As we loaded the grenades into his under-armored Humvee, he snapped. He was talking to us one second and violently throwing up his lunch the next. Apparently, loading live explosives into the vehicle you’ll be living in for a few days makes reality more - well - real.

Amidst retches, he would would propose a “What if?” “What if…retch…what if…retch…what if?”

This was his first time going on a new route in the combat zone with new troops. And to make matters worse, he was in charge. The uncertainty of it all was taking over him.

Retch.

We did what any leader in the situation would do: we finished loading his grenades and ammo while he continued to rid himself of his lunch. To hold his hand and reassure him would make matters worse in the culture we were in.

Later on we walked through the entire plan with him again. We did another map recon. We walked through almost every possible scenario and worked with him and his team on how’d they’d respond. We double-checked all of his equipment - especially his navigation and communication equipment - and told him he had every tool he needed to make it through. It was time for him to lead.

Talk to anybody about to launch something big and you’re bound to hear them say they’re ready to hurl - or they can’t talk about it without hyperventilating - or they’re scared shitless. The same fear of uncertainty that caused our leader to lose his lunch strikes just about everyone doing anything worth doing at some point or the other. Especially if they’re in charge.

And working through that fear requires the same principle: 1) acknowledge the fear and its consequences, 2) work through every bad scenario that runs through your way, and 3) figure out ways to work through that scenario. The fear that there’s something you’re forgetting will be there, but you have to trust yourself and your processes enough to know that you can get through them when they happen.

After you’ve done that, it’s time for you to act. The fear will still be there, but you’ll do better than you think you will as long as you keep moving towards your goal.

Be careful with those grenades.

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• Broaden your notions of “productivity”
• Consider how gender roles and socialization script what people care about

A common issue that I’ve heard from women is the tension between being productive and taking care of their families. The idea seems to be that “being productive” and taking care of their families, friends, and loved ones are two different types of things to the extent that they view it as an either/or prospect: they can either “get things done” or they can maintain relationships and help nurture the people around them.

This is yet another reason why productivity is bunk.

Let’s be more constructive here and review the history of productivity - it’s easy to see where we went wrong. “Productivity” and “progress” have largely been defined and discussed by men. Historically, men have (intentionally or not) downplayed the importance of family and social relationships. In essence, since men have been doing all the talking when it comes to productivity and progress (and, let’s be real here, about almost everything) and men haven’t been entirely focused on family and social relationships, there’s no wonder that our measures of productivity and progress don’t (usually) include stuff like hanging out with the kids, taking care of parents, or building a strong neighborhood.

So, You’re Saying Men Don’t Care About Family and Women Do?

I hate sexual essentialist claims. They’re bullshit. Here’s what looks like one: “Men don’t care about family as much as women do.” Here’s another: “Mothers care more about their kids than fathers do” - (so, by the way, in cases of divorce, there’s a presumption that women should get the kids and men have to prove why they’re more fit.)

Let’s start with the first claim. If it means “due to the way men are socialized, they (historically) haven’t included parenting and caretaking as essential to their identity,” then fine, I yield. That’s true.

If it means “there’s something in male nature that disposes them to not care about parenting and caretaking,” then I’m throwing the flag.

You may think it’s weird that I’m writing a post that asks how things would be different if women cared about productivity while claiming that it’s not useful to attribute behaviors to the different sexes. Don’t take your toys and go home just yet.

Gender Associations, Occupations, and Getting Real

Let’s play a little game. On the left hand column of the table I’ll put a profession, and on the right hand column, you put whether a man or a women is your first image. Be honest.

Despite the fact that carrying out these different occupations have nothing to do with being male or female, most of us, if we are honest, still conjure up a man or a woman for the different occupations. Of course, it’s not limited to occupations. Let’s take characteristics:

The same goes here, perhaps more forcefully. The point again is that we’ve been socialized into thinking that men and women do different things because they have different characteristics.

