I’m not talking about getting lost in a social network, blah.  I mean succumbing to an idea or path, and just enjoying the drift…

You don’t want to know how much I’ve worked, in the last two weeks especially, to get AwayFind out the door.  It’s launched and, lo and behold, I look around and all of a sudden I like the world I live in.  I just had some pecan pie (my favorite!) and pumpkin beer.  It was a toast to the last couple weeks.

I try not to be political here, but holy shnikeys, I like reading the news now.  I live in a town full of depressing news, and I’m surrounded by people complaining about crappy government jobs.  And then all of a sudden, wow.  The Washington Post has randomly started showing up at my house again with covers full of stuff happening.  Good stuff.  I read it over some nice breakfast, too; I love Aidells sausage.

I went out to the local Vietnamese place for lunch, had some fantastic pho, and saw the gas at $1.95/gallon.  What is this, 2001?  Remember when gas was $1.07?  I was in Memphis that summer when I took this picture.  Gosh, 2001…that was a different time.  I was swing and ballroom dancing every night of the week.  College.

This weekend I was reading BusinessWeek, where they had a roundup of the best business schools.  It got me excited about IE’s 13 month program in Madrid.  (no, no time soon!)

I’ve been looking at flights to Barcelona on Kayak, and it looks like I could get away for $1000 (plane + room w/internet) for over two weeks.  I reached out to my buddy Josep (with the unfortunate domain name ; ), and it may even happen.

At some level, the truth is that I have a lot of work to do right now, both with AwayFind and SET Consulting.  It’s a little daunting how many projects we’ve got going simultaneously.  But I’ve never had more on my plate to look forward to.  Somehow or another it all just comes together.

This post didn’t lead you anywhere, and yet it led many places.  Why don’t you try that?  There’s a time when a tangent shouldn’t just be a guilty click on a website, which doesn’t really get you too far…but instead should be a full-bodied, deeper wandering.  Who knows where that’ll lead.

‘Tis the season to wander.  Heck, Qui & Ryan got engaged yesterday.  So many reasons to smile.  How are you going to let go of your focus for a little while…and enjoy the autumn?

Flickr photo credits: sigmaration & me!

Today we launch AwayFind.  It’s time for a little retrospective…

The Short Version

AwayFind began as a side project inspired by The Four Hour Workweek, but it quickly morphed into the primary focus with my team.  Our goal has always been to help people to use technology as a vehicle rather than an obstacle for getting things done…and this was an opportunity to help so many more people at once.  If you haven’t heard me go on and on about it for hours, this 90 second clip explains it, and includes a quick tour:

The Retrospective

Needless to say, we’re pretty ecstatic to launch today.  I don’t like the word “blessed” but I’m damn lucky to work with the team I do…

David, it’s been fun to grow up together these last five years.  You now know more about browsers, Visual Basic, and a whole host of random Microsoft Office stuff than you ever wanted to, and you probably know every keyboard shortcut known to man.  Not to mention your crazy Wii skills…

Keith, your ability to transition your design to the web never ceases to amaze me.  That both the SET Consulting and new AwayFind homepage were designed in PowerPoint 2007 both shocks and inspires me.  If I could only have half of your methodical creativity…

Wayne, I’ve never before met someone who could walk through walls, but that’s what it’s like to watch you navigate code.  Your energy and discipline are unstoppable.

Okay, enough of the sap story.  But I should at least mention that some other people really stepped up to the plate at the last minute here: Scott Stead rocked the instructional video, Andre Pennycooke blasted thru the intro piece (above), and my favorite dancer/bookkeeper/marketing guru Emily S proved once again that she can do anything and everything.

Thank you, too, to Emily P for her design ideas, Kate for her disciplined writing, Clay for countless suggestions, and the dozens of others who helped out.

