Learning is Change

Question 288 of 365: Are we picking fights?

 , , , , , , ,

I am offended by the things that might happen. Not the things you are saying or doing, but the the things that you might say or do if allowed to continue. I will argue with you now in the hopes of not having to argue with you the next time around. I am trying to help you. I’m trying to convince you that it’s going to be better in the long run. I’m trying to lay the groundwork so that political paranoia doesn’t spoil every decision we make. And you aren’t listening.

This is me choosing to pick fights now. I am going out of my way to be contrary. I think that I might be proving a point, but it seems as though I am doing nothing but losing face and momentum. As much as I speak about collaboration, I’m worried that I’m choosing to be difficult with some. I push my own agenda and I am afraid of what will happen if I stray.

I am also afraid of the fights I pick, or at least of the people I am picking them with. I am afraid of what they will say and where I will end up if I lose control of the conversation. I am afraid of losing my workflow and my identity simply by agreeing. I have decided that because they are wrong, I must develop a counter opinion. It is a sick game I am playing across the table. Every move is about trying to move into a stale mate, a cats game.

The pressure I feel is not unlike when I was in 7th grade choir class.

We couldn’t start the rehearsal until everyone’s back was straight and away from the back of the chairs. I always slouched in those days and I had made a point of telling people about this. I thought that I could sing perfectly fine in that position and I would stake my reputation on it. On one particularly strong-willed day, I stayed in the slouching position for 10 whole minutes while everyone in the classroom from the teacher to other would-be slouchers were trying to convince me to see the error of my ways. Some called me names and others simply rolled their eyes. I was going to wait them out, or wait for the teacher to break. I didn’t have any trouble being sent out of the room. I wanted to take my own position, quite literally. I made no friends that day.

I sat the way I wanted, just as I sit across the table and debate the minutiae.

I want to prove something, but I’m not sure what.

I want to collaborate, but on my terms.

I want to frame change, but I want to decide what goes in the frame.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Question 287 of 365: Why are panoramas so hard?

 

I used to be able to look at all of the mountains and gain something from the experience. Now, I just cower in fear. I can’t understand them, ever. I can’t look out and see all of them or know the centuries that they took to come into being. They are too big. If I look out and try to know them, they only mock me and continue on in either direction. Panorama is too hard.

It isn’t that I can’t see the big picture or extrapolate their meaning. It is just that I can’t fathom them all at once. I forget them almost as soon as I have seen them because they can’t stick to anything in my mind. I’m filled with small things, with trivia. Things like mountains and golden gate bridges and oceans have nothing to hook onto. They aren’t idiosyncratic. They just are. They aren’t mine or yours or anyone else’s and I can’t make them to be. They persist and they will continue to do so without a thought.

The part of me that can look at pictures and make them into representations of real things completely banks when I put something like mountains in front of it. It keeps on trying to take a picture, to put a frame on the whole idea. It tries to box it in and label it as something that I have seen. But, it fails. I come away not knowing anything of what I have seen.

I feel that way about humanity too. It is just too big.

Question 286 of 365: How did Gmail become the killer app for workflow?

Exquisite-gmail blue
Image via Wikipedia

As much as we would like to leave email in the dust and move on to a brand new world of constant co-creation, we are never farther from this reality than we are right now. Email has become the one equalizer for everyone who cares to take part. No matter how much we might say it or like it to be true, not everyone uses Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. We can poke them to become more social in their sharing and working habits, but the common denominator is still email. We should not run away from this reality, but rather we should run toward it with open arms and see just how long and lasting of an embrace we can manage.

This is something that I have attempted to do over the last year and I think I have finally found the killer workflow for email that saves me the most time, makes me the most productive and lets me be as connected as I choose to be. I no longer feel as though email is an albatross, but rather I see it as a trusted friend. I look forward to logging in and filtering through the messages and working on some of them because I have a workflow that supports everything that I want to do. I feel comfortable in sending out a few dozen messages at a go because there is nothing holding me back. I don’t have to leave my inbox to retrieve other things to bring them back in. Everything just works.

It has taken me a long time to get to this place. And really, I don’t see too many other folks hanging around here. Mostly, I still see overstuffed inboxes that are unwieldy and unfriendly to the user. Whenever I talk with others about answering email, there is a painful acknowledgement of the necessary evil of it all. There is never a joyfulness about the process. This has to change. We are going to spend more time answering and working with our messages in the future, not less. We must figure out a way to make peace with the email monster. Here is how I did this for myself.

