Mind Like Monkey

Oldie but Goodie: The Death of Creativity

This post was originally published on TaraRobinson.com on July 14, 2010.

 
Once upon a trip to Washington, DC, I overheard a conversation in the ladies room between a woman and her young son--a kid about 4 years old. It went like this:

Kid: “Mommy, why do the toilets flush by themselves?”

Mom: “I don’t know.”

Kid: “But why?”

Mom: “I don’t know. Don’t ask me. Shut up.”

I was dying to jump in and say things like it reduces what it costs to clean the bathrooms and it’s more sanitary. And I also felt very sad, because it seemed to me that I was witnessing a little tragedy: If that kid hears ‘shut up’ often enough, his curiosity will die.

Turns out, preschool kids ask about 100 questions a day. And at some point, most of them do stop asking. Some of that is a natural decline. But there may be a bigger problem for innovation and creativity over the long term. According to recent studies, creativity of US school kids is has been declining since 1990. As I read this article, one detail jumped out at me: how the brain does creative thinking when doing problem solving.

When attempting to come up with a new idea, the solution to a problem, for example, your brain shifts through many possibilities until a likely solution comes up. “Having glimpsed such a connection, the left brain must quickly lock in on it before it escapes. The attention system must radically reverse gears, going from defocused attention to extremely focused attention.” (emphasis mine)

It’s no secret that attention is in short supply these days. And with just a little digging around, I located the stats that make me think the decline in creativity may nothing to do with video games or standardized tests. What I looked for was the trends in diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to the CDC, the number of kids diagnosed with ADHD has increased significantly and steadily since 1997 which is as far back as their data reach. (You can see this info for yourself here; warning: it’s a pdf download.)

This made me wonder if the inability to focus, and particularly to shift from rapid fire thinking to pointed concentration, might be associated with declines in creativity.

Repost: What Tara is Reading--The Happiness Edition

This post was originally published on Tara's blog on Aug 13, 2010.

I got up at 2:30 am this morning so I could go watch the Perseids meteor shower. The first time I remember watching this annual August event was when, at 16 or so, my best friend and I crawled up a ladder in the middle of the night and sat on the roof of her parents’ house. Times have changed a little--and we drove out to Marys Peak, the highest peak in Oregon’s Coast Range--where we marveled at bazillions of stars and quite a few really nice meteors. Being in the cool morning air, chatting with my husband, oohing and aahing gave me a deep feeling of joy and happiness. So, to play it forward, here’s the “what I’ve been reading lately” happiness edition.

As reported in Fast Company, Gallup recently released their findings on where the happiest places on earth might be. Despite their long, dark winters, northern European countries ranked high on life satisfaction. However, one country above all others seems to be taking this happiness business very serious. That would be Bhutan. According to His Majesty King Khesar, ““Whatever work we do, whatever goals we have – and no matter how these may change in this changing world – ultimately without peace, security and happiness we have nothing. That is the essence of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Our most important goal is the peace and happiness of our people and the security and sovereignty of the nation.” Oh yes, I will be visiting Bhutan.

One of my favorite positive psychology dudes was quoted in a NY Times article last week. I always thought Ed Diener was really cool. After reading his thoughts on happiness and hedonic-adaptation, I got new insight on what makes living in Corvallis so nice. Here’s how he chose his home: “Thinking about the research, I argued that the hiking trails could be a factor contributing to our happiness, and we should worry less about things like how pretty the kitchen floor is or whether the sinks are fancy. We bought the home near the hiking trail and it has been great, and we haven’t tired of this feature because we take a walk four or five days a week.”

The aforementioned NY Times article led off with how Tammy Strobel chucked it all, moved to Portland, Oregon, and found happiness in living more simply. Her blog, Rowdy Kittens, is just terrific and she gives some great advice about decreasing the amount of stuff in your life. As clutter goes down, I’ve found my sense of well-being goes up. You can read her practical, helpful tips here.

