ProdPod, a Productivity Podcast

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ProdPod: Episode 82 -- Procrasti-Doing Apr 25, 2014

Show notes

There’s a common misconception about procrastination that it only means you’re not doing something you planned to do. Many times we are unaware that procrastination is usually coupled with doing something, if not the thing we planned. This is what I call “procrasti-doing.” And there are some practical measures you can take to procrasti-doing when you want, and when you don’t, so I thought I’d explain them here in this episode.
One of the frequent stories I hear is something like this: “I was supposed to be working on my project, but instead I found myself rearranging the pens and pencils in my drawer.” This is the first classic case of procrasti-doing. One tactic for overcoming this is to think about whether or not your pens and pencils really do need organizing. If that is the case, then perhaps putting that on a project or task list for you to handle later would help you free up the mental bandwidth to get back on task. That goes for any other tasks or projects that might be floating around in your head as you set yourself up to handle any project. This minimizes procrasti-doing and maximizes your brain’s energy to focus.
The other case where procrasti-doing takes hold of us often is when you start doing the tasks in a project out of order or unimportant tasks associated with a project that really won’t move the project toward completion. This might include re-labeling all the project support folders for a major project. Or, one might take to Social Media to engage there about the project instead of actually working on the tasks toward the project’s completion. In this situation, the best approach is two-pronged: first, allow yourself a set amount of time to close out the current activity when you find yourself doing the unproductive procrasti-doing, then re-focus back on starting the next task toward project completion. Remember, it’s about (as Dr. Neil Fiore says in “The Now Habit”) persistent starting.
One final thought I have about procrasti-doing: many times your unconscious mind needs time to problem-solve the project or task you are currently trying to work on. In these cases, it might make perfect, productive sense for you to let your mind wander to other activities while your unconscious does the heavy lifting necessary to help you craft an effective solution. Organizing pens and pencils never sounded so productive.

ProdPod: Episode 81 -- Productivity and Your Two Minds Jan 10, 2014

Show notes

Thanks to the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist and father of behavioral economics, Daniel Kahneman, the scientific community has a deeper understanding of well-being. To wit, Kahneman revealed that humans live with two minds--our experiencing and remembering selves. In this episode I'd like to discuss these two selves and how it relates to your personal productivity.
EXPERIENCING SELF The experiencing self is that which answers the question, "How do I feel right now?"…what you sense is most important to your experiencing self. Sensory-specific, the experiencing self is mostly focused on the present view of sights, sounds, smells, physical sensations, and tastes.
REMEMBERING SELF The remembering self, on the other hand, is a past-focused mind and makes decisions intuitively based on what our brain memorializes of our experiences. It answers the question, "What happened?"...what you perceive happened becomes the story you remember and reenforces it as reality.
One way of looking at it is that the experiencing self renders facts now while the remembering self tells stories about what happened.
YOUR PRODUCTIVE SELF Do you remember the last time you worked on a really difficult project or task? Well, it turns out that Kahneman's research explains why we dread, procrastinate and even remember projects or tasks as difficult. You see, Kahneman writes about moment-utility (which I've provided a link to his paper explaining it below); the idea is to capture much more in-the-moment data as you experience a situation, such as working on a really difficult project or task. It turns out that when your experiencing self does the tracking and analysis, you have a better assessment of your experiences and you also have a better feeling about positive outcomes. Using Kahneman's findings, I recommend that when you're dealing with a difficult project or task to answer these three series of questions:
1. "How do I physically feel right now?" (The likelihood is that physically you're fine.)
2. "What does success, accomplishment or complete look like for me in the next five to 15 minutes?" (This gives you a more realistic view of the project or task.)
3. At the point of ending a project, task or a period of finishing some part of either, ask yourself (and even better, write it down somewhere), "how good/accomplished do I feel? What have I learned that I can use in the future?" (Ending on a positive message will give your remembering self something to look back on to equate your productivity with a positive affect.) You see, ending on a high note, or on a less negative tone, than the initial upstart difficulty will inevitably teach your remembering self that difficult projects or tasks usually only start off that way. And, even if there are challenges along the way, it's usually only difficult in peak periods. This rewriting of your brain patterns will make you leap at new challenges instead of sulking when you look at your project or task list and see something that might be tough...and this will make you sincerely more productive.
See also: Dr. Kahneman's research paper on moment-utility: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s11/sh/8a5a784a-c945-4259-91e0-f76186e7073e/4e927594f4170378dd60ab03217d3617

