Laura Vanderkam has a post up asking for stories/tips for successful workdays. I've been meaning to write some more productivity posts, but haven't been able to, because I am so swamped at work that I have to work at home and instead of blogging. Ah, the irony!
So I've decided to post some short tips/ideas.
1. I use daily to do lists that I write either before going home the night before or first thing in the morning to make sure that I focus on the most urgent things- as well as the longer term things that I need to do before they become emergencies. Basically, I make my strategy for each day in my to do list, with a goal of not ending up either focusing too much on immediate issues or too much on the more fun things at the expense of more mundane issues that will turn into emergencies if I don't deal with them on time.
I was amused to see Coding Horror rant against to do lists recently. I was about to write a rebuttal post... but then I realized that the root difference is that we have very, very different jobs. He apparently has one big project and should be focused primarily on that. I have roughly 10 projects I'm trying to keep moving along (I am only doing management work right now, not technical work- I am actively trying to hire a junior project manager so that this balance can change). I also have my group to manage, and the random BS stuff that comes from working in a company of any size. If I used his method of coming in each day and working on the thing I most wanted to work on... well, I would probably be unemployed pretty quickly.
Neither of our ways of working is "the one true way." The trick to using any productivity advice- including mine- is to match the advice to your situation.
2. I try to make sure that I do the right work at the right time. I do the more challenging stuff, like planning out a new project or brainstorming solutions to schedule or technical issues, at my most productive times, which for me are first thing in the morning or right after lunch. I do things like updating my project collaboration sites or the paperwork that comes from being a middle manager in a company during my most brain dead times, which are right before lunch and right before going home. There is no point trying to do something really hard when my brain is in need of a break, and using my most productive and engaged times to do something as mindless as paperwork would be a complete waste.
My other "right work at the right time" trick is to write policies, system descriptions, and similar sorts of documents at home with a beer. About 1/3 of a beer removes my corporate document-writing block, I find. I also often polish meeting minutes and update action item lists at night- I'm usually too mentally tired to do anything requiring deep thought, but getting these things done at night gives me a head start on the next day.
Do you have any tips and tricks to share?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Weekend Reading: The Just for Fun Edition
I survived the storm and then got unexpectedly flattened by the storm surge- all the things that had been postponed at work and home came rushing in this week and I struggled to keep my head above water.
So, once again, I'm light on links. Here are a couple of things I read that I just think are fun:
Apparently, someone has done a correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and Nobel prizes. Bad Mom, Good Mom has a summary and some thoughts.
Are you reading What If? from xkcd? You should be. It is great fun.
Ok, this one isn't fun. But it is about TV and movies! And they're fun, right? But I really liked Alyssa Rosenberg's take on what is missing from the story when a TV/movie mom just quits her job.
We have guests here this weekend, so there are four kids bouncing around our little house. It is chaos, but fun. I'll be scarce around here... Have a good weekend, everyone!
So, once again, I'm light on links. Here are a couple of things I read that I just think are fun:
Apparently, someone has done a correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and Nobel prizes. Bad Mom, Good Mom has a summary and some thoughts.
Ok, this one isn't fun. But it is about TV and movies! And they're fun, right? But I really liked Alyssa Rosenberg's take on what is missing from the story when a TV/movie mom just quits her job.
We have guests here this weekend, so there are four kids bouncing around our little house. It is chaos, but fun. I'll be scarce around here... Have a good weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You
I've enjoyed reading Cal Newport's Study Hacks blog for awhile. He and I are interested in similar things when it comes to productivity- I focus more on how to get your important work done in a reasonable amount of time so that your job doesn't take over your life and he focuses more on how to build a successful career and life that you'll love. I think that doing the first is usually part of doing the second, and from what I've read, I suspect Newport would agree. So when I saw that he had written a book about building a great career, I was intrigued, and ended up buying So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
.
