Mind Like Monkey

How the changes on Mobile Me are going to affect your Omnifocus Experience

I was going to begin this saying: ‘unless you leave under a rock, you know by now that Apple announce that Mobile Me will disappear in June 2012’; but then I was reminded that the fact that I am constantly checking under certain rocks, doesn’t mean, people is looking under those too.

There is no certainty if the new service, iCloud will allow us, OmniFocus Users to continue putting our OmniFocus Files there, or if by June 2012 we will be out of sync ability. One of the things that allow me to do so much with OmniFocus is the fact that I can see the same information regardless of witch device I am using. Most of my Omnifocus use is on the iPad and the iPhone, and for me is really important that they sync. At this time, we can assume that in June 2012, we will be out of luck and sync ability.

I know that 12 months seems like a lot, but should I remind you that it is already June 2011, do you remember June 2010, yes feels like yesterday, before you digest that you will be writing 2012 in your paperwork. The good news is that the cool people of Omnigroup had create a service that it is in Beta and for free now (they had a disclaimer that the service could go paid in the future)

Your device will allow you to use their service Omni Sync Server. Set it up is as simple or more simple than set up Mobile Me. 

You go to the link (click here if you miss it) and put your email to get the invitation. Fill the information and you will receive an email with the instructions or a link that will configure your OmniFocus automatically.

After you do that, you are set. The OmniGroup Save the day!

 

I did that after the Apple Keynote,because I want to be sure how was going to work, and I regret that I didn’t do that years ago (or when the service was released). I was impress how fast the synchronization of my data is now, I am not sure why, but it’s significantly faster, and I am happy about it.

If you use Mobile Me, take in consideration that the clock is ticking and you will need to find a solution, (unless apple release something that they had not announced) you will need one. If you are an advance user, you can set up your own WebDav solution, other wise, you may try the OmniSync Sever. Just on the speed improvements will be worth to check it. That was the most impressive thing for me, how fast my apps sync now, for sure there is some secret and or special sauce in that server.

 

The I will not Procrastinate list

 
Somedays I need a list like that. We all somedays want to or simply procrastinate, today it has been one of those days. I just put on Twitter the following set of tweets:

 

I am honestly considering not doing nothing, I don't want to even see the short list (yes this post is in the short list), so I begin considering look into software that I don't need, to do functions that I don't use, so I don't do what I need to finish. (and I will complaint later on about not doing that stuff, but that's other story) 

I have talk about my DO NOT DO LIST in the past on my personal Blog (Click here), it's a trick I learned from Michael Hyatt a long time ago, and it's basically a list of stuff you will not do, period.

I was surprised by the fact that my list has not changed nothing in so long, so when I was going to download an install a developer version of a certain software in my main Mac and iPhone I refer to the list, and read: "I will not test with my Productivity tools and machine"

 

I am glad I have this list, the things that I will not do in this list, had save me for spend countless hours playing with my machines instead of doing something more productive, and more importantly to hurt my productivity on other times, therefore, I choose to disconnect and rest and recharge, will not do what I need, but will not hurt more my productivity for today.

The Real Priorities

I am guilty of trying to accomplish more than what I can. Over the years I have push, organize, work harder and eventually sadly some things had failed. Some projects that I don't really care, and some that I care a lot for.

The reason some of this projects had failed is because they weren’t real priority. The real priority is the thing for witch you will stop doing other things in order to do accomplish that. For some people is reading, for others is TV, for some is their family; regardless what it is, that's the real priority, and if you pay attention you will find witch one it is yours.

When I was working on an office environment, my priority was play with my baby when I arrived home every night. When I got home, I hang up the phone, and pay attention to her, I didn't care about anything else. I didn't succeed 100%, but was pretty successful.

