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P R O D U C T I V I T Y / L E AD E R S H I P

18 Minutes by Peter Bregman

BOOK SUMMARY Last Revised February 14, 2013

Vitals Hardcover (288 pages),

Business Plus (September 2011)

ISBN-10: 0446583411

PSRP: 24.99 USD

Overview: 18 minutes aims to bring your life into focus – to think about who you are, and how you

can best use your talents to achieve the things that will make you happy, productive and successful.

What this book teaches you about motivating yourself also applies in thinking about how to motivate

others.

Review: Compatible and complementary with the ideas from Workability and David Allen’s Getting Things Done. Inspired, filling

in a few missing blanks in other productivity ideas that weren’t necessarily obvious. Highly recommended.

Part I: Pause

Taking a break, slowing events down, focusing on outcomes

before responding – and diversify your perspective, will allow

you to see possibilities that you might otherwise overlook.

1. Hover about your world. Don't let momentum drive you

deeper to somewhere you don't want to go.

a. Slow down. Stop pushing so hard. If you suspect you

might be wrong, argue less and listen more. Buy time:

"That's an interesting point. I need to think about it

some more" or "Tell me what you mean." Listening

reduces momentum; it doesn't commit you to a point

of view.

b. Start over - "If you were starting from scratch,

knowing what you know now, would you make the

same decision?"

Great leaders have the confidence to look critically at own

perspective and stay open to the views of others by

slowing down, even if they know they are right.

2. The incredible power of a brief pause. Stop the action

for a few seconds and catch your breath. Don’t respond

right away. Raw unadulterated emotion is not the source

of the best decisions. Only a few seconds are required for

your prefrontal cortex to get control over your amygdala –

the source of your emotions. Pause. Breathe. Then act.

3. Stopping in order to speed up. Strategy to do

something challenging and sustain it over a long period of

time (like training for a marathon): take a moderate few

days, 1 hard day, 1-2 days of complete rest and restart the

cycle. Rest days give you time to think and studies show

that this pause/rest also means you'll have more fun.

Develop a ritual of self-imposed brief and strategic

interruptions. Be religious about having a rest day.

4. Seeing the world as it is, not as you expect it to be.

Work to avoid ‘confirmation bias’. Challenge the

assumptions / expectations that limit your choices.

Instead of always focusing on what's wrong, look for

what's right and what's changed. This takes practice. For

example, do you really need to do everything you think

you need to do? Ask yourself "What do I not want to see?"

5. Expand how you view of yourself - diversify your

identity. "Establishing your identity through work alone

can restrict your sense of self, and make you vulnerable to

depression, loss of self-worth, and loss of purpose, when

the work is threatened," says Dr. Paul Rosen, a Professor of

Psychiatry. If you also identify yourself passionately as a

father / mother / artist / athlete / loyal friend - if you lose

your job, you'll be fine. Part of recovery from mental

illness is reclaiming the other identities in your life beyond

the mental illness.

Develop other identities by spending time and acting on

them. Be consistent: choosing rituals that have meaning

to you and doing them religiously over time, solidifies

your identity. Having multiple identities can help you

perform better in each one.

6. Recognize your potential. Almost all of us move through

life with the hidden sense that we are destined for more –

that we are extraordinary, underneath ordinary exteriors.

This is what Susan Boyle's success awakens in us. But we

also know we can't purchase transformation – Boyle's

success was 35 years in the making.

Allowing yourself to be molded by your own gifts means

having courage; letting yourself be exposed, be mocked

until one day they stop laughing and start clapping.

7. Where do you want to land? React/respond only after

you’ve thought about the outcome you want. The next

time someone yells at you, think about the outcome you

want before responding. Empathize. Ask some questions

about the concerns raised in the midst of the screaming.

Part II: What is this Year About?

Start to organize your life around things that matter and make

you happy. Recognize and use your gifts and move toward

your goals. This section examines your strengths, weaknesses,

differences and passions that form the foundation of your

success and happiness. It's the intersection of these four

elements that your time will be best spent. Focus on areas you

want to spend the majority of your time over the next year.

