Consider removing "maybe" from your productivity vocabulary

The more I learn about personal productivity, the more I appreciate decisiveness. I wrote If not now, when? The importance of being bold around this, and I want to expand the discussion to the word maybe, and talk about removing it (or at least limiting its use) from your productivity vocabulary could help you and those you work with.

What's wrong with maybe? It has some good uses (more in a moment), but generally people use it to put off decisions, or to avoid saying "no." It (and its close cousin let me think about it) will often make things worse, not better. This is because, without discipline, the offer/issue/problem won't go away with some focused thinking. Not only will the decision be hanging over you, you'll be blocking the person who made the request.

I'd argue that most of the time, we know inside whether to say "no" or "yes," but we put it off. If that's the case, take a deep breath, accept or decline with respect and compassion, and be done with it. You'll usually feel much better as a result. However, there are times when you need to carefully employ "maybe." A few examples:

• You don't have enough information.
  
• You're waiting on something or someone else's input.
  
• You have an intuition about it, but not yet enough clarity.

In those cases, you may choose to defer the decision, but I recommend doing so in a principled way:

• Set boundaries for when you'll have made the decision. For example, give yourself two weeks (use your tickler file or equivalent), and commit to deciding by then. Do not re-incubate!
  
• Inform anyone waiting on you that you're giving it active thought, and let them know when they can expect an answer (see above). (This is a specific case of the two key communication questions the Time/Design folks talk about: Who is impacted? and Who needs to know?. Once answered, use your frequent communication tools - e.g., the Getting Things Done agenda - to keep key players in the loop.)
  
• Take concrete action to help make the decision. Collect information, discuss it with someone you trust, or make a Franklin matrix - from Structuring Analytical Problems:

  To get over this, my way is to divide half a sheet of paper by a line into two columns; writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then, during three or four days of consideration, I put down under the different heads short hints of the different motives, that at different times occur to me, for or against the measure.

• Sleep on it by giving your mind time to get clarity. However, rather than not thinking about it at all, I suggest you actively program your cortex to work on it. One very helpful approach comes from Robert Maurer's terrific little book One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. In his chapter Ask Small Questions, Maurer recommends putting a small question to yourself repeatedly - say every day for a week or two. He says ... the mere act of posing the same question on a regular basis and waiting patiently for an answer mobilizes the cortex. Importantly, you'll have to break the problem down into a small, non-threatening question. Otherwise, he says, you'll lock up your brain in a fear pattern. (Related: 'Sleeping on it' best for complex decisions - being-human and Experiment Shows You Really Should 'Sleep On It'.)
  

One important aspect of reducing your maybes will be an enabling of others in your life. Firm, timely decisions (yes or no) allow colleagues to move on with their plans. Maybe, in comparison, keeps them from moving ahead.

How about you? Any best practices you've discovered around "maybe?"


Related

• On saying yes - 3 possibilities: Always yes, always no, or only when you really want to
  
• Yes' are great, nos are great, maybes will kill you
  

Some thoughts from the book "Getting Organized" by Chris Crouch

As I grow into the reality of working for myself, I've noticed there's a rhythm to how much activity I can handle, and it ebbs and flows, often in unpredictable ways. A while ago I wrote about When inputs exceed your workflow system's capacity, a situation I'm currently in - I'm focusing more on managing existing commitments (I'm presenting a fair number of workshops this summer) than creating new work. This is especially evident in my reading - I have a candidates shelf of about forty books (see A reading workflow based on Leveen's "Little Guide"), but I'm just not making much progress on them.

That's why I keep a list of blog ideas (1396, according to my Big-Arse Text File), including books I've read but not yet reported on. Today I want to pass along some notes from Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize by Chris Crouch. This is known as the GO System, which has its own network of certified practitioners. (Note: Many of the book's chapters can be found on EzineArticles.com.)

Looking at my notes, the book surpasses my scribble test (see "Interesting, but not useful," or Does it pass the scribble test?) with a bunch of stimulating concepts. Generally it's very good, mainly because it is a comprehensive solution - like Getting Things Done - rather than a reference of tips and tricks.

Here are some of my favorites - apologies fore the long list, but there's a lot to like!

