Architects & Contractors
A week and a half ago I had the privilege of seeing Jason Henkel speak. Jason is Founder and Chief Balance Engineer of Focus To Evolve, a company dedicated to illuminating a path to meaningful output and piercing the “trance of busyness.” The title of Jason’s talk was “Spacious Productivity: Work Better Hours, Not More Hours,” and it couldn’t have been more well-timed. As my EOS practice has been ramping up, there has been plenty of busyness in my world. (FYI - I’m giving a talk about EOS at 11:45am this coming Wednesday at Innovate New Albany. Come check it out if you are interested.)
Rather than try to replicate Jason’s talk, I will share the specific actions I have taken as a result of the talk, and how they have worked out so far. If you are a leader of an organization, or simply someone looking to make better use of your most precious resource, I highly recommend checking out the Focus To Evolve website that is linked above.
I should share one basic concept that Jason discussed: The concept of managing our calendars like Architects, then executing each day in a Contractor mindset. Plan your days in advance, with a holistic perspective that accounts for all of your priorities. When you wake up tomorrow morning, follow the plan that the “Architect” has drafted for you, much as a Contractor shows up on a construction site to build a portion of the plans that the architect has drafted for the project. I find the distinction between these two modes to be very helpful. Even prior to seeing Jason speak, I recognized that some of my best work happens when I make sure to have a clear plan for tomorrow before my head hits the pillow tonight.
So, without trying to explain the many WHYs that Jason explained so well, here are some of the WHATs that I have implemented in my life that I highly recommend:
TURN OFF ALL ALERTS: Pings, chimes, bells, and even the little red dot with the ever-growing number tallying up the number of emails you have not yet examined. All they do is diminish your ability to focus.
DEFAULT TO CALENDAR: If you use Google or Microsoft Outlook, you can and should revise your default setting so that your Calendar is the default starting page - not Email. Email is an abyss of endorphin-based distraction. Strategy does not live in our email.
TASK LIST: Anything that I owe anyone (including myself) goes on a task list. Much like the Issues List for companies that run on EOS, my task list gives me comfort knowing that I won’t forget anything important, because I have cultivated the habit of maintaining this list.
RECURRING WORK PODS: I have two recurring 2-hour work pods each day on my calendar, one from 9a-11a and the other from 2p-4p. The first 90 minutes is dedicated to Focused work. For any given day, this will be some combination of the most urgent and important tasks on my task list. I sometimes schedule meetings that supplant or push these work pods, but putting them on my calendar in advance increases the likelihood of preserving them.
PROCESS EMAIL: I process my email in two :15-minute sprints each day. Notice that I didn’t say that I “answer” my email in this timeframe. Processing it means turning any email that requires minutes, calories and has some level of importance to me into a task. Most emails get filed or deleted. The few that require action are added to my task list.
GUIDED MEDITATIONS: Rather than scrolling social media on my breaks, I am now listening to one or two guided meditations each day. They help clear our brains of biochemical junk, allowing us to maintain a higher level of focus deeper into the day.
WEEKLY TRIAGE: Once a week, look out at the next two weeks of your calendar. For each item on your calendar, choose one of four things: DO it (i.e. keep it on your calendar as-is), DELEGATE it to someone else, DELETE it (because it is no longer important, or DEFER it further into the future (beyond the 2-weeks you are currently reviewing).
RADICAL SABBATICAL: - I have not yet officially done this, but Jason recommends people to take one day for themselves each quarter - a full day off (no working), engineered well in advance, with light days before it and after it. Just an open day, by yourself, digital detox. While I have not done this exact thing as described, my quarterly gatherings with my EO Forum serve much the same purpose for me.
TWO MORE THINGS FROM ME
Jason did not suggest these in his talk, but I want to add two more items to consider.
The first is a Monthly Review, where I look at how I used my time in the prior month. This will inform how I manage my self in the future.
And the second thing is to allow a 3rd persona to live in our Architect/Contractor paradigm - I think we sometimes need to have a Surfer, for when the world throws us meaningful unexpected “curveballs.” Sometimes we need to be open to the possibility of abandoning today’s plan, and surf events as they unfold.
Almost two weeks into this new approach, my experience with these changes is that they have given me a meaningful increase in “Spacious Productivity.” I recommend an audit of your habits in this realm if you’ve been feeling too harried or hectic.
Sunday Supper
I tend to prefer a hearty stew over a pureed, smooth soup - but this Carrot Ginger Soup was really wonderful this weekend. (I added a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to warm it up a bit). This Lentil Stew with Bacon offers more texture and protein. This Fall Green Salad is a perfect accompaniment to either.
Sunday Music
Last week’s musical selection sent me down a Kenny Kirkland rabbit hole. Perhaps one of our most underrated jazz pianists, Kenny could do it all. Here he performs a set with Branford Marsalis on saxophone, Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, and Robert Hurst on bass. Enjoy!
If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them.
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,