Viewing entries tagged
focus

10x10 Sleep Challenge - Day 19

You turned off the computer and other screens at 8 PM and dimmed the lights in the house. You didn’t take any stimulants all day. At 10 PM you laid back on your pillow and closed your eyes to sleep. Only, you didn’t sleep. Minutes and hours rolled by as thoughts began to stir around your mind. You started off right. Why can’t you sleep?

Sometimes we can’t sleep because we have too much on our minds. One example is when we have unfinished business. While it could be work related, it doesn’t have to be. Maybe you didn’t finish a work assignment or forgot to make a call. Perhaps you ran out of time on your personal list and didn’t get to a task. Maybe your family is complaining because they wanted to go mini golfing and you didn’t fit it in today. The reasons go on, but all come back to one general idea. Something didn’t happen today that you think should have happened. This is one of the great challenges of modern life. With an abundance of opportunities and options we must choose where to focus. This is one of the core tenants of Pareto Guide. Your focus plays a huge impact on how your life turns out and how you feel about it.

When you can’t sleep at night because you’re focusing on what didn’t happen, it’s a negative mindset. This isn’t an accusation. It’s important to call this what it is. One of the best ways to stop negativity is to adopt a grateful mindset. Think of the things you did accomplish. Think of the things you are grateful for in life. Ask anybody who has lost a loved one or is fighting a serious illness. Each of us can be grateful for many things each day regardless of our circumstances. Life, health, and even the ability to go to bed at 10 PM under our own power are huge gifts. Focusing on gratitude will help settle your mind. It may be enough to let you sleep.

Sometimes that feeling of not doing enough comes from minimizing how much we do. It’s a good reason to have a short list each day of tasks to accomplish. It’s weird psychology. Many of us get real satisfaction out of checking off an item. What if you’re in bed and didn’t make a list that day. Here’s a trick to play on that stubborn brain. Write down several things you did during the day then immediately cross them off. It gives you the satisfaction of completion while also reminding you of things for which you can be grateful.

If this feeling persists for multiple nights or an extended period it may require greater efforts. Don’t hold it in. Talk to someone. Do some introspection. Maybe your subconscious is trying to send you a message and you need to receive it. Sometimes not being able to sleep because of the thoughts on your mind is an opportunity for insight. That’s another reason for gratitude.

Sleep well.

delay action for guaranteed results

What’s a guaranteed way to make little to no progress? Procrastinate.

This blog focuses on positive applications of the Pareto Principle. It’s exciting and motivating to think about the one lever that can move the world in the direction you’d like. Unfortunately, as easy as some of these tools are to apply in your favor, some tools are easier to apply against you. Worse, still, you apply these instruments against yourself. Procrastination is one of these.

Procrastination is the delay of action. If you told someone to wait to act, it could be interpreted as patience. Isn’t patience a virtue? Yeah, that’s one of the tricks of procrastination. While procrastinating you’re delaying action on high value endeavors and looking for instant gratification through low value activities. Procrastination is a highly leveraged version of the 80/20 rule. Your delay of the right action makes the result you want impossible. Now stop procrastinating and go do the right act for you right now.

when lacking information, go to the best source

I had a boss that liked to give directions before she understood the full task at hand. She would tell me what she thought I should start doing based on her current understanding. Unfortunately, her understanding represented a small percentage of what I needed to act effectively. In these situations, I went to the source. Because of the team-based nature of the job, a team lead was usually better informed and closer to the information. Instead of taking my manager’s word and running in my own direction, I would go to the source. The team lead might not always have much more information than my boss provided, but usually that person held meaningful context for the request. It’s common to receive first instructions that are ambiguous. The 80/20 rule helps us recognize that 20% of the details will get us at least 80% of our solution. Lacking details is not a reason to refrain from action. It’s a signal to get more information. I’ve often found that going to the source of information provides valuable context even when my information doesn’t increase or improve. As a result, I’m able to get the ball rolling in the right direction without wasted efforts.

a good start gives lasting impact

Be careful how you start your day. If your day begins with yelling and profanity, it sets the tone for everyone involved. When someone tries to start your day like this, choose instead calm and gratitude. A calm and grateful start will benefit you the entire day. If the negative influence repeats, apply preventive measures.

remove the one thing that causes you the most pain

Right now, you likely have the best job you've ever had. Compared to any previous job, your current job has more positives. That doesn't mean it's perfect or even that you like it. You could hate your current job and it is still the best job you've had. You considered it in comparison to all previous jobs. This gave you the perspective to make a better choice during your last job search. Despite turns in the economy and other setbacks, I've liked each job more than the last. This is largely based on a simple but effective technique. Every time I considered a new job, I thought about what I most disliked on my current job and eliminated any options that contained those attributes. Naturally, over time the ratio of positive to negative has shifted favorably.

Today I have one big item that causes an outsized amount of discomfort. Despite company policies, my boss is hyper-focused on overtime hours over an imaginary threshold. Colleagues on other teams tell me they never talk about overtime with their boss. My experience is that every time I get put on a last-minute or large project the overtime naturally follows. This in turn leads to difficult conversations around my hours and, worse, my capabilities as a professional. In a simple 80/20 analysis it's clear that a direct solution is available to me. Manage the overtime hours that cause the pain. I know I have a variety of options.