ProdPod: Episode 80 -- Setting Up Your Workspace for Success Dec 24, 2013

Show notes

Having just finished the ProdPod series on Hoarding, I've got workspaces on the mind. And, when it comes to personal productivity, there's nothing like showing up to your home or work office workspace and seeing it set up just for you. So, in this episode, I'm going to discuss a method for making your workspace work for you every day.
Assess Your Workspace Organization doesn't naturally happen. So, the first step is to assess your situation. Do you feel like the way things are set up in your workspace flowing well? Or, do you find there is friction when you try to access your files, when you see clutter or piles of things in particular places in your workspace, or do you trip over a coat hanger when you enter the office every day? These are the things to note that need to change to make your workspace more productive.
Brainstorm and Design Your Ideal Workspace Now that you know what needs to change, create a new project in your productivity system. Rome nor your workspace was built in a day, so you can't fix all these minor nuisances or hiccups in your productive flow in a day. Now, what do you physically need to do with each problem you noted? Do you need to call an electrician to move a light switch? Do you need to call a carpenter to put a bookshelf in just the right place for your reference books? Write down or input those actions on your written list or in your task management software or app.
Create Your Workspace RitualsFinally, one of the most productive moments of your day is setting yourself up for success tomorrow. At the end of every day, I have created a checklist of the things I need to physically do so that I leave my workspace (desk and office) in exactly the way I need it so that I start tomorrow productively. I put away anything I'm not working on or with tomorrow. I clear my computer of any software apps that are running that don't need to be. And, I make sure to put out the very first thing that I need to work on in the morning (or the next time I'll be in the office). You can revisit episode 30 where I discussed the End-of-Day Ritual by Peter Bregman.
In addition, I have created Morning and Midday Rituals that help me break my day into productive chunks and makes sure that I'm tidying my workspace, filtering through my RSS feed reader and then purging that inbox at least daily midday, and creating time to process my email inboxes as well as making outbound phone calls to clients, vendors, staff, colleagues and my family.
Once your physical workspace is in order, and you have the morning, midday and end-of-day rituals designed to keep your workspace in tip-top shape, you'll quickly start to reap the productive rewards of flowing effortlessly through your days. Let me know your successes and challenges by email or in the comments!

ProdPod: Episode 79 - Hoarding, Part III - How is hoarding treated and managed? with Professional Organizer Sally Reinholdt Dec 17, 2013

Show notes

Ray: In this final episode of this ProdPod series on hoarding, I asked Professional Organizer Sally Reinholdt to detail how hoarding is treated and managed. Sally, take it away.
Sally: The treatment and management of severe hoarding is very complex and needs to be addressed by a comprehensive team that can include mental health professionals, professional organizers, as well as junk removal and environmental clean-up companies. From a mental health aspect, traditional talk therapy has not been found to be helpful. Dr. David Tolin [ http://www.drtolin.com ], a psychologist who has worked extensively with hoarders, uses a cognitive behavioral approach that is active and solution focused. The hoarders he works with learn to sort and let go of their possessions in conjunction with thinking through their urges to constantly acquire. Hoarders are also taken on non-acquiring trips where they learn to see and touch items without keeping them. Using these methods, the majority of Dr. Tolin’s patients show significant improvement in their levels of clutter and their feelings around the clutter. That being said, a low number of patients are considered cured. Most patients will still have more clutter than the average person and will need ongoing support to prevent backsliding.
Ray: If you're interested in Dr. Tolin's work and how it may help you, check out his fantastic book, Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding [ http://amzn.to/18FCpdx ]. Also, Dr. Tolin is the founder of the Institute of Living [ http://goo.gl/5sRsgK ] in Hartford, CT, so you may want to seek them out if you happen to be the greater New York metropolitan area.
Ray: Well, thanks so much for joining me on ProdPod for this series about Hoarding, Sally. If you want to learn more about Sally Reinholdt and her professional organizing services head over to her website, COSOLVA.COM [ http://www.cosolva.com ].

