Size Doesn’t Matter, Does it?

I started seriously tweeting on my blog topic about six months ago. To date, my feedback has been generally good.

• The blog is relevant and interesting.
• I craft useful tweets.
• I exhibit Twitter restraint (not deluging followers with crap)

Woot.

When new followers show up, I often check their profiles. Most of them have, like, 2 million folks following them.  Last count I had, uhm, 86.

Oye

Do I care about follower numbers?

Of course I friggin’ care! Like everyone else, I ponder ways to attract notice, increase my follower count, publicize my message, etc. Plenty of cheezy promotion comes to mind. “Secrets Rich Bloggers Don’t Want You to Know.” “Baby Boomers Must Die Sooner than Later.” “I Hate Everybody but You.”

The Mighty Quest for Website Clicks

In the past I’ve written my share attention-getting bull.  Top of the list was
The Spam Cam.

The Spam Cam was a cheap publicity funnel for an online fiction experiment called The Fright Site. (At the time I was also working actor Don Johnson, pitching his gonzo pal, Hunter S. Thompson. It was 15 minutes of weird fame.)  The Spam Cam was a huge draw. We “studied” Spam as it decomposed next to rotting delicacies such as tomatoes, Twinkies, and pizza. We were quoted in several magazines, interviewed many times, humorist Dave Barry profiled us in one of his books, and Hormel Foods didn’t sue.

I’m also no stranger to the concept of selling out. Sexually explicit writing earned a fair bit of attention even before novelists like Anne Rice made it cool. I queried publishing houses that liked the steamy stuff. I also channeled a book by Grandmaster Palatimo. It was fake of course.

I queried steamy publishing houses. I also wrote a channeled book by Grandmaster Palatimo.

Thankfully I never wrote the steamy novel nor did I market Palatimo’s wisdom.

What were you thinking?

The Inner Critic Never Dies

My inner critic, Verna, had a field day with all that nonsense. She still has a lot of opinions but these days they’re all about the blog/Twitter thing.  “Your influence is meager… you’ve got nothing new to say… … you gotta do something trendy or wild… attract attention… don’t attract attention… your writing sucks. … you’re not really going to wear that are you?…”

My problem is I’m saddled with this huge, annoying code of ethics. (thankyouverymuchdad) Aggrandizing mass market crasseopeia (my word) wasn’t one of my goals as a writer. And I never wanted to steal money from anyone, especially folks who are sincere and spiritually hungry.

To Verna’s credit, she tries to protect me from failure and embarrassment. Her influence builds walls around my eccentricities, keeps me painfully safe, and stifles my creativity. With Verna at the helm, I’m guarded, self-conscious, and dull as dirt.

I Like My Blog No Matter What

Verna says I’m a bottom feeder surrounded by talented angel fish with publicists. She’s got a point –she always does—but these days when she second guesses my skills or nags me to be something I’m not, I’ve adopted a quick two-word retort:

“So What?”

If I’m feeling plucky I’ll add, “Piss off.”

So What? Piss off!

Two-word responses like this can bypass my intellect, disrupting Verna just long enough to give me options. (I blogged about the technique earlier this year.) They also lessen her negative influence.

So back to the Twitter thing, yes I know that developing a strong online community isn’t a pool swim; it’s an ocean crossing. And yes, I’m doing more SEO and expanding my reach day by day.

My blog is not failing. It’s a strong platform for consulting.

Let me clarify. My blog is not failing. I like my blog. It’s a strong platform for the kind of consulting I do. I tweet on personal productivity techniques that work in the real world, and I support my conclusions with SCIENCE.

So.

If someone looks at my stats  and says, oh poor dawn you only have 86 followers, I smile and say,

“So What?!”

I may be a bottom feeder but I do have impact. I also help clean the tank.

Buddha's Brain by Rick Hanson Ph.d.

I can’t ignore a book entitled:

Buddha’s Brain:

The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness Love and Wisdom

Three things I immediately like about neuropsychologist Rick Hanson’s book.

• He focuses on small changes that reap big brain mojo.
• He describes brain science in the context of contemplative practice.
• He’s not overly wordy.

“You’ll learn what the brain is doing when the mind is happy, loving and wise. You’ll learn many ways to activate these brain states, strengthening them a bit each time. This will give you the ability to gradually rewire your own brain – from the inside out—for greater well-being, fulfillment in your relationships, and inner peace.” –excerpt from the book

Fast-Food Meditation: NOT

I’m leery of fast food awareness so I appreciated Hanson’s brave use of the word “gradually.” He’s honest about it.

Buddha’s Brain does offer material that’s immediately useful–strong cognitive tools to bolster us while gradual changes take root. Hanson’s description of brain plasticity and neurons is one of the best I’ve encountered for non-scientist types. In fact, I generated a presentation slide depicting neuronal connections, inspired from his work:

In the spirit of full disclosure, “that’s disgusting” in no way reflects on Hanson’s book. I’m just weird. 

The above slide features a stuffed neuron from GIANTmicrobes. They sell all kinds of plush creepiness. Action figures too. I’m especially fond of ebola below.

But I digress…

Hanson’s topic, the power of contemplative practice, isn’t new. I’ve read books on the subject and I’ve also written them. Still, I found Buddha’s Brain engaging and inspiring. I was originally attracted to the science, but this is also a great book about meditation in general. Hanson’s easy style, how-to practices, and personal experiences all contribute to his considerable authority on the subject. He makes me want to meditate.

Bottom line, this is a worthy read for anyone looking to understand and experience the brain boosting gains from contemplative practices.

Hanson’s website is equally as appealing, chock full of articles and support material.

Hey, it’s not just meditation, it’s science.