In 2010 I made finish my first novel a real priority (I finally released my novel on May 2011. It's called The Writer, for more information click here) I stop doing other things so I could finish it, I stop doing many things, it was something important for me to accomplish, it was a priority. I wrote a lot, I wrote early or late when people went to sleep, I wrote on planes, and many little times I had, that was not my first priority, but an important one.

Yesterday, listening to the last episode 17 of 'Back to Work' with Merlin Mann and Dan Benajmin, Merlin said that a priority is not something that you need to have done, or must be done, a priority is something for witch you will stop or not do other things.

For the longest time, I didn't understand the concept of scarcity, understand that I only have a limited amount of hours. One of my priorities in life is make my daughter happy, and I know it is a priority because I am willing to stop doing things to spend time with her. For me is a priority to write, because I am willing not to read (one of my favorite things to do in the world) so I can write a little. I am willing to stop doing many things, in order to spend some time writing.

For me it's not a priority, (at least not any more) to live in a museum home, I don't care anymore that the house is not perfect, I don't care if people stop by and the house is not pristine, because for me is more important spend time with my daughter, because I prefer to write, those are priorities for me, my wife, my daughter, my writing, everything else, is not a real priority, sorry, and because of that, everything else will suffer, because I will be willing to sacrifice everything else in order to give a chance to my real priorities.

 

The question now, is what are your real priorities, I had a friend, that his higher priority is to play golf, I like golf, but not like him, he will be out sunny, wet, cold or hot, every chance he had, he will not do things in order to play golf, that's his priority, I have a friend that love her house pristine, clean and impeccable. Even when my home is pristine, feels dirty next to her home. For her is a priority to have her house that way, and she will stop doing things in order to have her house that way.

What are your real priorities, what are the two or three things that you will stop doing things in order to do those, what will make everything else behind because those need to be done, what will get late, not be done, and procrastinating about in order to finish those things, those are your real priorities, for some people is their work, for others is cooking, for others is reading or cleaning the house, everything else in your lists are not, are things you must do, or should do, or will so someday, but they are not priorities, your priorities are written in your heart, you don't need any reminder and everything else will wait in order for those to be done.

 

Write down those summer plans

Unless you are in denial, May will end soon and June will be moving in fast. Summer is coming, the hot weather, the playing outside, and more. 

What are your Summer plans? Did you write them down? Did you have defined goals for what to expect? Most likely NO.

I that a problem? most likely, YES.

Let's stop and think in your last summer, the one from last year, did you regretted that you didn't accomplish things, that was shorter, that you didn't do this or that or nothing? Most likely. We dream on the idea of the summer and imagine all the stuff we are going to do, and then life gets in the middle and we do nothing, summer end and we regret that we didn't accomplish any.

The problem is not that you got busy, the problem is you were not clear on what you want it to be, you had no plans, no images, no idea, so you did a little bit of nothing.

We begin in January a list, "THINGS TO DO ON THE SUMMER" and this weekend we are planning to sit and plan, purge the list or add more. We will have this long list, in priority, we may or may not do the whole list, but since will be in priority of what we want to do we will begin summer for those things that we are really looking forward to do, leaving us chance to repeat some of them is we want, and toward the end of the summer we will do the things in our list that had less priority. Last year we accomplish 17 out of 20, I didn't even remember that we didn't accomplish, or visit those other 3, and there is no regret. This year, our list is so far 15, I hope we get to do them all.

How long is your list? 

If you don't write down the plans, you will forget the important details, and the time you have will pass leaving you only with the wish that you accomplish more.

 

Feeling miserable after a productive weekend

I know this is something that has never happened to you, but I am also sure you know people that suffer from this and people that this happen to them all the time. They begin the weekend with great plans, exited about it, full of hope and even wake up early. By Sunday night you feel miserable, you feel that you waste so much time and didn't accomplish anything.

This is the weekend of most of the productive people I know (including some of my weekends too) we over plan, assuming that everything will take less than what actually take, and feel like a failure because the big list continue big (maybe even bigger) on Sunday night.