You’ll no doubt notice that I threw in gender rather than sex in my headline above. It’s not that I don’t understand the difference between gender and sex, but rather that we (especially in the Western world) only map feminine traits to females and masculine traits to males. The reality is that gender is on a spectrum while there are only three sexes (male, female, and intersexed). Gender is about behaviors - sex is about sexual organs.

“Productivity,” because it’s so often spoken of in ways that relate to business, is gender-biased. The result: (Western) women care less about “productivity” than (Western) men. Think in generalities here since we’re talking about cultures - in any given culture there are always outliers.

Productivity Is About More Than Countable Things

“Productivity” has become focused on Getting Things Done, hacks to make using technology more efficient, and has resulted in a host of sites dedicated to coming up with [Absurd number]+[Ways to]+[Save time]+[by doing something you haven't thought about doing]. It’s old, and frankly, there are better things to talk about.

Yes, I recognize that I write about productivity. No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saving time on the things that are important. But I’m tired of hearing a bunch of dudes sitting around talking to each other. Yes, I also recognize that I’m a dude - but, for what it’s worth, I started talking about productivity because the tips, tricks, hacks, and lists didn’t really translate into what I was doing and I got tired of translating what I was doing into those tips, tricks, hacks, and lists.

Let’s be real here: males in our society get wrapped up around the countable things in life. Money, time, “contacts,” cars, women - if it’s countable, we’ll add it to the list of other things we have that are countable.

On the other end of the spectrum are the complex things you can’t count, such as relationships and experience, which are tended to by our kinkeepers - the role historically filled by women.

Ironically, it’s only once males age and get over being “men” that they realize that a better life comes not by increasing the number of things in life, but by increasing the quality of relationships and experiences in life.

If women were truly part of the conversation rather than being what the conversation is about, we’d talk more about the things in life that actually matter rather than the things we’re comfortable talking about. In every case, the more diverse the discussants of the conversation, the better the quality of the conversation.

I don’t actually know what would happen if women cared about productivity. I suspect we would:

The Broader Implications for the Human Condition

Please understand me here: I’m not coming from the position that women actually *get* life and what’s important and are the saviors of humankind. That would just replace one socially-indoctrinated form of sexism with another form of sexism. I am saying that having the perspectives of half of the population who are socialized to be concerned about different facets of the human condition would make our discussions of productivity, progress, and personal development more informed, interesting, and useful.

I’m hopeful that we’ll see progress on this front as more men become stay at home dads and more moms become the breadwinners. These gender role switch-ups, though uncomfortable for the individuals, introduce different perspectives into traditional conversations. When we accept and cherish those of alternative sexual orientations, our understanding of what matters in life - and who gets to live the good life and why - change, too.

We’ll have made it a long way once a majority of the people actually challenge the notion that men should be breadwinners and women should be caretakers. We’ll be there once there’s no socialized assumption to that effect that needs challenging.

Until then, let’s change the conversations and keep asking better questions.

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A few quick notes I’d like to point out:

• I’ve included a User’s Guide for the Productivity Planners. I understand that those planners are fairly intimidating at first and wanted to give some pointers to help make the transition. The Guide is just text right now and is pretty ugly, but rather than obsess over making it pretty and new, I wanted to throw it out there and see if people liked it. I’d appreciate any feedback regarding the usefulness of the guide.
• The half-page version of “The Productivity Jumpstarter” is included in this month’s updates. Again, use it freely, but feedback is very much appreciated on this version.
• I’ve had several people ask me about the Freelancer planners. They’re up next unless another design hits me and I absolutely must get it out. Thanks for the pokes and nudges and please do keep them coming.

December is a great month for dreams, but the holiday mindset makes it a hard month to start and complete big projects. Take the month to dream big and finish some of the smaller projects - and while you’re with family, friends, and loved ones, think about the projects and the domains of your life that support who you want to be. Let’s come out swinging in January!!