What books have you enjoyed on this topic? What’s your favorite microbe? Don’t be a stranger. I’d love to hear from you.

Henny Penny bustled through the chicken coop, cackling her dire warning, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

Turkey Lurkey gobbled and hopped in circles. Goosey Loosey flapped a bee-line for the farm pond. Foxy Loxy parked himself outside of the fence and waited.

As Henny Penny charged through the back forty, she stopped just short of running over a tiny chickadee, flat on her back with her feet in the air.

“What are you doing?” Henny Penny squawked. “Don’t you know, the sky is falling!?”

“I know,” said the chickadee, shifting her legs so her feet reached even higher. “One does what one can.”

******

Yesterday at the coffee shop, I was feeling like that hapless, well meaning chickadee. Then I remembered something Stephen Covey wrote and I managed to craft an approach to catastrophe that involves more than simply sticking my feet in the air. (republished from March 2011)

I’d love your comments and thoughts.

HEY! Stephen Smith does it full time, on line! Sept 22nd. 

• A fascinating interview with Stephen Smith on his successful strategies for pursuing full-time online work — no more day job. Yowza.  Exciting stuff for bloggers and anyone else jumping big into new directions.
• Stephen writes great stuff for the In Context Blog (http://blog.incontextmultimedia.com), a web-based resource for Social Media Literacy and Business Development through Personal Development. Worth listening to, for sure.

Ride that bull, baby.

This guy is pretty stressed out but he keeps his cool. I do feel sorry for the bull, though.

In the Harvard Business Review, Justin Menkes wrote an terrific blog piece, “How Stress Can Improve Your Performance.” He says,

“Once an executive learns how to manage adrenaline without panic, he or she can grow confident that the sensations that stress induces will not lead to collapse.

“…One simple exercise involves memorizing something, be it a poem or the 50 states, and then reciting it before friends at a dinner party, while encouraging them to taunt you if you make mistakes. At first, you are more likely to have missteps in this context. Eventually, you will find that you can do the exercise faster, with more accuracy, in front of an audience than when you do it by yourself. …

“…If your next-in-line is slated to present before the board, don’t let him do so without preparation. Have him present first in front of a few colleagues, then at the Monday morning meeting, then before the management team, all before they present in the higher-pressure environment of the boardroom.”

It’s amazing how many executives, students, salespeople, interviewees, will devote time and energy to preparation for a meeting but then neglect to practice their delivery. Without practice, there’s no authority over the gathered material.

Science tells us neurons that fire together, wire together. Firing and refiring deposits melanin along the neuronal pathways, speeding message delivery and strengthening the path. (This is one of the neurological results of practice.) When the inevitable cascade of stress hormones is triggered, practice makes the path well traveled; muscle memory and responses are trained. Without practice, the same surge will unglue a fragile grasp of the information, generating confusion and suboptimal performance.

Bottom line, before you do anything that matters, practice it first. Your mother was right: practice makes perfect.

So why do we neglect this critical step? I have my opinions but I’d like to know yours. You tell me.

(And don’t forget to read Justin’s original article, ”How Stress Can Improve Your Performance“ in the HBR. The research refs alone are so worth it.)

Justin Menkes is an acclaimed author and expert in the field of C-suite talent evaluation. His latest book, Better Under Pressure, will be released by Harvard Business Review Press in MA.

I want to be this guy.

“A lot of people [act] different on the weekends versus the office. It’s like they leave a big part of themselves at home. We encourage our employees to be themselves. We want them to be the same person at home and the office.”

Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos on work culture, from Entrepreneur.com

I want to be Tony Hseih — selling LinkExchange to Microsoft for 265 mil, being CEO of Zappos, and writing a worthy best seller: Delivering Happiness.

Of course, if I told this to Tony he’d probably say, “Dawn, you don’t want to be me. Be more of  yourself.”  Hhmph.

My goal has always been to be less of me: less young, less old, less tired,  less eager, less confused, less unhappy, less disorganized. Then I had an epiphany while parked behind a closed martini bar.

OYE

What a Waste of Energy

While I was doing something important (well, anything really), I was actively suppressing parts of my personality. No matter what I did, it was an exercise in overcoming inner demons. If I couldn’t excise them, then I tried to do well in spite of them. It was so incredibly inefficient. No wonder I was exhausted. Half my energy was wasted pushing things away. My epiphany changed all that.

I now refer to my life as pre-martini and post-martini.

Pre-me was carefully guarded; post-me takes all of who I am into each situation. What good does it do to pretend the dark parts don’t exist? Who I am is burned into my nerves,  muscles, heart, skin, eyes, hands, and brain synapses. It actually feels physical. Whatever I’m doing, I’m doing with everything on board:   silliness, confusion, bad habits, brilliance, dread, hope — the whole enchilada. I’m wholeheartedly insecure, wanting to be effective, wanting to be loved, wanting to make a difference.

Authenticity is Cool

By embracing this stuff, I’ve discovered the essence of efficient living and happiness: honest communication. My ideas and feelings are juiced with authenticity. Everything is empowering. I’m not exhausted anymore. I don’t take things personally.

I’m experiencing liberation via the path of vulnerability. I don’t wear it on my sleeve but I do let it inform me. Whether I’m on the phone, at home, in my kayak, talking with clients, or online, I’m open to all of it. I’ve stopped hating myself.

Whoosh! Here’s comes the energy!

Thanks for the advice, Tony. Now I need to get busy generating a big sale to Microsoft…

*************************************

NOTE: For excellent resource information on the power of authenticity and vulnerability, read Brene Brown’s research and check out her TED talk.

