human at work (highedweb 2014 "best of conference" winner)
TRANSCRIPT
HUMAN AT WORK
Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Get Better at My Job
2014 HighEdWeb Annual Conference October 19-22 — Portland, OR
#HEWEB14 #MPD9
HelloI I
VUO
@DaveCameron
A Case Studyof Myself
Challenges I’ve struggled with since I started in Higher Ed
Goals for changing my habits and improving my productivity
Tools and tactics I have been exploring to achieve those goals
Lessons learned along the way
This is not a talk about
"Work Hacks"
How to be an imperfect
human who gets stuff done
"In the Before time… in the Long, Long Ago…"
September 1992
September 1992
June 2010
This is most of my job
+
And sometimes also this:
I understood how websites work.
I didn’t know how mar-com offices work.
• Shifting responsibilities
• Staffing turnovers
• Changes in strategic priorities
• Planning for what is consistent
• Preparing for the unexpected
Stuff I wasn’t prepared for
I couldn’t see the road AND
I was drowning
Books
Utilities
Task Managers
Then I remembered…
Goals Before Tools
What specific goals will help me get better
at my job?
Cognitive Overload
"Our problem isn’t information overload; it’s potential meaning overload."
- David Allen bit.ly/GTDmpu219
How I learned to stop worrying about
all the things and get better at my job.
GoalsToolsHabits
Goal: wake up in the morning
Tool: an alarm clock
Habit: set the alarm for 6:00 am
GoalsTools
Habits
Five Goals for Being a Productive
Human
HONESTBE
Goal #1:
Honest with YOURSELF
Subjectively Honest
Objectively Honest
Subjective Honesty
• what you know in your gut to be true
• the stuff we lie to ourselves about
• internalized priorities
• accuracy when interpreting our performance
Objective Honesty
• measuring and capturing data
• developing reports from that data
• analyzing progress over time
• maintaining a record
rescuetime.com
Honest With OTHERS
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3b11ewIM31r0jeh0o5_250.gif
(within reason)
Honest with others• don’t exaggerate your abilities or bandwidth
• admit when you don't understand something
• admit to your mistakes
• give the feedback you would want to hear
UNAFRAIDBEGoal #2:
Mistakes are how we learn.
"I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it really, really
well."- Andy Dwyer
CONFIDENCE
Let Go of Irrational Fears• Change and the unfamiliar
• New Tools
• Gossip and rumor
• Ebola
Don’t be overwhelmed by complexity
U/Aatto 4-WHEN LOSTIN ThE WOODS
A CLEAR HEAD WILL FIND ITSF. If everyone remwbered this,there would be fewer reports of persons lost in the mountain andforests, according to United States Forest Service rangers.
Merely being out of sight of others in a strange forest givesny a man the creeps- a natural feeling but a dangerous ore. Neveryield to it. In the mountains the grip of panic is too often the
grip of death.
"Firilirig oneself then lost is the test of a man," says avete ran of the Forest Service who s seen n, n and even child-ren save themselves by sheer pluck and preserte of mind. Loss ofntal control is more serious than lack of food, water, clothingor possible proximity of wild animals. The man 'io keeps his headhas t best ch arx e to ce through in safety.
The following helpful rules are worth rmbering:-Stop, sit down and try to figure out ithere you are.Use your head, not your legs.If caught by night, fog, or a storm, stop at oticeand make camp in a sheltered spot. Build a firein a safe place. Gather plenty of dry el.Don't wander about. Travel only down hill.If injured, choose a clear spot ona prcontory and
.ke a signal smoke.Don't yell, don't run, n't worry, and above all,don't quit.
If caught out toward nightfall, the traveler is urged to tinda shelter quickly- a ledge, a Large houlder or a fa1li tree- cleara sp*ce of ground arii build a fire. If without a bla.nk., he maybuild his fire in a deep hole, cover six incks of hot coaLs withsix Inches of earth and sleep on this. Failing fire, cme shoilduse leaves and branches to shelter himself as best he can. A boy
(over)
MINDFULBE
Goal #3:
Focus Your Time
and Attention
Use your tools, don’t let them
use you.
Use good habits to keep your tools sharp and ready
Email Tasks
Calendars Meetings
OUR PRIMARY TOOLS:
APPLE USER BIAS
(Not Yet)
The average office worker spends 28% of their day
reading, writing, or responding
to email. - McKinsey & Company, 2012
http://bit.ly/1zdGtjB
RescueTime reported email = 22% DeskTime reported email = 23%
My Email Use in September 2014
• Communicating information and ideas to individuals or groups
• Documenting and archiving information
• Sending assets and files
• Viral sharing
EMAIL IS AWESOME FOR:
• A telephone
• Instant messenger
• A project management system
• The boss of you
EMAIL IS NOT:
Fetch email, don’t push. (if something is truly urgent, there are better
options than email for letting me know)
Turn off those inbox notification icons.