• Crouch says "most people need a major overhaul, not a quick fix," which explains why most attempts to get organized don't work - the smorgasbord approach doesn't do it.
  
• The author says six things typically hold us back, and claims we must address all six to make progress:
  1. efficiently handling incoming items
     
  2. prioritizing your workload
     
  3. time management
     
  4. project management
     
  5. personality issues
     
  6. psychological issues
• The mental side of getting organized is significantly more important than anything else you do. His analogy: It's like buying a piano and thinking you can play it the next day. I like his quote about:

  If you want to stay highly organized, think in terms of habit-based solutions as opposed to gadget-based ones.

• He recommends a "not going to do" list, the equivalent of GTD's Someday/Maybe list. (Note: I love having clients fill these out during workshops - clients come up with some great ones.)
  
• He recommends we decide our most important task in the morning and do it before anything else - interruptions, email, or phone. Gina calls it your MIT (see Geek to Live: Control your workday). However, you must have a system in order to know what your MIT might be.
  
• His summary of how to work most effectively: stay in the moment - totally focus on what you are doing and get closure on it ... then move on to the next thing.
  
• He divides incoming work in to four phases: 1) gathering, 2) filtering, 3) prioritizing, 4) doing. He stresses it's important to keep them separate and do them in the proper order. (Compare to GTD's five worfklow phases: Collect, Process, Organize, Review, and Do.)
  
• Similarly, his equivalent to GTD's Processing & Organizing diagram is "the five decisions:" discard, delegate, take immediate action, file for follow-up, put in reference file. (For reference see How to process stuff - A comparison of TRAF, the "Four Ds", and GTD's workflow diagram.)
  
• I like his anti-example (what people typically do, but shouldn't): stack, stuff, spread, or any combination. I think of these as the three "Bad Ss" :-)
  
• He covers two GTD FAQs I see regularly: OHIO (only handle it once) and OOSOOM (out of sight, out of mind).
  
• Regarding reducing inputs and clutter, he has a great quote:

  The things that come into your life with little or no effort will rarely go out of your life without some effort on your part. This creates a natural imbalance in your workspace and your life. Understand this imbalance and will understand that you must have a system for moving things out of your life if you want to avoid being buried in clutter.

• He recommends a "control point" drawer: A hanging file within swivel distance that acts like an airport control point (reminds me of The Instant Productivity Toolkit). Things that go into it:
  • Tickler file
    
  • follow-up forms
    
  • agenda (boss, spouse, each on-going meeting)
    
  • casual reading (read/review)
    
  • waiting for
    
  • purchases/errands
• Two nice quotes on gadgets: The true test of a gadget: Is it easier than a pencil? also: Is it easier than something that is already working quite well?
  
• Regarding follow-up, he says there are three types of reputations of an organization: sometimes, always, or never.
  
• Some nice applications for the tickler file:
  • For big delegated projects put a reminder 1/2 way between now and due date.
    
  • To manage others' follow-up skills: put a tickler 1/2 way between now and the deadline, then ask how they're doing. Move sooner or later depending on how together they are.
  He says this sets expectations, which can lead to behavior changes.
  
• I like his thoughts on meetings: He encourages us to have an agenda, but to try to learn others' perspectives - the more you know about their point of view (and they're important to your success), the more effective you will be when interacting with them.

  Listen carefully to their point of view, and try to understand the beliefs that drive their behavior. It's actually a lot of fun to ask questions and try to figure out what makes them tick.

• He recommends two categories for reading: have to read (use your system, or schedule time), and would like to read (use read/review and rip-and-read). This is identical to what I advise clients, but with the optional addition of a Someday/Maybe category.
  
• He says we shouldn't over schedule our day - More than 50% should be kept clear. Also, leave time after meetings to process &, plus leave time between meetings.
  
• He talks about the overloaded and confused cycle, which "stuff" worsens. Be on the lookout for anxiety and confusion; these indicate overload.
  
• On perfection and "too smart to start" (AKA "analysis paralysis"): Consider getting off to a chaotic start. He says many people try to get perfect at the beginning. Instead, start with an initial brainstorming session using 3x5 cards, then order by best way to start.
  
• For planning large projects, use a simple table with columns for: category (people, products, sources), what is to be done, who will do it, when will they do it, general comments, status (in process, completed, ...). Then: sort the table by date!
  
