Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 58

Backronyms!

I learned a new word this week thanks to one of my favorite newsletters, Numlock News:

Backronym

Definition: An acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words to create a memorable name

In other words, you name the thing to create the memorable backronym instead of the other way around.

Examples include:

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act)Daylight All Year Leads to Ideal Gains in Happiness and Temperament Act (DAYLIGHT Act)Zeroing Out Money for Buying Influence after Elections Act (ZOMBIE Act)Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT Act)

Backronyms even appear in fiction. In the children’s show Spongebob Squarepants, the antagonist Plankton is married to Karen, who is his computer W.I.F.E. or “Wired Integrated Female Electroencephalograph.”

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is short for “Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division”.

I knew that legislation like the Patriot and Daylight Acts were named this way, but I had always thought that SAD and MADD were just lucky acronyms and not purposefully named to create a backronym.

With this in mind, I thought it would be amusing to create a backronym of my own name. I decided to create them in accordance with my various professions.

It didn’t take long. You should try it, too.

Teacher:
Monumental Agitator Tormenting Troublesome Humans Every Workday

Storytelling consultant:
Maniacally Attracted To Talented Humans Expounding Wildly

Author:
Methodically, Asiduously Typing Tales Hopefully Earning Wages

Storyteller:
Monomaniacally, Artfully Telling Tales, Humorously Extracting Wisdom

Climate change is real. Democrats knew this 30 years ago.

Just for the record:

Climate change is accepted as a dangerous reality by all reasonable people.

Democrats and Republicans alike.

In 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its summary report on the climate emergency, warning that our climate is now changing rapidly almost everywhere and that immediate and massive action is necessary.

That was a huge deal — all 195 member governments had to approve the findings and language in this report, and the report is not ambiguous. The report’s main takeaway, put in a single sentence directly quoted from the report’s press release:

“Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.”

Other than stupid people and people acting purposefully stupid to serve their best interests, climate change is now an accepted fact by everyone.

But I also think it’s important to know that the majority of Democrats had accepted the realities of climate change as far back as 1992 by addressing the dangers of climate change in their 1992 election platform.

More than thirty years ago, Democratic leaders examined the data, listened to scientists, and stated unequivocally that climate change was real and dangerous.

They staked their 1992 election hopes, in part, on this belief.

Meanwhile, the Republicans denied climate change and made fun of their Democratic opponents for believing in such nonsense. They campaigned on anti-science platforms that argued that climate change was a hoax and the Democrats were fear-mongering.

They were either incapable of examining the data and rendering a thoughtful, accurate decision, or they were deliberately obtuse for their own political purposes. It cost us three decades of possible progress.

It doesn’t change anything to point to the dummies and the bad actors of yesteryear, but it should inform us about who to trust today because little has changed. Thirty-two years ago, Democrats attempted to take action to mitigate climate change but were stymied by people who were too stupid to see the problem or chose to close their eyes and pretend it wasn’t happening.

Even though climate change is now an accepted reality by all scientists, every nation on the planet, and most rational people, little has changed in terms of politics.

Today, that same party of dummies and bad actors denigrates scientists and their work whenever their findings fail to serve their purposes. The leader of their party and their presumptive nominee for President repeatedly rejected climate change while in office, claiming that the Earth would soon begin cooling on its own, denying that polar ice is melting, and taking actions to remove all references to climate change from public documents. He proposed deep across-the-board cuts in scientific research in many budget cycles and eliminated regulations designed to mitigate the production of climate change gases.

He said:

“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive.”

He’s also said – more than once – that windmills cause cancer and suggested that bleach and light might cure COVID-19. He touted the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19, too, even after doctors and scientists repeatedly told him otherwise.

Even in the face of overwhelming scientific data, one party is choosing to follow a person who is either too stupid or too self-serving to take action to stave off a rapidly approaching climate crisis.

The other party acknowledged the problem and attempted to take action as far back as 1992.

Love your job.

An 18-year-old hacker from Oxford has been sentenced to indefinite confinement after a series of astounding cybercrimes.

While on bail for hacking Nvidia and the phone company, the hacker’s laptop was confiscated, and he was placed under police protection in a Travelodge hotel.

While there, he used an Amazon Firestick, a mobile phone, and the hotel television to hack Rockstar Games, the creator of the Grand Theft Auto games. He stole 90 clips of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto VI game, then breached Rockstar’s Slack to demand a ransom.

