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Jay White2008-04-17T22:25:30.907-05:007 Insanely Simple Ways to Ensure Your Project Gets Done</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 style="font-style: italic;" class="write">Written on 4/18/2008 by Jared </h7>Goralnick, <h7 style="font-style: italic;" class="write">blogger at </h7><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.technotheory.com/">Technotheory.com</a> and Productivity Evangelist for <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.awayfind.com/">AwayFind</a>.<h7 class="write"></h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/769509973/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SAfdRrdnb-I/AAAAAAAABpc/9WTSYH4a2Q4/s320/success.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190360391362244578" title="Team Clearleft" border="0" /></a>When you had a paper due at 2pm, you got it in on time. Whether it was for your professor or your boss, there was outside pressure. Today however, many of your goals are only due to yourself. With no one watching over your shoulder, will you have the motivation and drive to complete something tough? Let me give you two examples of creating commitment. After, we'll go through some tips to ensure you leave with a way to easily implement a fool proof system. At Home Example: Organizing the Garage I'd really wanted to organize the garage but it took about six months to get started. Once I finally did, it only took about five hours because I recruited a friend to help. My friend and I decided to have a "Project Weekend"--she'd help with my stuff on Saturday and I with hers on Sunday. We scheduled it a month in advance and we both followed through. Now my garage is organized and squeaky clean. At her place, I helped install lights and build furniture. As a bonus, we actually had a lot of fun. At Work Example: the Buddy Call I run a small business and there are many tasks I want to work on (like blog posts) that don't have solid deadlines. A couple years ago I started a twice monthly check-in call with a colleague who also runs a small business. We discuss our highs, lows, accomplishments, and goals for the next couple weeks. Since we look up to each other and know we'll be checking in, it motivates us to get things done. Two added benefits: <ul><li>Together we'll often find better ways to approach a particular goal </li><li>We now have someone to discuss revenue, employees, and other topics that are often confidential or taboo</li></ul>Above were very specific examples of how I involved others to add commitment to my goals. By involving others, you are putting yourself on display and therefore, there are people watching to add motivation. Here are some more general tips that can help you to stay more accountable for the projects you seem to constantly avoid: <ol><li>Commit to an outside deadline - if you can tie in your goals with existing schedules, you'll more likely finish. You might try scheduling a party at your house if you want to get unpacked or clean up, registering (and paying for) a business plan competition if you want to get the plan written, or signing up for a class in the skill you want to learn--both monetary and social commitments will help you to follow through</li> <li>Schedule a time with someone else to work together - like my "Project Weekend," a scheduled time with someone else can accomplish wonders and be a lot of fun. It's always great if you can return the favor, too</li> <li>Set a reasonable deadline, and continually tell others about it - the more often you discuss your deadline the more you'll start believing you can meet it. This will also help to create pressure, which will be furthered if you...</li> <li>Announce your goal in a large forum - nobody likes to fail for the world, so announce your ambition on your blog, newsletter, mass email, gathering of friends, or at a company meeting. </li> <li>Join a community involved in similar goals - if you're surrounded by people starting up businesses, taking photos, speaking Spanish, or whatever your goal is...that'll help motivate you to do the same</li> <li>Find a collaborator for your project - if you're worried about getting it done on your own, allow others to participate so you can motivate each other to succeed. This is more than just working together, this will help to share the responsibility</li> <li>Create a competition - put a significant value (monetary, a trip, a favor, etc) on your respective goals. For instance, if you were trying to improve the number of readers on your blog, you could find a blogger in a similar position and compete for the first to get 1000 subscribers...with the loser paying for the other's ticket to a major blogger conference. Look for someone who is in a similar place and create a real competition that you can both take seriously</li></ol>You may be a motivated hard-worker, but outside pressure and competition will help you to act faster. How do you keep your eyes on the project despite the lack of motivation? - Jared <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=XdUhWo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=XdUhWo" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=GOirrjg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=GOirrjg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=Bq9x7fg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=Bq9x7fg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=6gGYPhg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=6gGYPhg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=tiOveGg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=tiOveGg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=KtNUbvG"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=KtNUbvG" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~4/272514960" height="1" width="1"/></content><author><name>Jay White</name></author></entry><entry><updated>2008-04-17T07:19:03.277-05:00</updated><title type="text">5 Business Decisions You Will Be Proud Of</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 4/17/2008 by <a href="http://www.theratingblog.com/about/">Alan Johnson</a>, author of <a href="http://www.theratingblog.com/the-online-business-handbook">The Online Business Handbook</a>.