time management

Stop To Smell The Flowers (Amanda Wall, preview interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Outsourcing has become a major way to do business in the age of communication.

And as Ferris Bueller once said,

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.

What that means for artists, is that it’s actually in our best interest to embrace the idea of outsourcing. Finding ways to trade off certain tasks for the sake of other ones, like making our art, for instance.

But what if you’re a parent AND an artist? Well, you have to figure out optimal ways to live for both of your passions.

Amanda Wall is a full-time freelance designer, who also stays at home with her son. She manages her business and keeps her son Riley engaged with all sorts of different activities, while her husbands works a day job. She is the kind of artist that finds double duty is the best way to accomplish her goals. And she is more than happy to delegate duties out when needed. Whether its meeting a deadline for a client in the service industry or finding time to go to the park and play with the kid, Amanda has a vice grip on life and she won’t let go of either of her two loves.

She’s figured out how to get the most out of her work, family time, and other responsibilities without sacrificing one for the other. It might help that she sometimes likes to think of Riley as a desk-mate, one she works with rather than against.

It’s an inspiring conversation, and this is just a small sample of life as an artist with a small Wall. So take a peek and learn what Amanda has to say when I ask her about outsourcing aspects of her business versus her household responsibilities.

She really does make things optimal, without having to stick to a rigid structure. Like so many of the moms I’ve met in my life, Amanda is an expert juggler with a great sense of empathy, and she’s happy to bring out the flowers when opportunity strikes.

Another week knocked out of the park my friends, and stay with me this week while we explore the city, get some inspiration from figures associated with Space, take a safety dance, review an album by Wilsen, and then dig into the real meat of this Amanda Wall interview, it’s gonna be a fantastic leg into the finish of May. What a week for theories!

Tim!

Master of None (Multi-Tasking Misery)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Remember that time when I wrote about the Pomodoro Technique?

That was definitely one of my favourite posts of the Life Hack series that we’ve had so far – it addressed time management and cutting out multi-tasking. But I know that a lot more can be written about both concepts, especially as solo posts, which is why I’ve decided to dedicate today’s post specifically to the topic of Multi-Tasking Misery.

In case you need a refresher, here is what I had to say the first time around when it came to … Multi-task misery. Learn to multi-task the right way, by cutting it out of your life. If you keep a million tabs open on your browser, you’re gonna have a bad time. Please remove distractions while you work and spend time with others. Turn off your phone, close your tablet, and focus on the task at hand.

If you do your homework on the topic of multi-tasking, you will discover rather quickly that there are a few schools of thought on the subject. For the sake of simplicity, we are going to break them down into two groups – believers and researchers.

Believers act as if.

The idea behind the phrase “act as if” is straightforward. It uses the Law Of Attraction, which is the idea that if we act as if something already exists for us, whether that thing is a physical or mental possession, we will somehow create conditions to have that thing be realized in our lives.

It’s a cool idea in theory, but I have to wonder how realistic that expectation is.

What I am getting at dear readers, is that believers act as if multi-tasking works and therefore they set up the conditions for them to accomplish multiple tasks at any given time. Whether this is good or bad, believers often get what they expect.

On the other side of the coin are the researchers. Researchers have used experience and testing to determine if multi-tasking is really the way to go. I’ll give you a hint as to the answer, I’m covering this group off second, and I was taught to end a point with your stronger argument.

Multi-taskers are in fact truly guilty of task-switching, because people cannot physically do more than one task at a time. What they are really doing is using up precious energy jumping between tasks, never really getting in the zone, and ultimately wasting important productivity. This loss comes in the forms of longer individual task completion time, error increases, and wasted brain power.

Let’s talk more about that wasted brain power. According to this article, research shows that while multi-tasking does slow you down, it also effects your IQ points. People can experience drops of 15 points from multi-tasking, which is equivalent to staying up all night or smoking marijuana. What this means is that your cognitive function goes down and your decision making ability is limited.

And there is also research that indicates that using your phone, laptop, and tablet while on another activity, say television for instance, can permanently reduce your brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex, AKA the place where you experience empathy and emotional control.

So what’s a creative to do? Especially when we are so used to  jumping back and forth on multiple projects, emails, and visual stimuli? I have another article that will help, but below is a nice short list.

