yesterday on the plane, I was reading my latest issue of the Harvard Business Review, and there is an article called, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time," which has a different take on a similar concept. Both are well written, well researched, and seem to have some tips I can really use to maintain my energy levels, focus, and productivity at work. They also both deal with ways to combat procrastination.

The HBR article is available right now as free content (you will be asked to "Agree" to their terms and conditions but you don't have to pay), so there is no reason for you to procrastinate - click on over and read it.

You can also see how doomed you are with the HBR's online questionnaire, "Are You Headed for an Energy Crisis?"

These resources provide some good information and advice for even the most productive among us. Enjoy!

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Learning in a different context

Last week, I had the privilege of being a chaperone for my daughter's sixth grade class as they went to "Outdoor School." I wasn't familiar with this concept until we moved to Oregon but, apparently, it's pretty common up here. Basically, the whole class goes to an outdoor location (some classes go to the coast, my daughter's went up to a Kiwanis camp on Mount Hood).

For several days, we worked with the kids on a variety of physical, mental, and team-building activities, and it was extremely effective. We went to a couple of mountain lakes to do water studies, went on night hikes to observe the stars and constellations, went on nature hikes to study things like microenvironments, and went on an 11.5 mile hike to a peak where we could see 5 nearby mountains all at once.

For each activity, the students were asked to answer a number of questions in their science journals to enforce what they's learned. There was also plenty of time to reflect, enjoy nature, and get to know each other in a new environment.

One of the things that really struck me was how well some of the students did in this environment. In many cases, students who are usually disinterested or "just OK" in the classroom dove into the activities with tremendous focus and passion. Just being in a different context -- along with combining learning, physical activities, and a more social, team-oriented approach -- really unlocked their curiosity.

If you ever feel uninspired when it comes to learning, maybe you can unlock your own curiosity or create a new spark by changing how you approach it. Find a way to get outside, make it more hands-on, or get involved in a supportive group environment to make it more fun and change the context of learning.

For example, it's one thing to read about the life cycle of fish but one of the "big moments" we experienced was standing on the banks of the Salmon River watching a couple of salmon spawning. Way cool - you can get a glimpse of it in the short video I captured of salmon spawning.

This was at the Cascade Streamwatch project in Wildwood, Oregon. If you're ever out this way, it's a wonderful place to do some outdoor learning!

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Running With The Bulls

I just finished reading Run with the Bulls (Without Getting Trampled), by Tim Irwin. In short, I loved reading this book. If you're like me, you like when authors illustrate points using stories from their own experience. This book is loaded with lots of techniques, philosophies, and other powerful advice - all punctuated with great stories from Tim Irwin's life.

This book is a great match for anyone who feels stuck in their job (particuarly if that "stuckness" is related to your role as a manager), or if you feel like you're locked in, your personal development has stalled, or you feel like your just not stretching yourself any more.

This isn't just a book about someone else's stories, though - it's about techniques to help you live a better life, and work a better work. Among other things, you'll learn about several critical success factors, including:

  • Critical Success Factor 1: Self Management
  • Critical Success Factor 2: Relationship Management
  • Critical Success Factor 3: Forethought
  • Critical Success Factor 4: Dependability
  • Critical Success Factor 5: Resourcefulness
  • Critical Success Factor 6: Ability to Learn
  • Critical Success Factor 7: Ability to Change

Awesome stuff, well presented. Irwin's style makes this an easy read and his teachings will make it memorable. Whether you want to get unstuck, or get better at what you do, this book's a winner.

Oh - and like a lot of books these days, there is a companion site with additional material and tools - of particular interest: check out the "change graphic" PDF, and the Run With The Bulls online assessment.

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Back in the box

Last night, I had a discussion about time boxing with my wife, who's trying to keep all of her volunteer activities from consuming too much time. It's easy to perpetually do "just one more thing" and spend way more time than you intended on an activity, and I thought she could use time boxing to help her contain her time investment.

I pointed her at Dave Cheong's article on the subject, but she was looking for something shorter and more prescriptive so I thought I'd take a stab at a "Cliff's notes" overview of the basics of time boxing.

What is time boxing?

At its simplest, time boxing is the technique of declaring a finite time period to work on a task or project, then getting as much focused work done toward the task or project during that finite period of time. In essence, "I'm going to do as much work as I can on project x during the next 30 minutes," then stopping work when that 30 minutes is up.

Essentially, time boxing is about "I'll work until the appointed time is up," and not "I'll work til I get this done."

Why time boxing?

Time boxing creates artificial "sprints" of focus and intensity, and helps limit the amount of time you spend on any single activity. It can help with any activity - the ones you love (to keep you from going overboard), as well as the ones you dread (to help you see the light at the end of the tunnel).

How do you time box?

  1. Start with your goals and big projects
  2. Create a list of sub-goals or sub projects
  3. Identify "next actions" you need or want to complete
  4. Pick out a significant next action
    Note: I find it helpful to start with a critical path item (a "constraint") or an item I would rather avoid.
  5. Estimate and schedule an appropriate block of time that you will block out everything and do nothing but work on that task or segment of the project. (make a note of your estimate and progress you expect to make - you'll need it in step 8).
  6. When that block of time comes, set a timer and work diligently on that task for the entire block of time - don't dawdle and don't stop until a) the time is up, or b) the task is complete.
  7. When the time is up, record your progress and make a note of what's left to do.
  8. Compare what you got done to what you expected to get done - how well did you estimate?

That's it in a nutshell. By doing this, you'll be amazed at how much you can get done through these "sprints" of focus. And the lightweight analysis (steps 5 and 8) will help you get better at estimating over time.

Does time boxing work for you? Any tips to share? I'd love to hear them.

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The new MMOG: Massively multiplying online goodness

OK, I recently got added to Priscilla Palmer's expansive "Personal Development List," thanks to Ariane Benefit, who is also on the list. The list is kinda like a chain letter or something, where once you get added, you're supposed to re-post the list, add 5 more sites to the list, and do a trackback back to the original list.

I'm going to do it a little differently, just because the list is so long and I think Priscilla is doing a great job of maintaining the list.

So here are my 5 additions to the list (at this writing, they are not currently on the list, though they will be when it's updated):

  1. Lisa Haneberg of Management Craft
  2. Lori Grant and Debbie of Smart Lemming
  3. Stacy Brice of Virtualosophy
  4. Matt Cornell of Matt's Idea Blog
  5. Steve Grossman of Why I Failed

Start with these five treasures. Then, if you want to see the current version of the list in its entirety, please visit Priscilla's site. And if you're one of my 5 additions, feel free to add to the list, as well - my way or the "official" way. (If you don't, I don't think this is one of those "a bad thing will happen to you" sorts of things - don't sweat it, it's only karma ).

After the fold, you can see the list as it was when I posted this.

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