Rockstar claims that the hack cost them $5 million.

At his hearing, the mental health assessment of the hacker stated that he “continued to express the intent to return to cybercrime as soon as possible.”

Of course, this is a tragic story about a young person with obvious and extreme talents who has chosen a disastrous path. Yet I can’t help but admire him a bit. My first novel, “Something Missing,” is about a burglar who is so good at his job that quitting would almost seem wrong. My burglar, Martin, only steals things that go unnoticed by the homeowners, and in returning to their homes week after week, they become his “clients” and he begins to feel affection for them.

Martin eventually finds himself involved in his clients’ lives in surprisingly positive and even lifesaving ways.

Still, he’s a criminal. He’s absolutely breaking the law. He’s stealing, and while doing so, he’s also violating the privacy of individuals and the sanctity of their homes.

It’s not right.

But when you’re so good at something – better than most and perhaps the best – it’s hard to imagine giving it up, even when your unique skillset requires you to break the law.

Loving your job isn’t always great, particularly when that love requires you to become a criminal.

I can’t help but wonder if this hacker feels similarly.

Smoking going away

A student asked me, “Why would anyone start smoking? It just means you’ll have fewer friends.”

It’s a good point. Though smokers and nonsmokers don’t always segregate themselves from one another, it’s often the case.

None of my friends, as far as I know, smoke.

I was going to tell my student, “Smokers also have a lot fewer dating options,” but since he’s still in elementary school, I refrained.

Three years ago, a different student told me, “I wish I liked boys and girls. Then I’d have a lot more chances to find love.”

Also a good point and a beautiful sentiment, though bigots and religious fanatics would disagree.

I didn’t say that to him, either.

But smoking rates have indeed been declining precipitously for a long time. The number of cigarettes sold in the United States has been declining about 4 percent to 5 percent each year as a result of lower uptake, more quitting, and “involuntary exits from the tobacco consumer base.”

That’s Big Tobacco’s way of saying that their product occasionally kills their customers.

Vaping is a problem, of course, and incredibly stupid, but even vaping rates are now declining.

This is all great news.

I highlight this because we often ignore and even reject the notion of progress in the face of our many problems. People love to complain, bemoan, wallow, lament, and even revel in doom-and-gloom scenarios, failing to acknowledge the enormous progress happening around us.

This is a bit of that progress. A lot fewer people are smoking these days. Smoking has been relegated to outdoor locations far away from entranceways, walkways, and general society. Smoking sections in restaurants are relics of the past. Decorative ashtrays are no longer a staple of middle school art classes.

The world has dramatically shifted in a short time in an incredibly positive way.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate that tremendous progress before you return to doom scrolling on your favorite social media app.

Sucker-punched

I was punched in the face – twice – in a dream last night.

Both times, I argued that I had been sucker-punched, but in both cases, my combatants disagreed. They claimed that since we were already arguing and clearly facing each other, the punch would not qualify as a sucker punch. They claimed that a sucker punch only occurs when you trick someone into looking away and then hit them (like Marty McFly does to Biff in “Back to the Future”), or you tap them on the shoulder and then clobber them as they turn around.

This, of course, is nonsense. As someone who has been punched in the face and has punched people in the face countless times throughout my life (though not in more than 25 years), I know a little bit about the etiquette of fists colliding with faces.

I rightfully argued that if you punch someone without any warning that the disagreement is escalating to fisticuffs, it would qualify as a sucker punch. Anytime you punch someone without warning that physical violence is imminent, it’s a sucker punch. You can either verbally declare the onset of hostilities or simply raise your fists to indicate that violence is about to commence.

When I was young, we’d raise one fist to indicate our intent or use verbal declarations like, “You want to go?” or “Meet me at the gates.”

I was also sucker-punched on more than one occasion, and I admittedly sucker-punched at least two people in my time when the element of surprise was required to stop someone from making a terrible choice.

I’m not proud of those moments, but sometimes extreme situations require extreme measures.

I’m always surprised to discover that few people I know have ever been in a fistfight or a physical confrontation of any kind. I’m not sure if this is a function of where I grew up, the types of people in my previous sphere of influence, or my willingness to stand my ground and fight when threatened.