Written by Michael Pollock

This is the second half  of a two-part interview with business blog thought leader, Michael Pollock, creator of  The Bigger Life Blog: How to make a living online while making a difference in the world. While responding to the interview questions, Michael wrote the following post. To read more of Michael’s work, please visit  The Bigger Life Blog.

How do you keep going when you feel like giving up?

This is a great question and a big question. In fact, assuming you buy into the notion that success in any endeavor is ultimately about persisting long enough to achieve your desired outcome, this question is THE NUMBER ONE critical question we all need to answer for ourselves.

1. Accept that it’s normal to feel like giving up.

Notice that I didn’t say “IF you feel like giving up.” The fact is, unless you have a long history of creating successful outcomes in your life, there’s a 99% certainty you will feel like giving up at some point in any new endeavor. Especially early on when you may be investing a lot of energy without seeing much in the way of results. This is just a normal part of the human psychological make-up. You are not unique or special in this regard, so just accept it.

Accept it, and think about the stone cutter hammering away at his rock. He strikes the rock maybe 50 times without creating so much as a crack in it, but on that 51st strike, the stone splits in two. It wasn’t really the last strike that broke it open but the 50 strikes before.

2. Protect your physical energy.

This is crucial, because the amount of physical energy you have effects everything from how you feel to how well you think to even how motivated you are to do the tasks necessary to achieve your goals. According to author Tony Schwartz (The Power of Full Engagement), there are four keys to physical energy. They include eating the right foods at the right time in the right portions; exercising regularly; resting and renewing intermittently during the day, and sleeping a minimum of 7 to 8 hours at night. If you treat your physical body as if you are an Olympic athlete in training, you’ll always have plenty of physical energy to do what needs to be done.

3. Get your personal needs met.

When you have unmet personal needs, it’s often very difficult to focus on goal pursuit. As a personal example, when I first attempted self-employment over 10 years ago, because of a divorce and some poor choices on my part, I was really struggling financially. Most of the time, I was too worried about how to pay my bills to focus on what I needed to do to build a new business. Some people thrive under that sort of pressure, but I’m not one of them, and after a few years of struggle, I decided to put the business on hold until I got my financial house in order. That meant committing myself to working for someone else for a few years until my financial needs were met. It wasn’t easy to surrender like that, but it helped me create the strong personal foundation I needed to create a six-figure online business a few years later.

4. Manage your expectations.

The longer I live, the more convinced I become that unrealistic expectations are deadly to your motivation. I mean think about it. Have you ever started a new exercise program to lose a few pounds? You go at it hard for a month or two, then you step on the scale and notice that you haven’t lost a single pound. In fact, maybe you even gained a pound or two because you packed on some muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. How do you feel? Pretty discouraged probably because you were expecting to be a little leaner and meaner by now. Combine that with all the advertisements and infomercials that show people losing a bunch of weight in a short period of time, and it’s really easy to just throw in the towel. When you establish expectations that are arbitrary or based on someone else’s results, you set yourself up for failure almost every time.

5. Focus on the process rather than the results.

This is a follow-up to my suggestion to manage your expectations. In this case, you let go of expectations altogether and focus instead on the process of creating the result you want. It’s fine to set a goal, but use the goal only as a rudder to direct your behavior.

Going back to the weight loss example, if you focus on the process that leads to weight loss, eventually it will happen. For example, if you exercise each day and eat the right amount of the right types of foods, the results will take care of themselves.

If you can take it a step further and habitualize that behavior, you can practically put your success on auto-pilot. I love the following quote from Og Mandino:

“In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure.”

So, focus on the process. Habitualize the process. Learn to love the process. At this stage in my own business, for example, my goal is to learn to love writing and content creation, because that is integral to the process that leads to a successful online business. It’s also critical to how I express my personal mission in the world. When I start to focus too much on external results like website traffic, sales or the number of times a blog post gets re-tweeted, it invariably leads to disappointment and de-motivation. So I try not to spend too much time looking at that stuff. It’s fine to look at it occasionally to get a sense of what’s working and what’s not, but that’s really all it’s good for.

6. Connect your goal pursuit to a strong mission.

It’s one thing to write out a personal mission statement on paper, but the real power of a personal mission is when you feel it deep in your soul, and that can take time to develop. Once it’s alive and well deep inside, however, it makes for a great touchstone to help keep you focused on what your life is really about. If you have a day where you don’t make a sale or get a certain result, you can at least be satisfied that you did what was necessary to express your mission in the world.

7. Get involved with those traveling a similar path.

The support and camaraderie of such groups is invaluable to start-ups and anyone wanting to go to the next level in their business. This could be a writing group, a small business networking group, a Meetup group or any group made up of your peers.

Jump to Part 1 of the Interview

Michael D Pollock, “The Bigger Life Blog”

I learned about Michael Pollock when I was researching online thought leaders. Michael has several interviews with a variety of thought leaders, located on his blog, The Bigger Life Blog: How to make a living online while making a difference in the world. Michael left a lucrative career to focus on purpose driven work, and created another equally successful business financially and emotionally. He is as forthright, practical, and humble as he is savvy. His interview is divided into two posts. This section talks about how he makes a living at making a difference, and how he manages his energy to keep it going. The second posting (tomorrow) will be 7 specific steps on “How to keep going when you feel like giving up.”  

Did you ever work at a job without consciously connecting it to your values?

Michael Pollock:  I think I’ve felt that way at some point in almost every “job” I’ve had in my life. It’s a total drag to feel like you’re doing work that’s too small for your soul. It’s a drag to feel like you’re just punching a clock to earn a paycheck. In situations like that, for me at least, my level of commitment and energy was often non-existent. But I’m one of those people who can’t live like that for long. I have a low tolerance for meaningless work.