Non Negotiables:

Gmail – As much as I like desktop clients, the one thing that every workflow needs is consistency. You need to be able to go to any device (computer, phone, iPad, etc.) and access your email in a way that syncs up with everything else. Do not try to maintain a desktop client and gmail. Make the jump into the web client and don’t look back.

Priority Inbox– While this is a new feature for Gmail, the idea is relatively simple: Some email is more important than others. This is a way to recognize that fact and get back to those who need an urgent message back. It is also a great way to keep the things that are important (but not urgent) in front of your face. Just star them and they will stay in the center of your screen. I do this on a regular basis and even if they stay in there for a couple weeks, I know that I will never forget them.

Google Chrome– This may not be your preferred browser, but it should be. It is lightning fast and it integrates with gmail (and the extensions needed to make gmail even better) so well that it seems like it was specifically written to manage email. I recommend that you download it and then set up pinned tabs (tabs that stay in your browser indefinitely, but take up almost no room on the left corner of the browser) for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Twitter.

Google Voice– While Google Voice is plenty productive on its own with transcribed voicemails, free SMS and call forwarding to any of the number of phones you may have; the killer part of this app is when it is coupled with Gmail. From gmail Google Voice becomes a way for you to answer phone calls directly from your Gmail window. It let’s you call out from your own number as well. Once you have signed up, simply go into the settings and check the box that says Google Talk. This will allow for people to ring through to your gmail using VOIP.

Gmail Filters– Filters are nothing new, but I think that the one thing that has boosted my productivity and simplified my workflow is creating filters to get rid of conversations that I no longer want to be a part of. The majority of my filters are set up to do about three things. One, forward mail that I don’t need but other people do. There are certain key words that I look for and if they are there, I forward them and skip my inbox. If I have set this up right, the filters are almost never wrong. Two, Delete or archive messages that aren’t quite spam but aren’t mail I need to read. I have these filters look for alterts that come frequently or notifications that don’t affect me on a daily basis. I can always go and look at these if I need to, but I don’t want them cluttering up my inbox and forcing me to manually delete or archive them. Three, I have filters that post to twitter. I use the service called Twittermail that allows me to have keywords either sent via Google Voice text that get sent to email and then to twitter, or I/others can send email with those keywords as well. This allows a whole bunch of people to post to a single account from anywhere. This is a productivity tool because it allows a large amount of people to be on the same page with a social network but it also archives all conversations for me in email.

Gmail Labs– There are a few labs that are absolutely non-negotiables for using gmail as a workflow manager. These are mostly small tweaks that I have found to be essential for everything from creating Google Docs to giving a default of send and archive. In order to access them, simply click settings in the top right corner and then click on labs.

Add any gadget by URL
by Dan P and Dong C

Adds a “Gadgets” tab to Settings, where you’ll be able to specify the URL of any gadget. This gadget will show in a box in the left column.

Apps Search
by the Apps Search team

Extends search with Google Docs and Sites results. Apps Search will find the most relevant Docs and Sites and show them below Gmail search results.

Create a Document
by Jeremie LE & David K

Allows you to create a Google Document from an email conversation or a new blank document if your keyboard shortcuts are enabled by hitting ‘g’ then ‘w’.

Default ‘Reply to all’
by Mark K

Make ‘Reply to all’ your default option for responding to emails.

Google Docs previews in mail
by Steven S, Jim M, Bob B, and Ted C

Shows previews of documents, spreadsheets and presentations directly in the email when you receive any link to a Google Doc. Also gives an option to open directly in Google Docs.

Google Voice player in mail
by Robert D

Lets you play voicemails left on your Google Voice account right from the email notification.

Quote selected text
Ryan A

Quote the text you have selected when you reply to a message. (Now works with the mouse, too!)

Send & Archive
by Pal T

Adds a button to the compose form that lets you send a reply message and archive the email conversation in a single action.

Sender Time Zone
by Marcin B

Should I reply to this mail or just call the guy? Ooops… it’s 1 am. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb…

Undo Send
by Yuzo F

Oops, hit “Send” too soon? Stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button.

Google Maps previews in mail
by Mark K

Shows Google Map previews of all the addresses found in an email.

Message translation
by Darren

Uses Google Translate to translate messages you receive in other languages.

Video chat enhancements
by Manu C, Jessan HQ, Fredrik O, Tristan S, Arthur vdG

Enables new features in Gmail voice and video chat, including higher resolution and bigger windows, with more improvements coming over time.

