Mike Vardy's Blog, page 117

Time for Downtime

Life isn’t a race. We surely aren’t trying to see who gets to the end first. It’s not even something you can really “win” either.

The thing about life is that it goes by so fast that you end up counting the moments instead of living them. You really understand this once you have children. They develop each and every day and you watch them as they develop. Some of us get to see more of at development – either by choice or by default – while others only get glimpses of it –also by choice or by default.

I miss moments with my children because I have spend my time in other moments…and that’s okay. The fact I’m aware of that – and make sure that I spend my time wisely on both sides of the equation – makes it okay. I’ve put measures and systems in place to assure that my time – my moments – count, no matter where I spend them as opposed to spending my time counting them instead.

Downtime is the key to achieving that awareness, that sense of understanding and knowing. That’s why you need downtime – so you can be better during your “uptime” periods.

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Published on March 13, 2013 04:00

How to Deal with the Daylight Savings Time Shift

This past weekend a great deal of us in North America “sprung forward” thanks to the Daylight Savings Time shift. Many people bemoan the change, saying we need to stick with one set of regular time (Standard Time) or the one we’ve just switched to, offering several arguments to support their case.1

I am able to deal with the shift – even with kids – for one simple reason: I don’t fight my body clock.

I don’t change my waking and sleeping habits on a wholesale level. I don’t make the quick shift to my internal clock.

If you’re an early riser and usually get up at 5 a.m., get up at 6 a.m. instead. Sure, you can slowly work your way back to 5 a.m. (especially since with Daylight Savings Time you have more weeks to make that happen), but don’t flip the switch ahead one hour like you do with the clocks in your house. That’s fighting your body clock, and you’re taking energy away from where it could be better spent to do so.

If you’re a night owl, the easiest thing you can do is go to bed when the clock says it’s your usual bedtime. You’re going to have an easier time making the shift because daylight arrives that much “sooner” now, so if you hit the sack one hour earlier – like I did last night – then you’ll feel like you’re ready to wake up an hour earlier as well. You don’t necessarily need to get up earlier, but you’ll feel as if you can and not compromise your efficiency and effectiveness.

We tend to get too caught up in the “springing forward” component of the Daylight Savings Time shift (just as we do when we seemingly get that hour of sleep back in Autumn). But we don’t really lose or gain an hour of sleep when these shifts happen; our day simply shifts. How we use those hours in the day may change, but it doesn’t have to happen on one fell swoop. In fact, my making it happen in one fell swoop you run the risk of making it more of a grind than a shift.

I think it’s better to lean into this changing of hours rather than attack it with a “full speed ahead” mentality. You’ll avoid the fight with your body clock, you’ll avoid the stress of the shift itself, and you’ll avoid a drop in your overall productivity.

1 Dr. Drang has excellent thoughts on Daylight Savings Time that are well worth reading.

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Published on March 11, 2013 10:38

The Front Nine: Now in Print

This week Diversion Books released my book, The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want in print.

While that doesn’t mean it’s going to turn up in brick and mortar bookstores all over the globe it does mean you can order a good ol’ fashioned paper book direct from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.1 The going rate for the print edition of the book is $9.99, so if you are one of those folks that likes to have a book like this easily visible on your bookshelf…then you’re in luck.

Big thanks to Mary Cummings and the team at Diversion Books for doing this – and if you’re looking to get your hands on a print copy of The Front Nine for yourself, you can order one below:2

The Front Nine (Paperback) at Amazon The Front Nine (Paperback) at Barnes & Noble

And if you do pick up a copy – or already have one – I’d love it if you could leave a review (leaving a review at Goodreads never hurts, either).

Thanks again for your support of the book – it really means a lot.

1 Several other online retailers will be offering it soon enough, I’m told.

2 If you’re still in need of the e-book version, you can buy it here.

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Published on March 10, 2013 14:53

My OmniFocus Setup Talk

The Omni Group has released the remaining talks from The OmniFocus Setup, and mine is included among them.

A More Meaningful To Do List from The Omni Group on Vimeo

There are also some great talks by Kourosh Dini, David Sparks, and Merlin Mann that were unveiled – as well as the panel discussion that took place at the tail end of the event.

OmniFocus Setup Panel and Q&A from The Omni Group on Vimeo

I was incredibly honoured to be part of this event. Thanks to Ken Case and The Omni Group team for inviting me to be part of it.

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Published on March 08, 2013 19:21

Projects First, Task Second

I used to focus on individual tasks over the projects — if any — that they were assigned to in my task management system. What happened was I got things done, but things were spread out amongst multiple projects so it took me longer to complete any one project. When you start using a task manager — or even a simple to-do list app — this is generally how you’ll work as well.