So eventually, I either found a way to find purpose and meaning in what I was doing or I moved on to something else when that was a realistic option.

I’ve studied leadership over the years, and I’ve learned, among other things, that great leaders create an atmosphere in which people feel a sense of purpose, meaning and joy about their work. They make the organization’s success about more than just dollars and cents. They make it about doing great work, fulfilling work and work that impacts the world in some way. I was never fortunate enough to work in an organization like that, which is probably why I’m self-employed now. I think if I had found an organization like that, I might still be there. Or not.

How can someone who wants to do something purposeful online also make money at it?

Michael: First of all, I’d say the two are not mutually exclusive.

My entire business philosophy is built on the idea that you create a profitable online business by making a difference in the world.

This is not really a new idea, of course. Zig Ziglar coined the phrase “you can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” That’s never been more true than it is today.

Especially online.

A common approach with online business today is to use free content and services to attract an audience and establish your credibility in a particular area. Once you’ve attracted the audience, you deliver paid products and services to fulfill their wants and needs.

In short, give people stuff that makes them happy, then sell them stuff that makes them even happier.

This is the essence of a profitable online business today. Even if certain people never buy your paid stuff, and many won’t, at least you’ve had the chance to express your own creativity and offer folks something that can potentially make a difference in their life, and if that’s your ultimate purpose, the money is irrelevant.

It reminds me of Brian Johnson. He’s the creator of a site called Philosophers Notes. He offers a package of really well-done book reviews ( in audio and PDF format ) that are essentially Cliff Notes for personal development books. When I interviewed him, he told me that anyone who wants his product can have it regardless of their ability to pay for it. In fact, as I write this, I see on his site that he lets you pick your own price anywhere from $10 to $100. And if you can’t afford to pay for it, he’ll give it to you for free on a scholarship basis. He told me he does this because the ultimate purpose of his business is to help people and make a difference in the world rather than make as much money as possible. Making money is important, of course, but if making a difference in the world is your ultimate purpose, why would you not do something like this, as long as it doesn’t really cost you anything? In Brian’s case, his product is in digital format, so it doesn’t cost him anything to give it away.

Where do you think small business start-ups should target their energy to give them the best chance of success?

Michael: First and foremost, start with yourself, and make sure you’re going into it with a long-term perspective. Business success — or success in any endeavor — is ultimately about persisting long enough to succeed. It’s about moving through the inevitable setbacks, challenges and outright failures that are part of the path to achievement. If you look at any successful person, you’ll usually see behind them a long road of struggle and failure.

Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, for example, was rejected by numerous publishers before she finally found one to take on her book series that’s made her a billionaire. (There’s a great video online of her commencement address to Harvard grads; the topic of her speech was failure.)

Beyond that, keep it simple. I always tell people that for a profitable online business — or any business — you need just two things. First, you need something to sell. Second, you need people to buy. Start with a particular group of people and find out what they’re hungry for. What do they want and need that you can provide? This is known as determining your niche. Once you figure that out, it’s a matter of creating products and services for your hungry audience and getting those products/services in front of them.

What are your biggest energy sucks and how do you personally manage them?

Michael: For me, one of the biggest energy drains is when I do the comparison thing. That’s when you see someone who’s doing what you want to be doing, but they seem to be doing it ten times better, or they’re getting much better results than you. Some people are inspired by people who are more successful. I tend to go the other way and get discouraged. It’s not that I’m jealous; instead, I engage in negative self-talk about how I will never be as good as them or something similar.

As far as how I manage it, at this point, it’s a constant practice to remind myself to run my own race and not focus on other peoples’ race results. Ideally, I want to stand in the place where I fully accept myself as I am, but constantly push myself beyond my comfort zone and toward my full potential. This is obviously not an easy task, but as I said, I’m practicing.

I’m sure there are other energy drains for me, but that is by far the biggest and most damaging one for me.

If you were to start your business today, is there something you would do better or differently?

Michael: Not really. My current business is sort of a course correction from a business I started in 2006 and sold in 2008. The name of that business was Solostream, and it began as a blog design company. After a year, it morphed into a software development company that was generating a six-figure annual profit from the sale of blog and website templates. So the business was successful in a strictly financial sense, but personally, I got to the point where I really didn’t enjoy the work at all. I didn’t feel like software development was an authentic expression of what it is I’m here to do, which is to teach and coach people on how to use the Internet to make a living online and make a difference in the world.

Still, in 2006, all I wanted to do was escape a full-time job that I hated, and blog design was the quickest and easiest way for me to create an income on which I could support myself. I couldn’t have known back then that I would grow tired of webdesign and software development.

Ultimately, before any of that, however, I guess the one thing I would have done differently is I would have invested my time and energy into learning how to be a better and more prolific writer and content creator. Instead, I spent several years learning website design, which felt safer to me at the time. Website design is a fine profession, but as I said, it’s not the way I feel called to make a difference in the world. So I wish I would have been courageous enough to pursuit a career based on writing rather than website design. I hope that makes sense.

Can you describe the energetic punch from placing values at the forefront of your work?

I believe in my heart of hearts that we are most fulfilled and most alive when we’re doing work that a) we love, b)  makes a difference in the world, and c) for which we are well-compensated spiritually as well as financially. If you believe in God or some Ultimate Creative Force — and I do — I’d suggest that’s why he/she/it created you — to express your creativity in service to the world (or at least a small part of it).

To me, this is the ultimate purpose of life, and when I’m deeply connected to that purpose, I’m virtually unstoppable.

Unfortunately, it’s not as often as I’d like, but I’m working on it.

Is there anything on your blog or in your work that you’d like to share with our readers?