The Anticlimax

So this is the anticlimactic part where I realize I need an insane number of users if I ever want to make a difference (and/or pay for this).  If you want to spread the word, here’s how (and thank you in advance!!):

1. Sign up for AwayFind.  It’s free and you’ll love it.  Don’t want to use an auto responder?  Just place AwayFind’s link in your email signature.  Don’t have time for that today, the remaining are quick hits…
2. Help us look good—join our Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter
3. Spread the word: tweet, blog, or send a link to your favorite journalist about AwayFind.   Don’t send them here, since this post says little about the product, instead mention the homepage and the coverage we’ve gotten with…

People Who Have Been Kind Enough to Write About Us Today

• ReadWriteWeb: Escape Your Email At Last (Really!) With AwayFind
• Lifehacker: AwayFind Gets Urgent Email Through When You’re Offline
• DidIGetThingsDone.com: AwayFind - Increase your Email Productivity
• Chris Brogan: AwayFind Launches Big
• East Coast Blogging: AwayFind, Take Back Control From Your Email.
• Stepcase Lifehack: An Interview with Jared Goralnick — Founder of AwayFind

(I’ll try to keep this up to date)

With a few tweaks to a website’s settings, you can make Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Twitter keep you in touch without flooding your inboxes with unnecessary notifications.  Here’s how, with a few super quick screencasts…

If you can’t see the videos below because you’re in your RSS reader or email program, you’ll want to click here to see them.

Facebook

LinkedIn

Plaxo

Twitter

 
Note: you may be surprised to learn how followers are now sorted in Twitter…

Have any suggestions for other settings to tweak on social networks?  With just a few adjustments it’s indeed possible to not get overwhelmed!

The following are my failures, some that I’ve learned from, and some I’ve yet to rationalize.  Maybe my difficult lessons can help you to succeed.  Added later: I hope you’ll stay on for a surprise.

While I may a have penchant for learning the nuances of others’ success at balance, discipline, and focus, sometimes I feel no more effective at applying them than the average plumber Joe.  The following are five things I’ve tried and struggled with:

1. Getting up at the same time every day – I tried very hard to put into practice Pavlina’s advice on being an early riser.   For a few months I managed to get up at roughly 6:30 every day.  For a time I used the SleepTracker watch (which actually worked, but I didn’t feel like investing $150 in, so I returned it), but generally I could get up without a problem.  When I rose early, I felt great having time for a run and a slow breakfast.  But eventually I just gave up, mostly because I’m not so good at…
2. Making it to bed when I want to – I’ve tried so hard to step away from my computer at a decent hour, but inevitably it’s never good enough.  I’m much better than I was when I was younger, but I’m not great at committing to going to bed either when I’m tired or at a fixed time.  I usually do get reasonable amounts of sleep, but that can come at the price of either skipping a morning run or not starting work as early as I’d like (I have this unnecessary belief that 9:00 is the right time to start work).  (and for you critics, no, I have little problem getting away when I have company)
3. Doing things ahead of time – Parkinson’s Law may be effective but it often can create unnecessary stress.  While I’m rarely staying up late at night before something is due, I’m far from clockwork when it comes to doing things that I know of in advance.  Monthly newsletters and blog posts, for instance, are things I’m particularly poor at writing in advance.  I would love to stick to an editorial calendar or be on top of all of Monday’s items by the Friday before it, but that’s just not going to be the case for me
4. Checking email twice per day – I wish I checked my email twice per day (or once!), but generally speaking I’m far from disciplined after my first check of email at around noon.  However, every month I’ve gotten much better at this.

You know, I was going to make a #5 that had to do with sticking to my task list.  But the truth to this is much like the truth of the other items on this list: it’s not a total failure.  For instance, I’m very good at using Outlook To Do’s / flags but I sometimes have to write out big goals for a morning on a sheet of paper or the white board.  Try as I might there always seem to be times when I have to write things down.  (The bigger problem is I often don’t make it through the list…but I guess that’s human.)

The area where I consistently dream and fall short of success is trying to stick to daily routines (as you can see from the first two items above).  I don’t think it fits my personality (or how often I go out at night), but by having more flexibility in my work schedule (and starting the day a little later) it’s become less of an issue.

I can’t finish this blog post in good faith to you, because even though I have failed at a lot of the above (and do continue to get frustrated at myself), I think that every month I have gotten better.  And it’s recent things that have helped.  For instance, surrounding myself with others who are successful at these things and learning to set expectations on what comes naturally to me have been huge helps.  Occasionally revisiting my commitment hacks has been useful.  And sometimes I just have to remind myself to slow down or go home.