The solution is easier to see with the problem identified. The same goes for your situation. You can immediately improve your situation by identifying which single issue causes you the bulk of your pain. Once you identify that, it will be easier to identify solutions to your specific challenge. At that point it becomes a matter of testing and execution. Test the easiest solutions first and find the solution that yields the result you want. A double Pareto approach is to eliminate your biggest source of pain with the smallest input that gives the biggest gain. Applying this approach will immediately shift your mindset to give you an immediate improvement in job satisfaction. That works much faster than finding the perfect job.

small talk holds big rewards

During my regular 1-on-1 I engaged with my manager on a personal level and inspired her to talk about herself. Most of the scheduled time was used up by that. Even better I didn't get grilled about minutia of my work. It made for a shorter and less stressful call. The relevant work details were covered efficiently and adequately at the end of the call. And my boss probably liked me more because I truly listened to her.

give your kids attention and they will listen to you

Here’s a suggestion I heard that I’ve also experienced. If you spend an hour playing checkers with your kid, the next time you tell them to stop doing something they will listen to you. If you don't spend time with your kids they will wonder who the stranger is giving them orders. This same concept is generally applicable to all relationships. If you cultivate the relationship, it makes the person more receptive to you.

give your family time and the rest will follow

I organized work so I could participate in my kid's birthday party. My family had one of the best birthdays ever together. The kids were so happy. It wasn't any one thing we did, just that we spent the day together at the water park. And my work got done later, just fine.

don't focus on the finish line, put one foot in front of the other

I'm super tired today due to poor sleep, but I just kept doing one more thing. It turned into a highly productive day. One step can turn into ten by just thinking about one step at a time. Whether exhausted, demoralized, or just unclear on direction, taking the next step in front of you and not thinking about the whole project can put you further down the path than you expected at the end of the day.

recycle content to accelerate production

I reused content from a product user guide to write four reports today. It would have taken me days or weeks to come up with the content and summaries without the user guide. I focused on the objective of the exercise which was to answer some customer questions with general information about the product. Because the expectations were set, there was no need to craft perfect answers. I gave the minimum necessary responses to address the questions. As a result I knocked out four polished reports with minor additions from my own knowledge. Those who have reviewed the reports have already been impressed.

find and address the core concern

During a conversation about my learning plan my boss was expressing concern about how much time I was planning for each module. I sensed her concern about completing all learning prior to customer meetings. Once I identified the core concern, the conversation quickly resolved. My boss just wanted to hear that I was on board with presenting to customers near term. Reminding her of my successful certifications and stating that I was ready to go on customer meetings without my learning plan is all she needed to hear. One concern was more than 80% of the call.

define the relationship

I didn't understand the jargon around a technical process, specifically the difference between two concepts. By reading the instructions and explanatory notes at the end, I made the crucial connection. While I understood the concepts separately, the distinction became clear once properly defined. In this case, understanding the definitions of the terminology gave me the total understanding of the entire process. With understanding complete, I soon mastered the process.

celebrate your life by counting your blessings

If you want to have a special day, choose to make it special. An easy method to accomplish this is to identify several things for which you are grateful. Not only do you not have time to feel bad, but intentionally identifying those things for which you are grateful will enrich all the time you do have.

tell, tell, tell

Today I’m going to give you a technique for organizing your communication – 3T (Triple Tell) method.

Tell them what you're going to say. Tell them. Tell them what you just told them.

This is a universal communication technique and applying it to any presentation will provide critical structure. The message will be easier to follow and more memorable. This is an incredibly effective and easy tool to improve any speech or presentation.

I just gave you a universal template for communication, the 3T method. Communicate well.

take control of the conversation

During a call with my manager she wasn't giving any direction, so I helped. Instead of letting my boss continue fumbling around the conversation and slowly telling me she didn't know what direction to give, I broke in and suggested my next steps. The conversation ended at least ten minutes ahead of schedule. By having a plan for myself and taking initiative I set my direction and made a potentially long, difficult call short and easy. Also, don’t underestimate the unnecessary work I prevented for myself in the future by setting my own direction.

you need rest

Working too many hours has negative consequences. Burn out starts to happen if you don't moderate your work. It kills cognitive power and motivation to do your best work. Maximize the productive hours and you will deliver higher quality results more frequently than a brute force approach. This philosophy is applicable in days, weeks, and months.

you're more efficient when the time is precious

I was working on the weekend when I had a realization. I was more efficient in my work when it was eating up my precious weekend. Think of 9-5 Monday - Friday as weekend time to preserve your personal time by working more effectively and efficiently.

begin with the end in mind

Before investing time in learning something, make sure your source materials and instructions are aligned with the topic and appropriate for your needs. If all you have is peanut butter and jelly don’t waste your time reading how to cook the perfect steak.

don't go down the wrong path for the sake of a fast start

The right instructions are the best instructions. I reduced the length of my presentation by 50% and the required prep work by arguably 75% because I waited to receive the final instructions. If you don’t trust the instructions you’ve received, confirm for yourself whether they are final.