Michael: I’ve done a handful of interviews that people may find valuable. For example, I spoke about Brian Johnson earlier. You can listen to a great, 2-part interview with him here: http://bit.ly/erqwNd.  Writers and folks with online business aspirations will find a few other great interviews as well.

How can someone maintain energy if goal pursuit weakens or becomes derailed?

Michael: This is a great question and a big question. In fact, assuming you buy into the notion that success in any endeavor is ultimately about persisting long enough to achieve your desired outcome, this question is THE NUMBER ONE critical question we all need to answer for ourselves. Before I answer it, allow me to rephrase the question for even greater impact:

How do you keep going when you feel like giving up?

TO BE CONTINUED.

Michael’s interview concludes tomorrow with a list of seven powerful ideas to keep you pushing forward when you feel like giving up.  Don’t miss it!

The karmic backlash when you write about excuses is they retaliate en mass. For a person already plagued by them  (I’m a writer, remember?), dealing with a galvanized frontal assault is pretty wild. Here’s how it happened…

The Battle of Excuses

Several weeks ago I blogged about creating a treadmill walking station. There are a thousand healthy reasons to use a walkstation but for me, it’s about staying alert. Walkstations are supposed to help maintain energy levels throughout the day. I get sleepy in front of a monitor even when I’ve just exercised.

What I didn’t mention was my treadmill is an ancient behemoth that weighs a friggin’ ton.  Moving it from the garage into the house wasn’t a simple logistics issue; it was like dragging a truck. Several lame excuses converged: “It can’t be done without a forklift; I can’t afford to waste my time; It might screw up my back; My garage is too messy for anyone to see it; I have other more urgent matters; It’s too big; It’s too ugly; The kitchen needs cleaning.”

The treadmill didn’t move inch one. In the excuse war, I was losing.

Excuses 1; Dawn 0.

Two weeks passed…

What treadmill? I thought. I’m too busy kayaking and swimming and doing active things (all lies btw). Friends finally got disgusted and helped me strongarm it  into the breakfast nook. Take THAT excuses!

Dawn 1; Excuses 1.

Now I could finally get started. I checked all the treadmill desk websites. In general I needed a wood desktop of some sort, a support beam, a hammer, nails, and other DIY stuff. Being decidedly UNhandy, I opted to do more research. There are several good DIY examples as well as a network of “office walkers.”

During this time, I enjoyed the comradery of several familiar excuses and rationalizations: “I really don’t have time for this; I don’t do hammers; This is too hard; I have bigger fish to fry; This is ridiculous; I’m tired; I’m a writer, not a carpenter; The dog needs to be walked; Who reads this stupid blog anyway?”

The treadmill mocked me daily with, “So much for noble plans, you lazy putz.”

Excuses 2; Dawn 1.

Two more weeks passed…

The final straw was when I fell asleep in front of the monitor and missed a deadline. Again.  (I’m a single mom with two kids and a lot of irons in the fire. I have a well greased neural pathway for sleep.)

Furious, I marched into the kitchen, raised my fist and proclaimed, “Damn you Treadmill, you’ll not get the better of me!“ Then I charged into the garage (yar!), tunneled through years of crap and uncovered an empty refrigerator box. I yanked it from the pile,  stomped the heavy cardboard flat, duct-taped a few support sticks on the underside and, voila! Desktop! 

Dawn 2; Excuses 2.

Here’s my new walkstation.

The side view of my walkstation. Can you see the tip of the cane helping to support the desktop? Thanks, Mom.

Here is the underside of my walkstation desktop. Mom's cane is the support system, along with a few odds and ends.

Walking while working. If the cane slips it's a hassle but oh well. It works!

Now the Excuses and I were neck-in-neck at the stretch. I had to do something to push me over the finish line — I had to actually start using the thing.

Okay, turning it off and on is a hassle but hey, it works. 

Question: Wouldn’t I rather junk this self-made thing for a sleek and sexy Steelcase Walkstation?

Answer: Uhmmm yeah.  I’m not an idiot. But this is what I have for now. Check out those sexy shoes.

Astounding Results

The walkstation has totally reworked my falling asleep habit pattern. Slow walking while typing washes my brain with energizing oxygen and the non-distracting movement keeps me alert. Holy smokes, the research is correct.

My focus time is so waaay up.

I’ve probably tripled the time I can focus on one activity, effectively tripling my productivity. Man, it’s even better than ADHD meds. The only thing I can’t do is detailed art. For that I must stop walking. But I’ve walked up to 8 miles without a thought and gotten more work done than I ever thought possible.

I am SOLD, Baby!

Dawn 3; Excuses N/A.

Today’s battle of Excuses VS Dawn is over. Dawn WINS. Bwahahahahahah.

Coming Soon! Interview with blogmeister Michael D. Pollock.

An insightful 2-part interview with Michael D. Pollock, creator of the Bigger Life Blog: How to Make a Living Online By Making a Difference in the World. Michael will discuss ways to partner business and values, while making the best use of your blogs and blogging. Part 2 will be Michael’s seven thoughts about  ”How to Keep Going When You Feel Like Giving Up.” Great stuff, all. You can bet I’ll be reading it while I walk. <grin>

I’m sitting in Starbucks attempting to update my blog. How can I possibly think about adding to the Making Excuses series while the world continually teeters on the brink of collapse? I take a sip of coffee and try again.

Nope, can’t do it.

Writing helps me make sense of things. So on my third effort, I write about galvanizing a heartfelt, proper response to a disaster halfway across the world, without simultaneously devaluing my own modest efforts and personal concerns.

