Ralph Carlson Blog

I’m still struggling to get control of my time after retiring last month.  That beautiful forty hours each week freed up with that decision somehow haven’t converted into additional productivity.  It seems like, instead of getting more done, I am actually getting less done.

Right now my challenge is getting a rhythm and a pattern going that makes sure that I get basic things done each day and move forward on the things that will make me some money.  I am putting in the time but I am sure that I could be managing much better.

For example, I dithered today trying to find a way to sync my windows mobile phone with a web based calendar like Google or Thunderbird.  There doesn’t seem to be anything.  I would probably have used my time better to just enter my appointments both places and forget about it but I keep thinking that there has to be something.  So that is just one example of how time gets wasted.

It is always better when I find a solution from one of the clear thinkers on the web.  Today it is Chris Brogan with his post on a farmer’s list.  Put simply, a farmer’s list is those tasks that must be done every day or else.  Farmers don’t have the luxury of postponing tasks.  Milking has to be done every day or the cows stop giving milk.  You can’t put off harvesting wheat or it shatters and falls to the ground. So Chris uses a farmer to help understand what kind of tasks need to be on the list.  He gives his list – and it is a good one.  I would like to say that I am doing everything on his list but I am not Chris Brogan – at least not yet.

So for today this is my list:

1. Blog Post up for today.
2. Draft tomorrow’s blog post.
3. Check emails and respond.
4. Read 30 minutes or more.
5. Respond to blog comments.
6. Check my blog follow list and comment when possible
7. Work on income producing projects.

It is not as good as Chris’, but it does include everything that I know I have to get done each day.  When I get this list under my belt then maybe I can add more.

What does your Farmer’s List look like?

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What do we mean by simple as in simple lifestyle or simple living? In fact there are many ways to define simple that attract different audiences. These are the ones that I can think of:

1. Frugal- not spending money in an ostentatious fashion or buying unnecessary things.

2. Minimalist- using only a minimal level or goods and services

3. Utilitarian -satisfying basic needs with basic utilitarian products

4. Spare- limiting the things that you use in your life.

5. Uncomplicated- eliminating those things which make life complex.

6. Efficient- organizing activities and objects efficiently.

7. Unattached –limiting human associations.

In all of these definitions, people are attempting to improve the quality of their lives.  They select an ideal life model that best matches their goals or ideas.  With this model in their mind as a goal, it is easier to make decisions that will make them more like their ideal.  They can do this either by addition – adding new activities or resources into their life or by subtraction – eliminating things which conflict with their ideal.  They simplify by eliminating (or trying to eliminate) whatever they believe most seriously threatens their ability to live a productive and happy life. In each definition there is an ideal way of living that becomes a lifestyle model and a guide for making daily decisions that move the person closer to the goal.

Some might say that the entire exercise is meaningless.  That the search for simplicity has become a cliche.  Certainly there is a lot of buzz about simplicity, simplification and the like today and some of it may be trivial.  But the act of selecting a model for a better life and then changing yourself to match that model is positive action.  Deciding that picking a concept of a better way to live and using it to frame your life decisions is trivial or hopeless is losing control of the process.  People who decide that they cannot or will not become better abandon responsibility for their life.

I see the quest for simplicity in life as a positive goal but not an easy one.  My first problem is focus.  Looking at the several categories above, I can’t just pick one and go all out.  I am frugal to a point but I like both quality and aesthetics as well so I won’t buy the cheapest product even if it is adequately functional if it is ugly or badly made.  I like things that are uncomplicated and yet it is a difficult task to make the complexities go away.   Sometimes I am just not up to the task of  organizing or eliminating all the messy issues in my life.  I don’t have enough time or energy to make my life efficient and simple and I let it fall in on me.  So what I end up doing is constantly course correcting, picking a target here (simplify my email for example), fixing it and then moving in a completely different direction (deciding not to buy extravagances) and do that for a time.  I don’t have the discipline to pick one objective  and let it dominate.  I’m not saying that what I do is right.  What I mean is that I have a hard time fixing on very specific goals and models and as a result I may appear inconsistent or unfocused to someone who can focus.

Is this bad?  Probably, but it’s the best I can manage and I believe that even small and unfocused efforts to change my behavior and responses makes me better.  What it really says to me is that achieving a simple lifestyle is very hard and ,dare I say, complex.  It is so hard to change any habit or behavior (Folk legend says that it takes 30 days) and much easier to just drift doing whatever seems right and abandoning any attempt to control how your life is unfolding.  Where the pain comes is after relinquishing control for some time you look around and find out that you are in a place that you don’t want to be and have become a person that you don’t even like or respect.

There is a saying that when you make the hard choices, over time life gets easier and when you make the easy choices, it gets harder. Maybe that is the bottom line about making the effort to make your life more simple (whatever it might mean to you).  It is hard to do but if you are successful, life gets easier and that is why we want it.

And don’t forget to help me close out this series with your favorite simplification strategies over here.

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What dream has kept you keeping on?  Or if you don’t have anything to make you perservere, why not?

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Persistence has a down side.
There is no question that persistence is a requirement for success.  That is very clear to anyone who studies success and successful people. It is also very clear that persistence alone will not ensure sucess.  What is very unclear is how you know when to switch tactics.  When is the right time to try some different way to accomplish your goal.  I know that I am unqualifed to give any guidance.  But still I want to complete this weeks focus on persistence with a full scope of coverage.  Searching the web brought me to Steve Pavlina and a post on Persistence from 2005.
Steve begins by defining persistence:
Persistence is the ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting.
But he continues to address when to stop persisting:  When should you give up?
In answer he cites his own experience and that of Bill Gates.
There is nothing I can add of value to his experience.  I suggest that you read Steve’s post and use it to guide you in judging when to persist and when to move on.