Perhaps a combination of the three.

I also genuinely liked fighting when I was young. I didn’t necessarily enjoy hurting people, but I was always able to take a punch, which allowed me to do well in most physical confrontations. And as stupid as it may sound, I liked the confidence that came from knowing I could handle myself in a fight, and I enjoyed the reputation for being good at something, even if it was something as stupid and dangerous as fighting.

Happily, these days, I only fight in my dreams, and even then, there is apparently a lot less actual fighting and a lot more arguing over the definition of fighting.

A pie for a baby

Years ago, a principal was running my school, and he was a monster.

A narcissist of the highest order.

We had no affection for each other, and we made it abundantly clear, both in action and words.

Happily, he made the mistake of asking me to lie on his behalf about a financial mishap early on in his tenure, and I refused. When he claimed that I was being insubordinate, I told him that I would be more than happy to report this conversation to his superiors and “the whole damn world” if he ever bothered me again in any way. From that point on, we operated in a state of detente.

Happily, he didn’t last long.

Near the end of his tyranny, our school’s PTO sponsored a fundraiser. Large containers were placed in the school lobby – each with a staff member’s name attached. Parents and children were asked to drop money into the jars, and the staff member with the most money in the jars at the end of the month would receive a pie in the face at our weekly assembly.

A brilliant fundraiser, I think. A fun and slightly subversive incentive. And it worked brilliantly. The PTO raised a lot of money, and one teacher in the building was the clear “winner” and would be receiving a pie in the face the following week.

He was thrilled. It was a badge of honor of sorts, and he wore it well.

My principal was not thrilled. He, too, had a jar in the lobby and didn’t come close to winning. In fact, several teachers, including me, beat him handily. But unable to shine the spotlight in any direction but his own, he informed the PTO that they would need two pies:

One is for the winning teacher and a surprise pie for the principal.

The PTO President was not a fan of the principal, but to placate his infantile needs, he grudgingly agreed to the second pie.

On the afternoon of the assembly, I was standing in the wings with the teacher, the principal, and the PTO President. I often cohost our assemblies, and since I was not receiving a pie in the face, I would be the only person on the microphone for this segment, so I was planning the details of the segment. Minutes before we emerged onto the stage, the principal turned to the PTO President and said, “I want both pies.”

“What? I asked.

“I want both pies,” he repeated. “Let’s fake everyone out. Hit me with both. It will be hilarious.”

As I formulated my response, which needed to be annoyingly polite given the presence of the PTO President, the President jumped in and said, “No. Those kids didn’t pay to see you get hit by a pie. You’re lucky we brought a second pie. We shouldn’t have even done that, but since you’re so needy, we agreed. So you’re getting one pie, or I’m walking away with both, and you can explain to 400 kids why they aren’t seeing an old-fashioned pie-in-the-face today.”

Better than I could’ve said it myself.

The principal took way too long to contemplate the situation and then, like a petulant child, agreed.

I’ll never forget it.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an adult act so childish before in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grown-ass man look like such a brat before. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a leader shoved into a corner so effectively.

It was hilarious.

So, the teacher received a pie, and the principal received a pie. As the host, I made sure to play up the moment when the teacher received his pie and downplay the principal’s moment in his petty, fading sun.

Happily, he was gone less than two years later.

Less than a year later, he was ousted from education completely in a highly publicized, front-page investigation by the Hartford Courant into charges of sexual harassment at his new school.

None of this surprised me at all.

There are moments in life that define you as a human being, and I can’t help but think that the two-pie incident defined this man perfectly:

A petulant, childish narcissist who needed every spotlight pointed in his direction at all times and couldn’t bear the thought that someone else might receive a pie.

That is how I will always remember him.

Toilet for the win

Years ago, on the way to Florida, my best friend and I played the “Best of All-Time” game, in which competitors must argue for the best of all time in a variety of categories:

Movies. Books. Dictators. Handheld kitchen appliances. Pick-up lines.

You name it. Anything goes.

When it came to “Best Invention of All-Time,” my buddy said, “Indoor plumbing,” without the slightest hesitation. In a game of hemming and hawing, qualifying and justifying, an instantaneous answer is rare. My initial reaction was that there was no way in hell that indoor plumbing could be more important than inventions like the printing press, the wheel, the plow, or even the computer.