The problem is that we aren’t honest with ourselves, or fair for that matter./ If you are honest with yourself, you did stuff, you accomplish stuff, what you didn't do was finish the list. The real question is how real was that list.

        This weekend my wife and I made one of those list.

• Mown Lawn (Back and Front)
• Put Grass Seeds (Back and Front)
• Buy Stuff to Paint Baby Bath, Our Bedroom and Our Bathroom.
• Paint Baby Bath
• Paint Our Bedroom
• Paint Our BathRoom
• Go to the PetExpo
• Go to Church

Guess what, we only did 5 our of the list. For most people this was a failure, but guess what. We also play in the backyard with our baby and dogs, make BBQ outside in the grill, did groceries, clean the house, make nice dinner on sunday, sit to talk outside for a couple of hours, sleep late on Sunday and play in bed with the baby, told stories and read stories to the baby, walk around the block with the dogs.

Any of those items were in our list, and don't count them will make us feel as if we failed.

If you read this week discussion on Monkey Talks, if you have not click here, we were exactly discussing that, you are frustrated because you don't finish your lists, but you don't take in consideration all the stuff you did that wasn't on those lists.

I have learn that those lists need to have a priority, the list you saw In this post, the actual list look really like this:

            WILL DO

• Mown Lawn (Back and Front)
• Buy Stuff to Paint Baby Bath, Our Bedroom and Our Bathroom.
• Go to the PetExpo
• Go to Church

            COOL TO DO

• Put Seeds (Back and Front)
• Paint Baby Bath
• Paint Our Bedroom
• Paint Our BathRoom

Now let's re-evaluate. Out of the WILL DO: we accomplish the whole list. Out of the COOL TO DO we accomplish only one. That's the key for us, we make the list, but then pick the ones that we will do all in our power to accomplish, and make a second list with all the cool opportunities. If any of those opportunities happen we are trill and it's COOL, if any of them happen and we finish our WILL DO, guess what, we had an incredible and successful weekend. The trick, the will do is never more than three things (four if you put Go to Church in the list )

Do you have a WILL DO and a COOL TO DO for the weekend, or you set yourself to failure creating the classic no priority I HOPE A MIRACLE HAPPEN AND I CAN FINISH ALL THIS SO I DON'T FEEL I FAILED THIS WEEKEND LIST. I got rid of the latest and I hope never again use it. What about you?

 

It’s not that you don’t have the discipline—it’s that you don’t have the ritual

In a recent interview on the Harvard Business Review by Daniel McGinn to David Allen and Tony Schwartz I found a fantastic quote, something that we should constantly remember!, something that I should constantly remember!, something that I actually notice last week and was thinking to write about it. If you have not read the article you should, but going back to the question you can continue reading here:

David, how has Tony’s thinking influenced the way you work?

Allen: The piece that’s made the biggest difference is his work on energy cycles. I actually brought a pillow into work. I work in a glass office, and now people can see me lying on my floor taking a nap for 20 minutes. That’s directly from Tony’s work. I wish I had the discipline Tony does to tackle the hardest tasks first thing in the morning, but I don’t.

Schwartz: It’s not that you don’t have the discipline—it’s that you don’t have the ritual. If you built that ritual, I have zero doubt that you could do it.

That little piece it’s worth gold. Has noting to do with discipline, and all to do with Rituals!

The lack of basic routines is one of those things that distract you from the GTD Objective, and your objectives in general. People focus themselves in Discipline, and they are wrong. People think they can't do GTD, or be organize, or more productive because they lack discipline, when in reality, in the words of Tony Schwartz is a ritual issue, they don't posses the necessary rituals. I have accomplish over the years out of rituals than discipline, usually comes as a surprise to people close to me that I am not a really disciplined person, but I have a set of rituals that allow me to move faster and compensate for the lack of discipline, but it is every time I challenge my rituals that I get into trouble, has nothing to do with my discipline, and all to do with the ritual.

