Productivity

One of the most beneficial book’s I’ve ever read is Mortimer J. Adler’s book “How to read a book.” So I was thrilled when I saw this post over on CopyBlogger - because it does a tremendous job in giving you the top level view. Starting with this post, and even getting and going through the book yourself will truly change the way you read for the better - I guarantee!

The Four Levels of Reading

Back in 1940, a guy named Mortimer J. Adler jolted the “widely read” into realizing they might not be well read with a book called How to Read a Book. Updated in 1973 and still going strong today, How to Read a Book identifies four levels of reading:

• Elementary
• Inspectional
• Analytical
• Syntopical

Each of these reading levels is cumulative. You can’t progress to a higher level without mastering the levels that come before.

How to Read | Copyblogger

I think most of us know at least 10 things that if we did them every day or week they would change our lives for the better. So, I wrote out this list last night of 20 rules. A checklist of actions (or inaction) that I know will make me healthier and change my life for the better. Here is my list, but what is yours (it doesn’t have to be 20 ? If you write a list, post the link from your blog in the comments section below!

1. In bed by 10:30pm
2. Wake up 6am
3. No soda, water at meals
4. 1 coffee a day (limit)
5. No cheese
6. Very 1st thing each day, quiet time in bible, prayer, etc.
7. 2nd thing of each day 1hr of exercise.
8. Play/Read with my children every day
9. Have an engaging conversation with my wife every day
10. Do a GTD weekly Review each week and a Daily Review each day.
11. Read 1 book a week.
12. Have one day a week that is completely “dark” (devoid of electronics and internet).
13. Never work aimlessly. Either act, review or plan. (or play)
14. Study, Fast or spend time in solitude once a week.
15. Have a Family Meeting once a week on things like budget, schedules, and goals.
16. Access email only at 3 “batch” times a day and RSS Feeds 1 a day.
17. Do 1 household chore a day. (instead of letting them accumulate for my “dark day”)
18. Always eat breakfast
19. 1 date night a week with either my wife or one of my kids
20. Write every day (journal-ing doesn’t count)

I just wanted to take a quick second to point out the Research navigation link at the top of my blog. It is the collection of over 600 blog posts, articles and snippets of research I’ve done on Social Media, Web 2.0 and Online Communities. It isn’t organized, but it is searchable and I am constantly adding new things to it. By the way, it is a Public Notebook from Evernote - which is an amazing note taking (and sync) tool.

Here are some searches I’ve found particularly helpful:

• “blogging”
• “How do I”
• “Social Media Campaign”
• “Engagement”
• “Viral”

There are as many opinions and articles about productivity and the way the digital age is changing work - as their are betting things to do in a day. I personally have become a student of “knowledge work”, on how we process and bring value to life from the information we interact with. Well, as much advice, etc. as there is it is good to see studies done to see what the reality is when it comes to productivity vs. opinion. Gina Trapani, the blogger that founded LifeHacker, and she has a great post on what the studies say, and a little reality check for all of us. Here is my favorite excerpt:

The longer I do this, the more I suspect that a good part of the “information overload” story is a myth cooked up by folks who don’t know how to use the internet well in order to demonize something they don’t understand. I get more done via email and surfing the web than my parents ever did using phones and libraries, even when I’m having a bad day and switch to my email application the moment I see a new message notification.

[CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article and some great links to productivity studies.]

This is a very interesting video where Malcom Gladwell (author) speaks about the process of discovery by a man studying people’s tastes in the food industry - specifically speghetti sauce. Watch the whole video - but do so in mind of the variety of ministry methods that exist from Mega Church Contemporary, Emergent Acoustic, to Hillsong Concert or Midwest Traditional. Think about different styles of preaching, different doctrines in preaching and different sizes of church.

[UPDATE: The way I said this initially caused confusion, like the different styles of church are different brands. In my head, and what I suggest is that all these styles are varieties of the same "brand" - Christ's body the Church.]

