How do you do it? A guide to being overcommitted!

So, I have a partner, kids, a day job, a business with my partner, friends, hobbies, and I volunteer for three organizations in the community. Writing it out makes it sound a little crazy, but mostly I love my life! People often ask, "how do you do it"? Here are some things that have worked for me!

1. I don't do everything well

No one can. But my biggest failure is not being prompt on returning calls and emails (sometimes losing track of correspondence all together). I don't strive for perfection on everything I do, anymore. Sometimes it's more important to get the job done, than give it 110%.

2. I am highly scheduled

My days are often broken out into tasks I expect to accomplish. I spend a lot of front end time planning and scheduling myself.

3. I rarely multi-task

Time and again studies have shown that people who multi-task are far less effective than those who simply focus on one activity at a time.

4. I set priorities
I do what needs to be done first. And my priorities reflect my values. So my children come first. Every time. It gives me a clear sense of perspective that balances out item #1. If I can't do it all well, I need to be sure I give my best to the most important things!

5. I take time off
Work hard. Play harder. I love to hike, camp, travel, sew, knit, dance, and so on. And I do all these things. If I have a huge event, I turn my phone off for a few days afterwards. I don't work when I am sick, unless it is a true emergency (of which there are far fewer than you might think). I don't check my email on my days off.

6. I am passionate about what I do

I truly believe the work I do makes a difference in people's lives. Both my day job, a for impact community center, and my work with A Simple Twist are less about what I do than why I do it. I am here because I have an incredible passion for the work we are doing. I have seen the impact this work has. And those moments of validation are beyond inspiring when it feels like there is too much to do and too little time to do it in!

Who we are and what we do...

A few months ago at the Open House for our webhost Goozmo, 42 Productions as also on site doing free videos for attendees. Here is the result. Thoughts?

My new favorite blog!

Maybe it's because I have kids, but I find myself delighted by random facts about science and brain puzzles. This site, the Encyclopedia Brittanica Blog, absolutely indulges me in that!

Knowledge vs Wisdom & what to keep

In a recent HR seminar I entered into a discussion about layoffs and making the decision between the senior employee who gets paid more, and the two interns who get paid little or nothing.

The decision usually comes down to dollars, and that with letting go of one person, the company saves a larger percentage of their labor budget, and keeps several more "flexible" employees.

This is an all too common situation and I understand some of the mentality. It looks good on paper, and the younger employees are also usually more adaptable to schedule changes, overtime, and being told what to do. So they cut the more experienced employee.

And in turn they cut out their knowledge base. Yes, I know that the college graduates have the "new" knowledge. And perhaps they work a bit faster and with less complaint but they also lack the ability to adapt to unknown situation by pulling from years of experience and resources.

I went to the hardware store to figure out how to reattach my daughter's door. It was falling off the hinges and the wood around the screw was so stripped that I could pull out the screws with my fingers. The first person I ran into at the store was no more than 28, maybe. The advice given to me was sound, get some wood filler, a bonding agent that will fill the hole and act like wood one it cures. Very good, so off I go down the aisles looking for wood filler.

In my journey I come across an old man. I am not saying this to be ageist, he was a classic old man with glasses on the end of his nose, a slow saunter to his step and very gray hair. He asked me what i was looking for and I sighed and re-explained my situation. He smiled and said, "Have you tried using a matchstick?"
Me - "Huh?"
"Wood filler might work, but most likely when you try to drive a screw through it, the filler will crack loose and just turn with the screw. Just jam a matchstick or two in the hole and when you put the screw in, the wood will expand and fill the hole."

I went home, jammed a matchstick in each hole and the door is as good as new. Saved me material, sticky mess, and curing time.

So when you are thinking about getting rid of that more senior employee in exchange for your two less expensive kids... Think about the holes you need filled that just need a matchstick.

Read More Here.

Where's the opportunity?

A couple of days ago I published a video that gives an overview of our current economic crisis. After viewing it, I felt more aware of what is going on, but also somewhat down. In the spirit of A Simple Twist, I really wanted to think more about what opportunities exist in this mess.

One of the more inspiring ones to me is the revamping of our values. For the past 20 years, the focus in America has been on over-consumption and over-accumulation. More. Cheaper. Now. It's a little overwhelming! And as the video showed, eventually more is unsupportable.

