by Caroline Leach | Apr 3, 2016 | Change, Learning, Social Media, Work/Life
In my April adventure to do my daily dozen every day this month, a thought occurred to me. Is there enough time in each day? And if not, how can more time be created?
Here’s the math, by the minute:
- Morning pages: 20
- Power pose: 2
- Weights: 10
- Vitamins: 1
- Reasonable to-do list: 15
- 5 fruits and veggies: included in meals
- Active minutes: 30
- Family member time: variable
- Blog post: 60-90
- Spanish app: 10
- Reading: 30
- 3 things I’m grateful for: 10
- Sleep: 420
Setting aside sleep and focusing on waking hours, that’s 218 minutes, or 3.63 hours. For simplicity, let’s say 3.5 hours.
Like most people, my schedule doesn’t have many open hours in it. So how will this work? By doubling up on activities. Not so I’m multitasking, which is a myth anyway, but by combining activities that naturally go together.
Think of it as a “twofer” – something satisfying 2 needs simultaneously. Or in business jargon, as a “stacked win.”
Morning pages and problem solving. One of the natural outcomes of morning pages, according to their inventor Julia Cameron, is a way to solve problems. If I’m facing a challenging at work or home, writing about it longhand often leads to solutions. And morning pages can be a way to sketch out my next blog post.
Power posing and meditating. Despite the hype about meditating, it hasn’t grabbed me. Yet. While there’s a meditative quality to walking, doing yoga and paddle boarding, it hasn’t been an overt practice in my life. Until I started my 2-minute power poses, thanks to Amy Cuddy. During that time I can focus on my breathing and clear my mind.
Reading and news. Working in corporate communications and now in marketing, it’s imperative to stay on top of the news. My 15-minute news rituals can count toward my reading time. Of course, it’s more enjoyable to read for 30 minutes at the end of the day, but on busier days, reading is already in the plan.
This weekend I stocked up on books, thanks to my local library. Recent releases that caught my eye: Mind Hacking, Why We Work and Social Media for Writers.
And I always have my Kindle app, especially handy if I’m waiting for an appointment or to pick up a family member. Right now it’s Social Physics and revisiting The Happiness Advantage.
Treadmill time and reading. Cardio time walking on the treadmill is also great reading time. There’s catching up with longer-form news and articles via iPad and in print. And there are plenty of books on my iPad (see item above).
Exercising and socializing. My husband is my paddle boarding buddy. We not only enjoy the time together, but we also look forward to gliding across the water and being in nature (thanks to Laura Vanderkam for highlighting the benefits of anticipating weekend activities). And a friend has begun to meet me for a Sunday morning yoga class, brightening both of our days.
Blogging and learning. This blog is a learning journey. It began with a focus on the future of corporate communications. As my career pivoted into marketing, it’s became a way to learn how to learn, especially in the area of marketing analytics. So time spent on my blog is often time spent learning about the latest in my current field. This hack comes from Penelope Trunk and her course on blogging.
Recharging and moving. This includes things like walking meetings, or walking during lunch. It’s hard to beat getting out in nature for fresh air and sunshine. And I often find that walking during the day can help me solve problems I’ve been wrestling with. Other ways to recharge during a short lunch break – a few minutes with my Spanish app, listening to a podcast or meeting a colleague.
Commuting and learning. Driving to and from the office can take 50 to 90 minutes a day. That’s a big chunk of time. How can it better be used? Here are 3 – listening to TED talks, listening to Spanish radio stations and listening to podcasts, especially on data analytics.
And here I’m especially grateful to work for a company that connects us to our world, everywhere we live, work and play (note: opinions expressed in this blog are my own). That puts me a third of the way on today’s list of what I’m grateful for.
Technology and connectivity make our lives better in many ways. Recently I started using the Starbucks app as an easy way to pay. But I hadn’t tried the ordering feature. Until a colleague Sandy Smart-Ashburn raved about it. Short on time this morning, I ordered a latte through the app. It felt like a near-miracle to skip the line and pick up my beverage from the barista.
More to come as the adventure continues.
The photo above is from the University of Southern California where I spoke last year on a panel about social collaboration at my grad school alma mater.
by Caroline Leach | Apr 2, 2016 | Change, Learning, Social Media, Work/Life
A new day, month and season always feel like a fresh start. Brand new beginnings. Endless possibilities ahead.
As I reflected on the daily dozen habits I set last year, I’d done well on some and not on others.
So why not commit the month of April to doing my full daily dozen every day? How much can I accomplish? How will I feel? How much more will I enjoy life?
It will be an April Adventure. It’s the perfect time because spring is my favorite season. The days are longer. Time stretches out. Nature beckons. Summer is on the way.
April is also a transitional time. It’s my birthday at the end of the month, which always prompts reflection. My daughter will choose her college this month. And then it’s on to the whirl of AP exams, the prom and high school graduation for the coda of the season.
Listening to Adam Grant‘s TED talk about original thinkers this morning during a car trip for a college visit with my son gave me 4 things to think about.