So this article has gone full circle, and I may have disappointed you.  I’ve surprised myself…but I’m still going to publish it.  The odd moral to the story is clear to me—if you stick at this stuff, and try to find ways to get past things that have you stuck, you’ll eventually make it there.  This wasn’t meant to be a feel good piece, but I’m glad it’s become one.

Have you surprised yourself lately?  Isn’t it kind of amazing when you finally hit that tipping point and suddenly have more control over your work, your life, and your time?

Cheers.

Flickr photo credit: nimbu

Our body forces moods and energy levels upon us that just don’t work with real world schedules.  Or perhaps those schedules are insufficient.

Sometimes it’s better to be a slave to your body: the benefits are huge.

Ever felt like your body, not your head, was in control?  Ever been tired when you had thought-intensive work, antsy when you were waiting for things, or lethargic at the gym?  I can’t speak for everyone, but time and again when I’ve felt one of these ways, I could’ve predicted it.

I’ve thought a bit about this and now know my body’s rhythms much better: when I’m going to have the most focus, when I’ll have a short attention span, when I’ll likely want to nap, when I’m most creative, etc.  And I’ve got somewhat of a handle on how food and exercise play into these states.

Scheduling Around My Body Rhythms

More and more over the past year I’ve scheduled my days around this.  Have you thought long and hard about your daily rhythms?  By understanding some of mine, I’ve been able to be both more productive and comfortable throughout the day.

For instance, I try to never schedule with people in the morning, even phone calls.  And no email.  The morning is when I have the focus to get something creative or thought-intensive accomplished.

I almost always schedule phone calls or meetings after 2:00, when I have some energy but don’t need to be at my absolute best: when working directly with people, it’s easier to stay engaged and focused (whereas it’s not so easy when you’re, say, alone and writing out a specifications document).  (Conference calls might be the exception—sometimes you need to schedule them when you’ll be able to stay awake.)

A few hours after lunch I’ll be tired…so I never work on the really hard stuff then.  If I have to do intensive work with a client, I’ll make sure a soda is handy.  If I’m at the home office, I might take a nap, watch a movie, or run some errands.  I’d rather sleep from 4-5 and work from 7 -8 if it’s the difference of that hour actually being useful.  And if I never make up that hour later, I didn’t miss much.

When I mention this to others, they often raise the point that working during business hours helps them to not work all the time.  They’re fearful that not observing the business hours constraint might lead to working all the time.

I generally work during traditional hours, but I think it’s more important that I monitor the results of my work and quantity of hours than the specific hours when things took place.

In short, I want to work when it’s most pleasant and when I’m most likely to succeed.  Caffeine can help, but it’s not a perfect substitute.

Putting that Rhythm Information to Good Use

Once you get a handle on your energy-levels, moods, and other quirks about how you are at different times of the day, you can make better educated decisions about scheduling your time. 

To get started with this, try considering some of the following:

• The price of skipping a meal or eating certain foods (in relation to your mood or energy level)
• What role exercise has on your energy levels
• Is taking a nap or siesta possible
• Working when you have energy and not working when you don’t, even if it means stepping outside of “business hours”
• (Intentionally) doing personal stuff (like running an errand or going for a walk) during the business day when you’re not particularly focused
• Doing mindless tasks or errands when you know you’re low energy (filing, going to the post office / bank, reading blogs, making calls about bills, responding to quick emails, even running to the grocery store, etc)
• Specifically not doing mindless tasks when you do have energy (often people forget this, but the opposite of all this stuff is true: you shouldn’t do trivial tasks when you have a lot of focus.  Instead, find something more challenging and do the trivial task when you’re tired)

It’s dramatic how different my energy, attention, focus, capacity to learn, and other states can be during different times of the day.  For years I never considered this, but now it dictates much of my scheduling.

Have you given much thought to or had success with scheduling around your body’s rhythms?

Flickr photo credit: littledan77

Someone a couple steps ahead might bring you forward a few inches.  Someone a mile in the distance can change your life.

If you’re the product of the people around you, then it makes sense to have a few outliers in your friends.

A Product of Other People

I’ve always looked at myself as the product of the people I’ve known.  While some of that is their actively pushing me to become certain things, much more has been learning by their example.  Not only have my relationships affected the expressions I utter and the clothing I wear, but more importantly they’ve played a role in my personality, my career choices, my values, and how I treat people.