• His reasons we feel overwhelmed:
  • You are setting unrealistic time frames for what you are trying to do.
    
  • You are procrastinating too long.
    
  • You are spending too much time working on things that do not matter.
    
  • You are over-promising what you can do for someone.
    
  • You do not have the profound knowledge needed to do the task.
    
  • You do not know when and how to say No.
    
• He lists these causes of procrastination:
  • Perfectionism - the paralyzing need to get it right the first time
    
  • Impulsiveness - taking on too many things to do and overloading yourself
    
  • Fear of failure - rather be seen as lacking in effort than ability
    
  • Perception of task - seems too hard or too boring
    
  • Uncertainty - not sure what to do
    
• Three things to do to master your work: Read, hang around masters, and make sure you are passionate about your job. I love his quote:

  Stop making excuses and start learning more about your job than anyone else within a 100-mile radius of your workspace. When you accomplish this, move your radius out another 100 miles. Keep this up until you don.t have anymore room to expand your radius.

• He makes a great point regarding "To Do" lists - most people make it too easy for things to get on the list, which means our "inputs" (work to do) exceed our "outputs" (work done). Mark Forster nails this pretty well (he calls them closed lists) - see Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management.
  
• On changing behaviors, he says anytime we encounter a new idea there are three possible outcomes: 1) nothing will happen, 2) you will alter your behavior in some minor ways, 3) the idea will significantly change your behavior and your life forever. He claims we must examine and disrupt the belief system that is driving that outcome...
  
• Finally, he talks about the ideas behind the work, including:
  • under pressure, you act without thinking
    
  • you can turn on the rational mind by relaxing
    
  • if feeling part of brain is on, you default to habits (good or bad)
    
  • if you insist on operating under pressure, you must learn good habits
    
  • something that feels right may be bad for you (it's a habit that feels normal)
    
  • something that feels wrong may be good for you (it's not a habit yet)
  
  

Again, a great book, lots of sound ideas, and some delightful wisdom about work and life. I'll leave you with a few more great quotes (I collect them for my infamous quote card exercises in my workshops):

Good productivity techniques are about feeling engaged, working at a satisfying pace, and getting the best out of people.

A peaceful state of mind is the ultimate reason for getting more focused, organized, and productive.

Afraid to click? How to efficiently process your RSS feeds

I recently came across Tim Ferriss's [1] entry How Scoble Reads 622 RSS Feeds Each Morning, which motivated me to post an "aha" I recently had about processing RSS feeds. (What I took away from the Scoble video was how selective he his in deciding to read a post, how he makes that choice, and that he uses feeds for "relationship work" - networking - so he can be smart when talking with someone. However, I didn't get much on how to handle so many feeds.)

I read about 200 feeds [2] right now, and when I'm feeling overloaded I noticed I avoided keeping up with them. I had an "afraid to click" dynamic because I knew there would be consequences (having to decide the meaning of each post - and there are lots of them) with that click. After some thought, I realized there are only two kinds of posts: Those I want to read, and those I don't (deep, I know). Since all of the feeds I subscribe to are potentially valuable (otherwise I unsubscribe), the work (and it is work) is to go through them as quickly as possible to "harvest" the action involved.

In other words, it's simply the processing and organizing [3] phases of Getting Things Done.

Here's how I do it: I click the feed (or folder, if they're grouped), take the hit (lots will load up), and zip through them one at a time. I've set my reader to show only headlines (best for most feeds except newsletters), so I scan each title and decide mercilessly whether it deserves a deeper look. If so, I use Firefox's middle-click to open in new tab feature [4] to temporarily bookmark it, then move on. Once I've gone through all the new feeds I use keyboard shortcuts to go through each tab to decide "Is it actionable?," closing each tab when I've handled it. With feed reading this usually boils down to:

• Does it still look valuable?
  
• If so, is it short enough to read in two minutes? If yes, read it.
  
• If not, I put it into my to read stream. For blogs, the stream is to buffer up articles-to-read in a text file, print them once a week, and carry them in my Read/Review folder.

