Focus: An Ode To Single-Tasking

Not too long ago, I published a post about time and how we use it, (Part II is here) in which I referenced three components I’ve come to see in my own life as being essential to getting the most out of my time: focus, effectiveness, and choice.

Mostly, these bits o’ wisdom have come to me the hard way: experience. I’ve made a boat load of mistakes over the course of my life, often doing things badly first, in order to ultimately learn how to do them well. I’ll offer my perspective with a personal anecdote thrown in, and I’ll include information from some older and wiser folks for anyone who may stumble upon this post. Off we go…

Focus

How distracted are you? One approach to answering this is to ask how much you accomplish over the course of a day.  But, this can be a trap. “Accomplish” can conjure up images of checklists, marking off task after task so that at the end of the day you can look back and see three, four, or nine items crossed through. The trap is that it feels like something’s been accomplished, when nothing important actually has.

So, let’s re-frame the question: How much quality work do you get done each day?  How much do you achieve toward what matters – toward being able to spend more quality time doing quality things?

So often this comes down to fighting distractions. Personally, throughout my life I’ve battled distraction like Leonidas battled the Persians in 300. Well, sometimes. Other times I’d actually invite it in, pour it a glass of wine, and we’d sit together for hours.

What I’ve come to understand is this: Whether I was fighting or courting distraction depended upon whether I recognized it as a distraction, or whether I thought I was actually working on something important.

Michael Hyatt addresses getting work done in a way that seems incredibly simple, but is actually quite profound and necessary. He schedules time to actually do work.

There are a whole host of obvious distractions to avoid while working on important things. You know, text messages, news feeds, phone calls, Spider Solitaire. But, there are also the sneaky distractions masquerading as real work. This is something Jason Fried digs into in this awesome TED talk. These are things like work-related email notifications popping in every few minutes, employee/co-worker visits, meetings, and so forth.

But for me, there were times when I thought I’d recognized and eliminated distractions, I’d identified important work, and I even felt focused, but I just wasn’t getting as much quality work done as I wanted to be, and knew I was capable of, doing.

This was when I had to learn how to focus more effectively. That “how” was elusive and seemingly counter-intuitive, but has been so critical.

The How

Single-tasking is, you guessed it, the opposite of multi-tasking. If you get paid to chew gum for a living, multi-tasking while you work is a fine option. However, if your role involves even a modicum of brain function, you need to have blocks of undistracted time to devote intellectual and creative energy to it.

This means freedom from the obvious distractions mentioned above. It also means freedom from our own self-imposed distractions of thinking about other things we have to do, even other work-related things. I’ve had to give myself permission to just dig deeply into one, single, solitary important thing at a time. And focus!

My daughter, single-tasking. One pencil, one sketch pad, and oodles of focus.

Anyone who has to manage multiple projects at a time, or who wears multiple hats and must compartmentalize responsibilities should understand and practice this. Being an entrepreneur or business owner does not somehow make us able to use our brains differently. Trying to multi-task is simply a recipe for anxiety and stress.

Anecdote

I learned this lesson early in my career while working with a great guy who managed our company’s sales team. He was as nice as can be, super high energy, and talked at a breakneck pace. We were a fully distributed team and whenever I would jump on the phone with him, I’d hear him typing away as I spoke to him. He would jovially boast, “I’m just multi-tasking!” And, everyone always talked about the volume of sales he produced.

One day, I got the call that he was abruptly no longer a part of the team, and our CEO asked me to temporarily assume his role. Of course, I agreed, but I was scared to death. “How can I possibly produce the way he does?” I thought.

Upon diving into account details, email history, and doing some good old fashioned statistical analysis, a pattern began to emerge. Rushed communication, underdeveloped clients, and poor attention to detail characterized his work. Ill-conceived campaigns with mediocre results were common. The speed and multi-tasking had taken its toll. Sales volume was high, but sales quality was decidedly low. More importantly, customers weren’t being served well, which meant return customers were very low as well.