This is more from osmosis than active choice.  As Clay Collins pointed out a couple weeks back, there’s no better indication of where you’ll end up in life than the company you keep–you’re almost always near the average of your friends in terms of wealth and health, for instance.

In the last year I’ve altered my definition of happiness, and changed my perspective on business.  I can see the roots of these changes in the new people I’ve become close with.  These new people are from the communities I’ve taken part in: productivity, lifestyle design, web 2.0, and social media.  They’re different than many of my local friends, and now I am, too.

Extreme Changes

The most conspicuous of these personal changes has come from the people who were most extreme.  An example of this you might guess has been Tim Ferriss of The Four Hour Workweek.  His book gets a lot of criticism for ideas that are at times outrageous.  I’ve also heard people complain that much of the book is about him and not just an approach.  But that’s the point: Ferriss has led by example, thereby humanizing and proving his ideas possible.

I’ve met Ferriss a few times and built relationships with others who have succeeded in similar "lifestyle design."  The more I’ve gotten to know these people, the more I’ve respected and come to believe just how possible these approaches are.

Similarly I’ve built friendships with people who have nontraditional approaches to consulting, dating, social media, and friendship.  I’m not saying I’ve adopted all of their views…but their examples have rubbed off, broadening my perspective and affecting some of my core values.

The Formula for Change

I’ve long been a big fan of the concepts in The Medici Effect and this past week got to meet the author, Frans Johansson.  His book discusses how the greatest ideas and innovations come from mixing people of different backgrounds (culturally, educationally, etc).  I mentioned this idea about extremes affecting our own developments, which is similar to the ideas in his book, and he was very curious.  The way I look at it, it’s something like this:

[Change in yourself] = [Distance of someone's approach from your own] * [Your respect for that person] * [Your exposure to that person]

That is, the more different someone’s approach is from your own, assuming you respect them and spend enough time around or thinking about them, the more effect it has on your own perspective.

This isn’t exactly a new thought, but there are some components I find interesting.  Conventional wisdom says:

• You identify with and are surrounded by people who are like you
• It’s easier to change into something that’s not very foreign from your current approach or perspective

Thus we’re not really surrounded by people who are particularly likely to change us…and we’re more apt to reach for things within our view than those that seem far in the distance.

Embracing Differences

But if you do surround yourself with differing people you’ll start making progress toward goals that before seemed far out.  The power of The Four Hour Workweek was that Ferriss was so extreme that any steps toward his approach were outside of most people’s comfort zone…and thus often led to huge progress.

I would encourage you to build relationships with people who you would like to emulate in some way, and to pay attention to (rather than ignore) their differing approaches, even ones that seem unrelated or innocuous.  Sooner or later you may find that’s the core of the difference you’re seeking.

Even if you’re not actively trying, you’ll have taken some of their perspective as your own.  You may even grow a bit in the process.

Has this worked for you?

Flickr photo credit: ben matthews :::

Consider this the next time someone chews your ear off.  And don’t do the same.  Here’s the why and how.

Ayn Rand Didn’t Speak at My Last Event

I recently attended an event where the speakers must have been more important than me.  They talked and talked without forethought, concision or restraint.  They missed the point: no one cares how knowledgeable you are when you don’t respect their time.

A quote from Ayn Rand on this topic has stuck with me for a long while.  It’s referenced all over the place, and usually in context: Rand was asked to explain her philosophy while standing on one leg.  She’d written numerous books on the subject, some thousands of pages long, but she stood on one leg (and she was pretty old at the time) and explained it in ten words.

Her response (which was a list of four points) is oft quoted, and is even used as the headings in her wikipedia entry.  At her most concise, she was most memorable and understood.  That’s because:

There’s Power in Pithy Quip

There’s so much more value in saying it right the first time, and in fewer words:

• There’s beauty.  It just sounds eloquent
• There’s life.   It’s short enough that people remember it
• There’s clarity.  No need to tease out the substance when it’s already there
• There’s persuasion.  Clarity and intelligence have more impact

And as mentioned earlier, long winded responses can really bother people.  If there are time constraints, observe them.  If there aren’t, consider that the other people have things to do, and ideas of their own to share.