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How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I think those are the six most dreaded words of my school years. I didn't like writing those essays then. When the Monkeys met last week and this topic was suggested, I had a minor flashback to all those horrid assignments. I still somehow feel I am going to be graded on this post. I throw myself on the mercy of you, kind reader, and bring a virtual apple. 

I spent my summer moving my family from Idaho to Utah. As you either know or can imagine, this is nothing short of a traumatic experience for everyone involved. We survived and for the last two weeks, have been settling into a new life. We aren't completely comfortable yet. The kids still remind me of their favorite line from the movie Cheaper By The Dozen: "Day five on the alien planet." 

I had some really amazing experiences that I will treasure forever. One was meeting Trish Tobin, a friend from the GTD Virtual Study Group who was coming through Salt Lake on vacation with her family. We had talked on the phone for a couple years but never met. What she didn't know was that I was hitting rock bottom when we had breakfast one morning. All the pressures of a year apart from the family, moving, selling, buying, working and several other 'minor' worries were all pressing down on me. In our short conversation, she pulled me up, dusted me off and set me back on the path. Her great insights energized me and helped me more than she will ever know.

Another experience I had was more more spiritual. Hey, I work for a church, so bear with me. I am a detail, planning kind of guy. I am wired to see the end of paths and know every step of the way before I start out. This whole moving experience has been extremely frustrating for me because I couldn't see anything. I tried planning and it was thwarted at ever step. It felt that I had control of nothing and it was driving me mad. Another great friend and coach, Paulette Esposito, came to my rescue. She reminded me to let it go and leave it in God's hands. It wasn't until I did that things started happening. All summer long I couldn't see more than one step in front of me, but I learned not to be frustrated and to rely on faith. It wasn't easy for me. Things fell through on the house we thought we wanted to buy, but we found a house to rent two blocks away in what has turned out to be the greatest neighborhood. My wife found a job immediately just a couple miles from our new house. The kids like their new schools and are finding new friends. Our old house hadn't sold, but that turned into a blessing for friends of ours who needed a place to move for a couple months after their house sold unexpectedly quickly. On top of all that, a few days after we moved, we (finally) received an offer on the house, after months of nothing. I can feel and see the Lord's hand in everything happening now. Taking that first step was so hard, but I have leaned to just leap and be ready for miracles. 

So here we are, two weeks into our new adventure. Four minutes after we pulled up to the new house on moving day, the neighbors started dropping by, offering help, bringing cookies and bread and checking on what we needed. Coming from a rural setting to this suburban neighborhood has been nothing short of wonderful, thanks to all the new friends we are making. The day after we moved in, it took two hours to walk around the block with everyone stopping us to talk. I came home today to find my daughter and two new friends chatting over chips and ice cream. I am going to like it here.

Find the theme of my summer yet? Friends make the world go round. They are there to pick us up when we are down. They inspire and remind us of who we are. They reach out and bring in new friends to the circle. And they tell give us toilet paper when we discover ours in one of 215 boxes. We need friends. We need to be friends. Hug a friend. Be a friend.

For Writers: Why Tara loves Scrivener

A while back, I posted a how-to for writing non-fiction with the dynamite, Mac-only program Scrivener. Since then, the second edition of my book, Genetics for Dummies, has published and David at Literature and Latte kindly published my testimonial where I opine about why I love Scrivener. 

If you're still not convinced about Scrivener, or you're a Windows user, check out this video from MLMartinJr on the Top 5 Writing Apps. Worth watching, even if you're not in the market for writing apps for his great characterizations of writing prompts. Enjoy! 

How To Enjoy A Weekend

A couple weeks ago, Tara, Augusto and I had a wonderful meeting to lay out the topics for the next couple months. We decided this week would be an "Open Topic" week. We get to write about anything that strikes our little monkey brains. Well, my little monkey brain. Theirs are much larger than mine.

I have been preoccupied with falling of the wagon lately. I seem to be doing a lot of it lately. I have really struggled this year to be true to myself in a lot of ways. Much of it has to do with my circumstances. I took a new job in another state late last year. Since November, I have been splitting my time in two places - flying to Salt Lake City on Monday morning, working  four days and then flying back to Boise to work Friday and have a quick weekend with the family before starting all over again on Monday.