The Addons:

0Boxer– While I added this extension for gmail, I did it as something to entertain myself with. This “email game”, however, has turned into a real productivity tool for me. It let’s me know how many messages I have written each day and how many I have cleared out of my inbox. It has given me metrics on something that formerly had none. This allows me to feel a sense of accomplishment when I write up my 100th email for the day instead of just feeling as though I don’t have anything to show for it. It is still in the early stages of this product, but I think it is one of the things that makes my email more inviting.

Wisestamp– I have always found the email signature to be an interesting thing. It can be such a mundane part of an email with a quotation or contact info, but if we could make it dynamic and visual it would give email a much needed connection to the rest of our lives (both online and off). Wisestamp allows you to have a dynamic signature by letting you add recent blog posts, recent tweets, or even the music you are currently listening to. It also provides you with a way to very quickly share all of the places you are connected online with tiny picture links. Think about how much better it is when people have not only your email but also your LinkedIn account without having to look for it.

Rapportive– This tool is exactly what email has needed for years. While you are composing or reading a message, it will pull up everything it can find about the sender/recipient. It will show you a picture of them, pull in their recent tweets, or even show you some of their most recent work to help you to write a better message or understand who your colleague is a little better. It makes email more social and more transformational at the same time. No longer are you stuck looking at a single stream of information about a person your converse with regularly. You see everything, and even if it doesn’t find them on social networks and websites, you can write notes to yourself about who they are and why they are important. These notes will come up every time you are writing to that person so that you can keep your people straight.

Zemanta– I have used this as a blogging tool for context for quite a while, but I really love the idea that I can have images and links suggested for inclusion in my email as well. If I have it enabled for a given email (say an email with a list of resources or that I really think needs backing up from other experts in the field), it layers a sidebar on top of Rapportive and analyzes what I am writing to come up with images and links to support my claims and ideas. Most of the time, the suggestions are right on and when I click them it creates a beautiful structure of corroborating evidence. It also makes email more visual and more like writing a hyperlinked blog post rather than a flat piece of information.

Paymo– This is the addon that sealed the deal for me. I had been looking for a way to track my time on a number of different projects without having to install software on every machine and device that I use. Paymo is a free service (for individuals) that lets you set up clients, projects, tasks and do time tracking. By simply adding their gadget to my gmail, I can manage all of it from within the same interface that I am actually doing most of my work. This also means that because I have added it to one computer that runs gmail, I have added to every computer. I now have a way to add time to any project that will sync with every other place I want to interact with that project, all without leaving my trusty email interface. While this may sound like something small, it has completely changed the way that I track how much I am working on any given idea, and it also lets me report out on any given idea for anyone who might want to have some oversight. Just beautiful.

Advice:

I have just a few other thoughts on for making Gmail into a streamlined workflow. These are things that have kept me clear of long email trails and never ending loops.

  1. Don’t delete, just archive- There is almost no reason to delete unless you know that you will never use the message again. Gmail search is an awesome tool for brining back long dead conversations.
  2. Don’t label, just archive- I have almost completely stopped putting things into labels/folders. I use search and filtering for nearly everything I need to find. My labels are almost always less specific than the text of the email itself, so why not just search for the text of the email.
  3. Make a Google Doc from an email whenever you have a long conversation (know when to move the conversation out of email)- This can help to bring some order to the chaos of back-and-forth email. Edit all of the messages together into a coherent document and people will start interacting with it there.
  4. Use the check boxes and the keyboard shortcuts – There is a huge amount of email that you can get through by checking their boxes and then pressing the “e” button to archive all of them.
  5. Use Tasks – You can make any email message into a task and then archive it out of your inbox. This will allow you to have the tasks widget at the bottom right of your screen with the most important things on your list always at your fingertips.
  6. Use Google Talk and Video Chat – While skype still dominates the video call niche, Google Talk and Video Chat are an amazingly easy way to connect briefly with anyone who has a gmail account.
  7. Clear out email on mobile devices, answer email on a computer- I find that if I can set aside a half hour at a computer, I am much more productive than if I try to respond in short messages on my phone. I also get better responses when I take the time to actually respond to them completely.
  8. Clean up your contacts occasionally- Nearly everyone that you email in Gmail is added to your all contacts area. It takes a little tending to bring those people into your “my contacts” area. Also, get rid of all of those Facebook response email addresses.
  9. Use Disqus, Facebook email and LinkedIn email for all comments on blogs and websites- Because these services allow you to respond to ongoing conversations in email, it keeps you in your workflow and allows you to keep doing what you are doing without getting distracted by the “other things” on Facebook or blogs.
  10. Encourage others to adopt your workflow- There is no worse feeling than to have to leave your own highly efficient workflow to accommodate someone else’s laborious one. Encouraging people to use conversations rather than individual messages in Gmail is a huge paradigm shift, but a really important one to make. Moving from an email to a Google Doc rather than a conference call is also a huge time-saver and productivity tool. Use it.