<<<Seriously - watch the video first and then keep reading>>>

As I watched this video and those things were coming to mind the light popped on that every church I’d ever been a part of always used absolutes in regards to methods, styles and processes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been a part of conversations about how we are going to “get the 20s and 30s more interested in church.” Maybe it is because we shape church to be “right” in our own eyes. We are building church that works for the masses - but only gives them 60% satisfaction in what they are looking for.

And that satisfaction isn’t shallow - it is 60% satisfaction in how they are growing, what they are learning, how they are serving and experiencing God as a part of a faith community.

What if instead we realized the diversity of humanity and the danger of “sameness”? That no congregation wants everything the same.

Think of it another way. When you order pizzas for a big group what type of pizza do you typically land on? Pepporoni and Cheese. It is the pizza everyone can eat. But is the pizza everyone that everyone receives the most satisfaction from? NOPE!

The point? The search for and application of the mentality “one-size-fits-all” is dangerous. This isn’t just for the diversity churches in a town, but for diversity to have a place within a local church. Here are the questions it brings to my mind, and some are disruptive, and some we might know answers right away - but take a moment and think of new possibilities in how we do church understanding within a community of any size people are in a variety of clusters in regards to preference and satisfaction of experience.

Questions to ponder:

• If a church has multiple services, why are they all the same (beyond it being easier)?
• What would be the clusters of preference within your local church?
• Is it possible for a local church to be united as a body but grow through several different church expressions or experiences?
• Does unity mean sameness in the church, or is unity the celebration of diversity?
• Why couldn’t there be two (or more) preachers for the same church? (think outside the ego of leadership and pride of position)
• Can a church have a unifying mission with a diversity of worship communities? (Young Adults in Cell Groups, Families in House Churches and Seniors in Sunday School?)
• Have you ever listened for the preferences or tried to see the clusters?
• How does your staff react to members of your community suggestion different expressions of worship, discipleship or ministry beyond the “chosen path?”

I think that the growing commodities of modern life that are being ushered in by technology and the ability to scale on a global perspective create tremendous possibility to help people find Jesus, live a testimony to his glory and enjoy Him better than ever before - but I think the key is listening…

What are your thoughts on this?

Merlin Mann continues to bring a lot of not-so-common sense to the world of email:

Lose the shells?

So, the peanuts.

The idea here is that you probably don’t have a place in your home or office where you store the shells from every peanut you ever ate. If you did, you’d definitely want to organize them by the year in which you ate them, perhaps keeping separate jars per-month or per-location where you ate the nut. You know. For posterity.

But you don’t do that. It would be insane. Once you eat the peanut, the job of the shell is done. So lose it. Ditto dead email. Never organize what you can simply discard; and if you can’t discard it, throw it onto one big pile.

Read More…

Social Media is not just about the “shiny” and the “new”, it is also about solving communication / information “pain” in our new digital landscape. Joint Contact is a web project management system that has started facilitating a connection to Twitter for status updates. The below quote is right on - and the way communicate is definitely going. Check out the quote below and the article - but I’d love to know your responses. With the “Facebook Generation” just now entering the work force how we work is going to change, what do think will change first?

What’s most interesting about this recent update to Joint Contact is that it’s a great example of how email can be replaced by social media tools. We know that the younger generation communicates via social media - most often on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook - often only using email to communicate with the “old people.” We also discussed whether or not email was in danger not too long ago, and received a slew of comments debating this hot topic.

[From Joint Contact: First Business Tool To Integrate Twitter? - ReadWriteWeb]

I am an idea guy, so I really appreciated this article on CopyBlogger about the dangers of trying to focus on too many ideas / projects at one time. In regards to work and productivity this is a must read!

Too many ideas at once dig into your mental and physical energy resources just as credit cards dig into your money. Too much mental spending creates debt, leaving you with a mess and feeling overwhelmed trying to stay afloat.

[From Battle Productivity Brain Drain With an Idea Budget | Copyblogger]

What have you found most helping in managing projects and continuing to execute towards results in your work experience?