As the subtitle indicates, his central argument is that if you want to love what you do, you should stop focusing on "finding your passion" and focus instead on getting really, really good at something. He cites research that shows that what makes people love their jobs are things like flexibility and autonomy, and argues that to get those rare and valuable attributes in a job, you need to have something rare and valuable to offer in return- i.e., some kickass skills. He also looks at a third attribute that makes people love their work, which is the feeling that the work is part of a larger mission. He uses case studies to argue that you are more likely to find a mission from building up skills and expertise and then discovering a mission that uses those rather than identifying a burning passion de novo and dropping everything to pursue it.
I have long felt about the idea of having one true career passion what I feel about the idea of having one true soulmate- i.e., that it is a load of hooey and that there are multiple good fits out there for every person. So I am sympathetic to his arguments. It is also clear that he feels his generation (he is in his early 30s) has been done a great disservice by the "follow your passion" advice, and opens the book with a chapter blasting that advice as dangerous. He writes passionately and persuasively about this topic, and I found him convincing... to a point.
But the book has some limitations, and one of them is the fact that he glosses over the obvious counter-argument that it is easier to put in the effort required to build kickass skills in some field if you feel passionate about that field- or at least if you have a strong interest. While I agree that just telling people to find their passion and then find a job that lets them do that is incomplete career advice at best, I found myself frustrated by the fact that Newport's career advice is incomplete, too, but he didn't seem to want to admit that. Yes, building skills is important. But so is deciding which skills to build. Some skills go obsolete. Entire industries can go under, or at least move offshore. Not all skills are equally valuable (something he hints at but doesn't really tackle head on). Furthermore, someone can be really, really good at something and still hate to do it. I, for instance, am really, really good at most of the skills required to be a great administrative assistant. But I would hate that job. (Which, incidentally, is one reason why I have great respect for good admins- it is a tough job that I could not stand to do.)
Just saying "go out and get really, really good at something rare and valuable" is just as incomplete as saying "go out and identify your passion and follow it." If you ask me, the full career advice package has both pieces in it: figure out what sorts of things you like to do, figure out which of those things are valued by other people who will pay you to do them, and then get really good at doing those things.
I was also frustrated that the book didn't even offer a nod of acknowledgement to the fact that not everyone is treated equally in the workplace. Sexism and racism (and several other forms of discrimination) are alive and well, and can have a huge impact on a career. I think it would have made the book stronger to acknowledge that equal amounts of skill will not necessarily be rewarded equally. I particularly wanted this when he was telling the story of two different advertising executives. One quit and, as Newport tells it, followed her passion and opened a yoga business that ultimately floundered during the recession. The other doubled-down and build his skills and eventually was able to parlay those into an awesome career and life. In Newport's view, the difference is that the first was taken in by the bad advice to follow her passion, and the second wasn't. But another explanation could be that the first got so fed up with the subtle (and from what I hear, not so subtle) sexism in her industry that she decided she would rather work elsewhere. I don't know which explanation is right- and given the insidious, self-doubt inducing nature of the impact of subtle sexism, the woman who quit and started the yoga business might not even know.
Of course, addressing sexism and racism and the like is well outside the scope of the book, so I can't really blame Newport for ignoring them. But it exposes what I think is the central flaw of the book: it is written by a relatively privileged, young white man whose chosen profession (computer science professor) rewards people for focusing on growing their skills more than most. There is a lot in the book that is applicable to other situations, but generalizing to them is an exercise that is left entirely to the reader.
Despite that weakness, though, I liked the book, and found many useful ideas in there, even though I am an oldish- but still relatively privileged and definitely white- woman whose chosen profession requires a substantial amount of work that doesn't fit neatly into Newport's advice about how to build skills. In fact, it was his advice about how to build skills that may end up being most useful to me. He summarizes research that indicates that the best way to get better at something is to engage in a specific type of activity called deliberate practice. It is easiest to explain this by referencing the example of a musician: just playing tunes is not deliberate practice, but practicing scales, etudes, or even tunes in a more focused way (playing just a little faster than is comfortable, for instance) is deliberate practice. The former is fun, but only the latter will actually make you a better musician.