Productivity Heatmap:

Basic idea: We are more productive at some times rather than others.
Use when: You’re trying to figure out when you’re the most productive.
For more information: How Heatmapping Your Productivity Can Make You More Productive

Download: Blank Daily Productivity Heatmap (5504)

The Productivity Planner Series:

Basic Idea: Once you know when you work best, why not plan your weeks and days around that information? Do more work in less time be leveraging your natural rhythms.
Use when: You’re planning your day or week.
For more information: Read the Productivity Planners User Guide (82)

Downloads:
Daily Productivity Planner - December (154)
Weekly Productivity Planner - December (131)

The Productivity Jumpstarter

Basic Idea: Sometimes we’re running around being busy but aren’t really being productive. This aid helps you stop running in circles and start making meaningful progress on your goals.
Use when: You have no idea what you should be doing and are tired of running in circles.

Download: Productivity Jumpstater (v.2) (113)

The Blog Post Planner and Calendar

Basic Idea: Brainstorming and planning your posts ahead of time may help you have a more streamlined, consistent, and insightful blog. Your mileage may vary, but it’s worth a shot!
Use when: You want to improve your blogging posts and habits.
For more information: The Blog Post Planner and Calendar - skip down to “How to Use These Planners” if you don’t need to be sold on why to use them.

Downloads:
Blog Post Planner - December (46)
Blog Post Calendar - December (31)
Blog Post Planner-Calendar Combo Pack (December) (49)

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Hyperconnectivity comes from the type of communication and interactions people exhibit in highly networked organizations and societies. Most discussions of hyperconnectivity focus on the use of technology and how technology changes communications and interactions; today’s point is broader. Hyperconnectivity goes to the root of how we think and how our lives unfold.

To make this less abstract, I’m going to use some parallel examples. Each example illustrates the nature of hyperconnectivity in a slightly different sphere, but the fascinating bit is their inter-relatedness.

The Idea Node

One great idea leads to another. Right?

Wrong. One great idea connects a lot of other ideas. The truly remarkable ideas are those that connect many different facets of the human experience and unites them under one meaningful structure. For instance, the greatest scientific insights are those that explain observed phenomena better than competing theories while also providing novel predictions. These types of ideas aren’t limited to science: best business practices translate across industries and create better systems, great designs capture the aestheticism of multiple ideas, and powerful programming frameworks allow for better programs.

Each of us can come up with a lot of ideas, and let’s be honest: the mechanics of blogging benefit a lot of people precisely because ideas don’t have to be great - they can just be. But the truth is, creatives don’t really want to come up with a ton of ideas; we want to come up with a ton of great ideas that connect with other ideas. The tighter the relationship between our great ideas, the more powerful those ideas are.

Opportunity Chains

I learned about opportunities the wrong way. I was taught - indirectly, mind you - to assess opportunities discretely, by which you analyze the particular strengths and weaknesses of a single opportunity without necessarily factoring in the way that opportunity was connected with other opportunities.

I now understand that the greatest opportunities start chains that link to other opportunities. For example, were I to write a decently selling book outside of my true interests, I’d start an opportunity chain along a certain route. Were I to write a book within my area of interests, I’d be far better off, even if that book didn’t sell as well as the first one. This is because the opportunity chain that’s set up via the latter route is much richer and connected with more opportunities that I’m likely to be able to flourish in than the former route. The latter opportunity chain sets up a streamlined future.

The interesting thing about opportunity chains is that the buy-in to the chain takes work; it’s hard to get to critical mass on the right opportunity chains. But once you do, the chain sustains itself. Stick with the right chain, and success is an unintended but consistent byproduct; stick with the wrong chain and being successful is a struggle and difficult to repeat.

Networking, Remixed

Old paradigm: “It’s about who you know, not what you know.” New paradigm: “It’s about how you’re connected with other people’s networks, not who you know.”

What good is knowing thousands of people if very few of those people are willing to introduce you to their networks? It’s far better to know a tenth of those people and have those people connect you with their network. I am not at all saying that it’s not important to network with as many people as you can sustain. However, it doesn’t help you at all if you’re just another networker. If you’re remarkable and add value to people, they will remember you and will naturally introduce you to their network precisely because too many people are spending their time yelling to get attention rather than thinking about what to do with people’s attention once they have it.

