Ian's Messy Desk

Vitamins for the Mind by Jim Rohn

1. Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experiences and invest them in the future.
2. Don't let the learning from your own experiences take too long. If you have been doing it wrong for the last ten years, I would suggest that's long enough!
3. Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.
4. It's easy to carry the past as a burden instead of a school. It's easy to let it overwhelm you instead of educate you.
5. Be like a sponge when it comes to each new experience. If you want to be able to express it well, you must first be able to absorb it well.

Lisa has posted some titles at Management Craft.

I remember a supervisor at one of my first jobs picking up on a number of silly mistakes I had made and saying, "I don't think it's that you're careless, I think you couldn't care less." She was right. There were a dozen things grabbing my attention and the job wasn't one of them. It's easy for productivity or the quality of work to suffer if the job is not grabbing your interest. However, there are some things you can do if you find a care-less attitude preventing you from doing your job.

1. Look for creative ways to make your current tasks more interesting. For example, you might be able to take certain tasks outside the office —say, to a coffee shop— and complete them, without the usual office distractions.
2. See if it is possible to trade or share tasks with a coworker One person's tedium is another's challenge. You might hate number-crunching in a spreadsheet, while a co-worker hates writing documents. Trading tasks could address the attitude problems for two or more employees.
3. Ask for more challenging responsibilities. Job boredom often comes from not having enough to do. Adding responsibilities can make an old job seem fresh and new.
4. Schedule your work to best manage routine or tedious tasks. Most jobs have some parts that are less desirable than others. Making use of scheduling to optimize the completion of such parts. You can group low-energy tasks together and schedule them for a time when your work energy is low. You might alternate tedious tasks with challenging tasks giving some balance to the day.
5. Look for a new job. In the end, if you can't make the changes necessary to stimulate you current situation, perhaps it's time for a job change; either an internal move, a position in a new organization or a career re-direction.

Don't stand by and let boredom hold you back. Grab a hold of opportunities to make your work more interesting.

We all face the fact that there are times when we demands on our time that exceeds our ability to handle them. Learning to say "No" is a critical --yet difficult-- skill that needs to be mastered. Taking on more than you can manage only leads to frustration as nothing gets done very well. Here are a list of web articles on learning to say no:

• Oprah.com >>http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/lybl/control/ss_lybl_control_08.jhtml
• The New Nation >>http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_21344.shtml
• Web4Health >>http://web4health.info/en/answers/child-say-no.htm
• Detroit News >>http://www.detnews.com/2005/money/0507/23/C02-250668.htm
• SmartBiz >>http://www.smartbiz.com/article/articleview/615/1/3/
• Life in Motion >>http://www.lifeinmotioncoaches.com/articles_files/page0005.htm

Yesterday, Glenda and I went out to a local Lebanese restaurant, for supper. As we looked over the menu, it occurred to me that the traditional Lebanese dishes were designed to be shared by a group. Four would be better than two, six better than four, eight better than... well, you get the picture. Earlier this week, watching some Italian cooking from David Rocco on Food TV, I had similar thoughts about this kind of "group" eating.

A couple of days ago, Richard Hall posted "A Weighty Issue", his comments on the increasing obesity of Americans and Brits. (I'll add Canadians to that pile on the scales.) As we sat in the restaurant last night, I wondered if one of the causes for this increasing obesity is the loss of the communal meal. Traditional weight-loss wisdom says that you can help the process along by eating more slowly. Your body needs time to register that you are full.

Once upon a time, a meal was an event, not just a quick fueling between points on a schedule. Whether it was the family coming in from the field (or home from the factory or office) at the end of the day or the extended-family/community celebrating, the meal was a place of sharing, fellowship, laughter, tears and love. In other words, something that took time. Now, we drive through for hamburgers, because our next event begins in 17 minutes or we plop ourselves down in front of the television, plate in lap, prepared to ignore family for the vacuous noise coming from the box.

I particularly wonder if we in the Church have not lost the art of gathering together to "break bread". Scattered thoughout the New Testament are references to the early believers sharing a meal as part of their fellowship and worship. Now, our church schedules are so full that families are giving up the dinner table for the rush-through window at McDonald's or Wendy's, our "coffee and fellowship" is relegated to 15 minutes before the morning service begins and what meals we do share as a community are tightly regimented to the greater schedule.

Maybe we need to take a leaf from the Slow Food movement and make the meal a focus for community. Not an excess of food for gluttony's sake, but sufficient time to get to know family, friends and neighbours. Not a display of gastromonic superiority, but humble sharing. Not racing out the door to the weekly learn-to-share-your-faith class, but showing Christ by exercising the gift of hospitality.

It's time to slow down and smell the pasta.

Here are some basic, but valuable tips on "How To Improve Your Singing Voice Instantly."

All of us have to sing at some point, even if it's just a simple 'Happy Birthday'. Use these simple tips and techniques to improve your voice and your confidence.

There's a part inside most of us that prefers wasting time to accomplishing what needs to be done. Wasting time is not all bad. It can serve to help one relax or overcome stress. Most frequently though, wasted time is an opportunity lost.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post on eight common sources —four internal and four external— of wasted time.

Internal:

1. Disorganization
2. Procrastination
3. Inability to say no
4. Attitude

External:

1. Uninvited visitors
2. Incoming communication
3. Unproductive meetings
4. Waiting

Stay tuned.

Tags: GTD, Getting-Things-Done, Time-Management, Organization

Curiosity – Key to Personal Brilliance – 7 Tips

Jim Canterucci has posted these tips at Fast Company Now as part of BlogJam 2005.

