Yesterday I met with a former theater colleague. He’s a marketing whiz but he also knows a ton about emerging technologies and how to use them. “I don’t care about the inner workings. I just want the technology for what it can do.”
And here’s a lovely example of how technology is opening possibilities. This woman was born in 1911 (yup, 99 years old). She received an English Literature degree from Reed college in the the 1930′s but her glaucoma has made reading extremely difficult. With the iPad she can read more easily because the screen is so bright.
Delightful.
I hope when I am 99 years old I, too, will be open to using new technology.
I am a professional in the change management field, with an expertise in creativity and innovation. That said, I have often chuckled at how change-inept many of us are in our personal lives. This spring I am fired up around multiple goals….and I have been sick. What?! I am NOT in control here?!
So, this week, on my second round of antibiotics and hopped up on vicodin for cough suppression (whee!), I am pondering the gifts of inaction. What am I to learn here?
Fallow Time
Farmers let their fields rest. My body has enforced rest upon me. I don’t think I was stressed or burning the candle at both ends. Still, my life is FULL. I like to take big, gobbling bites of life and maybe it’s time to slow down and pare the To-Do list a little. I feel completely guilty watching multiple versions of Jane Eyre. I am catching up on TV via Hulu in my sickbed. Modern Family had me laughing aloud (again, love the vicodin). I feel better when I rest.
The Essence
I have had to cancel things left and right. Some wonderful events I could not attend. Others have been pushed out. The only thing I am doing this entire week is showing up at family Easter dinner. What’s most important rises easily to the top when choices are narrowed.
Incubation
Hours in bed, wandering around in my head, is giving me time to ponder. I am making notes in my journal about my delayed plans. The Incubation process is a well-documented aspect of the creative process. My dreams are gaining momentum with the forced stillness.
Reflection
I have also taken my own advice to reflect on the first quarter of the year and ask big and small questions: What have I harvested and what do I still want to accomplish in 2010? Here are a few of the things that popped to the top of the Harvest list:
Fed kangaroos and petted a koala in Australia!
Managed to sustain the first three months of weekly newsletters. The public commitment compelled me and, what do you know? I LOVE writing it.
Initiated external work on our home. We have a new roof and the primer paint is going up!
Made a really cool travel journal (a la Mary Ann Moss)
Meanwhile, I leave for Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Oh La! Living La Vida Loca….
Employee Engagement has become a buzzword in today’s organizations. What keeps people engaged in their work? How do we get employees to apply their ‘discretionary effort’ on behalf of the company? It’s got me thinking about Employee Disengagement as one way to heighten engagement.
I began my corporate career as an Employee Health Coordinator. It was the 80s and their was a lot of support for wellness and fitness programs. As it turned out most of my clients were those who were already well and fit but in receptive spots we had fun implementing new programs.
One memorable program had an entire department committed to taking little stretch breaks three times a day. Once in the morning and twice in the afternoon they would all stand up and do some reaches and stretches together. They laughed and, goofy as it was, they enjoyed the break from their terminals.
Just last week I spent a few days in Marrakech. What a stimulating city! There was so much to take in and the very scent of the air was spicy. Most notable to me were the calls to prayer. Several times a shopkeeper or guide excused himself and said he’d return in 5 minutes. He would then slip off to the nearby mosque or join others in a central area to focus and pray. Lovely.
Whether you work from home or in a cube it is easy to stay tethered to your work. And I’m all for focus and concentration. But there is a diminishing return.
So, this week I am practicing DISENGAGEMENT.
Every two hours or less I am stepping away from the computer and doing some office stretches. Or lying on the grass and contemplating the clouds. Or petting my dog. Anything that resets my brain and gives me perspective. Because I can return to my tasks with oxygen in my brain and a little less cortisol in my system.
Today I am delivering a program in Chicago and the air has a hint of autumn. You know that fresh, crisp air that signals the coming season?
I am also designing my AUTUMN CREATIVITY SPA. What’s this you say? Just a day-and-a-half of time for your creative self!
We’ll start Friday afternoon with a little exfoliation and shedding of the current cares.
Then we’ll peel away a few layers and get to what’s most meaningful just now for you.
Then we’ll nourish and restore your natural glow.
We’ll finish with a little gilding of the lily that is you.
You can expect: a potpourri of activities to delight you, support from kindred spirits and your own swag bag. By Saturday night you’ll feel refreshed and energized.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that you are really natural and effective in some activities. And there are other things you do poorly or never seem to get to? It’s frustrating to realize that you can’t be good at everything. But wouldn’t you like to improve your soft spots enough to get out of your own way?
Earlier I introduced the FEBI as a tool to understand your Body and Mind connection. I cited a client who is an Idea Machine. This woman works in a traditional organization and has a well-deserved reputation as a highly creative person. She also struggles with accuracy and follow-through. Discipline to do the ‘boring’stuff is preventing her from being the whole package. Occasionally, she was shooting herself in the foot as her good work gets lost amid an impression of sloppiness.