So let's embrace the value of enough. Let's make enough money to live our lives in comfort and fulfill most of our dream. Let's have enough food to eat, for everyone. Let's share our extra -- time, money, and food-- with others, so they can have enough too!

Tools don't work if you don't use them.

According to the Denver Post:

"Workplace-bias cases in Colorado grew at nearly triple the national rate over the past five years, according to statistics compiled by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission."

I find this to be astonishing. I suppose I shouldn't, we've only just now entered into a new administration where the value of people seem to be of importance, but I still find it remarkable that with all the resources available for workplace education, these occurances happen at this rate.

Gender studies, affirmative action, LGBT centers, employee resource groups, diversity specialists, and dozens of other ways to teach your managers about dealing with inclusion issues, and we still have these issues.

I'm certain I am idealistic in my dreams for a fully inclusive society, but can't we get just a little closer?

Crisis of Credit

Here's a 101 on the credit crisis!




and the final part:

Murphy Who?

There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over ~~ Meskimen's Law

For the holidays my father sent me a calendar full of Murphy's laws and I have to admit, it tickles me each morning to pull off the sheet and see what new bit of "wisdom" will confront me. The chuckle I greet most of them with is often accompanied by the thought that they are funny because they are true. 

Working the in the For Impact community (or the start-up business community) funding is often a key issue. Frequently we find ourselves making tough decisions about resource allocation. And often, taking the time to plan our work and implement it effectively gets a lower priority than doing our work. Which often costs us more time (and money) in the long run.

So I offer these tips:

• Take your time. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. 
• Do less. It's better to do 3 things well than 8 things poorly.
• Stop reading your email. Spend no more than 45 minutes per day on your email. There is very little as important as the ability to instantly communicate about it makes it feel. 
• Reward yourself with ice cream (I recommend Glacier or Bliss). 
• Take a walk in the afternoon to perk yourself up. The post lunch lull is a great time for errors to creep into your work world.

Send me your favorite errors!! 

Which way now?

When I was 16 and living in Europe, my friend received a day trip to Austria for her birthday. We happily boarded the train and headed for adventure, eager to see the city. Except we didn't. We spent the entire day within sight of the train station. Because I was terrified if we lost sight of it, we'd never find our way back. For 9 hours, we strayed no further than a few blocks from where we started. April was frustrated and angry. But she didn't leave me. She just kept trying to convince me to see the city with her. I offered a mild concession and we checked out some shops and a coffee place.

I haven't thought of that trip in years. But it came back to me last week. How convinced I was that leaving the safety of our starting point would be our doom. That we would lose our way and never find it again. I didn't even believe in bread crumbs, I guess. Certainly didn't trust maps. And that translated to my daily life. My fear of losing my way also kept me from finding my way for a long time.

In business, sometimes we want to stay in the safety of the train station. But if we do, then all we can find is what we started with. 

The Power of Hope

Yesterday I had the distinct privilege of speaking to a group of talented people searching for work here in the Boulder area. Most of them spoke multiple languages, English being the most recent addition to their skill set. Helping them navigate the cultural differences regarding confidence, deference and power was amazing. Inspiring hope is a great job to have.

Read the full article here.

Perspective.

Artists use it all the time to create visually entertaining experiences for the rest of us. I love the whimsy in someone painting the outside of transportation vehicle to look like a burned out wreck. There is constant tension in the business world between efficiency (look at the building practices in the 70s and the ugly, but efficient, schools and public buildings that came out of that) and expression.

The truth is, we need both. There comes a point when you are expressing yourself or having fun at the expense of accomplishing your tasks. But without the "spoonful of sugar" many jobs can feel overly tedious and eventually the paycheck isn't worth the personal cost.

Working in the For-Impact sector is about maximizing that tension. Especially for those of us on the ground, working to create a better world. We know we can't do business as usual, often times we simply don't have the funding to operate on the standard platform. But that challenge can often be our greatest gift. We find ourselves collaborating with diverse organizations and people. This often results in creative, unpredictable outcomes that have a stronger, more powerful impact, than "business as usual" ever could have had.

So in this time of dollar watching, everywhere, remember that funding challenges are just an opportunity to push the envelope for yourself and your company. You will be amazed at what you are able to accomplish!