Some clients he’d taken on should’ve been turned away for a variety of reasons, and others had been dropped into a particular campaign cycle that didn’t fit. Sometimes creative details had been overlooked. But most importantly, I found email threads that were sometimes 10 or 20 emails long that could have been accomplished in just a few emails had a bit more thought been put into the original. Client’s noticed, too, and were frustrated by it.

So, we developed a system for communicating with clients, worked on more effectively assessing prospective client needs, and on developing campaign strategy. Over the course of the next 12 months, this helped triple gross monthly sales across the team, primarily through more effective and efficient communication which created more time to focus on creative development, A/B testing, and so forth.

Unconventional Wisdom

The idea of slowing down, being thoughtful and meticulous, and even walling oneself off from the world for blocks of time in order to focus seems to go against the grain in many companies. Everyone needs to “be available” for urgent matters. Poppycock.

Single-tasking works. We’re not computers, and we weren’t meant to do more than one thing at once. Our ability to singularly focus drastically changes the quality of work we can accomplish, which should be what it’s all about: doing the best work possible.

“You’re not actually doing four or five things at once, because the brain doesn’t work that way.” Instead, “you’re rapidly shifting from one thing to the next, depleting neural resources as you go.” (from the NPR article above)

Paul Graham’s essay on what he calls the maker’s schedule and the manager’s schedule addresses this in interesting fashion. To summarize, he makes the case that while managers’ days are broken into the typical Outlook calendar increments, those who make things (programmers and writers are his examples) need large blocks of uninterrupted time in order to create.

Here’s an interesting quote for the managers of makers to consider:

Each type of schedule works fine by itself. Problems arise when they meet. Since most powerful people operate on the manager’s schedule, they’re in a position to make everyone resonate at their frequency if they want to. But the smarter ones restrain themselves, if they know that some of the people working for them need long chunks of time to work in.

Be Makers of Time

The vast majority of us are makers in our work roles. And when we do our best work, not only do we fulfill ourselves and those whom we serve, we actually create time for what’s important by reducing wasted hours.

When we single-task, we allow our brains to function optimally which creates higher quality time later to devote to what should matter most in our lives: family, friends, volunteer work, hobbies, and so forth. We’re not leaving our work day and going into these activities depleted of energy and brain power, incapable of being intellectually and emotionally present for them.

We should all strive to be makers of time in this sense.

Yes, I mean in the metaphorical sense. Unless you’re God – which, of course, you’re not. Or Aaron. You know, Shane Carruth’s character from Primer? But, he was really just screwing with time, not actually creating it. Never mind.

At some point, I’ll get around to effectiveness and choice. Until then, remember this: multi-tasking is a fool’s errand.

Fin.

Learn To Tell Stories II

Last time I wrote the following:

Over the years, it’s become increasingly clear to me that the best marketing and advertising focuses on evocative storytelling. If done well it not only makes the product appealing, it makes the brand compelling, which can mean the difference between a customer and a lifelong customer – someone who becomes your brand advocate and who helps build you a tribe.

It’s my intention to periodically add to this series, as the mood strikes me, by diving into ad campaigns amazing storytelling, at least in my opinion. The very strategic schedule for these series updates is based on Tim Urban’s new post model. I’ve arrived at this through meticulous testing, as I’m sure Tim did. I’m sure Tim Ferriss would be proud of me. So many Tims, but on with the post.

One Company Who Gets It

Let’s take, The Skimm, for instance.  Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin started their community in 2012 after leaving their dream jobs at NBC. Targeting millennials, women in particular, who are hoping to remain or become politically astute, Zakin and Weisberg are building a media empire around the idea of delivering concise political news via email and podcast in the millennial vernacular. The brand’s ambassador is the “Skimm Girl,” a character who has her own style, down to a favorite drink. New Skimm employees are required to learn all about her, because she’s part of the brand – part of the story.

Here’s Zakin’s take on who they are:

To this day we’ve never even thought about ourselves as a content company. We call ourselves a membership company, but that’s like our buzz word. But, I think what we’re really about is storytelling.

The clip above picks up with Zakin’s response to the interviewer referencing “content” companies. In particular, she mentions AOL becoming a content company at a time when “no one wants content,” and then goes on to praise them for being ahead of the curve in terms of determining what their audience wanted.