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8. What to do when you don't know what to do. Don’t be

paralyzed by the limitless options in choosing a plan.

Shape your year around these four behaviors:

a. Leverage your strengths

b. Embrace your weaknesses.

c. Assert your differences

d. Pursue your passions

Pursue opportunities at this intersection; luck and

persistence will follow. Don't worry about having a

definitive plan or where you want to go. Focus on where

you are. Understand who you are. This is where your

power lies. Start here.

9. Reinvent the game: Leverage your strengths. In

looking at wars fought in the past 200 years, in which one

side was at least 10x stronger than the other, the weaker

side won almost 30% of the time. They won because they

fought a different war than their opponents. Figure out

the game you can win based on your strengths.

10. Embrace your weaknesses. Don't avoid them. Spend

time this year where they're an asset rather than a liability.

Our quirks may well be the secret to our power.

11. Assert your differences. Don't blend in. Figure out what makes you different and use it to your advantage.

12. Pursue your passion (desire). The best interview question to determine success in a position? "What do you

do in your spare time?" People are often successful not

despite their dysfunctions/obsessions, but because of

them. Know your obsessions, and you will understand

your natural motivation. Recover your passion by

pursuing your desire. As you focus for the year, pay less

attention to "shoulds" and more attention to "wants".

13. Pursue your passion (persistence). Anyone can do anything if three conditions exist:

a. You want to achieve it.

b. You believe you can achieve it

c. You enjoy trying to achieve it.

The third condition is the most important. If you want to be

great you have to first endure/enjoy being lousy and

practice until you can be great. If you don't enjoy the

trying even when it feels like you're not succeeding, you'll

never do it long enough to reach your goal.

14. Pursue your passion (ease). Stop trying so hard.

a. Make a list of all the things you love doing, things that

intrigue you, and that you'd like to try doing. Don't

limit the list or judge it; write down everything.

b. Separate the activities you do with people from the

activities you do alone.

c. Look for activities you do alone and figure out if you

can (and want to) do them in a way that includes

other people. If you can (and want to) keep them on

the list. If not, then cross them off.

d. Spend 90 percent of your time either at work or if you

can't yet, then outside of work, doing the things you

love (or have always wanted to try) with people who

also love doing those things. If possible, take a

leadership role.

If you're passionate about what you're doing and you’re

doing it with other people who are passionate about what

they're doing, then chances are, the work you eventually

end up doing for your livelihood will be more in line with

the stuff you love to do. Then your life changes. You're

doing work you love, at which you excel, with people you

enjoy. You can't help but succeed. Your best bet at

succeeding is to throw yourself into things you adore. If

you don't have a job, your hardest job is to manage your

fear. It won't take longer to find a job even though you're

spending less time looking - it'll take you less time.

Spend this year in a way that excites you; that teaches you

new things, that introduces you to new people who see

you at your natural, most excited, most powerful best. Use

and develop your strengths. Use and even develop your

weaknesses. Express your differences and pursue the

things you love. You'll always work tirelessly at your

passions - hard work will feel easier.

15. What matters to you? Pursue your passion (meaning).

The most common regrets of those who go home to die

are "I wish I'd had a courage to live a life true to myself,

not the life others expected of me" and "I wish I didn't

work so hard". People don't regret working so hard,

people regret that they work so hard on things that don't

matter to them. Beyond the basics of making a living and

having meaningful relationships, look deeper at what

matters to you.

a. Ask yourself ‘what's working’? In your daily work/life?

Why are you doing it? What is a source of pride? What

impact do you feel you're having on people, ideas, or

things that are important to you?

b. Ask yourself what's neutral? What are you spending

your time on that you don't particularly care about?

What doesn't matter to you? What's not important?

c. Ask yourself what alienates you? What do you spend

your time on (work/life) that contradicts what matters

to you? What makes you feel bad? Untrue to yourself?

What are you even slightly embarrassed about?

Slowly over time, shift how you're spending your time.

