In this episode I share the experience of following an inkling I had and the ways I was rewarded. I also share a simple process for capturing your beliefs. Highlights One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock Dee Hock’s Twitter feed is full of wisdom My version of “drunk dialing” Self-management and living in the moment applies to good coaching and most areas of life Stephen Warley at Life Skills That Matter Stephen’s Beliefs If you are are a solopreneuer people are likely “buying you” The importance of being clear about what you believe Clarity on our own beliefs builds resonance with others Have you ever deeply respected another person that didn’t really stand for anything? Steps to creating your own beliefs statement Commit to the process Distraction free Water and snacks Set period of time with a timer Start an empty document with “I believe …” written at the top Gather books and resources that inform you Look at what’s underneath things that frustrate you Write (without a filter) for a set amount of time Group and distill the things you’ve written down I’d love to see your beliefs if you’ d like to share them. Send them to me! John’s Beliefs Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 53: Follow Your Inklings & Capture Your Beliefs appeared first on John Poelstra.
Ryan McRae helps adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) live more effectively. Ryan explains how ADHD affects his life, how he deals with it, and the benefits he’s found from having it. He also explains how he helps people live above it. Conversation Notes ADHD comes in three flavors 1) Inattentive 2) Hyperactive 3) Inattentive & Hyperactive (known as “combined”) The importance of going to a clinician to get a professional diagnosis Different ways ADHD can be managed The advantages and blessings of ADHD Ryan’s favorite information collection tool is Evernote Ryan’s favorite newsletter is Recomendo Give yourself some kindness and grace Shame and condemnation is the dark side of ADHD Shameful people are not productive. Shameful people are not creative Ryan loves having a Field Notes notebook and a pen for capture in the moment It avoids the distraction barrier of using your phone in front of other people The importance of capturing thoughts in the moment instead of putting it off Quickly and efficiently in whatever form works Voice memo, mind maps, Evernote, etc. Make sure you have one single capture place Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 52: Understanding ADHD with Ryan McRae appeared first on John Poelstra.
Join me in this riff about email handling and getting your important work into the world. Episode Takeaways Stop the flood of email and regain your sanity by putting your email client in “offline mode” Deal with what you have Turn it back on when you’re ready The world will not stop spinning or come to an end if you don’t check your email for an hour or two Disable all notifications for new messages Set the interval that your client checks for mail to never or a high number… you’ll go looking for new messages soon enough Disable email on your phone for the weekend and see how it feels Over a week, take note of the number of times an instant reply was truly required Push against the norms and see what you can get away with Is it a negative voice or gremlin that’s telling you that you must check your email? Harness that level of clarity you have first thing in the day If you wake up with something negative rattling around in your head, write about it. Don’t worry about complete sentences Avoid checking and reading the news first thing How many of the things you read about can you really respond to or do anything about them? Does it matter if you find out about it later? How often are you responding to email out of fear of something going wrong or “really bad will happen” versus a conscious activity We train people over time how we will respond to to email This creates an expectation that we will continue in the same way Create a definition of “what really bad” would be for you to get in “trouble” and then reflect on the chances of it happening You probably have a track record and history and “deposits in the bank” that mean you can probably afford to goof up How much your email checking habit is an ego thing? Are you solving everyone else’s problems and avoiding your own by mowing through your email? Set a timer and a fixed period of time… preferably a kitchen timer or sand timer (NOT your iDistractor) Experiment with the notion of intentional imperfection and see what you learn Deep Work by Cal Newport on the importance of focusing and going deep when we work Put your thoughts and learnings out into the world! Even if it feels scary Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 51: Email is Overrated appeared first on John Poelstra.
In this episode I read a letter I wrote to myself encouraging me to keep showing up while calling out the things I to need stop doing. I encourage you to write your own Dear John letter and break up with the unhelpful parts of your brain and share it with me. It’s more powerful than it sounds. Notes Listen to the episode to hear what I wrote Wikipedia’s explanation of a Dear John letter Write your own letter to yourself You might be shocked at how helpful and powerful it is to do Rick Tamlyn (mastermind facilitator, author, speaker, coach) Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 50: How to Break Up with the Unhelpful Parts of Your Brain appeared first on John Poelstra.