Let me give you an example. 

Every friday I do a Weekly Menu planning. I plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next seven days. That doesn’t mean that we can not skip it, or go to a restaurant, or cook something else, it just mean, that I plan a week of meals and food, it just mean that my grocery list is based on that list and the food we have at home. At a result, we don’t buy unnecessary stuff and we waste less food (I hate to waste food). Also this remove an stress out of my life, since at six in the morning, I know the menu, I can take out what need to be taken out, and be ready, I don’t need to think about it again, so I can use my thinking energy in the stuff that really interest me.

You think that's discipline, well let me tell you that our fridge is full of stuff because two weeks ago on Friday I skip the planning, and then did groceries out of inspiration instead of what we really need and were going to use, this has nothing to do with discipline, and everything to do with rituals.

Not convince yet, do you think is the discipline that will move you forward, let me bring you then another example...

I had over the years as GTDer more or less success with the Weekly Review, but had nothing to do with Discipline, and everything to do with a little ritual I discover many years ago. If I try to do my weekly review in Starbucks, I am able to focus, concentrate and finish it successfully, if I try any other way, I failed miserably. Discipline or Ritual? I pick Ritual and that incredible four shot latte with Honey (or Pumpkin Spice latte in the fall)

People focus their success on the discipline factor, and punish themselves for the lack of it, their self talk (and mine in occasions) go an do a party, but we tend much less to focus on the rituals, we focus much less on how to improve our rituals and instead look how to improve our discipline. My question is how that has worked for you? In my experience, it's the ritual that help me, I have an incredible lack of discipline, but I love routines.

Maybe, you that have been pushing into be more discipline in 2011, can begin working into betters routines. Have you consider, that maybe Tony Schwartz is right, and you don't need more discipline but better rituals?

Not yet convince, that you have been blaming the wrong concept and focus on the wrong assumption, let me provide you then another example.

I have use short lists for years, basically in the morning I read all the next actions in my list, and pick the most important ones, the ones I will begin my day with. I did this for many years, before I leave to the office I went over the list with my coffee. Discipline, no a ritual. In November last year, I stop going to the office, and working at home. Two things happen with this, one is that I break the ritual, since I wasn't going to the office, I stop checking my lists. I know, I should have now better, had more discipline, and not let things go south, but I didn't all that I had was a fantastic ritual. In January we moved to Indiana, and among other things I began to spend the afternoons with my daughter. That is a great luxury, and I am aware of my blessings, but I was unaware on the impact that having her playing around me was going to have on my productivity. Not only that, but try to stablished any kind of routine with a two year old girl... I hope you stop to laugh, so you can continue reading.

The problem again, had nothing to do with discipline, and everything to do with rituals. So I begin building a new ritual, and picking two sets of tasks to focus, ones in the morning that I am by myself and ones for the afternoon that I am with her. Guess what, in the mornings that I do this, the mornings that I respect the ritual, my day go smoothly, the mornings that I hope on discipline, my day is at best chaotic.

I know that me telling you that you should focus on rituals instead of discipline sounds crazy, but look around, look on the effective people you know, look on the super productive people you know, and know pay attention how many of them are disciplined people and how many of them have better rituals, you may be surprise. Also remember, that most people will deny their own rituals, because people wrongly think that rituals make them boring individuals, when this happen, it's just because they had not yet connected the fact that are those rituals that allow them to be free, fun, spontaneous.