Realism Faces Forward

One of the harsh truths of nature is that no matter what the calamity, life still goes on. Despite Northern Japan’s deep yogurt, the world economy, turmoil in the Mideast, we still have businesses to run, families to nurture, and daily obligations to meet.

When disaster strikes, fatalists say we dodged a bullet. Separatists say we’re special. Realists say, it is what is.

I’m a realist. Whether it sucks or doesn’t suck, it’s life. By being objective, I avoid languishing in giddy relief or dropping headlong into despair. Unfortunately, realism also has a serious dark side; it turns cold without the influence of compassion and connection.

Misfortune Isn’t Contagious

We can become superstitious; getting close to misfortune, even thinking about it can lead to fatal infection. The smart money is on staying separate and disconnected.

Life may seem easier if you separate your heart from painful reality. Indeed, disconnection isn’t all bad. It helps you stay centered when performing under pressure. It helps you survive. But when disconnect goes on auto-pilot, it darkens reality and closes your mind. Disconnection empowers exclusivity, alienates support, and is the antithesis of communication.

So how to stay connected without becoming overwhelmed?

Remain connected without obsession. Viewing tsunami or 9/11 videos help process and understand the reality of a disaster. But it can also devolve into a morbid fascination similar to rubbernecking a car accident. It’s desensitizing. Awareness: good. Desensitization: bad.

I use two simple practices to help me avoid becoming desensitized:

a) Lighting a candle. I light one of those tall glass candles from the grocery store. The candle helps me acknowledge our human frailty, remember the issue in my heart, and it keeps aware of my blessings at home. It keeps things in perspective.

b) Reading news online twice daily. I don’t want to hide from the truth but neither do I want to obsess over details. Obsessive news gathering doesn’t enhance my awareness and it seems to feed a darker part of my psyche. A good read twice a day is plenty.

Remaining connected also takes advantage of experimental bias. This is the tendency to see what we expect. Researchers struggle to overcome this bias because it subconsciously skews test results. In my case, however, when I’m informed and connected I’m keeping the radar on. If something comes up where I can actually be of assistance, my bias will help me see it and hopefully participate.

Big deal, you say. It doesn’t help Japan or 9/11 or anything. It’s not useful in the big picture.

On this point I defer to Stephen Covey who, in Seven Habits for Highly Effective People, developed a simple, elegant way to reframe the concept of usefulness.

Reframe without Minimizing

One person’s breakup is another’s lost livelihood. One person’s illness is another’s natural disaster. Pain is pain. Yet no matter the situation, we can always take positive action within our Circles of Influence.

From 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Covey starts with the larger Circle of Concern. It includes everything in life we’re worried about: world finances, terrorism, war, natural disaster, global climate change, bird flu, whatever. It’s a circle of reaction. We flail with anxiety, contract in denial, or turn tail and run.

The Circle of Influence is a subset of the Circle of Concern. Smaller in scope, the Circle of Influence encompasses our work, family, the food we eat, the way we communicate and drive our cars, our attitudes, and our behavior.

Circles of Influence grow when they are tended, similar to blogs. This is where we have the power to effect change and make a difference. Indeed, it’s the only place we can.

In Lao Tzu’s I-Ching, this concept is indirectly expressed as “the taming power of the small.” One can make a bigger difference by taking smaller steps, working diligently within smaller circles. Whether I’m teaching classes, talking to my kids, lighting a candle, or checking the news, I’m active within my Circle of Influence. As the circle expands, I’ll still be active. It may not be much, but it’s all I’ve got.

Back at Starbucks, I finish my third refill of coffee and close up shop. I didn’t write about excuses today; tomorrow I surely will. Regardless of world crisis, productivity is still my niche and passion, my personal Circle of Influence. My blog, my trainings, my writing, it’s what I do. It’s my circle of influence.

I also refreshed the earthquake kit.

What are your thoughts about handling disaster? What small things are you doing? I look forward to your input and ideas.

I’m writing a series about the validity of excuses. Last week we opened with excuses in general. This week’s we’re focusing on:

I Can’t Decide What To Do

Which one? Which one?

Some folks have so many interests its hard to settle down. They tend to jump from project to project. Others are more like firefighters. Everything feels urgent. Do they go for the fire on the second floor or put out the blaze in the back yard?

No matter how you cloak it, being undecided is a decision to do NOTHING.

6 Ways to Handle “I Can’t Decide What To Do”

Time to push yourself off the fence — here’s how:  

1. Don’t Over-Think It. Your mind doesnt know the difference between thinking about it and doing it. At the end of the day you’ll be as exhausted from fretting as you would be if you’d actually done something. What’s worse, you’ll feel guilty too. Fortunately,overthinking responds well to scheduling. Set a specific time to get started and keep it short enough to be doable. Emphasis on short. When it comes to over-thinking, you’re not looking to make a big dent in the project. Instead, you’re enlisting the power of momentum. Short focus times are relatively easy and they generate forward movement. Check out the Pomodoro Method.
2. Choose by Context.

   David Allen’s Categorizing System

   Categorize activities by location; a system promoted by “Getting Things Done” maestro David Allen in his book “Getting Things Done.” That is, computer stuff gets done at the computer, car stuff gets done while driving around, phone stuff gets done when you’re next to the phone, etc. Priorities are driven by context, how much time you have, and how energetic you feel at the time.

3. Select the Easiest, Fastest, or Cheapest Task. When you’re caught like a deer in headlights, it’s wise to grab the first activity that seems easiest complete. It generates positive momentum. Remember Newton’s law? Things in motion stay in motion.
4. Get Nasty. At the other end of the spectrum, do the ugliest, smelliest, most difficult task first, when your energy is highest. I wrote an earlier post about this technique.
5. Do What’s Urgent and Important, First.