Be warned: the surest way to fail at hyperconnecting with people is to try to connect with their networks. The nature of the digital world has by necessity made us better at sensing network manipulators. Besides, trying to connect with people’s network is falling into the same “quality vs. quantity” trap all over again. Instead, focus on providing value to that one person by connecting them with other people, opportunities, and ideas.

One last caveat: trying to connect people with your product and service will trigger alarms; sell after you’ve added value in other ways rather than before. If you do this correctly, you’ll never have to try to sell your product or service.

Connecting It All Together

It’s fitting that the examples of connectedness are connected. If you have great ideas, then your opportunity chains and networks will become richer. If you have rich networks, your opportunity chains and ideas will become richer. If you have great opportunity chains, then great networks and rich ideas happen.

Another feature of hyperconnectedness is that the effect of effort is exponential rather than scalar. Unfortunately, we understand and measure our success using scalar thinking. We understand that one hour of work yields a determinable amount of yield. It’s much harder to measure what one rich connection with a person yields, but it’s usually exponentially greater than the amount of value that we put into the connection. The fact that the return may not be immediate also muddies things for us considerably.

Web2.0 has enabled hyperconnectivity in unprecedented ways and our thinking about hyperconnectivity hasn’t caught up. The problem that many of us have with social media highlights the last point precisely. Each person that sees and shares your content, service, or product amplifies the visibility of that product by the number of people in their network. It may not take off after the first person shares it, or the second, or the third, but at some point, it has been shared with hundreds or thousands of people. The tighter the connection of the people who are showing it, the more likely that it’ll take off in those networks.

Many of us understand the first part of the equation above and focus on the quantity of people seeing the content, product, or service while forgetting the connectedness part of the equation. The result is that we don’t get the exponential returns - we get the scalar return.

Lastly, hyperconnected ideas, opportunities, and networks pull the things they affect closer to them. Rich ideas “pull” other ideas together. Rich opportunity chains create other opportunities. Rich networks connections make second, third, and fourth tier connections tighter.

Whether it’s in ideas, opportunities, or networks, look at the quality of connections and think about nodes, networks, and chains. Set up opportunities that start rich opportunity chains. Focus on the big ideas that tie others together or that shift paradigms. Think about the value you’re providing to individuals that are part of larger networks. Connectedness is out - hyperconnectedness is in. Are you?

I’d love to hear your feedback! If you comment by Friday, November 28th, 2008, you’ll automatically be part of a drawing to win a free copy of Seth Godin’s book Tribes. Trackbacks count as comments, too, and you can double your chances by doing both.

Why Tribes? Because the book is about building hyperconnected communities. He doesn’t say it that way - but the point is the same.

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Those were the first questions I asked myself when I looked into Twitter. I asked myself those questions because, honestly, that was what the marketers of Twitter used on their landing page.

It’s a horrible way to market Twitter. Because when you get on Twitter, you realize that very few people actually use Twitter that way (or solely use it that way). Or at least, very few people of the A-list twitizens and the people I follow do. Here’s the truth of it: unless you’re doing something really interesting or unique, most people don’t care.

Which is why I think it’s a horrible way to market Twitter. How many of us either are doing something really interesting/unique (or think what we’re doing is interesting or unique) or would be willing to take the time to announce that we are doing it? In fairness, the early adopters of Twitter probably did care what each other were doing. Maybe they were techies or marketing mavens or used Twitter as the marketers describe.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Normally I would start talking by explaining what something is before I move on to other points to consider, but that’s my point - Twitter is one of those fascinating services that bends to the will of its users. The developers basically gave us a way to connect with other people, 140 characters at a time. What we do with those characters is a different matter entirely.