Blabbing on and on is the same thing as showing up late—it’s a lack of planning that leaves someone waiting and frustrated.  (At least when they’re waiting alone they can read a book…)

If You Shut Your Mouth, People Will Like You

A basic psychology course will point out that the more people talk to you (assuming you appear to be interested), the more they’ll like you.  They’ll feel invested.  Studies even show that they’ll think you’re smarter and more interesting when you shut your mouth.

While you may recall people who have shared exciting stories, there are precious few who can consistently rattle off quality tales; most of us just aren’t that entertaining.  But if you think back to the most stimulating parties or social events, was it not the person with the best questions who kept things active? 

Questions are typically shorter than comments, and often greatly improve a group’s dynamic.  Having a chance to speak, and instead using that time to express interest in others (especially with a compelling question) is the best way to engage.

People like Chris Brogan and Dale Emery are influencers, and much of that is due to their outstanding questions.  Though they have a lot to say, I consider their greatest asset their ability to engage (and thereby draw upon the strengths of) their audience.

How This Applies to Twitter…and Twitter Applies to You

On the web, people are likely to skip past articles when the headline doesn’t grab them; the cost of exploring further is high, as we’ve learned that most content isn’t worth our time.  But on Twitter, the headline is the content.  Even the most verbose people can cut to the chase on Twitter (though, of course, some are better at it than others).

It’s a challenge to compress our words into 140 character snippets.  It can also be difficult to voice an opinion in under a minute.  But in that 60 seconds, people will still be paying attention.  The same idea expressed in five minutes usually won’t have the same impact, as people often will have stopped listening.

I enjoy conferences that enforce speakers’ and questioners’ time limits.  I respect and appreciate people who can offer the greatest signal with the least noise.  (The Presidential Debate this Friday will be an interesting test of this.)

So cut yourself back to 60 seconds and see if people like what you have to say a little more.  Work harder on your questions than your answers.

Thank you, Twitter, for shortening my attention span…and forcing me to value other people’s time more.  And my own.

Do you have experience with shortening talking points, applying constraints…or other people who don’t?

Flickr photo credit: x-small

–

Note of clarification: I’m not saying we shouldn’t give speeches or presentations, or have long conversations.  I’m just pointing out that we could be more aware other people’s time.  When in a situation where we have a long period to present, it’s important to be especially clear (so we don’t lose them), though it can also help to stimulate them in other ways (through imagery, practice exercises, questions, movement, sound, etc).  It’s possible and often necessary to hold people’s attention for long period’s of time, but the principles above are even more relevant then.  Hopefully we’ll get to talk about that here at SXSW.

The lesson I picked up, that’s been a theme for me this year is to do a little less, buy a little less, and generally bite off less than you can chew.

I probably have 4,000 never-to-be used business cards with my name on it.  And another 2,000-3,000 of people who are no longer with my company.  Maybe we’ll get famous and they can be used in a documentary.

Nevermind that each of those cards is worth at least $.15, bringing the total to over $1,000 of paper that doesn’t convert to currency.  Sunk cost, right?  There’s more to the lesson.

It’s buried alongside the books I’ve skimmed and abandoned, usually after getting too far into them.  And next to the kitchen appliances used about a dozen times.  I didn’t buy these things because I had to have them, they’re not on display for the world to see.  I bought them because I thought I’d try a new book, learn a new skill, cook a little more.

Business cards are tough—our networking styles change, our brand changes, our address changes.  There are things you can’t predict about their use.  Then again, only once have I reprinted a set of cards, and that was five years ago.

Books are a wealth of information, and arguably some of that could be valuable to our lives.  We can’t know for sure until we dive in.  (Much like you don’t know where I’m going with this blog post, but are hopeful…)

Wrong.  A book (and this blog post) have to be judged before diving in.  There simply isn’t the time to read everything that might be worthwhile.  And it’d be foolish for me to dish out 500 cards in 6 months, no matter how much networking I do.  Not the way I work.

The difference between one and the other is that one is wasteful of time (reading) and the other of resources (cards/$).  But in both cases they’re very real tangible reminders of places where I was hopeful, even though I had evidence to the contrary.

I’ve bought a lot fewer books this year.  I reduced the minutes on my cell plan.  I disconnected one of the two office lines.  I decreased my Netflix plan from 3-at-a-time to 1-at-a-time.