When I took the job, I knew it would take several months to sell our house in this economy. I had great plans for all that time I would have while I was away from home. I figured I would have written the great American novel, solved the world hunger problem and learned to play guitar by now. I had lofty goals - or wishes, since I didn't write them down (more on that next week).

I am my own worst enemy at times. I regularly let perfection get in the way of good enough. What have I accomplished in the last 5 months? I have regularly contributed to this blog, kept up was best I can via Google Talk with the family, change my personal accounting system, restarted my personal website,  repainted the entire house and got it ready to sell, read over 20 books (finished another this week) and made progress on a couple of dressers for my wife. 

Which brings me to my other obstacle - I underestimate my achievements. When I started typing that last paragraph, I was convinced I hadn't accomplished much. Now, I would say I have managed to pull of quite a bit for someone that is back and forth between to places all the time. There are more things I could add to the list, too. I need to be less hard on myself and celebrate what I accomplish.

Each weekend, the same thing happens. I write out a list of all the things I should get done. The list is impossibly long. It is not really what should get done but a mindsweep of things to do around the house. This is a symptom of my not getting my weekly reviews done. My brain starts regurgitating everything I have stored up in it, hoping that somehow I will check everything off so it can quit remembering them. Then, I beat myself up about the ten things that didn't get done instead of congratulating myself on the twelve that did.

Yesterday, I did something different. I only wrote down the things that truly needed to get done. There was not one "nice-to-do" on the list. Consequently, my list was complete by noon. I even slept in until 9:00 because my flight didn't get in until 3:00am. I had a relaxing lunch with family who came by to visit, watched my niece's baby while they went to a concert, had dinner with friends, played Scrabble with my wife and read a book. What a wonderful day!

What's my point? I get so busy in trying to get things done all the time, I forget to celebrate the successes and to relax and enjoy the moment. Going into this blog post, I was depressed and critical of my performance. Now, I am excited, upbeat and ready to go tackle some more. Take time to smell the roses. Allow time to consider what has been accomplished. As David Allen said, "you can only feel good about what you're not doing when you know what you're not doing." Say that 5 times fast. 

It is true, though. The key to enjoy a night of mindless TV watching is to know that everything else you SHOULD be doing is captured and recorded in a list somewhere. It will come back later. It's okay. Put your feet up and enjoy March Madness. We all deserve a break now and then. When the time is right, the list will be ready. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend!

Now if you will excuse me, the timer is ringing on my birthday brownies! Thanks, kids!

A Poet in My Pocket

You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.

            -John Adams in a letter to John Quincy Adams (14 May 1781)

Welcome to eBook week. I started reading eBooks a couple years ago on my smartphone. I loved it. I could have a book with me everywhere. When I found myself waiting for something, I could read a few pages. Now, I have switch to an iPod Touch and my reading has only accelerated.

In preparation for this week, I thought I should count up the number of ebooks I have read. I couldn't do it. It is too many. I discovered I have read over 20 books, just since the first of the year. Holy cow! How did that happen? I never would have been able to do it without having them with me wherever I go. It shocked me so much, I decided I needed to get back into the habit of keeping track of the books and writing reviews. After a little research, I settled on Shelfari. You can see my bookshelf here. I am still filling in the list.

I mentioned to my wife's aunt tonight I would rather read a book on my iPod than on paper. The look on her face was of pure shock and disbelief (she is getting a doctorate in literature). It is true, though. I went to the library two weeks ago and picked up a couple books. I was surprised how slowly I slogged through them. The stories were fascinating and I enjoyed them thoroughly. However, I was frustrated at how long it took me to move through the book. I couldn't snatch a page here and there. I had to locate the book and find a place to read.