ProdPod: Episode 78 - Hoarding, Part II - How is compulsive hoarding defined and classified? with Professional Organizer Sally Reinholdt Dec 10, 2013

Show notes

Ray: We're discussing hoarding in the ProdPod series…and I have Professional Organizer Sally Reinholdt here to define hoarding and how it's classified.
Sally: Hoarding is considered compulsive if it meets three criteria. First there is accumulation accompanied by great difficulty in discarding items that most people would consider useless or of limited value. The second criteria is that the clutter is to the point that the intended use of living spaces is severely limited or not possible. The third and last criteria is that the cluttering in combination with the acquiring and difficulty discarding causes significant impairment and distress.
Sally: The Institute for Challenging Disorganization classifies hoarding with a clutter measurement tool called the Clutter-Hoarding Scale. Homes are classified from Level I through Level V. A standard household is considered to be a Level I. Level II homes can have some narrowing of household pathways and inadequate housekeeping. Level III to Level V homes present increasingly serious situations. Clutter can be present outside as well as inside the home, there can be insect and rodent infestation and generally unsanitary conditions. Individuals working with hoarders in these types of situations need to have backgrounds ranging from but not limited to mental health and financial counseling to professional organizing, pest control and project management.
Ray: If you believe you might have hoarding issues, click on the link in the show notes here on ProdPod.net to download the Clutter-Hoarding Scale [ http://goo.gl/dy9xWf ] tool to see where you fall in the scale.
In the next episode we'll cover how hoarding is treated and managed.

ProdPod: Episode 77 -- Hoarding, Part I: Who Hoards? with Professional Organizer Sally Reinholdt Dec 03, 2013

Show notes

These next three episodes will be on hoarding and I have with me to help explain hoarding, Sally Reinholdt, owner of Commonwealth Organizing Solutions [ http://cosolva.com ]. Sally is a Registered Nurse and professional organizer who uses many of the skills she learned as a nurse to help her clients become more organized and productive.
Sally: The short answer is that it can be anyone. Hoarding doesn’t discriminate. In some cases it appears to have a genetic component as hoarding can run in families. It can be the result of a traumatic experience but sometimes there is no clear trigger. Sadly, hoarders are many times very creative people who see all sorts of potential in the things they collect. Unfortunately their potential for using that creative energy is stymied by their need to constantly accumulate. There are also high levels of anxiety, depression and perfectionism associated with hoarding.
Sally: The number of hoarders in the United States is very difficult to calculate because in so many cases hoarders are able to hide their situations from family and friends until some sort of event or crisis brings the hoarding to light. Depending on the literature estimates for the number of hoarders in the United States ranges from 1.2 million to as many as 6 million people.
Sally: May, 2013, was the first time hoarding was included in the DSM-V with its own discrete clinical definition. It was previously categorized as symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Ray: Not that sweeping all your stuff under the carpet is the solution, but putting your clutter out of sight is a productivity hack in which you can reap immediate benefits. Princeton University Neuroscience Institute found that when you clear physical clutter in sight, you are less likely to be distracted and are more productive. If you're feeling distressed from physical clutter, take as much as you can and put it away so you see less of it…the more clear surfaces in sight the better. Try it. [ PUNI article, "Top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in biasing competition in the human brain": http://www.princeton.edu/~napl/pdf/BeckKastner2008.pdf ]
In Part II in this series on Hoarding, Sally and I will discuss how compulsive hoarding is defined and classified.

ProdPod: Episode 76 -- Be Thankful, and Be Productive Nov 27, 2013

Show notes

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” ~Anthony Robbins
Tony Robbins should know a thing about being thankful. When he speaks to audiences, he tells frequently of his humble beginnings, the gratitude he had in those who helped him survive then thrive, and the self-beneficial results of his giving back to his community and others. During this Thanksgiving holiday week, now's the time to think about how your productivity is enhanced by being grateful.
Don't believe me? Dr. Robert Emmons, psychology researcher, at UC Davis, has studied gratitude and well-being, and it shows that productivity toward goals increases with exhibiting more gratitude in your life. As the studies summary of findings states on the research department's website [ http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/Labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm?Section=4 ], those "who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals." And, "daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) ... resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy."
So, how might you use gratitude practically in your own productive life?
Lisa Peake on her blog at PeakeProductivity.com offers a great suggestion: "write down a few things you are grateful for each evening. Start with this evening and see where it goes from there. You may be surprised at how much you have to be thankful for."
Jason Womack, author of Your Best Just Got Better [ http://amzn.to/1crZDmn ], has a practice of mailing a daily thank-you card…this brings tangible rewards in responses of offers to collaborate, keeping you top of the mind with your audience, and the brain's release of dopamine (those are the good brain chemicals that make you feel great) that you get from making someone's day brighter. While I opt to sending out thank-you emails more often than printed cards to mail, the technique is still quite powerful for me.
And, with all this talk of gratitude let me take this time to say, thank you for listening to ProdPod! I am grateful everyday for the thousands of listeners a month who encourage me with compliments and stories of how ProdPod's advice has helped them, recommend new topics, and suggest improvements to the podcast. You all help me make this possible.
I hope you've enjoyed this ProdPod episode, Happy Thanksgiving and here's to your productivity success…in two minutes or less!