But after almost two decades spent searching for an invention better than indoor plumbing, I’ve decided that my friend was right. The fact that we can turn a faucet and be instantly supplied with clean water at various temperatures is completely underappreciated in modern society. Ridding ourselves of our waste products with the simple flush of the toilet is something for which we should be thanking the Gods of Porcelain on bent knees every day.

Indoor plumbing – absent any medication or vaccination – has also effectively eliminated some of the world’s most persistent and deadly diseases, including dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever.

Don’t get me wrong. The other inventions I mentioned are essential, too, but when you put them in context, I think the truth becomes rather apparent.

The wheel, for example, sounds pretty good until you consider the prospect of a wheelbarrow or an Oldsmobile driving through a street clogged with human waste.

Also, for the record, the wheel wasn’t the game-changer. It was the axle. Wheels are cute, but without axles, they are far less helpful.

The printing press is excellent, but if every family member has died from the plague, who cares if you have any books to read? Admittedly, the printing press allows for the dissemination of information over time, so it’s much harder to develop indoor plumbing and all that it requires without books to hold the information, but I’d still take indoor plumbing over books.

Electricity seems crucial to everyday life, but if you’re pooping in your backyard and urinating against trees, then candles and icehouses don’t seem so bad.

If you think I’m wrong, spend a day without electricity. Though inconvenient, you may find the return to simpler times refreshing. Read a book. Cook your dinner over an open fire. Enjoy the absence of the internet. Gather with the family in the evening for a game of cards over candlelight.

Then, spend a day without the use of a bathroom. Spend the morning digging a trench in the backyard. There is no shower, so after all that digging, fill a bathtub with bottled water and bathe in your own filth. Later that day, defecate in the trench, hoping the mail carrier or the ten-year-old girl next door isn’t looking out her bedroom window at the wrong time. Watch your family defecate in the same trench throughout the day. Pray that you are not contaminating the groundwater with your backyard latrine or attracting a hoard of mosquitoes infected with Lyme disease. Get up in the middle of the night, drag a saucepan from beneath your bed, and pee into it. Throw this saucepan away the following day and fill in the trench.

Indoor plumbing wins every time.

Cinemetic quandaries

When Darth Vader is chasing Luke Skywalker down the trench of the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope, he notes that “the Force is strong with this one.”

Shouldn’t he be more alarmed with this observation?

Less than twenty years earlier, Vader slaughtered every Jedi youngling in the Jedi Temple, effectively ridding the galaxy of future Jedi.

When he encounters a pilot who is strong with the Force, doesn’t he have to wonder why this guy even exists? _____________________________________

Chief Brody blows up the shark at the end of Jaws by firing a rifle at a tank of compressed air exposed in the shark’s mouth.

Moments later, Hooper appears, emerging from his hiding place on the sea floor. He’s presumably watched the shark explode since he emerged seconds later, but he doesn’t ask Brody what happened.

This makes no sense. The shark just exploded, and Hooper has no idea how Brody pulled it off.

Hooper has no idea that:

Brody tossed the tank of compressed air into the shark’s mouth moments before.
Rather than swallowing the tank, the tank remained dangling in the shark’s mouth.
Brody managed to find a high-powered rifle as the boat sank underneath him.
Brody climbed to the top of the mast of the Orca.
As the boat sank, the mast came even with the waterline at a 45-degree angle, allowing Brody a clear shot at the air tank.

How are Hooper’s first words not, “What the hell just happened? How did you do that?”

These are the things that keep me up at night.

Resolution update: February 2024

Every month, I report the progress of my yearly goals to monitor progress (or the lack thereof) and hold myself accountable. The following are the results from February 2024.PERSONAL FITNESS

1. Don’t die.

Still alive.

2. Lose 10 pounds.

I weigh exactly the same amount today as I did on January 1. That may not seem like an achievement, but given that I lost 37 pounds last year, holding steady is a good sign.

Still, I need to start losing some weight to reach my new goal.

3. Do a targeted push-up workout at least four times per week. 

Done.

4. Complete 100 sit-ups four times per week. 

Done.

5. Complete three one-minute planks four times a week.

Done.

6. Cycle for at least five days every week. 

Done. I missed only one day of riding in February because I was traveling. I’ve recorded 61 rides in 60 days in 2024.