Your system is your best Map

If you are going to do a trip to a place you are not familiar with, it will be silly not to consult a map, to check how to go from here to there. The same happen if you are trying to get things done, if seems silly not to have a system. Notice that I said A SYSTEM, not my system. I use GTD, most likely, since you are here, you too, but you don't need to use it in the way I do, or do anything I do, but you need to make sure that you have an up to date system, a system that you trust, and a system that have everything, from the truly important to the irrelevant. If you don't have a complete system, one that you trust, the decision you are talking right now could be the wrong one, or not the best one. Unless you are able to see the next action against all the rest, you will never know if what you are doing is the best thing you could be doing right now or not. That's the importance of the cop ere system, as well as the map when you are taking a road trip. Most people I know are really busy, being busy is important for them, the problem is this people sometimes don't stop to make sure they e busy with the really important stuff,they are only busy, and they are doing th best they can, sometimes they go forward, sometimes they go in circles and they don't even know it, yes, they have no map to check were they are going. There is other people, that because have no system, and therefore no map, simply stop in paralysis and fear instead of move, not either one of those is a better one, even tough I will prefer be busy in the wrong stuff than paralyze in fear waiting for a miracle. That is the reason the system is important, because is that complete, up to date system, that will allow you to pick the important task, is that system that will allow you to decide if you need to take left or right in the next intersection, is that full system also that will help you to make the decision to stop and put gas before the next one hundred miles.

A Sure Fire Way To Achieve Goals

It has been a crazy week for me. Rather than leave you without anything, I am borrowing a post from my personal blog, Dan In Focus. Enjoy!

Want to complete a goal? Want to make progress toward one of those resolutions? Of course we do. That is why we make goals and resolutions in the first place. Here is a little secret from the business world: Measure it.

“What gets measured gets done, what gets measured and fed back gets done well,  what gets rewarded gets repeated”
-- John E. Jones
I have used this guidance for years at work. One experience I am quite proud of came early in my management career. I led a large team that was trying to reduce the number of support calls we had to escalate to the engineering team. We were given a set amount of time in which we could attempt to fix the problem before we had to send it up the chain. I had talked with the team, passing on the challenge to increase our percentage, which was languishing around 60%. The goal was 85%. Nothing happened.

I was required to report back to the senior management monthly on this and other metrics (measurements). I created a nice graph, showing the percentage for the last few months with a line at 85%, showing the target. When I was done with my presentation, I posted the graph right out side my door. I didn't say anything to anyone about it. I noticed it took 10 minutes before someone walking by noticed it and stopped to look at the graph. Soon, the word spread I had a graph of our performance posted and everyone came by to look at it. I didn't say a word, just kept working in my office. No one asked me anything about it, either. I left it up all month.

The next measurement jumped to 70%. Again, I posted the chart showing the improvement outside my door and didn't say anything. The next month we hit 85%. The month after that we hit 90%, where we settled out for the next several months. I kept posting the chart, but added another measuring our next problem area. That too improved without my having to say anything about it.

It is a strange phenomena I have witnessed time after time. When something is measured and posted, it improves. So how do we apply this to our personal goals? We have to find a way to hold ourselves mentally accountable. Some folks can do with all by themselves, making a goal and never miss it. I need more help, though.

As I said before, I am trying to lose weight this year. One of the strategies is to record everything I eat. Even though the iPod app I use is quite easy to use, it is still enough of a pain for it to discourage me from eating a snack sometimes. That act of turning on my iPod and recording the food is enough to help me choose a salad instead of a cheeseburger. I love to see how many calories I can save for dinner. Of course there are days when I blow it, but if I faithfully record it, it is okay. Just having it stare at me for the rest of the week pushes me to make up for it later in the week.

Another tool I have started using is Daytum.com. A friend put me on to this one and I love it. It is real easy to track progress on any goal. It then allows me to show a graph of the progress. I have used this website to track my exercise, book reading and wood turning. You can see my results here. Having it out there on the web puts just a little more fire under it for me. I know no one looks at it besides me (and now you), but having it public somehow fires me up. The friend who told me about it looks at it and quizzes me whenever we talk. She is supposed to, though. She is my coach.