   Steven Covey’s Task Classifications

   Use the categorizing system promoted by success guru Stephen Covey in the seminal “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.Hint: Spending time in Category II prevents being overwhelmed by Category I.

6. Dig into a Fish Bowl. Write everything you’re resisting on pieces of paper, drop them into a fish bowl and pick one to work on for the hour/day/week/month. This is great to do with the family. To be fair you must actually do what you pick. Don’t fool yourself by picking again and again. You don’t get immunity. “Not yet” is not an option. If you know the fish bowl won’t work with certain tasks, then don’t drop them in.

People allow all kinds of excuses to keep them from participating fully in life. They become what the late humorist, Spalding Gray, called “VICARIANS,” living through others because they believe they can’t do it themselves.

This lifetime is too short to waste being a vicarian. Don’t let a bad excuse masquerade as a good reason.

The next excuse de jour will be:   I don’t follow through.

It’s a classic used by creative folks who have trouble finishing what they start.

Life chaos can overwhelm even the most balanced of beings. I’ve learned tons of weird coping strategies through the years:

• throwing ice cubes against the wall
• yelling under a bridge
• violent pruning (you get the idea)
• yodeling (Mary Schneider yodeling The William Tell Overture. OMG.)

My personal favorite is singing a power tune. It doesn’t matter if I’m alone or with friends–when stress hits hard, I sing. (Friends encourage me to do so alone.)

I draw from a well stocked pool of silliness. There’s something empowering about a song with upbeat, stupid lyrics. Here are a few of my tried-and-true favorites:

• When I’m scared, I sing out, “High Hopes.” I’ve used it kayaking in big waves, getting through a presentation fraught with technical screw ups (I sang to myself during a break), and in a variety of situations where I felt small and challenged.
• In the middle of the night on an impossible deadline, I’ll sometimes play Eric Burden’s 1990 version of the old work song,  ”16 Tons“. It’s a mighty energizing version to sing, and even better when it’s really loud.
• If I’m about to send a book proposal or handle a big client presentation, I chant Queen’s call to action, “We Will Rock You.” Percussion is the essence of its mojo and, by gum, it works.
• If the world is about to bury me alive, I pull out Monty Python’s “Always Look at the Bright Side of Life.” The Biblical character, Brian, sings it while hanging on the cross next to Jesus. I dare anyone to listen and not sing along.

Frank Sinatra crooned the ultimate dark power tune back in the 50’s: “That’s Life.”  It even spells out a suicide timeline:  I’m fine in April, shot down in May, back on top in June and if nothing’s shakin’ in July, I’ll roll up into a big ball and die. That’s Life is as emotionally satisfying today as it was sixty years ago.

So what are your strategies for dealing with the blues? Got any power tunes? I can always add to my cache.

I’m an active person. I kayak, do tai chi, hike, and in the warmer months I enjoy biking. But I also spend gobs of time on my duff working with the computer, driving kids around, writing, reading, etc.

Enter Travis Saunders‘  recent Scientific American article, “Can Sitting Too Much Kill You?”

“But even if you are meeting current physical activity guidelines by exercising for one hour per day (something few Americans manage on a consistent basis), that leaves 15 to 16 hours per day when you are not being active. Does it matter how you spend those hours, which account for more than 90% of your day? For example, does it matter whether you spend those 16 hours sitting on your butt, versus standing or walking at a leisurely pace? Fortunately or unfortunately, new evidence suggests that it does matter, and in a big way.” Read Article

Ouch.

“…what I find truly fascinating is that sedentary behavior also results in rapid and dramatic changes in skeletal muscle. For example, in rat models, it has been shown that just 1 day of complete rest results in dramatic reductions in muscle triglyceride uptake, as well as reductions in HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). And in healthy human subjects, just 5 days of bed rest has been shown to result in increased plasma triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, as well as increased insulin resistance—all very bad things. And these weren’t small changes—triglyceride levels increased by 35%, and insulin resistance by 50%!” Read Article

I shifted, aware that I was seated while reading the article.

“…these physiological changes in skeletal muscle have little or nothing to do with the accumulation of body fat, and occur under extremely rapid time-frames. This means that both lean and obese individuals, and even those with otherwise active lifestyles, are at increased health risk when they spend excessive amounts of time sitting down.” Read Article

That did it. I’d been thinking about dragging the treadmill from the garage into the family room and then mounting my computer on the handlebars. Saunders’ article just convinced me to give it a shot.

Me? Sedentary?

There’s a lot of support for the value of very slow walking while reading or doing other typically sedentary activites. The brain quickly learns how to focus during movement. I’ve been curious about it ever since I researched walking workstations in Japan.

My only question is, how should I mount the computer? I use a 17′ monitor laptop as my primary system. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. I’m not exactly handy with a hammer.

Anyway, read the full article yourself. Mr. Saunders offers interesting suggestions to balance out bottom-heavy behavior — suggestions that I am now seriously considering.

But first, the treadmill experiment. Onward ho.

I often use two-word comebacks as responses to the nastygrams my Inner Critic (IC)  hurls at me. I dont want to dignify it with more than two words. Better to just slap it away with a quick retort. Here are three of my most common:

IC:   You can’t write.
Me: Who Cares?
IC:  Nobody’s gonna read it.
Me:  Big Deal.
IC:  Your work sucks.
Me: You suck.

I do have a several NC17 phrases when IC is more — uhm – insistent.  But hey, they all work. The key  is to avoid giving too much attention to IC’s commentary. Attention = validation. Without energy and validation, IC can pass through your mind like clouds on a windy day.

In other news, I’m finally catching up with work because of weekend travel plans. I”m going to Fargo. Yes, Fargo. As in North Dakota.