Here’s how it works. You sign up - it’s free. You get 140 characters to say whatever you want - these 140 character blurbs are called “tweets.” You follow other people, and when they tweet, it shows up on your page. When they follow you, your tweets show up on theirs. That’s it.

The Many Faces of Twitter

Back to my original question: what’s the point of doing this? There’s no real way to answer that question. Here’s something I can answer: How are people using this service?

Here are some of the ways people are using Twitter:

• Updating their friends (followers) about what they’re doing

I know, I complained that it’s a horrible way to market the service, but some people use it this way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, but most people don’t care about your love of tomatoes. General rule: if it’s mundane enough that you normally wouldn’t tell your friends you’re doing it, then don’t tweet it.

• Engaging in conversations

Conversations abound on Twitter. Sometimes it can seem like a lot of people talking past each other, but there are also times in which you jump onto a conversation that turns out to be really fruitful. I think of it as a virtual watercooler - many of us show up when we’re taking a break from working to catch up with our friends and followers.

• Marketing and self-promotion

Give people a channel to spread information, and they will market their wares. Believe it or not, it can actually be an effective channel due to the opt-in nature of following people. If someone has chosen to follow you, there’s a good chance that they may be interested in your product, whether that be your blog, your ebook, or the conference you’re organizing.

• Coming up with ideas

Stuck on an idea? Trying to get one? Twitter is a great place for this. More on this after the jump.

• Feeling the pulse of the Internet

The Internet is a busy place. It’s also really scattered geographically. Twitter unifies a lot of what’s going on because so many bloggers and internet types use the service.

• Organizing Tweetups

If you follow people from your area - or follow and are followed by people that are interested in things you’re interested in - it’s pretty easy to organize events. The viral nature of Twitter means that an effective information push can reach far and wide.

• Sharing news and information

There’s an interesting mix of news and information that gets spread on Twitter. Sometimes it’s interesting local news, sometimes it’s the random information that people are researching and writing about, and the big news always bubbles to the top of the Twitterverse.

This list is not exhaustive, and I’m sure people will use it new ways tomorrow.

Twitter, for Creatives

Having a place to connect with other creatives and discuss your ideas is critical for creatives. It’s too easy to get stuck in our own worlds and spin around in circles when what we really need is to talk about those ideas.

Furthermore, Twitter is inherently an idea generating space. The diversity, the wealth of ideas, and the willingness of Twitizens to talk about interesting ideas make it such that it’s the first place I turn to if I’m needing to immerse myself in an idea culture. The fact that so many other creatives do the same thing is what makes it such a powerful tool. It’s like a support group you only attend when you need the support or want to offer support.

As I mentioned above, Twitter can be an effective marketing and self-promotion platform. I know that both terms make a lot of people cringe or feel dirty, but the fact is you have to get your work out there for the world to see. Every one of your followers has opted in to see what you’re doing, so it’s also not like you’re cold calling. You’re just saying “look what I just created” - and that’s enough.

I can’t help but note how effective Twitter is at helping you and your ideas achieve critical mass. Every person that follows you spreads your message. If you’re using Twitter to discuss your ideas and help other generate ideas, then every helpful or idea-laden tweet is seen not only by your followers, but potentially their followers, as well. It’s a slow build-up at first, but at a certain point it pays off nicely.

So, returning to the question: what’s the point of (you, as a creative) using Twitter? To help you come up with ideas, connect with others, and help spread ideas.

Why You Wouldn’t Want to Use Twitter

There’s a dark side to Twitter. It’s all too easy to become immersed in what’s going on, to the point that you spend your creative work time tweeting. It’s even worse than instant messaging in this regard because people you’re not IM’ing can walk into your IM session.

I struggle with this some days. I enjoy idea play entirely more than I should and walking into an idea playground can be dangerous for me. There have been a few times where I wore myself out maintaining conversations, playing with ideas, and being too plugged in, in general. As with most things in life, moderation is key.