ProdPod: Episode 75 — How to Run your Personal Advisory Board, Part Two Nov 19, 2013

Show notes

Steps for Setting Up Your Personal Advisory Board:1. Perform a strategic analysis of your situation, including a business and personal
SWOT Analysis.
2. Set clear, written goals and objectives for your PAB: Vision and 6-month mission
statements.
3. Make a list of potential board advisers. Be broad in your list; think of all your
relationship categories (academic, personal, professional, extracurricular and more)
and make note of individuals you believe have skills that complete weaknesses or
provide connections to opportunities from your SWOT analyses. This is an ongoing list
and should be continually updated and reviewed for potential board advisers at least
semi-annually.
4. From your list of potential board advisers, select six individuals. You should decide
on the group that (a) best fits your needs for the coming six months that you've
planned through your mission statement, (b) has the best chance of collaborating
well, and (c) have no apparent reasons for not being able to serve on the board for
the next set of terms.
5. Create a list of possible substitutes (usually up to three), in case some of your
potential board advisers are unable or unwilling to be a part of your PAB. Be
gracious, positive and compassionate with anyone who does not or cannot be on your
PAB. Be sure to ask them if they'd like to be considered for future PABs; that way, if
they say “no,” you can remove them completely from your list of potential board
advisers so you don't bother them again in the future.
6. Reach out to each potential board adviser, introduce them to the concept of the PAB
and yours and their responsibilities (see the outline below), and ask them if they'd be
interested in joining the PAB.
7. Once you have six yeses, you are ready to schedule your first PAB meeting.

ProdPod: Episode 74 -- How to Run your Personal Advisory Board, Part One Nov 12, 2013

Show notes

Decide on a communication platform with which everyone can be comfortable and explain how you will communicate to them en masse (via email, text, Google Drive sharing, or otherwise). Try to keep your communications effective by being consistently substantive, positive and as few as needed (but no fewer).
Try to schedule the meetings and circulate the agenda with any preparatory materials to be reviewed as soon as practicable to your TAs. Remember, they have personal and professional lives in addition to your PAB, so make it as easy for them as possible to help you. You can try a tool like Doodle.com to schedule your meetings.
It's important for everyone to be empowering you, not just pointing out your faults. If anyone has something negative to say, ask them to re-cast the statement in the form of a question. If it does have to be stated, guide board advisers to use constructive criticism only (that is, no complaining or whining; have a solution ready to propose to the problem they are observing). If a board adviser has a problem with another and would like to address it but is not sure how, please encourage them to bring it to your attention confidentially so that it can be determined the best way toward a productive outcome. Public, positive discussions and praise are wholeheartedly welcomed and encouraged. Praise publicly, and often!

ProdPod: Episode 73 -- Advantages of and Member Criteria for a Personal Advisory Board Nov 05, 2013

Show notes

A Personal Advisory Board is a group of persons who know you, your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, and who you feel comfortable sharing your goals and unique vision, and individuals who are committed to your success.
There are several advantages that people (as well as companies) with advisory boards have over their
colleagues. A PAB offers you:
• An unbiased outside perspective.
• Increased accountability and discipline.
• Enhanced self-management effectiveness.
• Help in avoiding costly mistakes.
• Rounding out skills and expertise lacking in your skill-set and experience.
• A sounding board for evaluating new professional and business ideas and opportunities.
• Enhanced community and public relations.
• Strategic planning assistance and input.
• Brings together centers of influence for networking introductions.
The best way I can describe who should be on your Professional Advisory Board is stating who shouldn't be on your board. No current professional vendor, employer, client, potential client, competitor, direct supervisor/manager, staff/employee, romantic partner/spouse, or other relationships with whom there could be a conflict-of-interest should be allowed to sit on your PAB. Likewise, term limits are also a good way to not only keep everyone's commitment well-defined but also a way to rotate people out so that fresh ideas and personalities can intermingle.
Although the reason for these individuals to sit on your PAB should be charitable by design, you might want to think about how you are going to thank board advisers at the end of their terms, or if/when they need to leave the PAB prior to their term's end. A small sign of appreciation for their dedication to your success will reap compounded benefits for you in the future.
These are a few guidelines for making this a successful network of personal and professional contacts that are assisting you to move forward in your life and work. Please feel free to add to these guidelines for yourself and selectively publish appropriate guidelines to your board advisers.
In the next two episodes, we'll discuss some guidelines for running an effective Personal Advisory Board.

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