How do the scrupulous editors of Wikipedia describe The Skimm?

The Skimm (styled theSkimm) is an American media company, founded in 2012 by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, providing a subscription-only newsletter. The newsletter is a digest of news stories intended to be simple and easy to read.

So, why? Why is a company predicated upon being a daily news digest for millennial women all about storytelling?

For one thing, they’re called “news stories.” If you Google the term… well, see for yourself.

Secondly, Zakin and Weisberg understand their audience, because they are their audience. This allows them to tell news stories in a more entertaining and relational way that resonates. But, let’s not mistake what they do for reporting the news. There is most certainly a voice. From start to finish, The Skimm brand is telling one big story, one little story at a time.

I don’t subscribe to The Skimm. I did at one time. I genuinely tried to like it, too, because I’d heard in an interview that they had assembled a panel to discuss politics in a non-partisan way. I respected that. However, I’m not a millennial. As clever as I think the idea is I just couldn’t get into delivery, which comes off as condescending to me. Chacun à son goût. It’s clearly tremendously successful.

What I do see though, is an understanding that the storytelling aspect is absolutely essential to developing an audience, tribe, or whatever marketing buzzword you want to use. At some point I’ll probably dig into the science behind storytelling and why it’s so powerful. But for now, I’ll close with a quote from Stewart Butterfield from his Masters of Scale interview with Reid Hoffman.

If there was one piece of advice I wish I could phone back and give to myself, was just concentrate on that storytelling part, on the convincing people. Because if you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how good the product is, it doesn’t matter how good the idea was for the market, or what happens in the external factors, if you don’t have the people believing. (emphasis mine)

Sales as storytelling? Sounds like material for another storytelling post.

Cheers.

Learn To Tell Stories

I have a friend whose father tells jokes and funny stories that never end… literally. There is supposed to be an actual punchline somewhere, but as the storytelling progresses his initially mild chuckling gradually builds to utter delirium. By the time the end rolls around he’s completely unintelligible. But, here’s the kicker: it’s okay, because you’re laughing so hard at his contagious laughter that the missing punchline becomes irrelevant.

One of the reasons I’m so enamored with photography is its storytelling potential. The photo series below of my daughter and Hank was entirely spontaneous. We were having a deep discussion (my daughter and I, although Hank is quite the conversationalist when he’s hungry, wants to go out, etc…). As I sat in my chair, our discussion winding down, I noticed her position was remarkably similar to his. She noticed, too, so I grabbed my camera and the silliness ensued.

Hey… why don’t you lick on someone your own size?

I love stories; I always have. Back in 2011, I left my position at a marketing firm and embarked upon an entrepreneurial journey to start a business on the basis of storytelling. Sketch video was our primary creative medium, although we did other content development, branding, and design as well. I called it InkBlot and premised the company on distilling our clients’ vision/mission/goals, concisely and compellingly telling that story to their audience, thereby creating brand advocates. We focused on local businesses and non-profits for clientele, and it was some of the most fun I’ve had in my professional career.

Over the years, it’s become increasingly clear to me that the best marketing and advertising focuses on evocative storytelling. If done well it not only makes the product appealing, it makes the brand appealing, which can mean the difference between a customer and a lifelong customer – someone who becomes your brand advocate and who helps build you a tribe.

If you’ve followed other posts of mine, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of the Harvard Business Review. Check out this 2014 HBR article touching on oxytocin release and the neurobiology of storytelling. Just in case you promptly decided to skip the article as soon as you read “oxytocin” and “neurobiology,” I’ll leave you with this quote from the author, Paul J. Zak:

My research has also shown that stories are useful inside organizations. We know that people are substantially more motivated by their organization’s transcendent purpose (how it improves lives) than by its transactional purpose (how it sells goods and services). Transcendent purpose is effectively communicated through stories – for example, by describing the pitiable situations of actual, named customers and how their problems were solved by your efforts. (Emphasis mine)

There’s a word for the italicized portion from the above quote: testimonial. A testimonial should be brief, compelling narrative of how one person (who could be any person reading it) was positively impacted by said company.