In theory, you can get around this problem by only logging in and tweeting for set times. If you have a spare 15 minutes and want to see what’s going on, then log in. Do not show up to Twitter without having some constraint unless you want to see a few hours go by before you know it. This is especially the case if you have people you’ve made strong connections with on Twitter. Again, imagine a watercooler where everyone there is someone you’d want to chat with.

Some of the Twitter apps make using Twitter easier to use, but they come at a cost, too. Tweetdeck, for instance, allows you to put twitter users into groups and sorts them for you. +1 for usability. That functionality also makes it harder to log off because the tweets you’re watching are more relevant to you and are probably from people that interest you. -1 for distractions. Unfortunately, the only way you’re really going to be able to make sense out of 100+ followers is by using an app - it’s too much information to process without one.

I’m just going to advise you to be mindful of how much time you’re putting on Twitter. It’s easy to go overboard - but there are very good payoffs if you’re mindful of how to use the service. Remember: Twitter can help you in critical phases of your workflow, but it’s not your work.

My twitter username is CharlieGilkey. Feel free to follow me - I’ll probably follow you back. Welcome to the conversation!

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The test case for this was the way in which I stalled for the longest time on starting coaching because I struggled with the fact that I’m not a really exciting guy. I’m not flashy, particularly funny, and most things people would pay me for have little to do with the things that most people find interesting about me. Who would want to spend an hour on the phone with me?

Paralysis by Analysis

In my academic and military life, being interesting is a secondary issue. In those domains, as long as I’m teaching, coming up with great ideas, and leading others to get things done, I’m good. None of the expectations others have of me include “be an interesting or fun person” as a point of consideration.

The expectations change, though, when people are paying for both your expertise and your personality. If the “competition” is just as smart as I am but give a better experience for their clients, I lose. The only way to compete in that type of match, assuming I don’t become more “fun,” is to offer more than the next coach. Not only do you get phone coaching, but you get unlimited email support…and a book…and a T-shirt…[insert chain of giveaways here].

I foresaw that that type of progression would break me. I’d be offering more and more stuff and probably not be helping anymore than if I didn’t do it in the first place - they would basically be gimmicks to get people to start with my services and they’d most likely stick due to commitment inertia. And it would start the inane “arms race” in which I would keep having to one up the competition with more goodies.

Given that I’m good at thinking of things that may affect the life of a project, I saw all of this coming and didn’t see a way of getting around it. If those were the rules of the game, I didn’t want to play.

I want people to choose me because we resonate. I want people to stick with me because I’m helping them in the present and not because they made a decision in the past. I want my clients to know that I’m walking the road with them, cheering their big and small victories, and helping them get unstuck if they veer off the path they want to be on.

If I couldn’t have that, coaching wouldn’t be worth doing. Other people would be far better at taking the money of those potential clients and perhaps helping them along the way - and I’d have more time to do other things that spread value a little better.

What Changed?

Friends pushed me and referred me to others. I was my normal, uninteresting, helpful self with people who I wasn’t trying to turn into clients, and they decided they wanted to hire me. I hung my shingle, said I’m a creativity and project coach, and my natural brand did the rest. It turns out that I never really had to sell myself as something other than what I am and to this day I haven’t had to cold call.

In the end, it made me think about why I hire people. The experience is important, but the experience doesn’t have to be entertaining. The questions I ask about the value of what I paid for are questions like “was she helpful?”; “was he interesting?”; “did she do something for me that I couldn’t do or help me do something I couldn’t do on my own?”; or “did he make me feel like my concerns and problems were important?”

Obviously, if the person is an ass, it will bear on those questions. But unless I’m going to see a comedy show or a professional entertainer, I’m not really expecting the person to be entertaining. Hindsight makes you see things a lot differently.