John and Tina Robinson, CEO of WorkJoy, LLC, explore the notion of “coping” and nuances of what it means as it relates to handling situations or problems in our lives. Tina is saving the world by transforming how we think and feel about “work.” Sign-up to join John at a virtual live event to discuss this topic more and be coached around something you’re coping with. Coaching is a powerful mechanism to engage change in people’s lives When coaching isn’t working, client and coach have a responsibility to name it and take a time-out How would you define the notion of “coping?” Coping has positive and negative sides The importance of the client’s definition of a term and not the coach’s–get curious! What are you choosing? Not being at choice is often an indicator of something that needs to be explored Take an extreme imaginary perspective that your situation has turned out amazing and work backwards from there to figure out what some constructive steps might be Using personal values or life purpose as a way to explore what’s important and discover ways to rise above the situation and make it positive Acknowledging and appreciating personal preferences without judgement Getting unstuck requires an internal or external change Internal = mindset External = environment or circumstances If we aren’t willing to make an internal or external change we will be stuck Gradual changes or nudges might be the best approach vs. a radical transformation Sometimes self-care is an important first step Coaching is more than a “Jedi mind trick” and everyone should consider it, says Tina About Tina Robinson Tina’s background and experience WorkJoy Coaching Attend John’s Upcoming Live Discussion On May 15, 2018, at 11 a.m. pacific (2 p.m. eastern) time we’re meeting on Zoom to discuss what “coping” means to you Bring a real situation you’d like to be coached by John on Sign-up Now There will be no recording or replays due to the personal nature of this event Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 49: Is Coping a Cop-out? with Tina Robinson appeared first on John Poelstra.
Enjoy this conversation with Josh Bressers, product security at Elastic and former colleague at Red Hat. Josh answers my questions about password management, general computer security and what matters (or doesn’t) in today’s predominantly online world. Discussion Highlights How John and Josh met at Red Hat Reliving the old days of testing and releasing security updates Considering overall return on investment (ROI) of your approach to security How do we know that these password managers are really secure? We can’t know with complete certainty What happens if your password manager is compromised and how you would recover? Ultimately you can’t control where your data is stored when you enter “the cloud” Lastpass and 1Password appear to be the leading solutions Backup schemes and philosophies Understanding two factor authentication and its benefits Duo Security “Good enough” vs. “perfect” security Yubikey 4 (two-factor authentication token) You have to draw a line somewhere when you plan around all of the “what if” scenarios of something going bad or getting compromised Making decisions in a way that results in a “hard yes” How becoming a product manager opened Josh’s eyes to the downside of complexity and the importance of practicality Josh’s preference for locked down devices like the iPhone, iPad and Google Chrome Books Dropbox is not secure as some people think Learn More about Josh Bressers @joshbressers on Twitter Josh Bressers’ website Open Source Security Podcast LinkedIn Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 48: Practical Password Security with Josh Bressers appeared first on John Poelstra.
Here’s a riff on what I’ve been learning since the last update and my challenge to consider different perspectives around the notion of time. Highlights Learning can come from anything, including things that don’t happen Bouncing between lots of different tasks and projects is tiring and unsatisfying Decluttering pro-tip: take everything out of a particular close and only return the stuff that is staying Taking the whole week of spring off was just what I needed Are you “creating” or “reacting” ? Creating is better You can’t do both at the same time Reacting is exhausting The collective power of a group of people to give input into your life and business from the mastermind format Embracing the ups and downs (being with them) instead of trying to make them go away as quickly as possible Removing and avoiding personal judgment Staying out of the comparison game to other people Going for a walk and giving your brain a problem to solve on that walk Inspired by Deep Work by Cal Newport Three important topics that came from my walk Relationships Business building Time & Rest Missing conviction and commitment to my revenue goal for 2018 I’m having an upcoming Zoom call for people that want “more” from their life or business Get on my list to be notified about it Doubling down on theming my work What does it mean if there’s something you want, but you aren’t consistently working to get it? Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 47: Expanding Perspectives Around Time appeared first on John Poelstra.