This is a topic that is in my blood. Storytelling in general, but particularly its role in business, entrepreneurship, public speaking, branding, marketing, and advertising I find to be endlessly fascinating. If it holds the same luster for you, please join me in the coming posts for a deep dive into some brilliant stories and the companies, people, and campaigns behind them.

To close out the series, we’ll dig into how we can learn to tell more compelling stories. Why? If you learn to tell stories, you will always have an audience.

Until next time!

The Problem With Problems

Here’s my mini-post for the month of May, perhaps better suited to P2. Nonetheless, I sit here on the verge of a blogging hiatus in order to tackle a few challenges I am facing – a few problems that need solving. The hiatus is based upon the following bit of wisdom:

“A problem well-stated is half-solved.”

I’ve seen this quote attributed to Charles Kettering, as well as a variation (“A problem well-put is half-solved”) to John Dewey. Either way, we must fully understand the nature of the problems we’re facing if we hope to find the right solutions.

Here’s to problems fully solved. Until June. . .

Time, Round Two

This short series is directed at those who reside in tiny, self-constructed boxes of time… wastingness. This is closely related to a slightly longer exploration of procrastination (here are Parts II, III, and IV). Consider this brief post a primer of sorts for the upcoming discussion on choice.

Last time, I linked to Charles E. Hummel’s excellent essay called Tyranny of the Urgent, in which he writes:

When we stop to evaluate, we realize that our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically the problem of priorities. Hard work does not hurt us. We all know what it is to go full speed for long hours, totally involved in an important task. The resulting weariness is matched by a sense of achievement and joy. Not hard work, but doubt and misgiving produce anxiety as we review a month or year and become oppressed by the pile of unfinished tasks. We sense uneasily that we may have failed to do the important. The winds of other people’s demands have driven us onto a reef of frustration. We confess, quite apart from our sins, “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.” (emphasis mine)

If you’ve got a bit of a squirmy feeling after reading that excerpt, or if reading it makes you want to do this:

Actual footage of me at my last job. Kidding… I’d never do that to an SE.

then it’s probably time to reconsider how you use your time.

All joking aside, this is where I lived, vacillating between other people’s demands and my own poor choices in terms of prioritizing tasks. I had dreams, ideas, and zero time (so I thought) to pursue them.

Here’s a clock tower because… well, time.  Amirite?

Let me tell you, Hummel’s phrase “produce anxiety” is putting it mildly. It can send you into a tailspin of regret and make you feel as though you will never catch up on everything you should have already had accomplished. There is a definite heaviness to it, and if you have aspirations for something greater (who doesn’t), this review can sap energy and motivation to excel in a variety of areas of our lives.

But, there’s good news. Change is not only possible, it’s not nearly as difficult as it seems. While deeply ingrained patterns of behavior do not change overnight and do require diligence to alter, what feels insurmountable is most certainly not.

To whet the appetite, here’s a table that has proven to be extremely helpful to me in seeing the correlation between how I’ve chosen to prioritize my time and the level of personal and professional fulfillment and sense of accomplishment (or lack thereof) I’ve experienced as a result.

From Stephen Covey’s First Things First

I discovered this via Stephen Covey, and it is adapted from something called the Eisenhower Method or Eisenhower Decision Matrix, which looks a little something like this:

Eisenhower Matrix

The third quadrant in Covey’s table is fascinating to me, in particular the title and percentage. That will be fun to ponder until the next post on choice.

I’m going to take a few more weeks before delving into this further, so the next post will be a departure from this series. I hope you’ll join me to explore this a bit further in June and that it will be as life-affirming and life-changing for you as it has been for me.

Thanks for reading!

Time (Are We Lying to Ourselves?)

Articles, books, and quotes abound regarding the surpassing value of time and how to manage it. According to Steve Jobs, it is our most precious resource. Many a song has been written about its ubiquity and fleeting nature. In 1973 Pink Floyd opined:

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time;
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines.

