SMART Steps Poem*

It takes twenty one days to change a habit;
to make a difference -
so go on, grab it!

In twenty one days a lot gets done
when our steps are SMART
and our work's made fun

It takes twenty one days to change a habit;
to make a difference -
so go on, grab it!

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*Dedicated to Trish - thanks for helping me help myself

And when it all seems to go wrong...

It is given to very few of us to enjoy a life as long as Richard Pottle's (buried in Reedham churchyard); the important thing, though, is to make the best use of the time we have...

Wouldn't it be hugely ironic if the reason for me not updating this blog for the past several days was because I had lost my log-in details...

Well, you guessed it correctly - that's exactly what happened. And when stuff like this occurs, I guess you've just got to laugh at yourself, and learn from your mistakes. Hence, I now have all my details stashed safely in my desk drawer.

Just as strict diets tend to be unsustainable, and are often followed by bingeing; so it is with new life regimes. All too often, I've promised to be organised and 'sorted', managing maybe a couple of weeks of discipline, only to completely let myself go, and revert to bad - yet comfortable (or rather, familiar) - old habits. That's why it's so important make our goals SMART :
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timebound

It is also important to deal appropriately with our mistakes. I mean, don't let a set-back lead to a crash and burn. Acknowledge it, and learn from it, by all means, but don't let a small trip put you out of step as you walk on your 'journey of a thousand miles' (to the organised you; the 'you' which you have it in your power to find)...

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From forever endeavour to playful curiosity...

My daughters, playing with perspective...

T., my mentor, set me an interesting challenge. I have to take something routine and boring and approach it with playful curiousity. I have chosen to focus on the course set-up forms which are a necessary but hitherto uninspiring part of my work. Trust me, making a Norfolk County Council course set-up form interesting and fun is a tough gig!

Here's how I've done thus far. First of all, I did some head-scratching and a little bit of avoidance (funny how enticing the washing-up can become at such times!). Then I thought I'd break down the tasks and create a kind of visual 'learning ladder; ladder to learning', using an Excel spreadsheet with the stepped-up boxes coloured in. I'm not sure that this worked for me, so I stashed it away for another day and did some more head-scratching.

Next, I thought I'd try and transform the dry language of a course-set up form into a poem. What a smashing idea... until I tried to do it. I just got 'blank page syndrome' about this one... but I am determined that I'll transform this into play.

Moving on, I decided to copy each box I have to fill in on the course set-up form. I then imagined the steps as being part of a kind of Willy Wonker fantasy machine - except that, in this instance, we're making people-shaped learning. Thus, the category, 'Funding details', became translated as, "Giving it a funding code pulls a lever that pours water [cash] on acorns [learners] that makes mighty oaks/folks grow."

I'm not sure that this is going to be my final form of play, but what is interesting is the way that left-field approaches have already allowed me to imaginatively step outside the boxes and make it mine. I'm already seeing it differently; the routine has become strange - and if not yet wonderful, then definately better than before.

At the end of some particularly long and tedious acronym, jargon-ridden meetings I have been known to ask for the relevant form through which I can claim that part of my life back. Given that we have yet to conjure up such a miracle, I think it's much better to make the things we have to do interesting for ourselves, instead of going on, "forever endeavour" (as a mate of mine once put it!).

Finally, remember that what we're doing here is one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, as described in my previous post. In this instance, it is the 'take notice' idea which I am experimenting with - actively extending one's curiosity. Remember, you are curious and extraordinary, so claim back your power and play.

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Wellbeing and Work

© Lifehack

Today, I attended a very interesting conference in Norwich called 'Five Ways to Wellbeing', which, in my opinion, links up with a lot of things I've learned during the Indigo Project. Here are the five 'ways' they suggest (and here I'm picking out excerpts):

1. Connect... with the people around you. Invest time in developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day


2. Be Active... exercising makes you feel good and is good for cognitive function. Discover a physical activity you enjoy and one that suits your level of mobility and fitness


3. Take notice... actively extend your curiosity. Catch site of the beautiful. Savour the moment. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling.


4. Keep learning... try something new. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun and/or fulfilling


5. Give... indulge in random acts of kindness - share a smile, help someone. Do it because it helps you feel better about yourself. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, as being linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you

I suppose, really, it's about whole person development; the kind of development which encourages achievement and contentment. Ultimately, if more of us are to flourish - and we have some catching up to do with, say, Denmark! -, then we need to be active participants in changing our work culture. For instance, in 2003 I was gravely ill, and upon returning to work I decided to experiment a bit. Thus, I started to buy flowers and leave them in the communal space used by my work colleagues. When a colleague did something which impressed me, I told them there and then. I also made sure that I made time to step outside several times a day, and savoured some wide sky and 'the moment' I was in. For more ideas click on the live link ('Five Ways to Wellbeing') at the start of this post.

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Indigo Project - Key Ideas thus far...

-> Make time to work on meta-skills...

By 'meta-skills' I mean, those 'higher' level skills which allow us to improve our capacity to function and acquire further knowledge more efficiently. For instance, the meta-skill of breaking down my work period into short 'chunks' allows me to do more in less time.