7. Meet or beat the USGA’s average golfing handicap for men of 14.2. 

I’ve begun recording my handicap on a new, more accurate, more official app, but I have yet to play enough golf to yield an official handicap. Stupid winter.

WRITING CAREER

8. Complete my eighth novel.

I’ve begun work on the novel based on the editor’s feedback. Excellent progress in February.

9. Write my next Storyworthy book.

I need to meet with my agent and editor to determine the subject of this next book. I spoke to my agent last week but forgot to include this on the agenda.

10. Write, edit, and revise my golf memoir.

I discussed this book with my agent last week and made a plan to proceed.

11. Write my “Advice for Kids” book.

Solid progress was made in February.

12. Write/complete at least three new picture books, including one with a female, non-white protagonist.

Charlie and I have outlined at least two satirical picture books based on a book that Elysha read to her students in January. The books are irreverent, inappropriate, and fantastic.

No progress as of yet.

13. Write about my childhood in partnership with my sister, Kelli, at least twice per month. 

Kelli and I spent a day together in February but forgot to discuss this topic. We will need to do so over the phone, I guess.

14. Launch a Substack.

I have paused this goal, waiting to see what happens to Substack. A small but significant scandal has hit the company, and I don’t want to begin writing on a platform that may die. I will take a wait-and-see approach.

15. Write a new solo show.

All the work on this project is being done in my head since I have never written down anything I ever say onstage, so I don’t have much to show, but I am working hard nonetheless.

16. Write a musical.

No progress.

17. Submit at least three Op-Ed pieces to The New York Times for consideration.

No progress.

18. Write at least four letters to my father.

No progress.

19. Write 150 letters.

I wrote 32 letters in February. Recipients are former and current students, colleagues, friends, two businesses, Elysha, and a Moth producer.

I’ve written a total of 37 letters in 2024.

20. Write to at least six authors about a book I love. 

I identified two authors to whom I will write. No other progress was made.

STORYTELLING/SPEAKING CAREER

21. Perform a new solo show.

A theater has been tentatively secured for the debut of this show, either in August or November of 2024.

22. Complete the re-recording of Storyworthy For Business. 

An outline of the revised course is nearly complete.

23. Record and produce at least two new Storyworthy courses.

No progress. Kind of. I’ve actually recorded two webinars that may become courses that we sell. They may also be added to the platform for members, which would not count as a new course.

So maybe?

24. Produce a total of six Speak Up storytelling events in 2023

Three shows are scheduled for 2024 thus far. These include:

“Matt and Jeni Are Unprepared” on March 2 at TheaterWorks in Hartford.
“Sportsing” on March 16 at the Connecticut Historical Society
A Speak Up – Voices of Hope collaboration on June 17 at the JCC in Hartford

25. Submit pitches to at least three upcoming TEDx events, hoping to be accepted by one.

No progress.

I will be speaking at TEDxBU on April 20.

26. Attend at least eight Moth events with the intention of telling a story.

I attended one Moth StorySLAM in February.

One Moth event so far in 2024.

27. Win at least one Moth StorySLAM.

Done! I won the Boston StorySLAM. My 60th Moth StorySLAM victory!

28. Win a Moth GrandSLAM.

I was supposed to attend a Moth GrandSLAM in New York in February, but a snowstorm prevented me from attending.

I’ll be performing in a GrandSLAM in Boston in February and Seattle in October. My New York City GrandSLAM appearance has been rescheduled for later in the year.

29. Pitch “You’re a Monster, Matthew Dicks” to at least a dozen theaters and/or directors in 2023. 

I pitched “You’re a Monster, Matthew Dicks” to one theater in January.

I will be performing the show on March 30 at the Mopco Improv Theater in Schenectady, New York.

30. Produce at least 24 episodes of our podcast Speak Up Storytelling.

No progress.

31. Perform stand-up at least six times. 

No progress.

32. Pitch three stories to This American Life.

One story has been pitched thus far.

33. Submit at least three pitches to Marc Maron’s WTF podcast.

No progress.

34. Send a newsletter to readers at least 50 times. 

Three newsletters were sent in February. Six so far in 2024.

HOME

35. Organize the basement.

We are still collecting estimates for finishing the entire basement, which would necessitate a complete reorganization.

36. Clear the garage of unwanted items.

I swept out the fall leaves from the garage in February.