Note that this gets me rapidly through lots of posts, essentially moving them from "IN" to my actions list. However, it does require you to have a good "to read" system in place. Otherwise you'll feel compelled to read them all, which takes you from processing and organizing to doing, and that, my friend, will drag you down.

When I finally end up reading the post (either in two minutes or later) I typically have a limited set of resulting actions:

• Try a new behavior/install a new habit (example: keeping a decision log),
  
• Save it for reference [5] - either for me or clients (examples: saying no and FileHamster),
  
• Send it to someone who will hopefully find it valuable (a great little networking gift, along with this one),
  
• Save it as a Someday/Maybe item (I choose to print and file them in a paper folder),
  
• Respond (either via a blog post, an email to the author, or a forum comment), or
  
• Save it as a writing topic (I love stimulating reading that gets me thinking - fun!)
  

Clearly there are others, but the key point is to have an efficient system to turn the reading into action, and to whiz through them. I like my tagged text file (see Pickle jars, text files, and creative idea capture), but use whatever works.

How about you - Have any good tips for handling RSS feeds? I'd love to hear them.


References

• [1] Ferriss has received a ton of recognition for his book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (it's in my candidates library - see A reading workflow based on Leveen's "Little Guide"). You might enjoy his blog and site.
  
• [2] My current feed list is here. I use Bloglines for my reading, especially for its killer email-as-feed feature - which gets lists that are email-based out of my inbox. Highly recommended.
  
• [3] You might be interested in How to process stuff - A comparison of TRAF, the "Four Ds", and GTD's workflow diagram.
  
• [4] More great Firefox tips at 15 Coolest Firefox Tricks Ever, including my all-time favorite Reopen the last closed tab with Ctrl+Shift+T.
  
• [5] I had a colleague who tagged these "MUS" - Might be USeful - which I use regularly.
  
• [6] You might enjoy my article Information provenance - the missing link between attention, RSS feeds, and value-based filtering.
  

Why *my* NUTs should not be *your* NUTs!

Repeat after me: I will not brain dump onto others, I will not brain dump onto others, ...

I was talking recently with a friend and mountain bike buddy about the ideas I teach, especially the notion of keeping everything out of your head. He loved it, and really understood the negative impact that NUTs (Nagging Unfinished Tasks) have on us (see Personal productivity, IBMs, and NUTs: Some surprises about the brain). The next time we met he was very animated about this because he realized a) his spouse has these NUTs (most of us do, unless we rigorously practice a method like Getting Things Done), and b) he claimed she tries to get him to take them on for her!

Does this happen with someone in your life? It's essentially delegation, but in an unclear and indirect manner - more like a brain dump onto someone else. And as Roizen and Oz point out in YOU: The Owner's Manual, there's a real cost to not handling these effectively (they say these age you by eight years - excerpts on-line at Google Books).

The question is, how do you deal with someone trying to do this to you? It turns out I had a chance to practice - I ran into my friend's spouse (a very sweet person) when leaving their place for a ride, and she asked me to pass along a message to my spouse. Because I didn't have my capture tool with me (a calculated oversight - see A few thoughts on capture and What's the best tool for ubiquitous capture?), I told her I couldn't take it on. My reason was that I might forget or garble it, and then I'd have two women angry with me (much worse than 12 Angry Men!) Plus, I have enough of my own tasks I have to manage. To myself I thought, I'm not paid to take on stuff like this for others - that's a tough job (see Best practices for GTD and administrative assistants).


Is this bad? Should we take on little things like this for others? And are they little? My advice: Be careful what you take on. In general, saying "no" is important to managing your own stress levels, and it becomes much easier once you've identified every commitment in your life. However, people might see this as being selfish or unhelpful, so treat them with respect and compassion, possibly explaining your reasons. A few resources for saying no:

• The Gentle Art of Saying No
  
• 20 Ways To Say No
  
• Esteem: The Power of Saying, "No"

By the way, would you remind me to...

One way to enjoy the ride - celebrate surprise!

I think that one aspect of living gracefully is to appreciate the steady stream of events (large and small, positive and negative) that make up a lifetime. At the meditation center I attended years ago they taught that the present is all we have - the future hasn't happened yet, and the past is over, so enjoying what's happening now is a key to being happy [1]. This is a variation on the "stop and smell the roses" theme, and it makes sense to me.