-> Work in shorter bursts
Following on from above, research shows that after about 25-35 minutes the efficiency of our brains diminishes rapidly. However, it's not just that we work better in bursts, it's also that a lot of creative eureka moments occur during this break.

-> Find a place for things and file them
As you will see in posts to come, I have some way to go on this. Thus far, although my desk is now tidier than before, I still have a great deal of clutter to undo. Clearly, at some level I have not felt it sufficiently important to work on this, and yet the resulting efficiency gains will save me time and energy... it has just moved into my 'important, do urgently' category.

-> Take time to relax...
If one is to be creative and effective it is important to de-stress. In fact, one outcome of being more in control of work processes is that you tend to relax more anyway. However, for many people - myself included - relaxation is a skill which needs to be worked at and rehearsed. In other words, it's worth taking time to relax.

-> Establish firmer boundaries between work and leisure ...
I work a notional 18.5 hours a week for my main job (I also do freelance work). In the past, I have not monitored my hours and this has meant that work has spilled over time and encroached on my personal time. From now on, I'm ring-fencing Fridays, and trying to keep Mondays as free as possible. I'll monitor and review this, but as of now it seems like a good approach.

-> Use SMART objectives...
A big one for me! I have a pink fluffy cloud brain and often seem to about in a kind of 'trance state' (in other words, I'm a dreamer). In order to get things done, I need to, both, visualise the outcome and break the tasks into realisable steps. Also, as mentioned in my first post on this blog (about prevarication), I definately need to develop a more realistic sense of time.

-> Actively make work playful and creative...

T., my Indigo mentor has set me a challenge. Over the next couple of weeks I have to think about some ways I can transform a hitherto routine part of my job into a playful challenge. Children learn like wildfire through rampant curiosity, and somewhere along the line this is trained out of us.

-> Build-in the process of reflection...

Stepping away from the day-to-day details and reflecting critically and constructively on how you work is crucial. I am timetabling in time to reflect in this way, and it allows me to see 'blocks' and bad habits that otherwise remain obscured.

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More for Less

Plodders: it's a wicked web they weave...

Alongside my day job, I'm currently studying for a teaching qualification. It's an intensive course, being concentrated into about a third of the time it would normally be delivered in. Anyway, last week, returning from my holidays, I realised that I'd allowed the work to pile up. I now had a day to complete four assignments (amounting to a few thousand words). Gulp!

Habitually, I panicked. However, I then thought about some of the things I'd been disussing with T., and decided to be strategic about this. I cleared my work-space in advance and mapped out the order in which I'd tackle the tasks. I took my electronic timer with me and worked in 20 minutes bursts, with 10 minute breaks. By about 10pm I'd completed all the assignments.

Working in brain-friendly ways is the efficient and effective way to success and productivity. This is contrary to so much of our work - and academic - culture. There's an almost macho need to 'prove' that we're working all hours, every hour... oh, but at what cost - diminishing returns are inevitable. Interestingly, the 'breaks' I scheduled in, proved to be the points at which I had my eureka moments. The brain ticks away and thinks better when we're relaxed. I wish I were a manager of a team and had the power to put this into practice - to make it an embedded practice in the workplace (I'd throw in exercise, higher function logic games and relaxation as well - for good measure).

And finally... why do I have a picture of a spider at the top of the page? Because working with breaks bought me the time to 'play' with my camera and take lots of snaps of spiders on their webs in my garden, that's why! (apologies to arachnophobes amongst you).

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Picturing Successful Change

Small steps: here are the files I requested; the transformation begins - from piling to filing system...

T., my Indigo 'trainer' asked me to do an exercise aimed at helping me to visualise what a transformed, organised Colin would look like, and - from the inside - how I will feel. She asked me some questions and I wrote my responses. When we looked back at it, she commented that it was very abstract - and she was right on the money there.

Last night, as I watched England beat Croatia 5:1, I did some work to SMARTen this up...
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timebound...

Here's the text - revised update in red...

"Picturing Successful Change…

What do you want?
I want:
-> To make my systems work for me; to make them ‘me-shaped’. In particular, find strategies for managing my memory difficulties, and get better at participating in large meetings Organise filing (paper and electronic) so that I can retrieve info. Book in time to organise work area – specifically, shelving. Practice ‘echoing’ to improve auditory memory.
-> Make my working practice more strategic and get more time back for me, and feel more in control ie develop good new habits! Plan in time to step back, review and reflect on practice, as well as search for different approaches from others. Keep reading anti-prevarication ideas, and see which ones work for me.
-> To be creative and ‘play’ more <*((((><( )><))))*> Trish has set me the task of thinking about a routine work-task and turn it into 'play'.
-> To establish firmer boundaries between formal work and my personal life. Keep days work free. Change message on answer phone, reminding colleagues/partners that I’m part-time
-> To become better at multi-tasking – less clumping, more foraging. Plan work and prioritise before working – time-task planning. Identify objectives and make them SMART.