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/adc/430856286/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SAcl8bdnb9I/AAAAAAAABpU/dp9aoielDc0/s320/proud.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190158815662141394" border="0" /></a>After having referred to 5 of the <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/04/5-business-decisions-you-will.html">dangerous business decisions</a> which you will most likely regret, it's only fair to look into the choices that you will be proud of; the one's that will help make you a success. I am going to skip the long monologue and jump right in. However, the question begs to be asked: Does doing all of these things guarantee anything? The answer: YES. While one can never ensure a business venture will be a success, these steps will in fact train you on how to start, grow, and maintain a business. Why is it that most entrepreneurs fail the first 8 times? Well, because they were still in training. Think about baseball players. They don't make contact the first time they step to the plate, they are fine tuning their approach with each swing, then they video tape their swing, and they fine tune some more. Get it? So with that, here are some considerations you should take when fine tuning your entrepreneurial swing. What other qualities or choices do you think would make a entrepreneur propel forward? <ol><li>Setting The Right Goals Since I have explained why any structure built on a shaky foundation will not last in the long run, it should be clear that establishing a solid one is simply a must. And, guess what: setting the right goals for yourself and for your project will help you do just that. <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/02/secret-to-huge-breakthroughs-on-your.html">Long-term goals</a> will help you always see things in perspective, while short-term ones will help you take things one step at a time and not feel discouraged by the fact that a certain long-term goal may currently seem out of reach. Finding the right balance between these two types of goals will definitely prove to be a decision you will not regret. </li> <li>Plan Accordingly Planning accordingly, and not just launching a project for the sake of it, can and will get you far. Rather than acting on impulse and approaching the market with a product which is not quite worth it, why not make sure that you are providing value with it in the first place? After all, a quality product is always easier to promote than a worthless one. </li> <li>Learning From Mistakes If you think that all mistakes can be avoided, you couldn’t be more wrong. No matter how talented or knowledgeable you may be, you are bound to make mistakes at a certain point. While making mistakes is something natural, making the same mistake twice is just plan foolish. As a result, learning from mistakes can and will get you far. </li> <li>Letting Others Help You may initially be able to do everything yourself but, at a certain point, you will definitely need help from others. Be it help from people who appreciate your work and want to prove it or help from the people you hire, letting others contribute is indeed the way to go. Just be sure to retain good people. </li> <li>Being Objective Of course you are tempted to believe that a certain project of yours is the best thing since sliced bread, but that is definitely not always the case. <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/03/7-signs-that-youre-living-in-denial.html">Living in denial</a> is simply not an option and, in the end, you would be the only person losing out as a result of such an attitude. When judging the way things stand with a certain project, show no mercy. Leave the fact that you have spent time and energy on it aside and be as objective as possible. Never be afraid to act accordingly as soon as you think that improvements are in order. Be objective and you will, without a doubt, end up congratulating yourself down the road.</li></ol>-Alan <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=bMrMSJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=bMrMSJ" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=Rgx42lg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=Rgx42lg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=CETQxyg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=CETQxyg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=WKetbLg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=WKetbLg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=k0j6Mtg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=k0j6Mtg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=NizD9MG"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=NizD9MG" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~4/272079165" height="1" width="1"/></content><author><name>Jay White</name></author></entry><entry><updated>2008-04-16T06:58:06.478-05:00</updated><title type="text">True Happiness: No Laughing Matter</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 4/09/2008 by Shelly DeVous.