Maybe you're working in the wrong job, wrong company.

Ask the questions. You'll be more dedicated, productive

and effective if you care, because these things matter and

have specific meaning to you.

16. Avoiding tunnel vision. Pause every once in a while to reconnect with the four behaviors: strengths, weaknesses,

differences and passions. Don't get so absorbed into how

you're going to achieve a goal, let you lose sight of where

you're going in the first place and miss opportunities that

would have taken you to your planned destination faster.

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17. Avoiding surrender after failure. Failure is inevitable, useful and educational. Set goals where you have 50-70%

chance of success. According to David McClelland, a

psychologist and Harvard researcher, that's the sweet spot

for high achievers.

In high risk, high-leverage situations, it's better to stay

within your current capability but in lower risk situations

push the envelope. When you fail, figure out what you

should do differently and try again - that's practice.

According to one study, ten thousand hours of that kind

of practice will make you an expert in anything.

It's in your head. If you believe your talents are inborn /

fixed, then you try to avoid failure to reinforce a sense of

competence because failure is proof of your limitation.

You've hit a wall, can't do something and won't ever be

able to. If you believe your talent grows with persistence

and effort, you seek failure as an opportunity to improve.

People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're

learning, not when they're flawless.

Encourage staff by giving them tasks above their abilities.

Tell them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it

will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing.

That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the

way but that you know they can do it.

18. Avoiding paralysis. Don't be paralyzed by uncertainty, just keep moving. Everyone is motivated by three things:

a. Achievement (the desire to compete against

increasingly challenging goals)

b. Affiliation (the desire to be liked/loved)

c. Power, expressed in one of two ways

- Personalized (the desire for influence / respect)

- Socialized (the desire to empower others; to offer

them influence and respect)

If people have the opportunity to achieve, affiliate, and

influence, they'll be motivated and engaged – even

without a clear vision of the future. So instead of worrying

about tomorrow, focus on answering these 3 questions:

a. Are you working on something meaningful and

challenging - something for which you have about a

50 percent chance of succeeding?

b. Are you relating to other people at work or socially -

people you like and to whom you feel close?

c. Do you feel recognized for the work you are doing -

paid / unpaid? Can you influence decisions /

outcomes?

Wherever the answer isn't yes, create those opportunities

immediately. Make sure you have clear goals and the

autonomy to achieve them. Make sure you are working on

something you find challenging and interesting. Find

opportunities to collaborate and celebrate with others.

In times of uncertainty, people become more political.

They suspect that their colleagues are trying to be

noticed, take more credit, work on better projects. But as

they work on projects collaboratively, their trust grows.

Look for opportunities to offer input on how things

should be done and if necessary, ask for your participation

to be recognized. It maybe contrived, but it works.

As long as you create the environment - one in which you

feel challenged, loved and respected then you'll be

motivated enough to keep moving in the right direction.

Even without a plan or even a destination.

19. Avoiding rush to judgment. The time to judge your

successes or failures is never. Accept you're not fully in

control of life, but how you face and react is in your

control. View adversity as an opportunity to get better.

This requires a change in attitude/beliefs.

20. Creating your annual focus. Find 5 things to focus on each year (maybe it’s 3 or 7 - whatever works for you).

These are the areas that will make the most difference in

your life. It works if you can feel accomplished in these

categories without getting confused/overwhelmed or

dropping balls.

These are not measurable/goals, but areas of focus. You

can create specific goals in each category. They should be

substantial so that at the end of the year you will know it

was time well spent. Make tough decisions about what

doesn't merit your attention.

In the case of conflicts, choose the area that has not been

getting enough attention to balance time out.

Part III: What is this year about?

Organize your life around the things that matter to you, make

you happy, use your gifts and move you towards your goals

and avoid derailers. Each morning ask yourself: Am I prepared

for this day? Prepared to make it a successful, productive day?

Have I thought about it? Planned for it? Anticipated the risks

that might take me off track? Will my plan for this day keep me

focused on what my year is about?

