productivity

I’m learning that I have two different operating modes when it come to productivity. The first is GTD — getting things done — mode. This happens when I am cranking through my tasks list, responding to emails or making calls. There is great satisfaction in seeing my to-do list dwindle, and I can feel stress lifting even as I am engaged in GTD mode.

The second is more elusive, but I’ll call it creative mode. In one of the most helpful take-away’s from The Now Habit, Neil Fiore describes this mode:

For you to work creatively, and very rapidly, the critical and logical functions of our brain (generally attributed to the left hemisphere) must be temporarily suspended to allow the creative functions (generally attributed to the right hemisphere) to start the flow of ideas and inspiration that you need.

Reading Fiore’s thoughts helped me to clarify the uniqueness of these two different modes. Both are based on output. But the state of mind for each, and the results, are very different. GTD mode is valuable, but it’s primary purpose is to make the space to be in creative mode. GTD mode tends to be outward focused, and as Fiore describes, it is left-brained. It looks at what expectations are weighing on me and meets them.

Creative mode is inward focused. It is a matter of being in tune with my soul to let my natural creative processes emerge. In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron describes it this way:

All too often, when we say we want to be creative, we mean that we want to be able to be productive. Now, to be creative is to be productive — but by cooperating with the creative process, not forcing it.

Fiore uses a different term to describe creative mode; he calls it the flow state. This captures what Cameron describes above. It is about connecting with the right side of the brain, with my own creativity, rather than forcing it out. The latter section of The Now Habit describes how to engage with the flow state. It begins with a two minute process called focusing “for shifting rapidly to the flow state by replacing guilt and stress with a stress-free focus on the present.”

Fiore gives several helpful exercises. They alone make the book worthwhile, but I find that just the awareness of the flow state has been helpful for me. Designating times for GTD vs creating is important and I make time for both. But the latter is not just an appointment to make in my calendar. It comes when I take the time to slow down, to quiet the external demands, and to listen to my soul.

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In the drive to be productive, it is easy to eliminate play from our routines. Certainly play is the opposite of productivity, right? Neil Fiore suggests the opposite in The Now Habit:

From studying the performance styles of achievers, I have learned how essential guilt-free play is to attaining quality work and minimizing procrastination. A firm commitment to guilt-free play will recharge your batteries, creating renewed motivation, creativity, and energy for all the other areas of your life.

Earlier today, I had a conversation with a friend who just returned from two months in Tuscany. He moved in with a family that own a small vineyard and helped them with the grape harvest. He had no access to email, and not even a pen and paper to jot down things he needed to remember to do. It was just him, the vines, and a breathtaking view every day.

As he described it, he has returned home with a renewed understanding of what it means to live in the moment. The worries and concerns of daily life took a break, and he found pleasure. He has a new sense of confidence and discovery as he moves into each day.

I know it might not be reasonable for you to jet away to Tuscany for two months. It certainly isn’t for me! But the play that Fiore describes captures some of what my friend experienced. To play is to temporarily let go of control and engage with possibility:

It is in playing that we build confidence in the reliability of our creativity and our excitement about discovery — the movement from not-knowing to knowing, from lack of control over problems to control and resolution of problems.

Play is a leap of faith, a step into an arena of unknowing. And as we create a way forward by making it up as we go, we remember that we can do the same in the “real world”. We can step into the next moment knowing that we don’t need to have control, but that we can form the way as we go. Play leads us into the world of possibility — a possibility that is a launching place for creating and producing what we haven’t yet imagined.

And by the way, if you don’t even know where to start…I always recommend a good solid reading of Dr. Seuss. He started with And to Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street; maybe you could too.

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Throughout The Now Habit, Neil Fiore draws a contrast between producers and procrastinators. His idea of the producer matches up with what I think of as a creative person — one who practices creativity.

A creative person is not only someone who does art, though art should always be a celebrated product of creativity. A creative person is someone who can generate ideas and put them into play — they produce something. It could be an article, a film short, a painting, a photo essay, a manifesto, a strategic plan, or even a blog post!

Fiore emphasizes the different mindset between producers and procrastinators: Of all the characteristics that separate producers from procrastinators, none is more liberating than the producer’s focus on ‘choice’ and ‘choosing.’ The procrastinator is overwhelmed by the burden of what is to be done, even if it is something that they want to do. The language focuses on what they “have” to do. The producer emphasizes their own personal choice even in the language they use with themselves.