Curiosity helps you clarify problems, ideas, and situations, and it encourages you to explore how they could be different. Actively exploring the environment, asking questions, investigating possibilities, and possessing a sense of wonder are all part of being curious. Questions are key. Once you open up to the nuances of life, it's easy to find things that fascinate you and to begin wondering "why?" and "how?"

1. Think Like A Child

2. Look Beyond the Obvious

3. Fire Your Inner Critic

4. Vary Your Daily Routine

5. Identify the Most Impossible Solutions

6. Work Like a Detective

7. Try New Things

The Nine Reasons We Don't Do What We Should

Dave Pollard gives us a good look at some things that stand in our way of getting things done:

1. Fear
2. Lack of Self-Confidence
3. Lack of Knowledge
4. Trying to Do Too Much Alone
5. Trying to Do Too Much
6. Loss of Self
7. Lack of Energy
8. Lack of Reward
9. It Can't Be Done

Read the article

• Del.icio.us Visualization with Vox Delicii
  >Heat mapped visisualization of del.icio.us' popular links
• Blog Better With MindManager
  >Idea mapping for better blogging
• Mirror Me: Download Tracking and Mirroring
  >An interesting service that let&#x2019s you manage, track and mirror files
• Download: Skylook
  >Record Skype calls to MP3 in Outlook and more.
• Learn How The Brain Handles Stress
  >Understand how your brain deals with stress for better health
• Download: Temptation Blocker
  >A nifty little application that helps you curb screen time
• Apple&#x2019s Mighty Mouse
  >Apple&#x2019s first multibutton mouse, Mighty Mouse
• How to Surf The Web Anonymously
  >Tutorial on use proxies to surf anonymously
• Brown-Bag Your Way To Half a Million!
  >Bringing your four times a week can eventually earn you half a million dollars

TGIF: This week's best posts

• Excuse: I might need it someday.
  What to say instead: I haven’t used it in years. If I need it again, I can always buy or borrow another one.


• Excuse: I paid good money for that.
  What to say instead: If I keep this but don’t use it, it’s still being wasted. Better to let someone else get some use out of it.


• Excuse: It’s still perfectly useful.
  What to say instead: It may be useful, but it’s not useful to me, and it’s taking up time and space in my life.


• Excuse: It was a lovely gift.
  What to say instead: It will make a lovely gift for someone else. Who shall I give it to?

Link from Talking Story

Do you have trouble remembering things? Are you having trouble sleeping or is your stomach in knots? Are you sleeping too little or too much? All of these can be symptoms of stress. A certain amount of stress is good –or even necessary– for all of us, but it is easy for it to get out of hand. Here are a few simple tips that can help you deal with stress.

1. Valuate the situation. How important is this activity to the overall goals and direction for my life? If it’s not really that important, don’t sweat it.
2. Be positive. Positive thoughts can generate positive results and negative thoughts, negative results. Even something as simple as changing your perception from, “I have to get the done by Monday,” to ” I am going to get this done by Monday” can make a big difference.
3. Visualize a successful outcome. Rather than focusing on the pressure of finishing a task, focus on the benefit or reward that will come from completion.
4. Reward yourself. If the situation or project doesn’t have an intrinsic benefit or reward, create one. “Once I’ve finished painting the bedrooms, I’m going to spend a day relaxing at the beach.”
5. Change the things that cause you stress. For those stressors that can be changed, do so. If you hate going to the supermarket at peak shopping times, reschedule for quiet periods. If lack of sleep adds to your tension, get to bed earlier.
6. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Recognize that any number of factors can affect the perfect completion of a job. Strive to make your work the best in can be under the circumstances.
7. Take care of your health. A fit body responds better to stress.
8. Have fun. Play as hard as you work. Develop a sense of humour. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
9. Have a quiet place. Go somewhere that takes you away from the things that cause your stress. Have a peaceful corner at home. Take a walk in a park. Get away from the office at lunch hour and sit on a bench.
10. Talk to someone. A friend or family member can be a good place to get things of your chest. In more serious situations, perhaps a support group or a counsellor is in order.

1. Specify a clear cut goal you want to accomplish.
2. Specify when you’ll do it.
3. Record your hit rate.
4. Make a public commitment.
5. Add an explicit penalty for failure, if you need to.
6. Think small.
7. Specify the amount of product you’re going to produce.
8. Get a timer that beeps every five minutes and chart whether you’re on task.
9. Arrange for regular contact with your monitor, daily or weekly as needed.
10. Arrange for your friend to monitor your graphing as well as your goal attainment.
11. “Put Satan behind you.”
12. Recycle.

read the entire article

Mentoring can be one of the most effective means of teaching; inviting someone to learn from the example of someone with experience. Whether through apprenticeships, interships or other less-formal relationships, walking alongside an experienced practitioner can impart essential skills, attitudes and knowledge.

About five years ago, Christianity Today posted an article on effective mentoring. In it, Erik Johnson, the president of Family Challenge Ministries, looks at how people moving into retirement can provide value to those starting out or looking to undertake new challenges.

How to be an effective mentor

Questions Mentors Ask

* How is your ministry affecting your own relationship with God?
* How is your sense of God’s call being clarified?
* Where are your skills being tested?
* Where is your character being tested?
* What are your hopes and dreams for your future ministry?
* How can I help you?
* What evidence can you point to of the presence and power of God in your ministry?
* How is your relationship/communication style impacting your ministry?
* What are some new things you could try?
* What are some things we could do that would help you to be more a person of integrity?
* What pain have you experienced and what were some of the effects of that pain?
* How has that shaped who you are?
* How might God use your past to prepare you for ministry in the future?
* Let’s pretend that God knows what he’s doing in your life, even though things haven’t worked out as you’d hoped. What might he be teaching you through that?
* As you assess your growth, where do you see are?

Tags: Mentoring, Teaching, Leadership, Development