Predictions, Progress and the Power of Projects

February 3rd, 2012

Groundhog day.

A do over day.

A day to check to see what is on the horizon in the coming weeks.

Now is a terrific time to reflect on what you have planned for 2012. After all we develop a commitment to what we spend time on- the more time invested the deeper the commitment.  Taking time to consider what  you decided to invest your resources (time, effort etc.) and how you would do so is a good idea. Or if heck January just slipped way from you, now is a fine to think about what you really want to commit to this year. What would make your life, or your work- heck go big both- deeply meaningful to you? If you are not crystal clear about the big important-to-me-picture to me you’ll get bogged down by all that could be, tripped up by details, lose your place or worse decide to toss all your efforts out the window.

What happens all too often is starting out gung-ho ready to jump into your resolutions and really MAKE THIS THE YEAR when (fill in the blank).  Suddenly it is March and you are not making the progress you hoped for. By August you’ve forgotten about those resolutions, or are feeling bad about not getting them done. Not to fear it is February and there is time to recalibrate.  Ground hog day is always my signal to do this, before I get in too deep.

The past 4 weeks I have been leaning into projects that directly relate to what I named big important-to-me-parts of my personal plan for 2012.  The idea of taking on projects instead of goals really works, because you can always make progress on a project. You are better positioned to make progress when the project is discrete, that is as specific, measureable and related to something alive in your big important-to-me-picture.  No matter how small the step you take is it represents progress. Your efforts and their outcomes both have value.  If a small step is less productive than you intended you have not lost too much either.  If it does propel you forward you can figure out how much bigger to make the next step.

Every 4 weeks I think about the projects (I started to experiment with this idea in December) I want to focus on and describe them as a succinctly as possible. One important criteria I use is thinking through what can I realistically lean into given what is already on my calendar for the upcoming 4 weeks. My projects are designed to move me into new or better territory, this requires extra oomph and there is only so much oomph you have in a given time period. Then I carve out regular time to focus on them. By time I mean work sprints when I only focus on the project at hand. These are 15-60 minutes of burst of time that my schedule allows for on a given day.

The results thus far? I tackled one  big professional project, made significant headway on an other and FINALLY got the darn main hallway painted! All things that otherwise might have lingered and lingered and lingered. The hall had a been a source of “as soon as” stuckness for more months than I’d like to admit to- but no more. When I needed to recalibrate during the 4 weeks I did, so I could make progress. In considering what projects to focus on during this current 4 weeks I recalibrated again. I’ll keep doing this to ensure I continue to make progress. Also I focus on no more than 3 projects in a given 4 weeks. Over the year I‘ll get to everything in my personal plan, without feeling like I need do to it all- NOW. What a relief!

So how do you recalibrate to keep your focus and momentum over the coming weeks and months?  Try using these questions and your honest answers to point the way:

  • What specifically is working? How do I know this to be true?
  • What specifically is not working? How do I know this to be true?
  • How can I make this easy(ier)?
  • Where am I holding back?
  • When am I am at my best?  How do I do this more?
  • Why I am doing this in the first place?

My point(s) here, whether you feel like “Yes or everything is on track” or not is this:

  • Determine what you really want and need, be as specific as you can, readjust if you need.  Create bite sized projects for a discrete time frame that relate to your big-important-to-me picture.
  • Identify difficulties that you are experiencing  so you can decide how to address or circumvent these.
  • Bring out the capacities you have, or if needed build new ones. Yes an “old dog” can learn new tricks there is even the science to prove it.
  • Strategize plan of action, quickly. If you need help to do this, and often we do, something about not seeing the forest for the trees, ask for it.
  • Act accordingly.

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What Would Goldilocks Do?

March 14th, 2011 
This is a guest post by Marilyn Webster of Whimsy and Tea.

Once upon a time a girl wandered into the woods and came upon a house.  She knocked and when there was no answer, she went in anyhow.  She was hungry and fortunately for her, she found three bowls of porridge and three spoons.  The porridge in the first bowl was too hot, so she moved on to the next bowl.  The porridge in the second bowl was too cold, so she moved on to the third bowl.  The porridge in the third bowl was just the right temperature, but it was too salty.  There was no fourth bowl.

Disappointed, she wondered what to do.  ”I’m really hungry,” she thought, “so I could eat this anyhow.  But why eat it if it doesn’t taste good?  Hmm, I don’t see a microwave to heat up that other bowl.  Oh, maybe there’s some milk in the fridge that I could use to cool down the first porridge I tasted.”

As she considered various options, she remembered hearing a story about a girl in a similar situation.  That girl found a bowl of porridge that was just right, a chair that was just right and a bed that was just right.

“What does just right mean to me right now?” the girl asked herself.  She realized that she wasn’t really in the mood for porridge, so she washed the spoons and headed home.

On her way home, she ran into a friend.  ”Weren’t you being a bit picky?” her friend asked upon hearing about the salty porridge.