Mike Vardy from The Productivityist shares practical details about his approach to planning and managing the things he wants to accomplish through the use of themes, modes and energy levels. Discussion Highlights John’s dislike for overly complex plans and the wasted time it takes to manage them Planning has value, to a point “In preparing for battle I’ve also found that plans are useless and planning is indispensable” — Dwight Eisenhower The difference between “complicated” and “complex” plans Finding the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) methodology to be too rigid and not “human” enough Giving each day a theme that reflects the rhythms and constraints of your life Selecting tasks and projects based on your energy level and daily theme vs. looking at your list of things to do and just picking something You still have to have discipline when following your feelings or energy level Frameworks foster freedom “working by project” vs. theme or task Life doesn’t have an “off season” New years resolutions don’t work If you’re going to plan something for a whole year, make it something small that you can do everyday like journaling or meditating Theming provides a way to funnel or filter your focus. Theming is a much better guide to what you should do next after a meeting ends instead of checking your email Themes may overlap between business and personal Other times separate themes may make more sense Mike catalogs a variety of different theme ideas In environments where theming doesn’t work consider modes instead Mike finds that the best way to avoid restarting is daily journaling Practical steps to getting started with theming Look out three weeks on your calendar and look for certainties or patterns of what happens on certain days Don’t define a day as “free” Try a horizontal theme like reading every day for 30 minutes Add a “mode” to each task The year is both long and short–breaking it down into smaller chunks is valuable Work in the ways that work best for you–not what others say should work best for you Books & Resources The Now Year Action Plan course by Mike Vardy The Productivityist Podcast hosted by Mike Vardy and produced by John Poelstra The Road to Character by David Brooks Lessons In Manliness: Benjamin Franklin’s Pursuit of the Virtuous Life from the Art of Manliness Three Words for the Year via Chris Brogan The Night Owl Action Plan by Mike Vardy Mike Vardy on Twitter Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post <a href="https://johnpoelstra.com/themin
Getting off track happens in just about every area of life. It’s inevitable that things are going to get off track and not go as planned. The key to overall success is how you get going again when you have a setback. Here are some ideas to get you restarted. This quote from Michael Hyatt’s podcast episode “How to Develop More Discipline” has always stuck with me. Nothing is more important than consistently restarting. That’s really the measure of success. Not the fact that you start and you have a linear progression towards a goal and achieve it without any setbacks. That almost never happens to anyone who sets out to accomplish something big. It’s just part of the process that you are going to encounter adversity. At the end of the day it’s not really about what you accomplish, but it’s what you are becoming. It takes adversity to shape our character Ways to Recover and Restart Allow time for thrash and whatever… it’s inefficient and that’s okay Tune up your todo list Think of the easiest thing you can do and do it Clean your office or workspace Just start on something and do it even if you aren’t sure if you have enough time Initiate a challenge Other Resources The Productivity Planner by Intelligent Design Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 45: Restarting is Key to Long Term Success appeared first on John Poelstra.
This conversation with Ron Renaud (coach, author, podcaster, and trainer) explores the topics of truth, freedom, personal growth, taking responsibility and more. Topics Discussed Tough love for the purpose of growth Being faithful to the role you are in Clarity and truth as guideposts to helping people grow Speaking the hard truth and being willing to accept it The law of compensation Are you creating “more heaven” or “more hell” in the world? Cleaning up and taking responsibility for the messes we create Internal and external freedom Natural rights and responsibilities Combatting the notion of “not having enough time” When will enough by enough? Get really clear on what your roles are–write them out Making the world better starts with you cleaning up your own act and working on yourself Consciously choosing “no” Chris Brogan’s “Going on a Media Diet“ Books and Suggested Resources Jordan Peterson’s books 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson How to stay on course Avoid making the “exceptions” the “rules” of our lives Victim vs. responsible Ways to be on the lookout for a”victim mindset” creeping in “I have a good reason to make an exception now” Keeping the agreements we make with ourselves “It’s his fault” “It should be different” Meet & Listen to Ron Renaud Podcast: Uncompromised Talk Website: RonRenaud.com Facebook: RonRenaudCoach Twitter: @Ron_Renaud Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 44: Seeking Truth and Living Uncompromised with Ron Renaud appeared first on John Poelstra.