  1. Plan your day in blocks – which I’ve written about at length recently
  2. Manage your interruptions by taking a deep breath every time an external OR internal prompt comes up, then use 5 minutes to refocus
  3. Turn off computer notifications and flip your phone to be back side up
  4. If you have a wandering mind, especially in meetings, acknowledge the thought or thoughts, but quickly remind yourself where you are and get back to the task at hand
  5. Emergencies happen – instead of using the dreaded multi-task, stop and note where you were, especially what you were going to do next. Then deal with the problem at hand. Once done you can refresh the other task more easily.

Another life hack covered, and another tool to put on your belt my friends. But what do you think of this theory, is it whack or a great hack? Please share, subscribe, and comment if you’re up to the challenge. Otherwise, I’m theoried out for the day, so I’ll hit you back tomorrow with Nextfest.

 

Tim!

 

Here For A Good Time, Not A Long Time (Pomodoro Technique)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Wednesday is very easily becoming my favourite day of the week, dear readers! I get to share with you resources to better yourselves, ways work on your skill set, inspiring figures to keep you motivated, and all the while provide you with a framework to build your art around so that you are creating work that you care about.

No easy task, for sure. But damn if it isn’t a fun challenge for me!

Today’s post is no different as I have another great element of the skills to invest in series that I want to spend some more time on.

Get it, because we are going to focus a bit more on Time Management. That’s right, time management, the area of life that we all feel a lack of control over. I may have been inspired by Daylight Savings Time or it may have been conveniently timed, but time is precious, and there are a number of people that would tell you “time is money,” which is the equivalent of saying, use up your time and get value out of life.

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I would argue the opposite way on this topic. Time is precious, money comes and goes, so don’t trade your time for money. Instead learn to work with time and be conscious of it, so that you can respect it properly. Time wont wait for you – much like common sense, everyone has a different perception of the concept, and reality is far different than what we usually think.

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So what does that mean for us, timotheories? How do we become better at respecting time and understanding the value of it?

Well, I am glad you asked friends, because this week’s post is all about one of my favourite time management tools. It’s incredibly easy to pick up, improves your results quickly, and is a decent amount of fun. Which is hard to believe, I know.

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I read about it on Reddit of all places a few years ago. Shocker, I know. It’s called the Pomodoro technique, and according to their official website more than 2 million people have already read and benefited from its teachings.

It really is an interesting process and I would be doing the process a disservice by detailing it myself, so I’ve decided to use Wikipedia’s break down for you, exactly as how it works.

 

There are six stages in the technique:

  1. Decide on the task to be done.

2. Set the pomodoro timer to n minutes (traditionally n=25)

3. Work on the task until the timer rings. If a distraction pops into your head, write it down, but immediately get back on task.

4. After the timer rings, put a checkmark on a piece of paper.

5. If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3-5 minutes), then go to step 1.

6. Else (i.e. after four pomodoros) take a longer break (15-30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1.

But that’s not the only important part of the technique – the elements of planning and tracking are key to making it work too.

You have to put your tasks for the day into a “to-do” list and estimate time needed for each task. As you complete your pomodoros, you add checkmarks, icons, or whatever visual symbol you like to each task. This is to identify how long the task truly takes as well as provide yourself with positive feelings about your commitment to working in this way. If you complete a task inside of a pomodoro, you spend the remaining time overlearning the task, to help aid in automation of the task and further reinforcement of the technique.

The breaks also help to maintain focus during the periods of work and keep your mind and body active throughout the work period, avoiding burnout and managing distractions better.

I think the coolest aspect of the Pomodoro technique though is that you are learning to work with time, rather than finding it as an adversary. And if you are stuck for ideas of how to spend your short breaks, you can do some simple desk exercises, organizational chores, short self-administered hand or neck massages, or getting a light snack in.

But what do you think?

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Please leave some comments, subscribe to the blog if you haven’t yet, and if you want to get social, please like my Facebook page, follow my Instagram, and follow my Twitter too! See you tomorrow with something timely my friends.

Tim!

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Work Smarter (Life Hacks)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Another week! Another Wednesday! Another opportunity to share some wisdom with you dear readers! Today’s topic – how YOU can make art and also balance the other areas of your life simultaneously!

Think about it for a minute, what’s the most fascinating subject in this life to dedicate years of your life studying? The answer is none other than yourself, dear reader(s)!

I know it sounds selfish, but is there really a better use of your time then working on yourself? Let’s be serious, we all do need to ask the question – what’s in it for me? If you can’t answer that, you can’t begin to contribute in this world.