This woman had little access to her Organizer energy. She might have made changes with cognitive discipline and grim determination but she opted to use her brain AND her body. For a three month trial she enrolled in yoga classes at her health club. Initially, they seemed excruciatingly slow and dull to her. But she stuck with it. And after three months she came to crave the quietude and opportunity to be still. She learned to pay more attention to the little things, the value of mindfulness.
As her body gained access to the Organizer energy her mind did as well. She was able to pause appropriately and attend to aspects of her work in a more methodical way. It will never be her ‘home pattern’ but she’s no longer sabotaging her creative work with lack of accuracy and follow-through.
She is more versatile in her job now. And she does powerful Warrior pose!
I grew up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and trout fishing was a popular activity (not popular with me, mind you, although I do enjoy eating trout). There’s nothing yummier than fresh-caught trout fried over an open fire. Many in my family enjoy fishing and once we made it a part of a family reunion. My aunt’s ranch, south of Jackson, Wyoming, includes a little pond and stunning views of the Tetons. The pond didn’t have many fish so my aunt and uncle thoughtfully stocked the pond so that we could all enjoy fresh fried trout for dinner.
This week I was traveling for a little business and a lot of pleasure and it got me thinking about Stocking the Pond.
Deep Reflection
One morning of my trip I sat in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel and spent two full hours making notes about my business:…ideas…next steps…lots of lists. The last time I meandered the hallways of my imagination like that was waaaay too long ago. That deep reflection was quite foreign. Usually, I’m just reacting. Sitting there in my comfy chair I was very patient and my Brain responded with some intriguing ideas that I hadn’t reached in my normal routine.
Stimulating the Imagination
The first night in the city I saw a cabaret show at the Algonquin Hotel and the next day I saw Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury. I visited the garment district–including Mood where Project Runway shops (!)–and I bought back issues of graphic design magazines at a shop across from Bryant Park. A poor understanding of the city’s address system took me the extra-long way to my intended address and I saw neighborhoods I’d never visited before. Aside from the design magazines none of these had any direct correlation to my work. Yet my Brain was firing with ideas triggered by the novelty I was encountering. “Ooh, I haven’t seen that before” said my head as I wakened her from the typical home patterns.
Overfishing Lowers Creativity
In a time of global overfishing I believe that we are also overfishing our own ponds. When was the last time you gave yourself the gift of empty space? If it’s been a long time I suggest you make a date with your Brain. Make it a surprise and don’t tell your Brain what you’ve got planned….otherwise she may try to break the date so that you can do something you should do. Take yourself someplace new. I recommend hotel lobbies, neighborhood libraries or, best of all, a coffee shop in another town. Bring a blank pad of paper and do some Deep Reflection. Take an hour. Take two! Then go for a walk on a street you don’t know. Notice what you notice. Notice what your Brain likes.
The next day you may find that dis-engaging from your routine, even for a few hours, has the net effect of greater productivity.
Oh wait. I think that’s what they used to call a ‘day off’.
News Flash: working long hours is not good for you. But you already knew that, right? Almost every time I run an Idea Camp the group chooses ‘Work/Life Balance’ as a practice challenge. Nobody thinks long work weeks are good for life balance. Now, it turns out, there are some other reasons to work differently.A new report, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found middle-aged workers clocking up more than 55 hours a week have poorer mental skills, including short-term memory and ability to recall words, than those working fewer than 41 hours. Extreme tiredness and stress could be as bad for the brain as smoking, according to the study.
The plot thickens. Not only is your brain fuzzier but you are increasing the chances for dementia. “The difference between employees working long hours and those working normal hours is similar in magnitude to that of smoking, a risk factor for dementia.” say the researchers.
As a person who plans to live a long and full life, I am definitely paying attention. But, what to do?
Here’s one idea: analyze your time and play to your strengths. Wondering how to do that? Look here. That’s one idea. But you’re a creative person….I bet you have an idea or two for how to spend your time more effectively.
I grew up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and trout fishing was a popular activity (not popular with me, mind you, although I do enjoy eating trout). There’s nothing yummier than fresh-caught trout fried over an open fire. Many in my family enjoy fishing and once we made it a part of a family reunion. My aunt’s ranch, south of Jackson, Wyoming, includes a little pond and stunning views of the Tetons. The pond didn’t have many fish so my aunt and uncle thoughtfully stocked the pond so that we could all enjoy fresh fried trout for dinner.
The plot thickens. Not only is your brain fuzzier but you are increasing the chances for dementia. “The difference between employees working long hours and those working normal hours is similar in magnitude to that of smoking, a risk factor for dementia.” say the researchers.