21. Planning ahead. To navigate a day, look ahead. Plan the route then follow through.

22. Deciding what to do. Building a structured to do list helps to ensure the right things get done even if

everything doesn't. The only way to impact on your areas

of focus for the year is spending your time focusing on

those areas. Every day.

When you create a to-do list, group them in your areas of

focus - the 5, then add one more - "the other 5%". This

structure helps carve out the overwhelming number of

tasks into manageable, digestible chunks. This structure

gives you an idea as well of how you are spending your

time between areas. If there's an imbalance on a given

day, it may not be an issue unless it becomes a trend.

If your "other 5%" is always full, it may mean you should

delay until you have more time in your schedule.

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23. Deciding what not to do. Ask yourself: What are you willing not to achieve? What doesn't make you happy?

What's not important to you? What gets in the way?

Review both this list, your "to do" list every day, along with

your calendar and ask: What's the plan for today? Where

will I spend my time? How will it further my focus? How

might I get distracted?"

Follow through. Be willing to disappoint a few people.

Choosing what to ignore is as important as choosing

where to focus.

24. Using your calendar. If you really want to get something done, decide when and where you are going to do it. Take

your calendar and schedule your list of things to do into

slots. Place the hardest and most important items at the

beginning of the day – if possible, even before checking

your email. That will make it more likely you'll accomplish

what you need to and feel good at the end of the day.

Since your entire list will not fit in your calendar, you'll

need to prioritize your list for that day. What needs to get

done today? What have you been neglecting? What

categories have you been neglecting? Where can you slot

those things into your schedule?

Leave time, preferably in the afternoon, to respond to

other people's needs and items in the "other 5%." If you

schedule it, you'll be comfortable not doing it until the

scheduled time – letting you focus on your priorities

without worrying that you're neglecting anything.

You will often know ahead of time that you won't be able

to accomplish everything on your to-do list during the

day. This is good because now you are in control – vs.

being surprised, disappointed and feeling helpless at the

end of the day. You can be strategic about what gets left

behind.

25. The three day rule - getting things off your to do list. After you've scheduled your calendar and made hard

choices of what you can fit in your limited time, you will

still have a long list of items that didn’t fit into your

calendar for the day. For anything that has been on your

list for three days:

a. Do immediately if it takes only a few minutes to do.

b. Schedule it. You can change it when you review that

day, even if it's 6 months away. For things you're not

willing to schedule, while you might like to think it's

important, you're not acting that way. Let it go.

c. Let it go. Delete it – it’s not enough of a priority. If you

don't want to forget it, use the someday/maybe list.

d. Someday/maybe. Look at this list monthly or so.

Delete ones that are no longer relevant.

e. Waiting list. Keep track of things you are expecting

from others so you can follow up. Assign a date and

reminder for each item. If you haven't received the

thing you're waiting for, you’ll know to follow up or

let go of expectation of hearing back from the person.

This process takes the guilt out of the list. Never leave

things on your to do list for more than 3 days. They'll just

get in the way of what you really need to get done.

26. Who are you? The power of a beep. The feeling of being

overwhelmed can cause us to react in ways we do not feel

reflect who we are.

a. Things falling through the cracks - we don't answer

our emails, return calls, or really listen - and this

insults and disappoints others.

b. We live in a constant state of dissatisfaction - feeling

ineffective. Feeling insufficient and so we disappoint

ourselves

We need discipline - a ritual that can help us stay centered

and grounded throughout the day - to remind us who we

really are - who we want to be.

Each morning set your watch/computer to beep every

hour. At the sound of the chime, take one minute to ask

yourself if that last hour has been productive. During that

pause, deliberately commit to how you're going to use the

next hour. Keep focused on what you're committed to

doing. Take a deep breath and ask if you've been the

person you want to be.

Deliberately recommit not just to what you're going to do,

but who you're going to be over the next hour.

Losing control, becoming someone you're not, happens

over time. It builds throughout several hours - and that

once an hour reminder, that one deep breath, that

question about who you want to be, keeps you stable.