This simple chart from page 77 shows the different language each might use.

Thanks again for reading. I have to, er, I choose to go now.

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Mac users rave about the clean and streamlined user interface that a Mac offers compared to Windows; I am of the same mind. But, if you want a simple interface, why not go all the way? When I really need to engage on a project, I trim my screen down so that all I can see is that single app I am working on.

I’ve blogged quite a bit about how to simplify your screen, but I thought it might be helpful to offer a summary of all of those, along with a few extra tips. As I mentioned last week, Merlin Mann inspired my clean screen frenzy on this episode of MacBreak a few years ago. But some of his suggestions no longer work in Leopard, so here’s my take on the distraction free Mac:

• Simple background
  You might choose to use an inspiring photo, but I like to keep it simple. I have a subtle pattern, and sometimes even black. Here’s a tile image you can use which is nothing but black.
• No drive icons
  Get rid of those drive and disk image icons on the desktop. You don’t need them and they only clutter your view. You can remove them by opening the Preferences in the Finder.
• No desktop files
  Don’t use your desktop to store files that build up there. I use Hazel to automatically sweep anything from my desktop into my Documents folder. (See this post for how I keep my Documents folder in order.) If only Hazel would take care of my real desktop too…
• Current documents
  If you can’t imagine moving files off your desktop because it is so convenient, see this post about how to make a smart folder for the documents in your active projects.
• Spaces is your friend
  You probably can’t just have one app running, but you can use Spaces to have at least one workspace to focus on a single app that youa re working in.
• Experience dock freedom
  Clean out your dock so that it only shows the programs you are running. And while you are at it, hide it from view. It will always be there when you need it, so don’t panic.

• No menubar!
  My menubar is full of handy little utilities I couldn’t live without, but they are also visual clutter. Not to mention the distraction from the clock taunting me. Unlike the Dock, it won’t hide itself, but you can with a little help.
• A second computer
  If you have an old laptop available, turn it into a distraction free computer. Or, you could create a distraction free user account on your main machine.
• Distraction stifling programs
  If all this seems like too much for you, some programs like Scrivener have built in features to let you work in full screen mode. Or, you can use a program like Think to isolate any program on your screen.

When all is said and done, you’ll have something that looks like the picture below….aaahhhhh:

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Yesterday, I looked at an item in OmniFocus, and I wasn’t sure what it meant. After the three minutes or so it took me to sort it out, I decided it was time to revisit the to-do guidelines I scratched out a few years ago. I thought I’d post them here as a helpful summary for others. Most of these originate out of Getting Things Done, by David Allen.

• Everything on your list should be a single task that can be completed and checked off. This can be hard to do sometimes, but break the larger projects down into single tasks. Don’t put down “Buy gas for mower and cut grass”. Separate it into two tasks.
• Don’t put broad general items on your to-do list. If something can’t be “completed” then it isn’t a to-do…it’s a project. If you think of something that is going to take several steps, than create a task to make a project out of it. In other words, create a task to break it down into doable steps.
• Write your tasks as if someone else was going to be completing them. This will help you write them with enough clarity and information that you can remember what you are actually supposed to do when you read them days or weeks later. (I found this tip a few months ago on another blog, but I can’t remember where. If it was you, please let me know so I can give you credit.)
• Store information along with where you will need it. If you get an email with directions to an appointment, cut and paste that info in the notes section on your calendar. If you get an email with instructions on something you need to do, paste it in the notes in your task program. (OmniFocus’ capture tools make this easy…iCal, not so much.)
• Use start dates on tasks so you don’t have to see them until they are relevant. I have a utopian dream of not using due dates at all, but only start dates…but that’s for another post.
• Don’t let anything go overdue! Sometimes you don’t get things done by the due date you assigned yourself, but change the due dates to current dates. Don’t fill your task list with a bunch of red overdue items or your due dates won’t be meaningful anymore.
• Follow the two minute rule. if you run across something that can be done in two minutes or less, do it. Get it done and get it out of your mind. Don’t clutter up your list, or your mind with it. One of the greatest enemies of productivity is how often we have to revisit things because we didn’t take care of them the first time.

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