Now for the $64 question. Do I want a Kindle? I have heard quite a bit about them and for awhile, the Mr. Gadget in me wanted one bad. So bad, I actually started figuring out how to raise the money to get one. I bought an iPod Touch instead and since then, I haven't revisited the question. I like how the iPod fits in my pocket - something a Kindle can't do. The interface of Stanza, is quite good. I love the iPod size - it fits in my pocket. I would probably lay my Kindle down and lose it. 

I am hooked. I find this the best way to read now. I read more. Highly recommended! Finally, I am following Adam's advice perfectly. I have poets, novelists, philosophers, president and business coach in my pocket. I am NEVER alone!

Tara's Take on Processing

OK, so I’m totally behind the eight ball here. I missed collecting and now we’re on the processing. Well, no matter. That’s what the inbox is for: to act as a safety net, catching all the flotsam and jetsam until we have time--nay, make time--to handle it.

Augusto and Dan talked about their collecting practices. Mine are a little different, in part because I am dead set against keeping too much stuff. That means I delete things, throw things out, get rid of, recycle, reuse, give away, and otherwise dump what I don’t want to keep. And even some stuff I do want to keep but think I’m better off without. Occasionally, this bites me in the rear yet I’ve rarely run into a situation in which I wish I had something back. This does require me to be pretty good at processing.

Processing means making decisions. I hate dithering around and I am far more likely to do something (even the wrong thing) than do nothing.

Emails: If actionable, are forwarded to Remember the Milk (RTM). I reply, I hit delete. On occasion, I archive, using Evernote.

Paper: If actionable, processed to RTM. Some filing, mostly recycling (shredded first, if sensitive). I have so little paper stuff that I don’t have a 43 folders system anymore, just a folder labeled “@Action” as a holding spot.

I blur collecting, processing, and organizing into one action most of the time. If I’ve got a lot to handle (like right now, while I’m coming back on line after a week away), I try to separate processing from organizing.

I find that lots of folks get lost between these two and wind up doing when they intended to be processing or organizing. So that’s my little piece of advice: learn the distinctions between processing, organizing, and doing. Figure out how to carry out those activities separately and watch yourself. If you’re getting bogged down, you’re probably blurring the lines between activities.

Stop resisting, and Begin Collecting

Confession Time: My name is Augusto and I am an avid collector

Collect was one of those things that I learn from GTD and I love, I love collect and be able to put my options there. (I am glad I know how to process, but that is for another day)

I tend to collect in the following places:

 

My inbox goes to Zero at least every 24-48 hours, as well as my 3 inbox boxes (Work, Home and Travel Red Folder). I also collect on my voice mail on my phone, and I have my office and home voicemails forwarded to my phone, at home is forward to my email thanks to Vonage and at work, I just have a message that say: I do not check this voice mail, please call my cell XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Now lets work on the other collection of Ideas. I have a David Allen NoteTaker Wallet (https://secure.davidco.com/store/catalog/NoteTaker-Wallets-and-Pens-p-1-c-273.php) and I love it. I have a paper pad, index cards and the camera of my iphone. Everything else goes to my email inbox.

You should learn to collect, collect is fun, don't need to accomplish anything of all that stuff you collect, that it is a different stuff, and come later, but learn to collect, learn to grab your attention, to write down the stuff on your mind.

The only way to identify the great things is to collect a lot of c***, yes, if you want great things, you need to stop doing the good ones, and avoid the bad ones, but the only way to do this, is to collect the good, the great, the bad and the c***.

If you want to be extraordinary, and do great things; Stop resisting it, and begin collecting.

Ski Patrol: Overwhelm and overload avalanche tips from Tara

I woke up at 4 am this morning. Nothing like a little worry to ruin a good night’s sleep. I tried to tell myself that I was sufficiently well organized to handle the day ahead. I wanted to talk myself into going back to sleep. But nothing doing.

You probably know the feeling right? That sense of being snowed under, not knowing which end is up, running of out air and room and time. It’s enough to make you want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head.

To dig your way out of the avalanche, you need to recognize that overwhelm and overload are different critters. Knowing how to tell these bad boys apart is important because what works to tame one, doesn’t necessary help you on the other. So here’s a helpful field guide.