This can help manage anger, procrastination, etc. When

the beep sounds, take a breath, and use that one minute

to pause. Keep yourself focused and steady by

interrupting yourself hourly.

27. Evening minutes - reviewing and learning. Thinking

about what you learned and with whom you should

connect help to make tomorrow an even better day than

today. At the end of the day, ask these questions:

a. How did the day go? What success did I experience?

What challenges did I endure?

b. What did I learn today? About myself? About others?

What do I plan to do - differently or the same -

tomorrow?

c. Who did I interact with? Anyone I need to update?

Thank? Ask a question of? Share feedback with?

If we don't think about it, we are apt to overlook especially

this last set of questions - which are crucial to maintaining

and growing relationships. This is also a ritual that can

help companies become learning organizations – it

doesn't take much time.

28. Creating a daily ritual - an 18 minute plan for managing your day. This is easy enough to do each day, keep us

focused on our priorities and efficient enough not to get

in the way.

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STEP 1 (5 min): Your morning minutes

Before turning on your computer, look at the to-do list

you created (#22). Decide what will make this day highly

successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will

further your focus for the year and allow you to leave at

the end of the day feeling that you've been productive

and successful? Then take those things off your to do list

and schedule them into your calendar (#24 and #25).

Anything that's been on your list for three days gets a slot

somewhere in your calendar or move it off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour): Refocus

Set your watch, phone or computer to ring every hour and

start the work that's listed on your calendar (#26). When

you hear the beep, take a deep breath and ask yourself if

you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your

calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going

to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour -

don't let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes): Your evening minutes

At the end of your day, shut off your computer, review

how the day went, asking yourself the three sets of

questions (#27): How did the day go? What did you learn

about yourself? Is there anyone I need to update? Shoot

off a couple of emails or calls to make sure you've

communicated with the people you need to contact.

The power of the ritual is its predictability. If you do the

same thing in the same way over and over again, the

outcome is predictable - in the case of 18 minutes, you'll

get the right things done. It will help you leave the office

feeling productive and successful.

Part IV: What is this Moment About?

Learn how to master distraction: how to use it, avoid it, how to

follow through when it's tempting to give up. Protect yourself

and your time by creating the right kind of boundaries. The

hardest part about managing time isn't the plan - it's the day

to day - getting started, sticking to your areas of focus,

ignoring non priorities and avoiding unproductive busyness.

Mastering your initiative

Procrastination’s strongest influence is at the beginning of a

project. If a task is big and challenging, requiring deep

thought and effort it can feel daunting.

29. Avoid the need for motivation. To a larger extent than

you probably realize, your environment dictates your

actions. If you use a big spoon, serve yourself on a large

plate, or eat with more people you'll eat more. If you move

the bowl of chocolates on your desk 6 feet away, you’ll eat

half as much. Don't fight to change behavior in the midst

of the wrong environment; change the environment.

Create an environment that encourages you to do the

things you want and harder not to (e.g. make it easier to

fill in time sheets for greater compliance).

30. We need less motivation than we think. Never quit a

diet while reading the dessert menu. Know when you're

vulnerable and you'll know when you need to turn it on.

You only need to be motivated for a few seconds. It's

impossible to ignore feelings of uncertainty, doubt and

temptation, so schedule them. Decide to decide when

you are in the right state of mind - when you need the

least willpower, a time you know when your commitment

won't be weakened by temptations of the moment. If you

do decide to change your commitment, at least it won’t

be from momentary weakness - it'll be a strategic, rational

and intentional decision.

31. Having fun. Fun reduces our need to motivate ourselves because fun is motivating. We do what we choose to do.

If something's fun, we’ll choose to do it. Fun competitions

that solve real problems are a great way to boost morale

and keep people engaged especially in somewhat

depressing times. Two rules:

a. Focus on real problems and opportunities - make

work itself fun. Get others involved. Solving

problems with others is often more fun than solving

them alone.

b. Money isn't fun - bounties are less inspiring. Getting

paid for something transforms fun into work - fun is

not about the money. This is why prizes like gaming

systems can be more motivating.

