Design Thinking

Are you where you want to be?

Today I ran across an article at Innovation Tools with this wonderful quote: “Your processes are perfectly designed to give you the results you are getting right now.” This certainly has the ring of truth, whether you are speaking in terms of business or life.

A strategy map has similarities to goal setting in considering metrics to measure success. The underlying principles are: “you cannot manage what you cannot measure” and “you cannot measure what you cannot describe.”

So how do we design the life we want right now?

An article by Steven J Bell called Design Thinking in American Libraries applies ideas from the book “The Art of Innovation” by Tom Kelley to the library world. They are equally useful in setting goals. The IDEO method is an approach to planning or problem solving with five steps: understand, observe, visualize, evaluate and refine, and implement.

Plan creatively to build a better experience.

Skimming the Cream

Ideas that are captured, then left to languish and starve on a dusty Someday/Maybe list, buried under piles or filed away and forgotten are wasted.

Continually review and evaluate ideas to choose the best ones to act on.

• Why is this a good idea? Does it fit my goals?
• Which ideas provide the best return on investment?
• What resources would be needed?

Imagine your idea list like a Netflix Queue where you can rearrange the priority levels with a flick of the wrist. What’s at the top?

Skim the cream: concentrate on the top ideas, projects, and goals.

Plant ideas, but don’t bury them: give them enough time to germinate, but not so much that they turn into compost.

Don’t plan ideas to death: How to Grow Your Ideas at LifeDev.

Tools for the Four Step Plan

Design Your Writing Life has a brilliant four step plan for Goal Setting. The following tools will help to implement it.

1. Find a blank week form: check out Corrie Haffly’s forms inspired by David Seah. Or explore other forms that are available under free tools. Just don’t get too sidetracked!

2. Write down daily definites, everything you do routinely: See repeating tasks

3. Write down goals: See goal ideas

4. List favorite daily distractions: See time wasters

I created a time chart combined with Stephen R Covey’s Time Management Matrix to track activities. Routine tasks fit in quadrant I, goals in quadrant II, time wasters in quadrant IV. Use the Matrix Time Chart with the Printable CEO Emergent Task Timer or another timer to track what quadrant you are spending your time in.

This exercise provides a picture that will show if you’re walking your talk, living your plan.

Additional Reading: Go audit yourself (a time audit) at Genuine Curiosity

Asking the Right Questions

Asking the right questions is an important skill to:

• generate ideas
• discover direction
• reframe thoughts
• learn about others
• clarify communication
• manage well

I’ve gathered together some thought provoking resources here that answer the question: “What are the right questions to ask?”

 

Goal setting and time management questions:
Generating Goals

What do you want more of?
What change do you want to make?
Imagine you are old and list your most important accomplishments
If you only had 6 months to live, what would you do?
What would your ideal life be like?
What would you do if money was not a concern?

Evaluating Goals

Why would this be a good goal?
Will this goal help me or others to learn? To grow?
If you could only complete one goal, which one would it be?
What resources will be needed?
Which goal will give the highest return for resources invested?
What obstacles will need to be overcome?
How difficult will it be to reach?
How much time will it take to reach?
How much do you want to achieve the goal?
Do I have the enthusiasm and the courage needed? Am I willing to make the commitment of resources required?
Are the benefits achieved worth the costs?
What is the measurable outcome?

Next Actions

What is the next physical, visible activity needed?
What needs to happen before the next step?
What can be done today?
What activities am I not doing now, that might help me reach goals if I did them?
What is the most effective use of my time right now?

Paper Management

Is this only for my information, and now I know it?
Is this quality information? Objective? Reliable? Timely? Useful? Clear?
Does this information exist elsewhere? If needed in the future, could it be replaced?
Under what circumstances would I want this information?
What words would first enter my mind when looking for it?
Where would you most likely look first?

Simplify

Do I want to do this?
Do I need this?
Can I afford it?
Is this worn out, broken, or damaged?
Is this a gift that I just don’t like?
Does this fit?
Do I love the way it looks or works?
Have I used it in the past year?
Does it have strong sentimental value?
Can it be easily replaced?
Will it be used in the future?

Organizing

Is this the best place to keep this?
How often do you use this?
Where do you use this?
How much space does it need?
Is this the best way to keep this?
What bothers you the most? Why?