FAMILY/FRIENDS

37. Text or call my brother or sister once per month. 

Texted my brother and visited my sister in February.

38. Take at least one photo of my children every day.

Done.

39. Take at least one photo with Elysha and me each week.

Two photos of Elysha and me were taken in February, doubling last month’s total.

40. Plan a reunion of the Heavy Metal Playhouse.

No progress. But in a strange coincidence, it turns out that a teacher in our school grew up in Attleboro, where the Heavy Metal Playhouse was located, and is friends with the person who manages Crystal Village, where it was located.

An in-person reunion is probably impossible given how spread out my friends are today, but it gave me a little hope.

41. I will not comment positively or negatively about the physical appearance of any person save my wife and children to reduce the focus on physical appearance in our culture overall.

Done.

42. Surprise Elysha at least 12 times.

I surprised Elysha in February twice:

Tickets to “Merrily We Go Along” on Broadway – a show she very much wanted to see – for Valentine’s Day
A card sent to her school offering words of encouragement

In January, I surprised her with tickets to “Little Shop of Horrors” on Broadway

43. Play poker at least six times.

No progress.

44. Spend at least six days with my best friend of more than 30 years.

No progress.

MUSIC

45. Memorize the lyrics to at least five favorite songs. 

No progress.

46. Practice the flute at least four times per week.

I’ve practiced six times in February. Not great.

MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTS

47. Read at least 12 books.

I read three books in February:

”Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama” by Bob Odenkirk
“The Power of Regret” by Daniel Pink
“Fluke” by Brian Klass

I’m currently reading:

”Smart Brevity” by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
“The Power Broker” by Robert Caro
“Hello, Molly” by Molly Shannon

Books read in 2024 include:

“Upstream” by Chip Heath
”Happy Pepple Are Annoying” by Josh Peck
”Smart Brevity” by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
“The Power Broker” by Robert Caro
“Hello, Molly” by Molly Shannon

48. Finish reading TIME’s 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time. 

No progress. I’ve read 22 books from the list thus far.

49. Unify my passwords using a password manager.

Great progress was made in February. I am still finding passwords in need of unification, but most are now securely protected by a program called One Password. I also need to remove Last Pass from my computer so I don’t have competing programs.

50. Learn to use QuickBooks for my business.

Done! Invoicing, payroll, and taxes are now all being managed via QuickBooks. Much easier than I thought.

51. Rectify the heating problem in my studio.

I received estimates on this project, which is on hold as we debate finishing the entire basement as a part of the process.

52. Learn the names of every employee who works at my school.

I learned the name of one new person in February. I’m now in the process of counting the number of people whose names I don’t know.

53. Assemble a complete toolbox.

Progress! I ordered almost all of the necessary tools and a box in which to organize them. I need to gather the stray tools around the house, consolidate everything into one place, and rid myself of redundant tools.

54. Edit our wedding footage into a movie of the day.

No progress.

55. Memorize three new poems.

I have nearly memorized “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, which is longer than you think.

I can also perform the poem in ASL.

56. Complete my Eagle Scout project.

No progress.

57. Post my progress regarding these resolutions on this blog and social media on the first day of every month.

Done.

Teach people how to deal with you

I was speaking to a business associate last week. She and I exchange a great deal of work regularly.

We have quite a few ongoing projects at the moment. Amid the conversation, she said, “Is it better if I send you an email containing a link to each project or one large email containing all the projects?”

I thought this was such a smart question.

People like to work in different ways. In a case like this, some folks, and perhaps most, would prefer everything in one place, whereas others would like each project separate from the other.

I told her that I respond to emails based on my available time. This pushes larger, complex emails down on the list because they require me to carve out time to address them, whereas I will make good use of the five or ten minutes I have available to me many times throughout the day to take care of smaller tasks.

“Great,” she said. “I’ll send each project in a separate email and send those emails in order of importance.”

Since then, our system has worked brilliantly.

It was a good lesson for me:

Teach people how you work best. Explain your systems, your thought processes, and how you use your time so that they can work in conjunction with you in the best possible way.

Equally important, ask your patterns and colleagues how they prefer to work like my business associate did so you can adjust, whenever possible, to their preferences.

Teach people how to best deal with you, and learn about how to best deal with people, and work will get done better, faster, and more efficiently.