Reading the section about deliberate practice made me think of how I've stopped investing in growing my skills. I have three core areas in my job- science, technology, and project management. I have stretched myself in the technology and project management recently, but not in the science. And even the growth I have achieved in technology and project management has been haphazard- due to the luck of what the job needed rather than any deliberate effort on my part. Earlier in my career, I was much more systematic about growing my skills, and I think that perhaps it is time I get back to that.
Thinking about this has also helped me better explain the impact of having kids on my career. Simply put, since becoming a mother I have been cashing in my career capital rather than building it up. I have used the fact that I was already reasonably good at what I do to get the flexibility I need to make my work and mothering fit together relatively well. I think this is perfectly fine, and I'm glad I had the career capital to spend. But I can't stay in the career capital spending mode forever- eventually, I'll need to replenish my skills bank account.
Now that my kids are getting older (and I am less sleep-deprived), I can see the space to start building up some career capital again, albeit at a slower pace than I built it when I was younger. Newport's book gave me some ideas for how I might focus more on building skills and expertise again, and that makes it worth the price for me. Despite its flaws, I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is trying to figure out how to have a great career. You might not agree with everything he says, but unless you've already read extensively on this topic, I guarantee you'll get some new ideas to ponder.
.As the subtitle indicates, his central argument is that if you want to love what you do, you should stop focusing on "finding your passion" and focus instead on getting really, really good at something. He cites research that shows that what makes people love their jobs are things like flexibility and autonomy, and argues that to get those rare and valuable attributes in a job, you need to have something rare and valuable to offer in return- i.e., some kickass skills. He also looks at a third attribute that makes people love their work, which is the feeling that the work is part of a larger mission. He uses case studies to argue that you are more likely to find a mission from building up skills and expertise and then discovering a mission that uses those rather than identifying a burning passion de novo and dropping everything to pursue it.
I have long felt about the idea of having one true career passion what I feel about the idea of having one true soulmate- i.e., that it is a load of hooey and that there are multiple good fits out there for every person. So I am sympathetic to his arguments. It is also clear that he feels his generation (he is in his early 30s) has been done a great disservice by the "follow your passion" advice, and opens the book with a chapter blasting that advice as dangerous. He writes passionately and persuasively about this topic, and I found him convincing... to a point.
But the book has some limitations, and one of them is the fact that he glosses over the obvious counter-argument that it is easier to put in the effort required to build kickass skills in some field if you feel passionate about that field- or at least if you have a strong interest. While I agree that just telling people to find their passion and then find a job that lets them do that is incomplete career advice at best, I found myself frustrated by the fact that Newport's career advice is incomplete, too, but he didn't seem to want to admit that. Yes, building skills is important. But so is deciding which skills to build. Some skills go obsolete. Entire industries can go under, or at least move offshore. Not all skills are equally valuable (something he hints at but doesn't really tackle head on). Furthermore, someone can be really, really good at something and still hate to do it. I, for instance, am really, really good at most of the skills required to be a great administrative assistant. But I would hate that job. (Which, incidentally, is one reason why I have great respect for good admins- it is a tough job that I could not stand to do.)
Just saying "go out and get really, really good at something rare and valuable" is just as incomplete as saying "go out and identify your passion and follow it." If you ask me, the full career advice package has both pieces in it: figure out what sorts of things you like to do, figure out which of those things are valued by other people who will pay you to do them, and then get really good at doing those things.
I was also frustrated that the book didn't even offer a nod of acknowledgement to the fact that not everyone is treated equally in the workplace. Sexism and racism (and several other forms of discrimination) are alive and well, and can have a huge impact on a career. I think it would have made the book stronger to acknowledge that equal amounts of skill will not necessarily be rewarded equally. I particularly wanted this when he was telling the story of two different advertising executives. One quit and, as Newport tells it, followed her passion and opened a yoga business that ultimately floundered during the recession. The other doubled-down and build his skills and eventually was able to parlay those into an awesome career and life. In Newport's view, the difference is that the first was taken in by the bad advice to follow her passion, and the second wasn't. But another explanation could be that the first got so fed up with the subtle (and from what I hear, not so subtle) sexism in her industry that she decided she would rather work elsewhere. I don't know which explanation is right- and given the insidious, self-doubt inducing nature of the impact of subtle sexism, the woman who quit and started the yoga business might not even know.