I still have more to do than I’d like, and I probably still buy more than I need.  But there is a lesson in there—learn who are you and how you handle new purchases, new hobbies, and new responsibilities.  If you think one of these things will change you, you’re probably going to be wrong.

The only thing that can change you is you.  In the mean time, bite off less than you can chew and be more reasonable in your commitments.  I think you’ll be happier.

Flickr photo credit: ninjapoodles

Rather than a dozen ninja lifehacking tips, this post will help you to identify the core strengths and weaknesses in your process. I feel that these five things define the workflow of a productive knowledge worker:

1. Use lists to keep track of the stuff you need to do (tasks)
2. Use a tool that notifies you of time-specific activities when you need to do them (calendar)
3. When working with inputs (inbox, voicemail, RSS, custom homepage, etc), don’t skim and revisit them, process them (do them, assign them, get em out of site, or place them in 1 or 2)
4. Commit time to responsibilities (1 & 2) while minimizing interruptions (from 3)
5. Trust the above system

My biggest challenge is staying away from distractions (4).  Many people have an incomplete way of organizing themselves (1 & 2), so they rely on memory or hopefully revisiting what they need to remember in one of the places mentioned in 3.  A lot of people can pull off 1 & 2 but don’t trust the system (5) enough to stop checking their inputs all the time (3).

I know this is far from a comprehensive guide to accomplishing any of the above (perhaps that will come), but I hope it helps you to identify where you’re strongest, or could use more work.  Like when we revisited the Two Minute Rule in July, sometimes it helps to get back to basics.

If you have thoughts on your own personal experiences with these, or would like to suggest other core components to consider, please feel free to offer them in the comments.

Flickr Photo Credit: dhepnar

Perhaps lessons-learned in productivity can be channeled into this day-to-day hope, helping us to “get to happy.”

I’m sitting aboard a plane just now, returning from a week in Crested Butte, Colorado.  I’m not in the best of spirits, even though nothing of consequence has gone awry.  With three hours before arriving in Baltimore, I have neither the energy nor the interest to work, listen to a podcast, or read.  In Getting Things Done (GTD) terms, my present context is not @flight—it’s @grumpy or perhaps even @complacent.

Getting Things Done & Contexts

In GTD, David Allen suggests that we group tasks based on circumstance, so that when we find ourselves in that circumstance, we can use our time wisely.  The classic example is to keep a running list of needed-groceries, so that when we go shopping we won’t forget anything.  More generally, we might have @computer, @phone, @errands, and other contexts.

But when I’m really frustrated I’m probably not going to learn Spanish in the car or call prospects at my desk, even if they’re on my lists.  In this case my mood or energy-level is more relevant than the other contexts.  Productivity can lead to happiness, but sometimes we need to fix our heads first.

Contexts for a State of Mind

If there were contexts related to states of mind, maybe we’d have a better chance of fixing our heads.  We may take an Advil for an ache but we don’t always remember what to prescribe when we’re down.

When I’m feeling complacent, writing helps.  And doing for others.  And the company of good friends.  And running.  Just now, writing and offering (what is perhaps) helpful advice to you is cheering me up.

A few weeks ago I talked about making lists of our friends.  I’ve long kept a list of “5-minute friends,” essentially people nearby enough that I can meet up with in roughly five minutes’ time.  If I’m hungry or wanting company or just looking to get out of the house, I’ll work through the list to see who might be around.

There are many things we can do to bring us out of a funk.  But when we’re down we’re often not very good at recalling solutions.  Perhaps it’s a person to call, breathing slowly, eating something healthy (or a big steak), taking a nap, being outdoors, doing something athletic, watching a particular movie, recalling a memory that puts things in perspective, etc.  Our fixes are different, but we all have them.

My Lists and Yours

I haven’t made many lists like this, though I’m considering more.  Maybe even just one long list that’s more universal for cheering me up.  I think our moods or energy-levels can change as often as our contexts, yet we often forget what to do about them.

Another way to think of this is as a knowledgebase for our selves, where we can store the lessons-learned for when we need them most. Or maybe it’s not that complicated.

I just think we have a lot to learn about how to get to back to good, and we ought to do anything in our power to make that easier.  Have you ever tried something like this?

Flickr Photo credit: annia316