Overload is the result of getting overcommitted. You may think of it as being “crazy busy”--as in used up, unavailable. It’s the sort of thing that leads to burn out. Symptoms include procrastination (having too much to do and avoiding doing any of it), apathy (that’s the “what’s the use?” sensation), and block (no ideas, no inspiration, no momentum). To bring overload back down to size, you’ll need to engage routine, get familiar with the Pomodoro Method, or make time for a weekly review.

Overwhelm can be a companion piece to overload but just as commonly, is an emotional response to something that’s bearing down on you. Whereas overload brings people to a standstill, overwhelm sparks the flight part of the fight or flight response. That brings on the rushing, out of control, urgency, and panic. With unclear or nonexistent objectives, the overwhelmed bounce from one thing to another, unable to prioritize, doing a lot but not necessarily getting things done, if you know what I mean. Because your ability to think is compromised, get brutally simple when you’re overwhelmed: do a mindsweep to get it out of your head and down on paper, pick one thing to do at at time, and make sure you get some exercise to burn off some of that adrenalin.

Once the snow melts and calm returns, that’s a good time to think through what’s behind what you take on. The best avalanche prevention can be a big clean up. And a little dynamite.

Is your Writer on Strike?

** Image credit to: http://www.torito.nl/illus/visual/writers_block_400.gif

Since I began writing, more than 20 years ago, I have always found interesting the term Writers block. I understand is real, but in my case, writers block is more fear that the impossibility to generate content, its the fear that my content is not good, that the words I am writing are not great, that I am not good enough, but has nothing to do with the impossibility of generate content, as usually people refer to Writers Block.

Actually we should called that your Writer is on Strike, because it is what really is. I do not get writers block, my writer goes into strike. Lets go to the dictionary (New Oxford American Dictionary) for the word Strike:

strike |strīk|

verb ( past struck |strək|)

4 [ intrans. ] (of employees) refuse to work as a form of organized protest, typically in an attempt to obtain a particular concession or concessions from their employer : workers may strike over threatened job losses.

• [ trans. ] undertake such action against (an employer).

According to the definition when my writer goes into strike he refuses to work as a form of organized protest, typically in an attempt to obtain a particular concession from their employer. My guess is for me to stop for more content. Now lets revise from the same dictionary (New Oxford American Dictionary) the definition they have on Writer’s Block.

writer's block the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.

Do I honestly think that my writer is being unable to think of what to write? Do I really think we can’t proceed with the writing? I think less of my writer apparently, nope, my writer gets afraid, and I am guessing yours too, my writer meets resistance, as defined by Steven Pressfield on War of Art (http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/0446691437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251924626&sr=8-1) he goes afraid and gets into Strike.

The interesting thing has come to happen after I reach the point of not admit this Writer’s Block or Strike any more, we write our number of words monday trough friday, period, no discussion. The writer can choose, a Journal, a blog post or the book I am writing, but there is no other option. Also since this writer is clever; lazy, but clever, we can not initiate more projects that the ones he has at this time, so he can write here on www.mindlikemonkey.com, or www.theentrepreneurnotes.com or on the Journal or on the book. Ideas are always welcome, and will be worked at the right opportunity, but in order to tackle them he need to write what he is writing. The interesting thing with this approach, is that I have got so many book ideas, he get inspired, and mad, and want to go into strike, and bring the writers block, and complaint, and cry, and bring his best friend resistance as defined by Pressfield, even has gone so far as try to convince me that Pressfield is wrong, and resistance is a myth, the problem is if resistance is a myth, why you are going in strike, why you claim that writer’s block.

Of course during the month of November my Writer will have the additional pressure of NanoWrimo (www.nanowrimo.org) and he is already offering a chance to resistance, and is ready for the biggest Strike ever, but by the end of november 50,000 words on a Novel will be done, and I will be using Mind Like Monkey to talk more about it, for now, we will continue in the negotiations with my writer in strike.

In case you were wondering, the daily negotiations, only start after the number of words per day are met, before that, there are none…