</h7></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosino/59303979/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SAVb1bdnb8I/AAAAAAAABpM/1j1F3hADYn8/s320/laugh.png" alt="laugh" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189655119077535682" title="laughing" border="0" /></a>“I laughed so hard, I cried.” When was the last time you made that statement and really meant it; when you laughed so hard tears welled in your eyes? Hopefully, recently enough that you remember. Laughter is a characteristic of a happy person and according to <a href="http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/%7Esonja/index.html">Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky</a>, University of California-Riverside, the pursuit of happiness has many benefits: <ol><li>Higher income and superior work outcomes; better quality work </li><li> Larger social rewards such as longer marriages, more friends </li><li>More activity and energy </li><li>Better physical health; lower stress and less pain </li><li>Longer life </li></ol>Sign me up! The benefits of happiness describe what most of us feel is an ideal life…more fun at work, many friends, successful relationships, lots of energy, and long life with less pain. And that’s not all! “…happy individuals are more creative, helpful, charitable, and self-confident, have better self-control, and show greater self-regulatory and coping abilities,” according to Dr. Lyubomirsky’s research. Convinced you should be a happier person? Our forefathers knew what they were doing when they include “the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. They planted the seed to what Dr. Lyubomirsky considers “…an American cultural obsession.” If happiness is so beneficial, and we all seem to be obsessed with the notion, why aren’t more of us happy? The research suggests our focus may be misplaced: <blockquote>“Pleasure-seeking, quick fixes, and self-gratification are proven to have limited long-term effects on true happiness.” </blockquote>Forget about buying the new outfit, the fancy car, or the latest gadget as ways to achieve happiness. Purchases simply satisfy the short-term need for self-gratification. Things do not produce a happy life…you do. What does it take to be a truly happy person? Being happy and reaping the rewards of happiness does not mean adopting a “<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=Pzb&oi=definer&q=define:pollyanna+principle&defl=en">Pollyanna</a>” attitude. It is not smiling on the outside when you are really churning on the inside. Real happiness has more to do with effort than attitude. In her study [<a href="http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/%7Esonja/papers/SL2006b.pdf">.pdf</a>], “Achieving sustainable gains in happiness: change your actions not your circumstances,” Dr. Lyubomirsky found that the secret to happiness is hard work not “quick-fixes,” and compulsive self-gratification. <blockquote>“Effort and hard work offer the most promising route to happiness….engagement in activities that promote one’s highest potential…enterprise, exploration of one’s interests and overcoming obstacles are the secret to happiness.” </blockquote>Be happier by working harder? It sounds like an oxymoron! Most of us believe the opposite…work less and we’ll be happier, but that isn’t what the research suggests. The key to true happiness is to work at what you do best; do the work you are meant to do. Remember the book, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FWhat-Love-Money-Will-Follow%2Fdp%2F0440501601&tag=nosid-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Do what you love, the money will follow: Discovering your right livelihood</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nosid-20&l=ur2&o=1" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" />?” It advances the idea that we should follow our heart to make a living. Dedicating your life to work that does not enhance your unique gifts it generates dissatisfaction and stress, not happiness. Work at what you do best, devote yourself to that effort, and happiness will be the logical result; not doing less of what you dislike, but doing more of what you love. Doing what you dislike also thwarts creativity and hinders helpfulness. If you are unhappy doing what your doing, it is improbable that you will want to share your work or feel energized to apply creative effort. Dr. Lyubomirsky describes happy people as more creative, helpful, and self-confident. Confidence builds when we work creatively at what we are meant to do, and then selflessly share our work with others. The pattern emerges: do what you love and creativity, confidence and helpfulness follows. You will be happier. In my recent DLM article, “<a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/04/gain-by-giving-how-to-live-good-life.html">Gain by giving: How to live a good life</a>,” I described living A Good Life as sharing what is unique about you: <blockquote>“Kindly, generously, share your opinions and ideas. Be truthful, honest and willing. Smile and be optimistic about your gifts. Give of yourself so others can gain. Do it everyday, with every encounter….Enriching another’s life with your unique gift is living A Good Life…however and wherever that manifests itself.”