Not a pretty picture Roger Waters paints. Rather, it is one of disappointment and regret, which brings me to my purpose for writing this.

For years now, I’ve been uttering the phrase “I don’t have time for ______,” and for as long as I can remember, I’ve wholeheartedly believed it. I’m not sure when I actually began to believe this, but about five years ago I came to the conclusion that it is patently false.

This hit my atmosphere like a clap of thunder and resonated throughout the contours and swales of my being. It brought about the dawning realization of my willful obtuseness toward this topic of time as it relates to my life, goals, ambitions, dreams, relationships, and so forth.

The Lie:  I don’t have enough time for _______.
The Truth:  I’m not using the time I do have to its greatest effect, and/or I am simply prioritizing poorly.

When we use our time well we actually create more of it. More on that later.

So, why did I repeat this mantra ad nauseam, and worse, actually buy into it?  Simple:  It provided an excuse not to get things done. It went something like this: If I’m busy, then I don’t have time. I don’t have time. Therefore, I’m busy.

Of course, I was affirming the consequent, which is a logical fallacy. (If anyone is interested in fun with fallacies, Khan Academy has a great video series digging into this topic further.)

This, in turn, led to drawing all kinds of conclusions which caused further fallacizing (not really a verb, but for purposes of this post it works quite nicely). For example:

If I’m busy, I’m not lazy.
If I’m busy, I’m important.
If I’m busy, I’m productive.

That last one is quite possibly the most dangerous, and the most ubiquitous, particularly in the business world. These false conclusions further justified my actions (or inaction) and made me feel justified in my mediocrity, providing a sort of cold comfort. I hate mediocrity… abhor it, actually. So should we all! Yet I found myself trapped there for many years, because while busyness is extraordinarily time-consuming, it is not an indication that any of the above is true.

I believe that there are more than enough hours to accomplish all that we need to, and then some. I believe that our ability to do, or not do, can be boiled down to three factors related to how we use the time we have each day.

They are: focus, effectiveness, and arguably most importantly, choice.

What we must ask ourselves is whether we are busy doing what matters and what is important, or whether we’re simply allowing things to consume our time. Next time I’ll briefly address Tyranny of the Urgent before digging into the three factors above.

One necessary addendum

This is written from the experience of my own shortcomings and overcomings, with the hope that it will provide clarity and insight for others.

That said, many of us are legitimately busy. Two brief examples:

To the single parents who are your family’s sole financial, emotional, and spiritual support who stumble upon this post, please don’t read this as though I’m saying, “You’re not really busy. Stop complaining and just make better use of your time!” What you are experiencing is real, and really difficult. I believe there is something important in Charles E. Hummel‘s essay linked above especially for you. I hope you’ll read it and that it speaks to you.

C level and upper management executives are legitimately busy, with a bevy employees, clients, detractors, and so forth clamoring at the opportunity to take up their time. Of course, if they’re C level executives, they’ve figured out a way to be effective in their work and likely don’t need to be reading this.

The point is this: my goal here is to help those who, as I have, struggle to use their time effectively, and subsequently shift the blame to a dearth of time rather than to the ineffective usage of the time available.

Until next time…

My Nemesis?

Thanks for joining me for this two, possibly three, part series.  Let’s get right into it.

For years I was engaged in a fight – nay, a war with a clandestine enemy so insidious that it grew to threaten my very way of life. However, what would become constant conflict began innocently enough in my elementary school classroom. Back then, I would even laugh and joke about it. “I’m getting by rather well,” I thought. And I was. So, I never stopped to ponder whether or not its influence might have a negative impact on my life, despite repeated appeals from my parents and teachers to consider this possibility.

Upon entering high school, however, the once innocent interaction with this enigmatic force became less and less benign. As responsibilities increased and school work became more challenging, I found myself increasingly subject to its power. This impacted my grades, relationships, and motivation. I fully realized the severity of the situation as it plagued me during my undergraduate years, but unsure how to escape, I convinced myself that it was a “school thing.”

Thus, I began my professional career believing to have left behind the foolish ways of my youth and all the struggles thereof, but there it was awaiting me in the workplace, poised to foil my plans of building a healthy, successful adult life.