“That’s one way to look at it,” the girl said.  ”I figured why settle for salty porridge — even if it was quick and easy — when, with a little effort, I could eat something I really like.”

“But it’s only porridge,” her friend said.

“I know,” said the girl.  ”And if I want to sleep on a bed that feels just right, would you say, ‘It’s only a bed?’”  Before her friend could answer, the girl continued on her way with a little skip.

When she got home, the girl headed straight into the kitchen.  In the fridge she found some romaine lettuce, a pear, toasted walnuts, and Parmesan cheese with which she made a salad in her favorite bowl

“Wow, this is more than just right,” the girl said aloud.  ”This is delicious, nourishing and beautiful.  It’s a simple meal and so deeply satisfying.”

As she ate her salad, savoring each bite, she looked around her kitchen and asked herself, “Is my kitchen knife just right?  My bowl? My tea kettle?”  As she thought about each item and her choices, she realized that each item presented an opportunity to treat herself well, to surround herself with things that made her feel good about herself, and to add beauty to ordinary moments.

And the girl is well on her way to living happily ever after.

What do you see when you look around your kitchen and home?  Do these feel just right to you?  What’s one small change you could make so that you would feel more nourished and cared for?  I’d love to hear about it.

 Article © 2011 Marilyn Webster, all rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission.

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Simple Checklist to Take Stock of Your Emotional Decision Making

August 16th, 2010

I am still reflecting on the power of language of behavioral economics in illustrating how our emotions, perceptions and assumptions influence our decisions, and some times not for the better. Here is a quick non-scientific 5-point checklist for you to use to take stock of how something other than just the facts are influencing your decision-making.

Think of a reasonably important decision you made in the past 12 months. One about which you can be objective. Ready? Now check off the items you recognize in your decision-making. I was interested by I found when applying this to several decisions I made of the past year.

1. Anchoring: Making decisions on irrelevant information rather than evaluating the decision based on the big picture.

2. Confirmation bias: Looking for information that supports a decision you want to make rather than exploring the process and cons of a decision. We have all done this at least once in our lives.

3. Gambler’s Fallacy: Not understanding the laws of probability. It is the “this time it will be different” thinking. Just become a coin has land heads-up 20 times in a row that does not mean it will land tails-up on toss 21.

4. Herd Behavior: Constantly following the latest trends because everyone else is doing it.  As your Dad might have said to you “Would you jump off a cliff if everyone else is do it?” The right decision for someone else, or everyone else may not be the right or best one for you.

5. Hindsight bias: Thinking that an unexpected, unpredictable event was obvious, after the fact. This can lead to overconfidence, thinking you can always predict what will happen. You can’t, you won’t. Don’t put that sort of pressure on yourself; you are not omnipotent.

Make the best decisions you can with the information you have at hand, but make sure the information is relevant and real then roll with the outcome. If you have taken in the big picture, weighed your emotions with the relevant facts, you will have made the best decision you can, and more often than not, good things come from that sort of decision-making.

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3 Strategies to Discipline Emotions in Decision Making

August 9th, 2010

Last week I was reading the insert that came with my retirement investment statement and found myself drawing parallels between the lead article on behavioral economics and how we use/misuse emotions when making decisions, financial or otherwise. The decisions you make about your relationships, your work, what to eat for dinner… are the deposits and withdrawals in your life’s “long tem investment plan.” You want to make the best decisions for the long and short-term.

I put a lot of stock in emotions and intuition as tools to guide decision-making. Heck in many ways they are the most precious assets I use in my own and my clients tell me I am the person they go to balance out their heart and head. Using emotions as the only tool can sway us to unhelpful extremes. Emotions are like a barometer they let us know what is blowing up, settling down and if there are peaceful tranquil days are ahead. You can’t will sunshine to follow you when there is a deluge happening, just because you want to believe is a sunny day.  Here are 3 strategies to balance your emotions with other information and ensure you are making good decisions for your “long term investment plan”.

Avoid information overload. When faced with making an important decision, it is easy to be over saturated by advice, suggestions and information from family, friends, and the 24 hours media available to us. Cautionary tales and conflicting information is abundant.  In particular many media network seems to fuel themselves on negative that play on your emotions. An abundance of information can be paralyzing. Step back, take account of the source of information, note any trends you are hearing and at some point you make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time.

Avoid “all or nothing” mentality. When times are volatile or changing rapidly it is easy to be seduced into an extreme position. At one pole, doing nothing- “What difference does it make.” At the other pole, frantically doing everything you can to try to control every- stop you can’t control everything. You are not omnipotent (and who wants that pressure anyway?). Neither is particularly rational approach. Take some deep breaths and them some small steps to weather the storm.

Apply the 24-hour rule. Impulse buys and decisions we have all made them without taking time to step back and consider the big picture. It is one thing to buy a new pair of pants (unless they are $5,000 pants and your annual income is $60,000); it is another to rush to sell the majority of your retirement investments. Tempted to make a rash decision about something big? Wait 24 hours, take in the big picture and then decide what to do.

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