Get Your Life Under Control with Zen to Done

If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly juggling priorities and deadlines and struggling to keep on top of a ton of key activities.

And since starting my own business, I’ve found that there are many more things that need my personal attention - and no PA or team to delegate to.

So I’ve found that my personal productivity has become critical to my business success.

A number of years ago I started using the popular Getting Things Done methodology from David Allen. It really helped me get control of all my activities and ensure I didn’t “drop the ball” on any of the key ones.

GTD focuses on developing a “Trusted System” to get all your ideas and actions out of your head, scraps of paper, emails, texts etc. into a limited number of physical and electronic Inboxes. It introduces a method for processing the Inboxes in a structed and efficent manner - along with key principles like the use of “contexts” and focusing on Next Actions.

Over the years I modified the system - adding in elements of Strategy, Prioritisation and Planning which I used when running consulting projects.

Of course, I’m not alone in building on GTD. Many variants have been produced, and lots of tools: from software such as GTD Agenda and Nozbe to the various varieties of Hipster PDA and paper-based planning forms like the D*I*Y Planner.

But recently I ran across what I believe to be the best - most practical implementation to date. Especially those who aren’t naturally fluent in organisation and admin. The Zen to Done system from Zen Habits founder Leo Babauta combines GTD with principles from Steven Covey’s 7 Habits system - and most importantly, a series of habits which allow even the most disorganised of us to successfully adopt the system over time. It shares a lot in common with the system it took me years to develop - but takes it even further and makes it more practical. I liked it so much I signed up to become an affilliate straight away.

You can learn Zen to Done at the Zen Habits site - or download an ebook which goes into more detail and provides examples and FAQs. My suggestion: Try out the site first to see if you like it - then download the ebook. At only $9.50 it’s an absolute steal.

Ian

Don’t “tell ‘em what you told ‘em….”

One of the most frequent pieces of advice I read and hear for fledgling speakers is “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em”.

In other words: signpost, present, summarise.

The problem is that this leads to deathly dull presentations. By the time you’re “telling ‘em what you told ‘em” half of your audience has either walked out or fallen asleep.

Don’t get me wrong - the signpost-present-summarise approach has it’s place. But it’s primarily for training-type events where you are presenting complex information which needs to be remembered. Hence the need for repetition.

As a speaker/presenter, when you are called upon to “do your stuff” you can have one of three main objectives:

1. To make a speech - essentially to get one main point across to an audience
2. To entertain
3. To educate and train

Most speaking roles at conferences or for corporate events tend to be from 45 minutes to 90 minutes timewise. That’s just not enough time for education or training. So as a speaker, your primary function will either be to get a singe point across - a message the audience wants or needs to hear - or it will be to entertain. Sometimes both.

If you’re speaking after dinner, the chances are that the emphasis will be on entertainment (especially in the UK, where corporate dinners usually involve the imbibing of significant quantities of alcohol). That doesn’t mean you can’t get a more business related point across. But it does mean that you must do it in an entertaining manner. Your point must be illustrated with interested anecdotes or stories - rather than dry facts & figures.

So in reality, the signpost-present-summarise formula that works for training just isn’t suitable for most speaking engagements.

Instead you need to treat your talk much more like a book or film. It needs to have a compelling narrative, a strong opening, and a strong close.

Personally, I use one of three types of “opener”:

• A question to the audience - to get them engaged
• A story or anecdote related to the theme of the talk (for example, a story from my early days selling consulting services - usually illustrating a common example of “what not to do”)
• Something shocking - perhaps a carefully thought-out insult to the group or their profession, or a prediction of a dire future unless they change

On the subject of shock as an opener, one of the best talks I ever heard was from Kjell A Nordström - co-author of “Funky Business”. Kjell (a 6′6″ tall, thin Scandinavian economist with a shaved head) stood centre stage dressed all in black and waited in silence for 10 seconds after being introduced - then opened with the immortal line: “Shopping and Fucking”.

It certainly woke up an audience of tired executives who’d spent the day planning and strategising. And we certainly remembered what he had to say about creativity.

Ian

Learning from Life - the pain of being a Newcastle fan

Life is painful for Newcastle fans at the moment. We’ve got an owner who has messed the club up and now wants out, disillusioned players, a temporary manager who was only offered the job because no-one else would take it, and relegation level performances on the pitch.

But for those of us in management & consulting - at least we can try to learn something from what’s going on.

A number of things have struck me as interesting and potentially useful insights into management.

The first is the way that - in seeming definance of all logic - Mike Ashley has sided repeatedly with Dennis Wise in his almost personal battle for power with Kevin Keegan.

When you look at the facts of who someone should listen to, the odds are hugely stacked in Keegan’s favour. An ex-England manager, the most successful manager of Newcastle in the modern era, and a man hugely loved by the Geordie public. Dennis Wise’s achievements? A good run at Leeds that many credit to Gus Poyet’s influence. His credentials as a Director of Football apparently able to overrule the wishes of an experienced manager? None.

So why would anyone listen to Wise over Keegan?

The answer lies in relationships. Who’s the guy who sat next to Ashley in the Director’s box at matches? The guy who engaged in friendly banter? The guy with a similar background?

Like almost all human beings, Ashley has put his trust in the person he knows best. The person who by virtue of having talked to him the most, having shared a laugh and a beer with him - he feels closest to.

Usually in life and in business, it makes a lot of sense to side with the person you trust the most. But for most of us Newcastle fans, in this case it’s been a huge mistake. I wonder if Ashley has realised this yet?

Ian