- Improvers do better than first movers. Grant’s talk referenced a classic study of 50 product categories. It showed a 47% failure rate among first movers. Those who improved on the ideas of others had only an 8% failure rate.
- There’s a sweet spot for creativity halfway between pre-crastination (doing things too early to maximize creativity and efficiency) and procrastination (this one needs no explanation).
- Doubt the default. Or, question the status quo. According to Grant’s research, people who do this and ask if there’s a better way perform better in their jobs, and they stay in them 15% longer.
- What distinguishes classical composers is that they produced more work. They generated more music and more ideas. That meant there was more to choose from in identifying their best work.
That inspired my idea to post to this blog daily in April. It can be of any length. And by writing daily, I may come up with at least one post to share for feedback in Penelope Trunk‘s upcoming Quistic course about writing great blog posts.
To round it out, I’m making it a baker’s dozen with habit #13: using my Rosetta Stone app to learn Spanish for 10 minutes every day. Here I’m inspired by something I read recently about someone who learned a language by devoting just a few minutes every day.
So what am I doing differently to set up my environment for success?
First, I made a daily dozen list in my Any.Do app. While I’ve had it for a while, I haven’t used it much yet. This is my accountability app. And I’ll continue tracking my activity and sleep with my Fitbit.
Second, I’m thinking about how to use time in new ways. What’s the best way to make the most of commute time? Lunch time? Wait time?
Right now I’m writing this on my iPhone while my husband drives us home from our college visit. Turns out I don’t have to be at home settled in with my laptop to write every blog post.
It’s amazing what technology and connectivity can do for our lives and our ability to learn. It shouldn’t be too hard how to figure out how to insert hyperlinks and images on my phone.
Game on for an April Adventure!
by Caroline Leach | Apr 1, 2016 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Learning, Marketing & Analytics
Who doesn’t love binge watching a favorite show?
Whether it’s Game of Thrones or Billions, watching multiple episodes in a single sitting makes the experience more intense, rewarding and fun.
That’s a fun part of working for at the company that provides DIRECTV. Whether it’s the DIRECTV app or a programmer app with the subscription, it’s easy to stream great content on a mobile device.
It got me thinking about how binge watching might apply to online learning. Could it make learning more effective? More efficient? How about more fun?
And why was I pondering this question?
A Fortune 10 CEO was recently quoted in the New York Times on reskilling people for the future. “There is a need to retool yourself,” he said, “and you should not expect to stop. People who do not spend 5 to 10 hours a week in online learning will obsolete themselves with the technology.”
(Full disclosure: I work for this great company. Opinions in this blog are my own.)
While it’s true that small steps add up to big changes, it’s possible to accelerate learning by binge viewing great online courses.
As an example, for professional certifications that require ongoing education, binge viewing online courses is highly effective.
Why?
- It eliminates the inefficiencies of starting and stopping courses.
- It amplifies learning by increasing the ability to see patterns and make connections between seemingly disparate concepts and information.
- And a significant amount of learning can be completed in a relatively short time, fueling more motivation to seek out further coursework.
As I rectify my accreditations in public relations and human resources every 3 years, this strategy has made ongoing learning more efficient and more fun.
And it’s worked well for a series of marketing essentials courses I co-created with colleagues in my new career role. And for several weeks my action-item list has included “complete this series of online courses.” But somehow it didn’t happen. Until today. And here’s why.
Schedule time. The 5 online courses I need to complete are 90 minutes each, totaling 7.5 hours. Have you ever found a full day without meetings that you could commit to online learning?
Earlier this week I looked at my schedule and saw I had a few open late afternoon hours on a Friday. So I booked it for 2 online courses. Which then became 3, as I was pulled into the reward of completing course after course.
It was much easier to click into that next course as long as I was already online, in a comfortable place, and with a few hours of time I’d blocked out.
Make yourself comfortable. Maybe there’s a comfortable chair in your workspace. Or a standing desk. Or even a treadmill desk. What would make the environment even better? Your favorite coffee beverage? A healthy snack?
Focus on the course. Find a quiet place. Close your door if you have one. Turn off email and text notifications and other sounds on mobile devices.
Enjoy the experience of focusing intently on only one thing. Research shows that humans can’t multitask anyway, as much as we delude ourselves into thinking that we can.
Write notes on key points. Listen for 3 key takeaways. There’s magic in the number 3. It focuses your thought processes and forces you to prioritize what you heard and saw.
Taking notes on those key points helps to solidify the learning, especially if you hand write them. And you have something you can quickly refer to when you want to refresh your learning.
Take one immediate action. Of those 3 key points, what’s one thing you can put into action right away?
As part of my PR recertification, I listened to an IABC webinar on the art of social media by Guy Kawasaki. That’s how I discovered Canva. It makes anyone, including me, into a graphic designer. Many of the images in this blog are from Canva.
Given the need for all of us to prepare for our next career, why not binge watch your way to a new skill?
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