Trouble is, when I'm under stress, I find appreciating what's happening in the moment to be hard. For example, as I'm building my consulting practice I experience a mixture of frightening an exhilarating experiences, and many of the former get in the way. It's the old "journey vs. destination" idea - focus too much on the latter, you forget to live fully [2].

So part of my personal process is figuring out ways to (as Patricia Ryan Madson calls it in Improv Wisdom) "enjoy the ride" [3]. Unfortunately, for some of us it's just not straightforward. How do we go about appreciating the moment? It's a huge question, but one thing that helps me is savoring surprise. After all, what good is staring something new if it doesn't result in at least a few surprises?

This hit me on the head Friday when I got an unexpected envelope from a reader in Minnesota, USA. Inside were a handful of the Pentel Forte mechanical pencils I love (he read about them in this post), along with a lovely note thanking me for this blog. Man did that lift my spirits! It also got me thinking about the value of surprise - both receiving and creating it.

Let me finish with a few tips around surprise. I'd also very much like to hear your comments on this, e.g.,

• What tricks do you have for enjoying the ride?
  
• Have you had any recent surprises you've celebrated?

Be open to surprise

To enjoy surprises we have to be aware of them. Otherwise, we won't notice them. I think this is one way that a system like Getting Things Done contributes - getting the daily noise under control lets us tune in better to what we're experiencing. Hmmm. I wonder - How about a course on Surprise Training?

I also think appreciating surprise depends on a second element: interpretation. Like any experience, our perspective determines what it means to us. Naturally some surprises aren't positive, but I've sometimes been able to "spin" an event mentally into a positive thing. Absurdity loves being acknowledged.


Celebrate surprise

I like stopping for a moment to celebrate welcome surprises. It's a chance to slow down and appreciate these important events. I've tried three ways of doing this. First, I have a "surprise wall" where I put notes and cards from readers, and art and messages from my daughter [4]. Second, I highlight surprise emails (see Use Gmail's "star" to highlight your good news). Finally, I sometimes record them using in my journal (I use a "DelightfulSurprise" tag in My Big-Arse Text File - a Poor Man's Wiki+Blog+PIM).


Plant seeds

Fostering surprise is like writing letters - you have to plant seeds to get something to grow. For example, I reached out about six months ago to friends and family to announce my new job direction. As a result, I got two surprise calls last week from two regional colleges looking for faculty productivity consulting. Neat!

Another thing is to look for ways to pleasantly surprise others. My current favorite: When I was consulting last week in Florida, I picked up a bunch of NASA swag - stickers, pens, etc. - which I've been gleefully passing out. The look on someone's face when they get a cool gift is a real heart-warmer.


Other applications of surprise

Creating surprise goes beyond this, though. For example, I work to include surprises in my workshops, including physical ones like door prizes (everyone loves getting a Super Spy Night Pen for bed-side capture) and mental ones (like the idea that multitasking decreases IQ more than smoking pot [5]). (See more great presentation tips from Kathy Sierra's article A few more Presentation How To's.)


Unexpected results of tuning in

Finally, being open to experiences like surprises can add unexpected value and perspective to our lives. In fact, many of my favorite books are stories by someone who got surprised, then followed it up and shared the results. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and Freakonomics are two nice examples. I also love the canonical surprise story Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes


References

• [1] You might enjoy reading recent books stemming from research on happiness, including Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment by Martin Seligman, or Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard.
  
• [2] Interestingly, one thing I liked about MissionControl's workshop was their idea of life being an endless sequence of "Nows" (see A GTD-er's perspective on Mission Control's "Productivity and Accomplishment" workshop). They extrapolated this to me we should schedule every action in our work and lives for a specific "Now" - sometime in your calendar. I don't care for this approach, but I know it works well for some people.
  
• [3] See Great time management ideas from the world of improv wisdom and Whose job is it? Mine!
  
• [4] Being around children is a great way to expose yourself to surprise. Kids are great because they don't know when something they do is "bad" - sometimes just a chuckle can change a negative interpretation (dropping something, say) into a funny one.
  
• [5] Widely reported a few years ago, e.g., CNN.com - E-mails 'hurt IQ more than pot' - Apr 22, 2005.