That is the next way to supercharge your performance - get a coach. It doesn't have to be very formal, but having someone available to ask you how you are doing on goals really helps keep the momentum going. Knowing you have to account for your performance is very inspiring. Once a week, she and I call each other and tell each other how we are doing on our goals. Sometimes, midweek, when the going gets tough, we shoot each other an email. Words of encouragement help a lot to staying on the wagon.

Want to send your performance off the chart? Tell your kids. My coach shared this one with me. She told her goals to her kids and asked them to quiz her. Every day when she picks them up from school, they quiz her how many minutes she exercised, how many phone calls she made job hunting and so forth. If you want excessive hounding, get the kids involved. They won't accept excuses like adults will. They relish the opportunity to help, too. Don't have a kid? Find one. They are the most ruthless and relentless coach you will ever have.

Pick a goal with which you are struggling. Come up with something that can be measured daily. Share that measurement with a friend, spouse or child. Request they ask you regularly about progress. Before you know it, you will be hurtling along toward accomplishing your target. Buckle your seat belt.

Graph image courtesy of clker.com

 

I am going to get organized. One day at the time.

A good friend of mine told me that again, last week, while I was giving him some advice: “I agree with you, that doing that is important, so I am going to get organized”

People think, that getting organized will solve the problems they have, they think that having those problems solved, will make everything go away, the mess, the missing appointments, the missing dreams, the lack of time; and the feeling of overworking. It will also get rid of the guilt that cause in our hearts, the fact that you are not spending the time you told yourself that you should have doing something else.

He ask me for a recommendation on a tool. I am a tech geek, I live and breath in a computer, I spend more hours connected to my Mac, iPhone or iPad that I am willing to admit, here or anywhere else. I have been known to be attached to a Computer for years, I will say since 1997, when I got my first Palm Pilot. 

I laughed, not at him, but at the idea that the tool will solve the problem. After I try to explain to my friend, that he was looking a solution in the wrong place, so I ask him to identify his success story for the next seven days. - What do you mean he asked?

If I see you again in seven days, I want you to tell me how fantastic your week was. I want you to brag about it, to be exited about it. What have you accomplish that last week? His face when blank. I then explain, to him, if you have no clue, what will be a success story in seven days, most likely you will never see that you have a success one. There is always going to be one more thing to do, one more task to accomplish one more little thing that could be done.

Because I have learn, that sometimes, seven days, is more than what people can digest, I ask my friend to tell me what was the success story for tomorrow. If he can only do those things that will make tomorrow look as an incredible story, what he will do tomorrow. His face when blank again, and told me: “I have so much behind that feel like a success will be impossible” he told me.

I know that the story of my friend is not unique, most of the people that it is looking into more productivity, into getting organized, into be more proactive are trying simply to define a new story, are trying simply to feel success once in a while.

I go every morning over my lists, and pick out of those items on my pending list, what will make a success day. If my definition of success is to accomplish everything in my list, guess what, I will feel like a failure at the end of the day. Some days, I pick five things, some days I pick three, some days I pick one. The interesting thing is that some days I can do seven, somedays four, somedays two, somedays none, but with practice, I had been able to increase the number of success days; the number of days that I feel great!

You want to get organized? Do it one day at the time. Begin defining what success mean for you today, every day. Aim low, if you pick one thing and accomplish seven, you will feel great, the other way around will bring more of that you are feeling now.

About the tool, doesn’t matter, the tool will not organize you, the tool is a way to handle stuff, handle it on paper, computer. Create success, one day at the time, and the way to organize yourself will begin to show from behind the mist that is covering your success, a mist that you put when you ask the impossible from yourself.

Get [FRAMED]!

I have to share this with you. One of the most brilliant minds I have ever had the pleasure of calling friend has put together a new show. If you have every enjoyed photography, get [FRAMED] now! The show follows a professional photographer to different cities to meet the best photographers and learn their secrets, their techniques, their business, everything that can be learned. And it is free! You can't lose. I know I'm going to be on the front row for this series!

[FRAMED]'s first stop