Systems

What is the best place to do this?
What supplies and tools do I need to do this?
What organizers could be helpful?
What steps should be done in what order?
When is the best time to do this?

 

Discovery of the Day

Via Troy Worman at Orbit Now! - Persistence or Re-Invention: 10 great tips to re-evaluate your goals at The Ultimate Corporate Entreprenuer - “10 ways to explore your direction”

Discovery of the Day

The Productivity Cafe has a great list of the top ten New Years Resolutions complete with actions you can take to acheive them.

Goal and Project Plans

Develop Goal and Project Plans with this worksheet and the steps in How to Set Goals.
Today’s date:

Goal statement: I WILL…BY DOING…(WHEN? HOW OFTEN? MANY? MUCH?)

Life area:

Difficulty level: easy 1 2 3 4 5 very difficult

Costs:

Benefits:

Action Steps:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Possible obstacles:

Solutions:

Target Date:

Reward:

Signature:

Me and GTD

I first read the book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen when it was published in 2001. Despite enjoying the book and the ideas therein, I didn’t actually implement them. When I began this blog and became aware of some of the blogs available with productivity ideas, I saw that this book has a huge following. So I decided it was time to take another look. Upon review, I see that there are a couple of things that I have difficulty with.

One is the complexity of the methods. While it sounds good in theory to corral and process all your stuff, when the rubber hits the road it makes me tired just to think about it. I think I’ll go lie down for awhile. When I wake up from my nap, I’ll talk about the other thing.

The other thing is the terminology. It just doesn’t speak to me. In the book “How to Get Organized Without Resorting to Arson,” Liz Franklin says “use your own verbs and no one else’s.” People have different work personalities and organizing styles. Some access visually, others are spatial or chronological. Our words should reflect how we access things. (Learn about your style at mizlizonbiz.com.)

Here are some words that I am more comfortable with:

Getting Things Done	Alternative Terminology
Collection buckets Waiting for Agendas Next actions Someday/maybe	Organizing tools Pending Discuss Action steps Idea file

Getting back to complexity:

 

Getting Things Done	Daily PlanIt
Calendared actions & information “Next Actions” lists A “Projects” list Project support material A “Waiting For” list Reference material A “Someday/Maybe” list	Calendar Master List Goal and Project Plans Goal and Project Plans Master List Follow-up System Weekly Plan Daily To-Do List Idea file

You may be thinking now: “Wait a minute…that right side is waaay more complex! But notice that the Daily PlanIt components include goal and project plans. In my view, this is a crucial difference. Since I believe that goals and productivity are like peanut butter and jelly, I make a sandwich that includes both ingredients. For me, it’s clearer to know where to put incoming tasks in this system, and easier to see the big picture.

Goals and Productivity are like peanut butter and jelly

Goal setting and time management belong together.

To achieve goals, it’s important to manage your time well. To manage your time well, you must know what your goals are. They are intimately inter-connected, yet few books address these two processes together.

Setting goals is the first step in time management. The next step is to figure out how to spend your time so that you are making progress toward your goals.

The nature of time.

Time is elusive. We attempt to measure it with clocks and watches, but cannot save it up for another day. Each day, we all receive the same amount of time. It can easily slip through our fingers despite good intentions, a treasure stolen away by procrastination, interruptions, and indecision.

Managing time is really about managing activities, spaces, and information. Spaces include physical areas like our homes, offices and desks and the objects within them. There are four ways to manage time:

• Evaluate
• Simplify
• Be more effective
• Be more efficient

Each day 24 hours is credited to our account. We all have fixed time expenses such as working, eating and sleeping. Usually there is some discretionary time each day as well, that we have more choice in spending. A well-balanced time budget includes time for yourself and time for those you love. You can monitor your time to evaluate if you are spending it well, and make adjustments if necessary.

“The only true measure of what you believe is what you do, not what you say.” -Brian Tracy

How to Set Goals

Goal setting made simple

1. Know yourself. Gather information to Discover U.

2. Generate goals in various life areas. If you need ideas, look at some example goals. Have a plan for idea generation and capture.

3. Evaluate goals.

4. Develop a plan to make goals SMART.

• Make goals specific and measurable.
• Break goals down into action steps.
• Determine rewards.
• Anticipate obstacles.
• Look at time frames and set target dates.

5. Keep goals visual and visible. Post a goal master list of the top priority goal in each life area.

6. Act!

7. Monitor progress with a weekly review.