So, that is my summary of how Gmail became the killer app for me. Let me know how you are using gmail for workflow management. I know I can always do something better.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Question 285 of 365: When does advocacy become an employment strategy?

 , , , , ,
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Image by Julie70 via Flickr

Being in favor of things is not so very hard.

I’m for watching TV in the evenings. I’m for laughing with children. I’m for opening up boxes as soon as they come in the mail. I’m for remembering what I’ve done with those I’ve done it with. I’m for being quiet when screaming seems like the only alternative. I’m for screaming through the quiet. I’m for the scary moment in the morning when you realize just how much you have to do today. I’m for arm rests. I’m for spelling things out even when children aren’t present. I’m for innuendo. I’m for exaggeration and hyperbole and overstatement and repetition. I’m in favor of picking things up instead of stepping around them. I’m in favor of spending too much money on a movie and popcorn. I’m for clouds and rain. I’m for staring at strangers without their knowledge. I’m for separating candy from chocolate. I’m in favor of listening the same album over and over when it is just that good.

I can state all of these preferences quite easily and continue the list indefinitely, even as it spirals out of control into tangents and random mentions of my past. This is entertaining and time consuming but these are not passions, they are merely skipping stones across the surface. They are the brail of my life. They are the ways that people know I am me, but they are not the things that will last. They are not what will make someone take notice. They are not what will cause someone to stay tuned to what I have to say or want to hear more from my perspective.

Being in favor of something every day and stating that preference, so clearly and completely that will cause others to take notice. It is why politicians have staying power. It is why companies can execute. It is why people get hired. Being for one thing and showing it to anyone that will listen is the role I am choosing to do. It is the implied job of my life, the one laying just below the surface. Those are how passions reveal themselves over time. It is the diligence to be for something ad nauseum, but never to actually become sick.

I am drinking the koolaid, and I have for some time. I am taking deep and long sips and enjoying it. I am advocating for what I need every day now because I know that it is the only way that it will happen. And if Dr. Seuss‘ immortal words are any indication, it is only a matter of time before I will start happening too.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Question 284 of 365: When are we wedged in?

No matter how luxurious or feature-ridden, the back of a car
in-between two enormous carseats is not a comfortable place to be. As
you try to squeeze in the car past one set of feet, you push both of
the carseats, trying to make enough room for your waist. There is no
sitting back or putting on your seat belt. There is no deep breathing
either because your ribcage is constructed on both sides.

You are wedged in.

Wedged in by both of your wonderful children, but wedged in just the
same. It doesn’t feel good, but you know that you are doing it so that
someone else can sit up front. You are making the decision to stay in
the back, dealing with all of the curious things that children do to
their parents in tight quarters. It isn’t a hard one for you. You jump
right in because there isn’t anyplace you would rather be.

You are wedged in.

With the passion and fury of childhood. With the lack of logic and the
absurd reactions of each impulse. With the flailing arms and dancing
hands. The time stretches on and you keep eying the mile markers with
anticipation, although you really have no idea what marks the end. You
are asked to make contortions moves to get food and dole it out. You
are asked to get things that drop to the ground so repeatedly that you
aren’t sure if there is a time that your aren’t hunched over and
stretching out your fingers.

You are wedged in.

But, you know it isn’t forever. You know that at some point you will
be free and your breath will be less shallow. You will be able to
stand up and stretch out, seeing just how tall you are. And at some
point in the not too distant future you will be able to see how tall
your children are too. They will be standing next to you, outside
staring up at the sunshine and looking out at the future ahead of
them.

Some day you will be like my mom and dad are today with each of their
three children happily married to amazing women. Today my parents know
what it is like to become unwedged. With any luck and persistence, I
will know this truth someday too.

Posted via email from The Throughput

Question 283 of 365: Who is in our carpool?

I took my brother to school every day of his middle school career.

I was already going to our 7-12 campus for my high school education,
so it wasn’t any extra work. We would load up the car with the
requisite backpacks and band equipment (his) and we went to go pick up
the other three people in our carpool. We picked up Marisa and we
picked up Carolyn, and we sometimes picked up Jannette. And the
smokers would smoke and the non-smokers would try not to smell like
smoke.