</blockquote>Experiencing true happiness and living A Good Life are synonymous; the steps to each are the same: <ol><li>Be yourself </li><li>Identify your unique gifts </li><li>Engage in activities that promote your gifts—your highest potential </li><li> Share your gifts with others </li><li>Confront obstacles, don’t shun them </li></ol>Pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. You are meant to be happy…to do what you love not what you hate; using your unique gifts to enrich your life and the lives of others. When you do that, you will experience true happiness and all its wonderful benefits. That is no laughing matter! -Shelly <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?a=rNetEp"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/DumbLittleMan?i=rNetEp" border="0"></img></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=zacwiRg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=zacwiRg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=jON58Xg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=jON58Xg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=eeD6Zgg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=eeD6Zgg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=BgN6pGg"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=BgN6pGg" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?a=fagW6gG"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/DumbLittleMan?i=fagW6gG" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/DumbLittleMan/~4/271384233" height="1" width="1"/></content><author><name>Jay White</name></author></entry><entry><updated>2008-04-15T09:15:02.486-05:00</updated><title type="text">6 Reasons Why Productivity Belongs To The Night Owls</h3><content type="html"><div id="write"><h7 class="write">Written on 4/15/2008 by Alex Shalman, creator of the <a href="http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/">Practical Personal Development</a> blog.</h7> </div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wandererwoman/26179965/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dH0q9hvpVHg/SASty7dnb7I/AAAAAAAABpE/h7S5GVCL9IM/s320/night.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189463761104629682" title="empty streets" border="0" /></a>Rising early, the habit of champions, is not statistically proven to increase productivity, happiness, or success. So why are so many people tooting their own horn about getting up before the rooster squawks? It really comes down to the fact that certain early risers take full advantage of their <a href="http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/04/7-simple-ways-to-burst-out-of-bed-each.html">early morning hours</a>, and they're very productive in telling us about it. This minority leaves out an important demographic of people, the ones that stay up late and sleep in, but make huge strides in productivity and innovation. The benefits your body receives from waking early and enjoying more sunlight are marginal. Most people won't use this time to be outside, rather they'll spend it inside of a fluorescently illuminated cubicle. In theory, your productivity level shouldn't differ if you rise at 4am or 11am. What matters is the quality of sleep that's giving your mind and body sufficient time to recover. So let's consider some reasons why burning the midnight oil may be more productive than waking up before sunrise. <ol><li>Insomnia. The night owl will not go to sleep until they have hit a landmark in their productivity. They'll work into the wee hours of the morning, and later if they have to. If going to sleep late is consistent for you, but you do it at the same hour each night, then you still benefit from the synchronization of your circadian rhythm. </li><li>Calmness. The night air is still and tranquil. No chirping, singing, or buzzing from the animals around you. When I say animals, I also mean humans. They've already gone to bed, leaving you with the peace to get done what you want to get done. It's difficult, if not impossible, to get things done in the face of loud noise, honking horns, and other sounds of the day. The stillness of the night creates a clearing for ideas, innovation, and creativity. </li><li>Isolation. The calmness that I just mentioned is partly because no one is up. You create an atmosphere where you are separated from the schedules of other people, and thus isolated from their need for your attention. In essence you are operating on a distraction free basis. You already know that it takes several minutes to get back into a state of flow after being distracted, so clearly when productivity is our ideal, distractions are our enemy. </li><li> An Agenda. Surprise, people get tired. If a person is going to stay up late to work, when they could have gone to sleep, they are clearly working on something of significant importance to them. Working on important things and being passionate about our work fuels us to an unbelievable extent. This purpose, or worthwhile cause, is the emotional rocket fuel that guides us in maximizing our minds to <a href="http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/2008/04/07/5-steps-to-maximize-your-mind-to-achieve-your-goals/">achieve our goals</a>. </li><li>Consistency. Night owls gain appreciation for the leaps they make in their productivity during the night. In this way they anchor their positive feelings of accomplishment with working at night. Feeling accomplished is one of the greatest feelings, in fact is could feel better than any drug. This is why the night owl will consistently return to the productive underworld of the night, for productivity sake. </li><li>Minimal Multitasking. By now I'm sure you've heard that multitasking is not as productive as putting focused effort on one thing at a time. That's because being present allows us to get things done more quickly and in a higher quality fashion. The night affords us with less outside pressure to multi-task. We'll able able to concentrate on that one super important task at hand.</li></ol>What do you think, could you be productive this way? 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