Being of an abstract tendency, this SMART approach does not come easily to me. However, T. gave me a series of questions which help to pin things down a bit. I know I've still got some work to do here (for instance, there's not a lot of the 'when' in my responses), but it's an on-going process. This sequence of Q&A leading from generalities to specifics is called 'chunking down'

Chunking down (abstract -> SMART)
What specifically?
With whom?
Where?
When?
How?

Where are you now?
-> The process of change has already begun: I am beginning to tackle some of my difficulties – for instance = self-audit time-task management. Need to develop an action plan with time-bound objectives. I will begin this process within the next week.
-> I feel that I’m too reactive, missing the forest for the trees somewhat.
-> Related to the previous point, I often get in a muddle and feel anxious about the possibility of mucking up. Face up to mistakes, and do something about them. Be kinder to myself – tell myself positive things.

How would you know you’ve got it? (ie what you want) How would this be in reality? (I what would I see, hear, feel; what feedback would I get?)
I would begin to achieve more in less time, and it would feel like I have more time at my disposal
-> I will see a much tidier working space
-> Colleagues and ‘clients’ will begin to notice that I’m functioning at a higher level
-> I will feel an increase in my confidence, and feel more assertive
-> I will enjoy surprising myself with my successes!

I'm happy to report that I walked in a group of my colleagues who said to me, "Colin, we think you're inspirational'. Accepting compliments is a skill, and so I said,

"Thank you, you're very kind to say that."

I think that this is, in part, a signal of the progress I am making.

When and where do you want it?
-> It has already begun…
-> When? Habits take 21 days to establish, so between 3-6 months seems a realistic time span
_> Where? I want to see the positive benefits in all areas of my life as I tend my metaphorical garden. Specifically, in terms of my work environment; better work systems; more time stepping back from detail; tidy, organised work space.

What will happen once you’ve got it?
-> I think that I’ll be able to place things in better perspective.
-> Work related anxieties will not loom over me. I will see that my time is productive because I’ll be consciously monitoring time-task inputs and outputs.
-> There is a sense in which you never quite ‘get it’; it’s more about establishing the good habits to continue working to improve (self-reflexivity)
-> I’ll be more confident and assertive

What resources do you have available to you to achieve this outcome? List them…

Me
Indigo support
Friends, colleagues and family
Digital recorder
Handwriting recognition word-pad
Tracking systems
Blog -> hopefully, exchange ideas with others

What additional resources do you feel you need?

The things identified on my assessment report ie mind-map software and PDA/organiser

What are you going to do to begin now to get what you want?

Continue process of self-evaluation
Work on establishing some new good habits eg cleaning desk-space; working on task prioritisation; filing things etc
Talk to line manager about Access to Work equipment. Break things down into small, manageable steps...

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Buying Time - Introducing Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was a remarkable man. He gave this lecture when he knew that he was dying from a terminal illness. When a man whose time is running out gives advice on time management, it might be time to listen.




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Putting it off - Getting Started!

Thinking about ways to end up in a better space...

Because I have had lots of bad experiences getting in a muddle, I seem to have developed a habit of putting things off until the last possible moment.

I've just dipped into a book called 'Organise Yourself!' (Eisenberg, R; Kelly, K, 1997, London, Piatkus). In a chapter entitled, 'Procrastination', there is an interesting list of 27 approaches to overcoming the dither and denial tendency. I thought I'd share some of the more interesting points with you here:

• "A more realistic sense of time will help you get things done. Procrastinators often have an unrealistic sense of time; you may have the feeling that a project will take for ever or that you have ' plenty of time'. The more realistic you become, the less likely [it is that] you'll be to procrastinate. To get a better sense of time, start keeping a log of how long various projects take."
  
• "Work within the time available to you. Sometimes people estimate that a project will take, say, 10 or 12 hours, so they keep waiting for a day when they can devote that amount of time to it. Of course, that day never comes. Break the project down into small manageable parts. List each step you need to take in order to complete the task.


• "Remember that even five minutes is enough time to get something done."


• "You don't always have to start at the beginning. If the first step seems the hardest, start with another part of the project instead."


• "Some people like to do the the worst first. If they accomplish what they dislike most, the rest of the project seems to proceed more smoothly."


• "Tell someone else what your deadline is. Often you will be motivated by not wanting to admit to them that you did not meet the deadline."


• "Try tricking yourself: 'If I don't finish writing this proposal by 5pm I will have to cancel my plans for tonight.' Working against that sort of deadline can be quite effective."


• Reverse Psychology: "Do nothing! Try sitting with the project in front of you for 15 minutes without touching it. You will probably become so frustrated that you'll dive into the project well before the 15 minutes are up."


• "Make sure you use your leisure time for leisure. Most procrastinators ruin much of their free time because they are worrying about whether 'tomorrow' is really enough time to get something done. Learning to do things in advance provides the opportunity for worry-free leisure."


• "Expect problems. [...] If you anticipate that you won't actually have 'all of next week' to work on something, then you may be motivated to start a little earlier."


• "After each small deadline, promise yourself a reward."

So there you are. A few handy tips to get you started.

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