Of course, addressing sexism and racism and the like is well outside the scope of the book, so I can't really blame Newport for ignoring them. But it exposes what I think is the central flaw of the book: it is written by a relatively privileged, young white man whose chosen profession (computer science professor) rewards people for focusing on growing their skills more than most. There is a lot in the book that is applicable to other situations, but generalizing to them is an exercise that is left entirely to the reader.
 |
| For this to count as deliberate practice, the hoop needs to be higher |
Reading the section about deliberate practice made me think of how I've stopped investing in growing my skills. I have three core areas in my job- science, technology, and project management. I have stretched myself in the technology and project management recently, but not in the science. And even the growth I have achieved in technology and project management has been haphazard- due to the luck of what the job needed rather than any deliberate effort on my part. Earlier in my career, I was much more systematic about growing my skills, and I think that perhaps it is time I get back to that.
Thinking about this has also helped me better explain the impact of having kids on my career. Simply put, since becoming a mother I have been cashing in my career capital rather than building it up. I have used the fact that I was already reasonably good at what I do to get the flexibility I need to make my work and mothering fit together relatively well. I think this is perfectly fine, and I'm glad I had the career capital to spend. But I can't stay in the career capital spending mode forever- eventually, I'll need to replenish my skills bank account.
Now that my kids are getting older (and I am less sleep-deprived), I can see the space to start building up some career capital again, albeit at a slower pace than I built it when I was younger. Newport's book gave me some ideas for how I might focus more on building skills and expertise again, and that makes it worth the price for me. Despite its flaws, I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is trying to figure out how to have a great career. You might not agree with everything he says, but unless you've already read extensively on this topic, I guarantee you'll get some new ideas to ponder.
Friday, October 05, 2012
Weekend Reading: The More Work Stuff Edition
As I discussed yesterday, it was an intense week. So I don't have many links for you, because I didn't spend much time reading things. What I do have is work-related.
First up, a sort of depressing article in Forbes about how moderately successful women like me tend to assume that the pay gap isn't in play in our lives, but it probably is.
Then, an article from the Harvard Business Review about how to encourage deep thinking at work. This was also sort of depressing, because based on reading it I can only conclude that modern work environments are usually set up to discourage deep thinking.
Finally, I have a book recommendation for anyone experiencing career-related angst. Or just career-related uncertainty: So Good They Can't Ignore You, by Cal Newport. I've linked to his Study Hacks blog before. I'll probably write a full book review soon- maybe even next week if the waters stay calm enough at work and home. It isn't a perfect career advice book, but there are some interesting ideas and I think the advice he gives is good, just nowhere near complete. The basic premise is that we should all stop worrying about what our "passion" is and just focus on getting really good at something valuable, and then we'll be able to trade those skills for the sort of life we want. Like I said- some good ideas, but also some limitations to them. If you read it now, you can discuss it with me next week! It isn't that long and is a fairly quick read.
And now I'm going to go collapse into a semi-catatonic state on my sofa. Or perhaps assemble goody bags for Petunia's birthday party on Sunday. One or the other.
First up, a sort of depressing article in Forbes about how moderately successful women like me tend to assume that the pay gap isn't in play in our lives, but it probably is.
Then, an article from the Harvard Business Review about how to encourage deep thinking at work. This was also sort of depressing, because based on reading it I can only conclude that modern work environments are usually set up to discourage deep thinking.