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Thinking about persistence, I turned to a book which has inspired me over the years – The Magic of Thinking Big, by Dr. David J. Schwartz. Persistence is only a small part of this great book but he emphasizes the importance of persistence in achieving your goals.

Persistence is a key element of success. Nothing good comes easily or without struggle. It’s the struggle itself that produces the good result because it causes growth and change. But struggle is unpleasant and uncomfortable. It gets our hands dirty. It makes us work. We might look untidy or unprofessional while struggling to make something work. It takes time to struggle while we miss using our time for more pleasant activities. In short, while we are struggling, there is very little good to say about the process and we would prefer to skip it altogether. It’s not cool.

Dr. Schwartz says that “People that have bull-dog persistence, who can grab something and not let go, have an essential success quality.”

It’s a troubling thought. There is something unpleasant about the image of a bulldog. Those teeth and the aggressive posture don’t seem to fit with achieving success. Success should look confident and comfortable but it is actually the product of getting down and dirty with our lives. Success shouldn’t look hard.

Dr. Schwartz continues with a further qualification. Persistence alone would mean continuing to do the same thing over and over again in spite of a series of failures. It is only when persistence is combined with experimentation that results occur. As an example, think about wind-up toy cars. When you wind them up and let go, they continue on a fixed course until they run down. It they encounter an obstacle; it makes no difference to them. They just keep moving in the same direction they started. Without a course change, there is no way they will get around the obstacle. They definitely embody persistence but if the goal is to move beyond an obstacle, persistence alone will not produce results. Persistence, when paired with experimentation is the key to success for Dr. Schwartz.

But how do you fit these two together? How can you be persistent if you change your techniques?

The consistency is in the goal that is driving your action. You don’t change your goal. It remains fixed throughout the entire process. Your path and techniques in reaching that goal are not fixed. You can change them again and again and so long as the objective remains constant, you continue to move closer and closer to the goal with each change. You account for the obstacles and look for a new approach that will take you there…

Dr. Schwartz suggests two ways to open your mind to experimentation while retaining your goal:

1.     “Tell yourself, there is a way.”

Don’t let yourself believe that your goal is impossible to achieve. The mind is an amazing tool. So long as you believe that there is a solution, your mind will search for it and ideas will come.

2.   “Back off and start afresh.”

Let your mind turn away from the problem and engage in some other activity. Provide an opening for new ideas to penetrate the thicket of failed attempts.

Persist in your goals. Keep them in your mind and before your eyes and believe that you will accomplish them. But be flexible and open to how you reach them.

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I found some good stuff about persistence on Digg.  You have to skip down a few pages to get to the gold.  The earlier ones  are on peripheral issues .

There was this nice one with a collection of quotes.

Who can resist Seth Godin?

And finally an inspired collection of persistent characters including Sylvester.

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It’s Friday again.

What have you put off this week that really needs to be done?

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I think maybe procrastination gets a bad rap. I don’t mean to advocate procrastination as a way of life. I just think that sometimes, procrastination is doing the right thing when we are programmed to go in the wrong direction. The El Nino explores the difference between laziness and procrastination and suggests that procrastination can appear constructive while producing nothing where laziness is apparent and slothful.  In general, procrastination is viewed as bad and keeping you from accomplishing your goals.  I don’t disagree.

But I have been around long enough to see that there is another side to procrastination. There have been times that I have been saved from doing a lot of unnecessary work when I procrastinated and then found that the work was no longer required.  I know that everybody has worked hard on an assignment or requirement only to find out later that it was not needed.   The big problem here is how you know.  If the task were known to be unnecessary then nobody would do it. You can’t control whether the task is needed or not.  But sometimes you just know that nobdy will notice if the task is not done.  Sometimes experience will guide you to procrastinate because similar tasks have been eliminated in the past but you are still taking a risk the task will untimely need to be done. Other times the tasks are defined by you and your only risk is not accomplishing your goals.   So I ask again, is all procrastination bad?

My hypothesis is that sometimes procrastination is simply the exercise of good judgment.  Most of the time when we procrastinate we are lazy slackers, indulging our baser natures.   But once in a while, something tells is that a task is truly unnecessary and we procrastinate instead of saying we won’t do it.   Maybe we started a degree program with the idea that it would open up new job opportunities but in the middle of the program we discover that those higher paying jobs are a myth.   We don’t want to quit the program.  Nobody respects a quitter.   We don’t want to waste our time and money on an effort with no benefits either.  So we procrastinate.  Maybe we think that we should do something because society, or our friends and family tell us  that it would be good for us but we don’t want to do it and we don’t want the result.  We don’t want to spend any money or time doing it. But we also don’t want to confront our fiends.  So we procrastinate.

I don’t mean to advocate or encourage procrastination. It’s going to happen anyway. I just think that sometimes there is good judgment behind what we call procrastination. And in those cases, we either need to stop calling procrastination irresponsible or find another word for not doing something that provides no benefit.  At least stop beating yourself up from not doing something you really don’t  want to do.

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Tuesday I was meeting an associate at a restaurant in Vallejo. I had checked two times to make sure that he was not inside and the second time I left my Planner on the roof of my car. Later when I received a call changing the meeting place, the location of my planner was no longer a concern as I quickly drove to the new location leaving it on the roof.  It was only upon arriving that I became aware of what I had done. There wasn’t time to return and look for it so I grabbed some scratch paper and hurried inside.

Read the rest of this entry

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