Create an email habit.
1. Decide if this needs to be acted on now or later.
2. If it takes less than 2 min. then do it now.
3. Get what I need for other work, send what I need to send.
4. Be quick but thorough. Pay attention to details.
5. Quit mail app until ready for it again.
This is mine:
Use Rules to Filter and
Focus
System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> App Shortcuts
Use keyboard shortcuts
Be thoughtful
TASKS
–Merlin Mann
“The most difficult thing you can do,
and the most helpful thing, is to
pick one thing.”
bit.ly/b2wpdcst
• Capture and get them out of your head
• Organize them with project milestones and deadlines
• Review and update regularly
• Seriously, review and update your tasks weekly if you can
Task Habits
Task Managers
Social Media is a task for me.
Social Media• Too distracting if it’s always there
• Block time when I need to use it as part of my job.
• Use for personal Twitter content @DaveCameronbufferapp.com
CALENDARS
• Schedule focused work periods
• Schedule break periods
• Review and update regularly
• Communicate
Calendar Habits
No-Meeting Mondays
"Fix-It" Fridays
MEETINGS
• Be in the meeting, not on your phone
• Capture decisions and next actions
• Report and share
• Use Email & Tasks & Calendar to be sure you follow through
Meeting Habits
Two Notepads• Large notebook just for
capturing meeting notes and doodles.
• Small yellow pad for random other stuff triggered by meetings.
Use Checklists
Our Bodies, Our Routines
How do our daily routines affect us?
Disrupt them and you’ll feel it.
GoalsToolsHabits
GoalsToolsHabits Routines
Goal: wake up in the morning
Tool: an alarm clock
Habits: • set the alarm for 6:00 am • hit snooze when it wakes me • finally turn off alarm • head to the shower…
My Routine Used to Be
My Routine Today
Start with a card trick (seriously)
An Ideal Day
An Ideal Day
"Everything In Its Place"
– Marcus Aurelius
“Un-complicate yourself.”
Give Yourself The Gift of
Fewer Decisions
Habit Minder Apps
Learning New Skills by Building New Habits
WORKSPACE
My office in February
My office in October
Whiteboard!
Sit or Stand
THESE are my
HEADPHONES !
There Are Many Like
Them,
But THESE Are Mine.
Music & Sound
Human at Work: Focus bit.ly/heweb14_HAWfocus
!!Human at Work: Boost
bit.ly/heweb14_HAWboost
Collaborative Playlists
NICEBE
Goal #5:
Be Nice to Your Fellow Humans
• Support your co-workers
• Give a heads-up when you can
• Take ownership of your role
• Don’t cheat
• Be at least a little bit social
Be a Proud Member of Your Team
Communicate
This is where "Push" can be better than "Fetch"
@AustinKleon
Take a Real Vacation
Get some sleep
(unless you’re at HighEdWeb)
–Regina Brett
“No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.”
(But please don’t come to the
office if you’re actually sick.)
Treat others the way
you want to be treated.
GoalsTools
Habits
HONESTUNAFRAIDMINDFULACTIVENICE
HONESTUNAFRAIDMINDFULACTIVENICE
H ONESTU NAFRAIDM INDFULA CTIVEN ICE
HUMAN
H U M A N
HUMAN
HUMAN1OO%
–They Might Be Giants "Whistling in the Dark"
"There’s only one thing that I know how to do well And I've often been told that you only can do What you know how to do well And that's be you, Be what you're like, Be like yourself…"
HUMAN1OO%
HUMAN1OO%
OMUI
IV
OMUI
IV
MII
VUO
MI
IVUO
Hooray!
RESOURCES
slideshare.net/jesselavery/
@JesseLavery
Don’t miss this the slides from another presentation that bookended this one very nicely at HighEdWeb 2014:
zenworkplace.com/playingpolitics
@KarlynMB
karlynruns.org
Karlyn gave another amazing presentation from our conference track that you must check out:
Apps
rescuetime.com desktime.com
1secondeveryday.com
Podcasts
Episode #185 - bit.ly/b2wpdcst with Merlin Mann & Dan Benjamin discussion of email
Episode #219 - bit.ly/GTDmpu219 with David Allen, author of "Getting Things Done"
@HigherEdLive "2014 Work Hacks" (05/22/14) - bit.ly/hel2014 "Work Hacks and Getting Stuff Done" (01/24/13) -bit.ly/hel2013
Books
bit.ly/HumanAtWork
Sketch Rockwell by Artill Fonts http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/sketch_rockwell.htm
@DaveCameron