But you should really look at projects first…and tasks second.

When you think about it, you should build things from the overarching to the smaller details. Things like your vision and mission statements should inform what you do — they are perhaps the largest elements that inform how you live and work. The same goes for projects. They may not be the largest of elements, but they certainly are larger than tasks.

I suggest you try to give everything a project that it can be attached to so that you can look at projects first and tasks second.1 Then work from the project down, making sure that you make significant progress towards completion of the project rather than focusing on the tasks within the project. Doing that will strengthen the purpose of why you’re doing what you’re doing, and you won’t get caught up in doing just for the sake of doing.

If you need a trigger to keep this in mind: Remember that a project can project you further than a task simply on its own can.

1 Contexts can also serve to help propel you as well, but projects still come first because of what contexts generally represent: location, energy level, and perhaps even time. My pal Michael Schechter has an excellent piece that really puts contexts into perspective.

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Published on March 06, 2013 07:00

The Wish List

I’ve gotten a lot better at not buying the “hot” new apps once they arrive on the scene. App purchases are often impulse buys due to their low monetary cost – but the time cost can be much greater. That’s why I am “wish listing” a lot more of these apps – and there are a few ways to do this.

iTunes: This feature gets used far less than it should. I put any apps I discover on my Mac on the iTunes Wish List, and I have an OmniFocus task that has a start date of the first of each month so that I can review what I’ve chronicled. At that time I purge what’s not needed and keep what still interests me. If it’s there for a lengthy period of time, I’ll buy it. But the amount of apps that stick around long enough are few and far between.A Web Clipper: Whether you use Evernote or another app that uses a web clipping tool, you can keep tabs on apps you’re interested in looking at. I use this option for software, web apps, and other apps that can’t be found directly in iTunes, and I review them in the same manner as I do with my iTunes Wish List. I tend to tag these items as well (with “Appsv”, of course) so that way I can easily filter and find them.

By being thoughtful now about you install on your iOS devices, you’ll be able to spend more time setting yourself up for those apps you really want to have. It may seem like a small thing to consider, but using wish lists will save you a considerable amount of time in the long run.

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Published on March 04, 2013 20:00

A Quick Look at OmniFocus Resources

The Omni Group has released the first set of videos from the talks at January’s OmnFocus Setup event. This first installment features talks from Tim Stringer, Dinah Sanders, and Sven Fechner – as well as the contexts discussion facilitated by Thanh Pham and Michael Schechter (my podcasting partner-in-crime). There’s a lot of great stuff to be mined from these videos, so take some time and give them a look.

I’ve also spent some time this week revisiting the incredible book by Kourosh Dini (whose talk from the event will be up on the site soon) called Creating Flow with OmniFocus. If you want to get the most out of the app and are willing to put in the time and effort to do so, then you owe it to yourself to pick up this book. It’s simply amazing.

The team at Asian Efficiency (one of the people behind that site is the aforementioned Thanh Pham) has also assembled a great resource for OmniFocus users. I think that OmniFocus Premium Posts is great for those who want to emulate a setup in OmniFocus rather than create one that is distinctly their own, so if that’s what you’re looking to do then this product fits the bill.

Finally, David Sparks has a great set of screencasts that can also get you well on your way to OmniFocus proficiency. You can check them out here.

I’m not saying you should use OmniFocus – but if you are and want to get more out of it or have decided to take the plunge, then these places are fantastic resources to help you along the way.

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Published on March 03, 2013 13:38

The Why

I’ve written my share of “how to” posts here, and I really enjoy sharing how I do certain things to keep me as productive as possible. Whether that’s through the use of an app or technology or through the use of mindful practices, I’m rreally into exploring how to make my workflow better. Longtime readers will notice that my workflow has evolved over time, which means the “how” aspects have as well. New apps come along, new use cases arrive, and technology changes warrant the evolution of how I work.

But the “how” is always secondary to to the “why”.

Sure, the “how to” post is always going to be more popular in terms of page views because not everyone is going to be looking for “why” they are doing something. They just want to know how to implement their own “why” better. There is a lot of time spent dwelling in the “how to” realm because it actually can be a lot easier to explore “how” you want to do things than “why” you want to do things. The answers aren’t always as clear when you ask about the “why” behind your work because there’s a subjectivity to it that the “how” just doesn’t have at a similar level.

