How to get an hour of free time August 26, 2009
If you have an office, and are constantly interrupted throughout the day, there is a simple thing you can do to get an hour or two uninterrupted.
Yes, an open door policy works well and can be good, however, it can distract and derail your thinking.
Invest in a $2 “Do Not Disturb” sign. While this does not always work, with training, the people in your office will get the message. You can also add a “Will return at X O’clock”.
Let everyone that visits the office know what you’re doing, and why.
Then be consistent. For example every three to four pm be unavailable. It might take a little time, but soon everyone will know you’re unavailable during those times.
When stressed, your brain stops. August 20, 2009
For many years I’ve been using this idea. And not just that the brain stops, but under ongoing stress, we become less likely to be able to make good decisions and de-stress ourselves. Another way to describe this is: The path to burnout. We become so stressed over time that we can’t think of any solutions. This is the exact situation I found myself in years ago.
Now there is some research that shows that when we are stressed, the brain changes in ways that keep us stressed! In short the researched shows that under chronic stress, the rats stopped making their usual decisions. Instead relying on their last choice – even when it didn’t serve.
I’ve seen this behaviour many times in the people I work with. They are so stressed, they miss vital information. This vital information is often in the form of feedback from the world in relation to their decisions. This feedback is not taken as information for a new decision but instead feeds straight into the stress. Increasing our stress and thus making our decisions even less useful. A vicious cycle. And the people I work with keep doing the same things that cause their stress at the same time they are unable to think of a way out.
As I’ve said many times before, if you’re trying to change your stress while under stress you’re fighting an uphill battle. First you need to catch a breath, make some space, or just take a break. Then you can learn and train the skills needed to keep that stress managed.
So here is the test: If you think you can’t make the decision to take a break or you don’t know how to take a break, you’re too stressed to make that choice! Your biology is working against you. If that’s the case, take a break RIGHT NOW. Stop what you’re doing and go for a 5 minute walk outside. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your pyjamas, or that it’s raining or snowing outside. Go for the walk, you need it more than another 5 minutes surfing the web.
Link to the research.
Link to the NY Times write up.
Indecision and Poor Decisions August 3, 2009
We make decisions every day. Some decisions are more important, and have different results than others. The decision does not have to be perfect. An incorrect, but immediate decision is usually better than a perfect and withheld decision. But think about it; there is no such thing as a perfect decision, there is only the best decision with the given information.
In every case, the immediate, incorrect decision will be more valid than a perfect unmade decision.
When I was learning to play golf many years ago, my teacher taught me: “When you are putting, having the ball go 3 feet past the hole is better than 1 foot short. Three feet past has a chance to go in, 1 foot short will never go in.” And when I’ve told other golfers this they sometimes argue with me and say things like, “if you putt too far to the left or right, it’s not going in”. This is true, and yet if you don’t put the ball past the hole there is zero chance of it ever going in.
Some tips for making good decisions.
1. Delegate where possible. This will give your employees more stake in the business, more responsibility, and save you work.
2. If the decision can’t be made immediately, set a date and time for when the decision will be made. Stick to this timeframe regardless and decide on or before that date (re-deciding to set another date might be valid).
3. Get only the facts you need to be right 75% of the time. If you think you know the best choice, you do. Make that decision now.
4. Courage is needed to make the decision and then act. Have that courage with the knowledge that if you get it wrong, you can always re-decide.
What other things do you think help in making decisions?