This epic conflict waged against an unseen foe wreaked greater havoc on my life than nearly any other. And yet, this is a fight with which millions are intimately familiar. Indeed, my nemesis is the nemesis of many. Who, you ask, is this invisible villain known the world over?

Procrastination.

For those who are unfamiliar with the struggle, it is real. And I don’t mean that in the ironical, internet meme kind of way. What took place in me early in my life was a kind of causational apathy brought on by procrastinatory tendencies, or the classic good vs. evil battle playing out as work ethic vs. laziness. Understanding this, and learning how to utilize some of my natural character traits, I’ve grown to understand how procrastination can actually be a tremendously helpful creativity and productivity tool both in my professional and personal life.

Okay, I may have lost you there. In the second installment of this series, we’re going to define some terms and come to a better understanding of this whole procrastination thing.

For now, please enjoy this brilliant TED Talk by Tim Urban exploring the scientific side of this struggle (click the image to go directly to the talk). While I can’t recommend all of Tim’s work, this really opened my eyes to the neurological complexities of the chronic procrastinator’s mind. I hope you find it to be as enlightening as I did.

In all seriousness, Urban’s talk is hilariously tragic. That said, I think it provides some important context for the next procrastination post.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your own struggles with putting off the important.

Thanks for stopping by!

Podcast Review: Masters of Scale

Many of the insights I’ll share through Abhor Mediocrity have come directly from (or been confirmed by) older, wiser, and more successful folks than I. Sometimes I’m driven by a desire to get the word out on a podcast, book, or website that has been particularly revelational to me. Such is the case in this post.

For the astute listener, the lessons extend far beyond scalable entrepreneurship.

My days are quite full (whose aren’t?). I don’t typically have a great deal of time to devote to the myriad podcasts floating around. Although many have great content, I’ve not come across one that didn’t have its fair share of episodes that disinterested me entirely. Until now…

Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman is masterfully done. Reid’s portfolio speaks for itself, and the ability to glean business insight from him is well worth the price of admission. But, when you combine his acumen and inquisitive nature with the bevy of scale masters he parades across the WaitWhat audio stage, you have a recipe for transcendent aurality.

He always opens with a proposed hypothesis then proceeds to defend it. Whether or not I agree with everything presented, the storytelling format is what I find to be most enjoyable. For that matter, you don’t even have to buy into today’s tech/startup model (some form of: found tech startup–>secure VC–>hire–>iterate product–>market–>secure VC–>hire–>IPO/exit) to enjoy the storytelling aspect.

For the astute listener, the lessons extend far beyond scalable entrepreneurship. There is wisdom for employees, managers, current and aspiring business owners, marketers, salespeople, and anyone who has an interest in the world of tech.

My iTunes Store Review

I believe I heard about this podcast via Tim Ferriss.

As someone who is fascinated by entrepreneurship and aspires to start that massively scalable company, it was a foregone conclusion that I would give it a listen. What pleasantly surprised me was the storytelling aspect of it. Rather than being a pure interview, Q&A format, it combines Hoffman’s narration with sound effects and music, to compliment the incisive questions.

Hoffman begins with a premise, which he sets out to prove, BUT it is delivered in narrative form which makes the show very listenable. For the information junkies, not to worry – the uncut versions deliver the larger data download.

Masters of Scale has been both a joy and a revelation, not only from the standpoint of learning about scalable entrepreneurship, but also for attaining wisdom and insight applicable to business in general.

Favorite episodes:

• Airbnb’s Brian Chesky
• Facebook’s Sheryl Sandburg
• Paypal’s Peter Thiel
• Slack’s Stewart Butterfield*

… but there’s gold in every episode.

Give it a listen – you won’t regret it.

Bonus: Even the advertisements are educational. The entire first season was sponsored by ZipRecruiter. Each ad spot featured a Q&A with Ian Siegel (@ZipRecruiterCEO) in which he offered valuable insight for both business owners and job seekers alike.

* Keep an eye out for an upcoming post with some especially helpful insight from this episode!

Thanks for swinging by!