What if for cold calls, you gave a prize for the most

obnoxious responses you hear? Fun doesn't require a

competition either.

Go through your workday with a sense of amusement - it's

a lens through which you view the world. It helps you

work hard at something, seemingly unburdened by the

threat of failure. When you do fail, you laugh and keep

going. It's contagious and why it's such a critical

leadership quality.

32. Getting started and keeping it going. You need both carrots and sticks - reward and fear, but not at the same

time. To change behavior, start with fear then experience

the reward. Fear is a great catalyst - it's the booster rocket,

the initial push that moves us through the inertia, but it

isn't sustainable. For longer term change, fear needs to be

followed by the experience of a better life. The fulfilled

promise of a better present. Start with fear, then notice,

pay close attention to the positive impact of your choice.

To lose weight, shut your eyes before taking the first bite

of ice cream and imagine what you would look like at

twice your current size. Visualize if you had diabetes.

Exaggerate it even. That's your stimulus. After a few days

as you feel healthier, more energetic, let go of that fear

and hold on to the feeling of a looser belt.

33. Telling the right story about yourself. There are deeper and more powerful motivators than money. People tend

to think of themselves as stories - when you interact with

someone - you're playing a role in her story. Finish the

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sentence "I'm the kind of person who..." How does that

story support or detract from what you want to

accomplish? A good story, one you feel deeply about and

in which you see yourself, is tremendously motivating and

satisfying. Make sure the story you tell about yourself

(sometimes only to yourself) inspires you to move in the

direction you want to move.

34. Getting out of your own way. We often want to imagine the worst, feeding our fear with fantasies and sometimes

creating a future that fulfills our nightmares. Pretend. Act

as if. Pretend what others are saying is the truth – e.g.

they're not angry, they're busy. Keep being persistent.

Maybe you'll be living a fantasy, but maybe you already

are - why not choose the fantasy world that works for you

and supports you instead of against you?

Mastering your boundaries

Rules and ideas for resisting the distractions by others, starting

with how to know when you should tend to the requests

people make of you and when you should say yes, no and

when you should confront someone. What are some of the

things you can do to help others use your time wisely?

35. Saying yes appropriately. Working with people takes time and different people have different priorities. When

someone comes to you with a request, ask yourself:

a. Am I the right person?

b. Is this the right time?

c. Do I have enough information?

If it fails any test, don't do it. If a meeting request doesn't

pass the test, decline. If you’re cc'd on an email that

doesn't pass the test, ask the sender to remove you from

the list before you get the flurry of reply all responses.

36. Saying no convincingly. Never break a rule – mean it when you say “no”. People follow examples and

conventions. Once you let your respect of rules erode, so

does others’ respect for them. e.g. for an assistant who

won't stop interrupting -

a. Set a regular appointment that does not get

cancelled to address open issues/questions

b. When you do get interrupted, you need to look at

them without smiling and tell them that whatever it

is, it needs to wait until the appointed time.

It's hard, silly even, but it's a slippery slope. Explain later

that total concentration is required and will allow you to

lose your train of thought - but not then. Any explanation

at the time will reduce the discomfort.

37. Know when to say something. Rule of three: First time

someone does something that makes you feel

uncomfortable, just notice it. Second time, acknowledge

that the first time wasn’t an isolated event or an accident

but a potential pattern and observe more closely and plan

a response. Third time, always speak to the person about

it. Everyone slips once or twice, but acting on the rule of

three gives you the confidence and ability to speak with

authority. Don't wait long to bring something up. People

can only respect boundaries they know are there.

38. Increasing transition time. Transition time is time (e.g.

travel) before meetings and scheduled events. It's time to

think and to plan and maximize the outcome. Make a

meeting shorter, faster and more productive. Figure out

what you really need from people then let them know you

want to make the 60 minute meeting 30 minutes and tell

them how you plan to do it. Need ownership? Think

about how you can involve them more openly, get their

perspectives, and engage them. Going to a dinner? Think

about how you can have more fun.