IC:  You’ll never catch up with your work.
Me: Your Mother.

After reading Lake Superior University’s list of banned words, I’ve been trying to come up with a list of my own. Turns out there’s a lot more stuff to ban than just words:

1. Jeans that reveal butts when seated or squatted.
2. People advising about weight loss.
3. Laugh tracks.
4. Mucus.
5. Celebrity without skill, talent, or honor.
6. People who don’t like animals.
7. Litter.
8. Anyone who doesn’t think I’m fine.
9. Dog poop. Add cat poop to that. Poop in general.

I’m sure I’ll think of many others.

Read Article 2 in the Series

I’m all about productivity, energy efficiency, and enjoying a life outside of work. Its what I do for a living. Two years ago, I created a blog along these lines and christened it, Your Productivity Sucks.

After a short burst of energy, Your Productivity Sucks slipped into the back forty of netherspace. Truth be told, blogging was maybe number 25 on my daily wanna-do list. My updating efforts grew feeble and I compensated by feeling guilty.

Blogging was maybe number 25 on my daily wanna-do list.

Last summer everything changed. Now I’m blogging with commitment, purpose and – gasp –enthusiasm.

What happened? How do I fit it in? And perhaps most important — why should I do something that countless other folks are doing better?

What happened? How do I fit it in?

In a series of four postings I’ll respond to these questions and more. Specifically I’ll share how I:

• justify it (lots of good reasons to do anything but)
• stay energized about it
• cope when I’m NOT energized
• make peace with my blog’s glaring imperfections (yeah, I need an RSS button and a lot more)
• fit it in (the nuts of bolts)
• benefit from regular blogging
• apply it to my primary topic area: energy management and productivity (hint: it applies bigtime)

Articles will hopefully be practical and applicable. I do hope you enjoy them. If not, please don’t tell me.

P.S. Other blogs were and still are of enormous assistance to me. I’ll list a few favourites at the end of each post. Feel free to share your favourite websites and blogs as well.

Problogger www.problogger.com

Darren Rowse is blogosphere kingpin. Smart, generous and savvy, Darren’s blog is an internet vortex of strong content and motivation.

Technorati  http://technorati.com/blogging/

The first blog search engine and directory, Technorati now a hub of information with excellent blogging & social media articles.

Copyblogger www.copyblogger.com

I love Brian Clark’s clean layout. His stuff is great for style, content, writing tips and business blog uncommon sense.

Eat a frog first thing in the morning and everything else will taste much better.

In the software industry, the above classic is morphed into a hybrid: T.E.T.O. — Test Early Test Often.  T.E.T.O. is burnt into my neurons because I spent many years in tech. My personal efficiency motto developed as a natural extension of it:

S.E.S.O. — Start Early Start Often.

It’s a no-brainer. I have the sharpest energy when I Start Early and I make consistent progress when I Start Often.

Starting Early: Getting that frog out of the way makes good sense, efficiency-wise and energy-wise. So what if I there’s more frog tomorrow? At least I start digesting it when I’m capable of eating the most. Once today’s frog is consumed, everything else is better.

Starting Often: I’m forever at Square One but  it doesn’t bother me. Square One stops being a point of frustration when it evolves an old, reliable friend. Yesterday’s completion point is Square One today, frog or no frog.

S.E.S.O. Start Early Start Often.

Go ahead, try it. Let me know how it works for you.

My Starbucks is a club of quiet people. We walk in at 4:30 AM and scout our favourite spots. Some of us plug in. Most are older, alone. I haven’t chatted with anyone. None of us are there to talk. We read, we type, and we sip coffee.

It’s drizzling. The lights of the empty parking lot glisten against wet pavement. At 4:30 in the morning everything is alone.

My friend at age 54 just met the love of her life. Another friend is involved with a born-again mechanical engineer. She is bisexual, searching for God, trying to explain to her lover how running from hell isn’t a good enough reason to convert.

My husband-no-more tries to be nice and fails.

In my kayak, I plough toward the middle of the bay. Cold green waves beam the hull. Hips roll too far. A quick slap of the paddle blade and I’m righted.

I feel quietly better.

"sorry..."

Okay, I haven’t written in a long time. I’m a naughty blogger and I should be punished.

My schedule and my dog’s continual digestive issues make life challenging.  I’m forever saying, “It’s not me. Honest. It’s the dog.”

More soon. Honest.

One of the reasons my Busy People books sell is because people relate to them. Like everyone else, I’m busy; like everyone else, my productivity often sucks. So the reincarnation of this blog — which used to be on writing – is now about ideas and suggestions that can help you (translation: me) manage productivity, energy, efficiency, time, and order.

Organization and productivity are two subjects about which I research, write and teach. They represent my greatest achievements and worst nightmares. I know what it feels like to battle procrastination. I understand creating order and then losing it.  I respect habit patterns as worthy opponents. Mostly I just know what it feels like suck at something I should have nailed.

I’m always researching topics on behavior change and lifestyle improvement. The results will be posted here on a weekly basis. The goal is to be practical, entertaining, and pithy. 

Comments are welcome. Try to keep them clean; my daughters read this.

I’m reading Dr. Daniel Amen’s work on the brain. It’s pop neuroscience at its best. I’ve read enough about it to know that Amen’s suggestions are hot in research circles. He talks about the physiology of the brain/body connection in conjunction with behavior change. Good stuff. Since I’m a behavior change work-in-progress, I’m going to recraft this blog to include short bits about behavior change in terms of efficiency, productivity, and energy management.

There are currently about a billion blogs in the net’verse already covering these topics. So what makes this one different?

Hmmmmm.

Lower case posting titles. Edgy.