[Post-publish edit, responding to Vered's comment]: I got the idea that I had to be interesting and/or entertaining by looking at the types of people I found interesting were. Merlin Mann, Seth Godin, Brian Clark, Naomi Dunford, etc. They have a panache and story that I lack, comparatively. I completely misunderstood what it meant to provide a good experience for the client and what it meant to be remarkable. [end edit]

Do I wish I had a neat background story that made people feel like they were talking to somebody really special? Sure, but who doesn’t? But it’s probably better this way. I can be who I naturally am, and people can take it or leave it. I know I help those I work with. Rather than trying to figure out what I should be doing and what I could be offering to outpace my “competition,” I can offer less by just being me.

That’s a game I can play.

**Special thanks to Havi for writing a post on vulnerability that prompted me to action. And to Mynde for being herself and being open to letting others in. And to those friends who harass me into action push me to become a better person and help others in the process - you know who you are, and without your efforts, my life would have far fewer possibilities than it now does. Thank you.**

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I saw the picture above yesterday and my heart sank. I found it here, and while the article was powerful in relation to what’s going on with the large plastic dumps on either side of Hawaii, the turtle is what broke me.

I’ve been trying to figure out why. Maybe because I had turtles as a kid? Maybe because they’re iconic to me for peaceful, laid-back creatures.¹ Who knows, and who cares: the fact is that the turtle moved me to action.

Think about it for a second: That poor turtle has lived the majority of its life constricted by the plastic band. Its entire skeleton has had to restructure itself to keep the being alive. Also think about it as a metaphor of how we’ve altered the planet as a whole.

After being heartbroken from seeing and thinking about the turtle, another one of my frustrations and disappointments with myself came up: my omnivorism. What’s the connection?

I’m starting to become more activistic about our need to be more mindful of the environment in our everyday actions. I feel torn in being a true advocate, however, when I’m aware of the toll that eating meat has on the environment. I’m not trying to leverage facts and present an argument here - I’m just drawing loose connections and may present an argument later. (Here’s a start, though.)

So, while my first reaction was indignation and wanting to pick up the torch to raise awareness about this plastic dump and the turtles - by God, the turtles! - the part of me that hates cognitive dissonance and hypocrites rightly pointed out that it’s inconsistent to champion the preservation of the environment while my habits are part of the problem.

Here’s the deal, though: we have to start somewhere. Yes, I eat meat, and I’m working on that, for more reasons than the turtles. But it doesn’t need to stop me from spreading the word about this plastic soup in our lovely oceans. Or about the plight of the turtles, birds, fish, and other assortment of animals that are living painful lives and dying painful deaths because it was just too damned inconvenient for ships to haul their trash with them.

Of course, while the plastic soup and turtle serve as the context for this particular problem, the larger issue is how much we let our personal frustrations, disappointments, and fear of being flawed beings hold us back from spreading value throughout the world. Rather than acknowledging that we have some areas to work on while we’re helping others, we allow ourselves to bottle up, hide behind our perceived failings, and fret while other beings suffer.

We’re not perfect, and we never will be. We have to fix this plane while we’re flying it. And maybe we can save some turtles while we’re at it.

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Imagine yourself having one of those days where you’re running around like crazy but not really getting anything done. The intent of this aid is to help you focus and actually get a few things done.

An alternate design using much of the same material only takes up half the page. Please, take a look and let me know what you think.

This is not the final version.
Productivity Jumpstarter (226)

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One of these days I’ll figure out how to put a dynamic counter after each post, but then there’s the old “I switched domain names” problem that causes wackiness when it comes to adding up pageviews. Oy!

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We cared as much about other people as we do about our pets?

We spent the time we spend researching celebrities and athletes figuring out what makes our kids tick?

We enjoyed success of others as much as we enjoy our own success?

We stopped praying for solutions to problems we’ve caused and start fixing them ourselves?

We believed the only way to get the Good Stuff of human life is to help others get it first?

We believed that people would manifest the best parts of themselves if they had the opportunity to do so?

Our culture didn’t reinforce that sticking to the status quo is good and creative thinking is bad or dangerous?

We trusted before we distrusted people?

We didn’t feel we had to compete for the attention of our loved ones?

There are no easy, clear answers to these questions that I, or the universe, could give?

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