Schedule it - put it into your calendar. End meetings at

least 15 minutes before the hour and schedule that time

to prepare for the next one. If you don't use it for

planning, you can still use it for going to the bathroom,

answering email or surfing the web - more efficient then,

than in the meeting anyway.

39. Decreasing transition time. Sometimes too much

preparation can be a bad thing - like looking over a cliff

after you've already decided to jump to the water below.

Organizations do this often - change is decided, then a lot

of energy is spent trying to make everyone feel great

about the change before they've experienced it.

If there's something you need to do that you find difficult

(e.g. writing a proposal, having an unpleasant

conversation with someone), try doing it first thing in the

morning to minimize the time you have to think about it.

Here are 3 steps that may quicken a transition:

a. Listen fully to concerns. Repeat back what you hear

and ask if you got it right. Once they agree you

understand their issues move to (b)

b. Share your perspective. Once. Check for their

understanding not their agreement - you want to

make sure they hear your view.

c. Don't repeat. This is critical to moving them through

to acceptance. If you've performed steps (a) and (b)

effectively, you're done. More just lengthens the

transition and the dread.

Shortening the transition time creates a boundary that

helps you and others adjust to a new reality.

40. Managing the tension of relaxation. To manage the

tension of being in touch during vacation without ruining

it by being plugged in 24/7, two possibilities:

a. Complete unplug. This gives your team an

opportunity to grow, develop and use their own

judgment - while problems may initially crop up,

given time, your team will likely solve it themselves.

b. Schedule plug-ins. Choose a specified time frame -

every evening when you will be reachable. A few

minutes at the end of each day, (or ideally, every few

days), to answer emails and make calls. Admit you

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will be working on vacation but scheduling time

means that you're setting aside the rest of the time to

not work - which may save your vacation.

This strategy is good even when you're not on vacation,

though the plug-ins will be more frequent. Scheduling

specific times to take care of emails and phone calls each

day avoids the tech creep that takes over our lives and

allows us to focus on a single thing for longer. Scheduling

time sets clear expectations - for you, for the other people

and for people reaching you. Everyone will be relieved.

When you take vacation or if you want to be undisturbed,

schedule a specific time to take care of the things that will

otherwise creep into every available moment.

Mastering yourself

We are sometimes our own worst enemy. Sometimes though,

distracting yourself can be useful. Not all distractions are bad.

41. Creating productive distractions. There is a famous marshmallow experiment where kids were given an

opportunity to delay gratification for an extra

marshmallow. Those who were able to, were found to

have better relationships, more dependable and even

scoring an average 210 points higher on their SATs. The

secret wasn't more willpower - but a technique -

distraction. Rather than focusing on not eating the

marshmallow, they closed their eyes, sat under the table,

sang a song. They avoided the urge, they didn't resist it.

Focusing on resisting temptation makes it only harder to

resist. Distract yourself by focusing on something else

entirely. When you want to do something, focus. When

you don't want to do something, distract.

42. Avoid switch tasking. We don't multitask we switch task. Resist the temptation. Try avoiding multitasking for a

week to see what happens. You may notice 6 things:

a. It's delightful. Being focused in the moment, you may

notice more and experience an event more fully.

b. You may make significant progress on challenging

projects - ones that require thought and persistence.

c. Your stress level may drop dramatically. Research

suggests multitasking is stressful. It can be a relief and

reassuring to finish one thing before moving on.

d. You may lose patience for things that aren't a good

use of your time - like meandering meetings. You

may demand greater focus to get things done with

less tolerance for wasted time.

e. You may experience tremendous patience for things

you feel are enjoyable and useful. With nothing else

competing for your attention, you can settle into that

one thing.

f. You may experience no downside. No projects left

unfinished. No one frustrated with not returning a call

or failing to return an email.

How do we avoid the temptation to multitask?

a. The best way to avoid interruption is turn them off.

b. Use your loss of patience to your advantage. Create

unrealistically short deadlines. Cut all meetings in half.