Okay, with that aside, I don’t truly have a life-changing list of top 10 ways to improve yourself, make life easier and get your art out there (it’s a lifelong commitment), but I definitely do have a resource to get you started and at the very least start working on basic areas of your life that are universal and can be refined to your specific purpose.

Lists or no, I honestly think the reasons are innumerable for why you should streamline your internal process, so timotheories came up with a curated strategy of things we all need to work on in order get our rear in gear, and remove that fear!

First lets get in the right mindset.

You can’t outsource being CEO of your own life.

– Leo Gura, Actualized.org

No one knows your life purpose better than you, and no one is going to hold you up and guide you directly towards your goals, but if you focus on these habits below, you’ll realize that life becomes just a bit easier, and you have more energy for the things important to you.

I visited a number of sources in order to come up with this list – from Inc., to Readers Digest, WikiHow, Buzzfeed, a blog called BufferSocial, Time, and finally Life Hack.

So what did I determine from the swath of tips?

 

Here are my top 10 skills to invest in, in no particular order.
  1. Time management – Improve your time management skills by looking at your results regularly to see if you are on track or wasting time – Set up your calendar and having dedicated concentration time on specific tasks. Through time management systems, and recognizing that there is a difference between being quick versus in a hurry, you’ll improve here for sure.
  2. Learning to love learning – You need to learn new things in order to keep up with the fast pace of digital tech. That means using keyboard shortcuts, improving your typing speed, and your reading speed, for starters. If you can figure out MACROS on your spreadsheets you’ll be surprised how much automation you can get out of menial tasks.
  3. Communication is key – In a time when texting, email, and social media are the new favourites, try to use the phone more often. It saves on countless back and forth. And speaking of back and forth, be concise in your emails. Respond to calls and emails as quickly as you can, and when you can’t do that, set up a regular time to respond to your contacts.
  4. Multi-task misery – Learn to multi-task the right way, by cutting it out of your life. If you keep a million tabs open on your browser, you’re gonna have a bad time. Please remove distractions while you work and spend time with others. Turn off your phone, close your tablet, and focus on the task at hand.
  5. To-Do list – The ever popular to-do list is perfect for organizing your day into bite-size chunks. Make a daily one to automate certain processes, and really focus on the unique difficult tasks first. As the saying goes, eat that frog. If you want even more reinforcements, create a “to-don’t” list, of things you’ll never do, and stick to it!
  6. Attitude is everything – Expect failure and fight paranoia in life – Failure is common when you are exploring. But not failing is never okay. Keep positive and realize it won’t always be this bad, but it won’t stay easy either. If you ask lots of questions, aren’t afraid to do menial work, and spend 10 minutes a day laughing out loud, when Sunday night appears, you’ll be excited for Monday.
  7. Evaluate life – Make major decisions in the morning and divvy up your day based on your productivity habits. Assess your passions at the end of each year, each month, each week, and before you go to bed. If you can do that you’ll focus and delegate out the unnecessary. Flexibility is important too, but if you get stuck try this – pretend you are away from work and/or home for a week, and you only have a few hours to accomplish your tasks.
  8. Plan to make plans – Plan regularly! Build routines to start your day AND end your day. You are going to have to organize throughout the day too, so make an outline to insure you aren’t starting from scratch over and over. Please also set deadlines for major projects by planning ahead. You’ll benefit from organizing your desk/workspace, minutes saves hours, believe me.
  9. Community of colleagues  – Please be social at work, so that you have a support base and network to lean on in your endeavours, and don’t be afraid to say no to anyone. If you can learn to do that AND under-promise while over-delivering, you’ll definitely find the time to finesse your brand pitch about you and gain some fans in the process.
  10. Health matters – Your greatest resource is you. So build good habits to help you stop working and walk away after a certain point. Working smart doesn’t mean you also work hard. Health is important and managing stress, anxiety and depression are part of it. Try a standing desk for posture and circulation, get up every 45 minutes and move around too. Finally, pick a “Sabbath” day to refresh your soul, body, and mind.

 

So there you have it, I took all of the most brilliant advice on life hacks, and summarized it even further. No easy task, but worthwhile!

And that’s all the theories I’ve got for today! Are any of you already doing some of these things? All of them? Leave questions or comments, or send me an email! Subscribe if you liked this post and want to see more.

Otherwise, come back tomorrow for some love tips or something mushy related to it, at the very least.

Tim!