One of the ways you can stall your productivity is spending too much time in “how” and not enough time in “why” – because while the “how” can be a time-suck if you dwell in it too long, it can be even more of a waste of time you don’t have an idea of why you’re there in the first place. (Or, worse, if you’re not honest about the “why” – which is a much deeper concern.)

We’re in the midst of another weekend, and while other sites will give you weekend work that asks you to commit to a “how” project, I’m going to suggest you take the rest of this weekend and commit to a “why” project instead. Steer clear of how you want to do things better and ask yourself why you want to do things better. Ask your self why you’re doing what you’re doing as opposed to how you’re doing what you’re doing.

It’s time to really look at the “why” so that you can make the most of the “how” going forward.

Want to start the year you want anytime you want? Pick up my new e-book published by Diversion Books The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want for just $4.99 today!

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Published on March 02, 2013 12:50

Asana Comes to Android

Yesterday Asana arrived for Android, bringing a top-notch task management solution to a market that could really use another entry in the category:

Here’s what you can do with the Android version:

Add and assign new tasks and edit existing tasks on the go.Add or change due dates, notes, tags, followers, recurring schedules and projects for any task.Search a Workspace for any task, project, person or tag.Communicate with your team by adding comments to tasks.Collaborate in real-time with Mobile Inbox.Drag-and-drop to re-prioritize tasks in a project or your My Tasks list.

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While Asana has been available via a mobile website for a while (and for iOS for some time as well), this is the first iteration of Asana for android. The Asana team has this to say about the new addition to the roster:

“Our ultimate goal is to build a mobile experience that matches the craftsmanship, elegance, and power of the desktop web app. While achieving that goal is a long road to walk, the first version of our Android app is a great first step.”

I don’t have an Android device, but if this compares to the recent iOS version, then this is some real progress for those who use Asana that have wanted mobile access from their Android device. You can pick up Asana for Android here.

Want to start the year you want anytime you want? Pick up my new e-book published by Diversion Books The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want for just $4.99 today!

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Published on March 01, 2013 04:00

Events on the Horizon

As February draws to a close, I’m going to conduct a bit of housekeeping here. This housekeeping revolves around some events I’m going to be at over the next couple of months, some of which I am organizing and some of which I am not.

So I’ll get right to it…

On Thursday March 14th, I’ll be in Delta, BC with several other speakers (including my friend Brooks Duncan of DocumentSnap) talking all things productivity at ProTECHtivity, the brainchild of Steve Dotto. Plenty of Canadians know Steve from his days on television and from his current radio show in Vancouver (I’ve been a guest on several shows), and I’m excited to be presenting a couple of sessions during the day-long event. You can learn more about the event and get your tickets here, and be sure to use the promotional code VARDYGUEST to save 20% off the price.

In Victoria, I’ve got a few events going on over the next several weeks. First up is Social Flow: How to Win at Social Media Without Losing Productivity, a joint effort between myself and Lorraine “Raincoaster” Murphy on Tuesday March 26th from 6–9 pm. This three-hour boot camp is designed to help those who are struggling with balancing their time spent on social media and doing all of the other work on their plate. For more information on this event, click here.

I’m also bringing back the Ready Retreat Workshop Series in April. From 5:30 to 6:30 pm every Thursday in April, folks in the Victoria area will be able to spend an hour with me in workshops discussing time management, idea management, task management, and email management. For more information on the live Ready Retreat sessions in Victoria, click on the following links:

Ready Retreat: Time Management Workshop Ready Retreat: Idea Management Workshop Ready Retreat: Task Management Workshop Ready Retreat: Email Management Workshop

If you want to buy tickets for all four workshops to save a bit of cash – click here.1

Finally, I’ll be appearing at Social Media Camp. This year the even takes place from May 6 through May 8th, and my talk will be on Tuesday May 7th – Productivity Power Session: Learn the Tools, Tactics, & Workflows of Highly Productive Bloggers – and the event is loaded with great speakers like Mari Smith, Amy Porterfield, C.C. Chapman, and more. For tickets, head over to the Social Media Camp website. Be sure to use my last name as a code to get 10% off any of the three pass levels.2

As you can see, there are plenty of events on the horizon – and I’m hoping this is a sign of things to come. Especially with The Front Nine coming out in print in March (but more on that later).

1 The online editions of the Ready Retreats are coming March 18th, so stay tuned…

2 And if you’re not getting enough social media from this event, there’s always the Social Media Cruise in September. Head over here for more detals on that event…and tell Alex I sent you.

Want to start the year you want anytime you want? Pick up my new e-book published by Diversion Books The Front Nine: How to Start the Year You Want Anytime You Want for just $4.99 today!