Give yourself a third the time you think you need to

finish something. Deadlines keep things moving.

When things are moving fast, we focus on them.

Single tasking to meet a tight deadline will reduce

your stress. Giving yourself less time to do things

could make you more productive and more relaxed.

c. Accept that sometimes you have to multitask a little.

43. Getting over perfectionism. You won’t do something if

you think you aren't good enough at it. If you think you

are, you will. The world doesn't reward perfection, it

rewards productivity. Productivity can only be achieved

through imperfection. Make a decision. Follow through.

Make mistakes. Learn from the outcome. Repeat over and

over again. Only through the imperfect can we achieve

glimpses of the perfect. How to avoid perfectionism?

a. Don't try to get it right in one big step. Just get going.

Don't write a book, write a page. Smaller steps will

give you the opportunity to succeed more often

which builds confidence. If goals can be achieved in

less than a day, that’s more opportunity to succeed.

b. Do what feels right to you, not to others. Read, listen,

and learn from others, then put all the advice away

and shoot for the new gold standard: Good enough.

The key to perfection isn't getting it right, it's getting

it often. If you do that, eventually, you'll get it right.

c. Choose your friends, co-workers and bosses wisely.

Critical feedback is helpful if it's offered with care and

support. Ignore feedback that comes from jealousy,

insecurity, arrogance, or without any real knowledge

of you. If you're a manager, first rule: Do No Harm.

Remove obstacles that prevent people from making

their maximum contribution. Don’t destroy a person’s

confidence. Catch someone doing seven things right

before you point out one thing they're doing wrong.

Keep up that seven-to-one ratio and you'll keep your

employees moving in the right direction.

44. The value of getting things half right. In delegating work, give a task and ask “Why won't this work for you?”

When they answer, respond: "That's a good point. So how

can you change it to make it work?" It sends the message

they are accountable for their own success.

When someone changes your plan, resist the temptation

to explain why your way is better. Smile and say "great."

The drive, motivation, and accountability that person will

gain from running with their own idea will be worth it.

Even in making a sale, get the pitch half right and then ask

"Why won't this work for you?" Redesign the offer in

collaboration with your potential client - and you'll turn a

potential client into a partner who ends up buying their

own idea, and works with you to make it successful.

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Forget about lengthy presentations and long meetings.

Getting things half right will take half as long and give you

better results. Don't just settle for imperfect. Aim for it.

45. Staying flexible. Don't see change as a distraction or an impediment. Think of it as an opportunity to show your

flexibility and build trust as a consequence. Pause,

breathe and before you react, ask:

a. What's the situation? (The outcome you want to

achieve? The risks? The time pressures? The needs?)

b. Who else is involved? (What are their strengths?

Weaknesses? Values? Vulnerabilities? Needs?)

c. How can I help? (What are your strengths?

Weaknesses? Values? Vulnerabilities? Needs?)

Then, and only then decide what you will do or say.

Choose the response that leverages your strengths, uses

your weaknesses, reflects your differences and expresses

your passion and meets people where they are and is

appropriate to the situation you're in. Look for

opportunity and beauty in crisis and change.

Part V: Now what?

A foolproof method for critical momentum to move forward.

46. Choosing your one thing. We often overwhelm ourselves with tasks in order to make a change successful. That's a

mistake – instead, figure out the one and only one thing

that will have the highest impact. Focus 100 percent of

your effort on that one thing. Choose it and do it.

Instead of remaking initiatives and redoing them from

scratch, simplify them, reduce them to their essence. Let

everything else go. If you're going to work on a weakness,

always choose a single, high leverage one.

Choose one thing from this book that will make the most

difference in your life and do it. No matter what. Then

naturally you'll start to incorporate the others and with

time you'll find that your life moves in a purposeful

direction. Making sure that your days and moments are

guided by what you want to accomplish with your years

means each moment will reflect the life you choose to live

so you'll know you're getting the right things done. It

starts with your one thing.