Finally, I have a book recommendation for anyone experiencing career-related angst. Or just career-related uncertainty: So Good They Can't Ignore You
, by Cal Newport. I've linked to his Study Hacks blog before. I'll probably write a full book review soon- maybe even next week if the waters stay calm enough at work and home. It isn't a perfect career advice book, but there are some interesting ideas and I think the advice he gives is good, just nowhere near complete. The basic premise is that we should all stop worrying about what our "passion" is and just focus on getting really good at something valuable, and then we'll be able to trade those skills for the sort of life we want. Like I said- some good ideas, but also some limitations to them. If you read it now, you can discuss it with me next week! It isn't that long and is a fairly quick read.And now I'm going to go collapse into a semi-catatonic state on my sofa. Or perhaps assemble goody bags for Petunia's birthday party on Sunday. One or the other.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Weathering the Storm
Luckily, Petunia didn't seem too bothered by the fuss, and still had a happy time blowing out her candles. I was struggling to hold it together, though.
Things eased up a bit on Wednesday, as problems started to resolve at work and Pumpkin's school routine returned to normal. But it was Back to School night, which necessitated both me and Mr. Snarky leaving early and rushing home to get the kids settled in with my sister (who also had to leave work a little early to come babysit). We enjoyed meeting Pumpkin's teacher, who seems very nice and good. She told us after her group presentation that Pumpkin is well-behaved but really anxious at school. I had hoped to hear Pumpkin was happier at school than she made out to be at home, but that was not the case. She is doing excellent work, but is clearly stressed out by school right now. And that gives me a bit of a knot in my stomach.
I also didn't enjoy the polite but pointed call for additional volunteers from the two "room parents." They are both really nice women, and I know they are sacrificing a lot to come and volunteer- they kept emphasizing how they are taking their vacation days and lunch hours to do it. But... how could we explain that the problem for us wasn't getting the right to take the time off, but rather that our work would still need to be done whether we took the time off or not? We both have very flexible jobs, and could arrange to take the time to volunteer without having to resort to taking our vacation time. But we are also both in massive crunch times. I will still need to guide my projects to completion even if I disappear for a few hours to go do an art activity with Pumpkin's class. I will still need to get my 2013 group goals and budget written even if I take a vacation day. Taking some vacation time will not relieve Mr. Snarky of the responsibility of guiding the software he is technical lead on to its first production release. Taking the time right now will just push work even further into our evenings and weekends, and neither of us feels that is a smart thing to do right now. So we said that we couldn't help during the day at this time, but might be able to do so in January. We took the list of supplies the classroom needs and we'll bring some of those things in next week. We've also already given a fairly large amount to the school's annual donation drive.
As much as I believe the world (and our school) needs both people who will give time and people who will give money, it is hard to hold that line in the face of obvious disapproval- or maybe just disappointment? I couldn't tell- from these moms, particularly since one is the mother of the little girl Pumpkin identifies as her "bestest friend." But I can't add more to my schedule right now, so here I am, holding that line.
Still, today, I can feel the storm fading away. We solved the remaining technical issues at work. I had to stay late to do it, and then I went out to celebrate a little with the vendor and my team- not a required thing, but something that experience tells me it is best to do. Mr. Snarky graciously agreed to pick up the girls, and they were fed and happy when I came home. Petunia was playing with the train set she got for her birthday and Pumpkin was working on her homework. Petunia's sharing her new toys with Pumpkin, who has gotten over the fact that she didn't get any new toys of her own. Pumpkin reported a much better day at school. And I'm actually feel like I have a few minutes to relax before jumping into my next task- which is preparing for Petunia's birthday party with her day care friends on Sunday.
 | |
| Tail end of a cyclone. It blew through the night before our wedding. Really. |
I think the same is true of being a two-career family with kids. Is there really any other way to be a family that is safe from stress and worry? I don't think so. And the joys of the good times make up for the hassle and stress of times like the last few weeks. We're surviving on our emergency kit of routines and processes right now, but before we know it, we'll be able to take the storm shutters off and we'll clean up the debris in our yard and get back to enjoying the awesome view. We may wish our society would shell out for better seawalls- perhaps, for instance, funding our schools such that they didn't need to rely on parent volunteers for so much- but we don't want to move inland. We'll just weather the storm, and then try to build our house a little stronger for the next one.
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