Every day, we had this ritual of playing loud music and singing along.
We would roll down windows even though it was hard to roll down the
windows. My brother and I would never talk about much other than
through the people in the back seat. Sometimes, though there wouldn’t
be anyone in the back seat. Sometimes, we would be forced to talk to
one another. We talked about what high school was all about and about
his impending success in musical theater and music creation. My advice
was never specific or very earth shattering, but that wasn’t what he
wanted anyway. He always had a pretty good idea of where he was
headed, even if it was in an opposite direction from myself.

He stayed in and around Ohio. I left for Colorado as soon as I could.

He became a worship pastor. I work in a public school district that is
separate from the religious world.

He dated one girl. I had a variety of dating experiences.

But, I suppose we ended up being in the same car together. He is
getting married to a woman he loves, just like I did. He loves
children and can’t wait to have some of his own. I felt the same way
just 5 years ago. He has the desire to provide for his family, and it
mirrors mine perfectly.

We were in the same car then because we were going to the same place.
We are in the same car now for the same reason.

Good luck, younger brother. I’m glad you are in my carpool.

Posted via email from The Throughput

Question 282 of 365: Why do we build houses?

One of my favorite songs is called “To build a house” by Lincoln, an
incredibly little know band that only put out one album in 1997. Until
today I wasn’t too sure what it meant because I had never known
someone who actually had built their own home. The lyrics may speak
for themselves, but only if you know the language they are written in:

Brick and mortar, pound a penny nail
Lime, too, water use a shoveling pail
Crowbar, level, turn a drywall screw
It’s a piece of cake if you know what to do

A roll of tar paper and a mason’s bit
A bucket of spackel and a little spit
Plum bob steady pour some carpenter’s glue
It’s as easy as pie if you know what to do
An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay
You’re bound to get dirty when you’re making hay

Under one roof with your children and spouse
It’s a labor of love when you’re build a house
Under one roof with your children and spouse
It’s a labor of love when you’re build a house

Chalk line powder and a saber tooth saw
Number five pencil and a hammer claw
A ten-foot ladder of of four-by-twoIt’s as easy as one, two, three to do
An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay
You’re bound to get dirty when you’re making hay

Under one roof with your children and spouse
It’s a labor of love when you’re build a house
Under one roof with your children and spouse
It’s a labor of love when you’re build a house.

One day I will know what those words mean, becuase as I look around
everything is perfect, in both its placement and purpose. The rooms
mean something, as in they are meant for someone. The cutout on the
second floor leading to the blue room is something only a house’s
creator could know.

I want to build a house, even if I have no design skills or
woodworking knowledge. I want to build a house for my family because I
know it is what they deserve.

Posted via email from The Throughput

Question 281 of 365: Who is our away message for?

For the third time in a month I am away for a long weekend. On each of
these occasions, I turned on the away message for email, chat and
voice mail. This is what one does in modern society. We have made a
contract with one another to always be online or available, and if we
intend to break that contract we must let people know about the
breech. Anything longer than a weekend must be written up as a kind of
post mortem for time lost away from your desk.

But I wonder who our away messages are really for.

Are we bragging that we have gotten away from the daily grind long
enough to appreciate the world around us? Or, are we apologizing to
those who wanted to connect with us, but now have to twiddle their
thumbs and wait for our return?

The people that know us and that are informed about our daily events
already know where we are going and they have wished us good luck or
given their condolences depending on the situation. The people that
are mere contacts of ours couldn’t care less about the few days that
we are taking off. Their email wasn’t all that time sensitive or
important to be answered instantly and they know this. It is only
those who wouldn’t otherwise know and would feel hurt by our
transgression of abandoning our post. We want to cause them to be
sympathetic when otherwise they would feel annoyed. In fact, we are
forcing them to be closer friends than they actually are by giving
them information regarding our whereabouts that only those who inquire
would have access to. We are pushing them to travel in our shoes a
moment and see what it would be like if they made similar choices.

We are saying “You too could be off of work, but since you aren’t,
don’t mind if I don’t email you back or respond to your voice mail for
a little while.”

I wonder if I should just state that the next time I’m away. I wonder
if my honesty would be rewarded or punished.

Sometimes, I feel like putting away messages even when I’m in, just so
the expectation of full attention to you and your issues isn’t quite
as high. But, the abuse of such a power, the too consistent breakage
of the working man’s social contract would not pan out. It is the
modern version of the boy who cried wolf. If I am too honest about my
absence, no one will call for me.

Is that a bad thing?

Posted via email from The Throughput