Offline Reading

As more and more content becomes available on the internet it is easy to shift our reading online. There are some benefits to this. It is easy to get timely information on breaking events quickly. The downside is that you can spend a good deal of time reading things with little value or worse. Your educational reading can degrade into a few hours of mindless surfing the web.

Sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, and Reddit supply a constant stream of interesting content that often is little more than a waste of time. I’m not saying that you can’t get anything valuable off of the web. However, if most of your reading is done online the chances of it turning into a waste of time are high enough that you should consider putting some watch guards in place.

Online reading has some significant downsides:

1. Lower writing quality. While this isn’t always the case, the financial scale of many online publications often results in lower writing standards than print publications.
2. Shortened attention span. Online writing is usually designed to be read in a short period of time. This isn’t a negative thing, but you want to make sure you don’t train yourself to have a short attention span by never reading anything that takes more than5 or 10 minutes.
3. Eyestrain. Many people are using monitors that are not particularly easy on the eyes.
4. Distractions. When you buy a book, the author makes money through your purchase and then has to provide you with a good reading experience. Online, the author usually gets money when you leave the site by clicking on an advertisement. This tends to make online reading a very distracting experience with all kinds of things visually (and sometimes audibly) vying for your attention.

If over half of your reading material is on your computer screen, I would suggest it is time for a change.

Taking a Break

A common mistake I see performance oriented people make is not taking break when they need it. Taking a break is like changing the oil on your car, it is a basic need and your performance will suffer if you decide to just “press on through”.

Lets say you normally operate at 70% to 90% of your potential, but when you get burned out, your capability drops to 20% to 30%. Simply trying to spend more time at your reduced effectiveness just doesn’t make sense. You will be far better off to take some time off and come back at your normal 70% to 90%.

You need breaks on different levels. You need daily breaks like taking time off for lunch, weekly breaks like taking time off on the weekends, and seasonal breaks like going on a week vacation a few times each year. I also feel like you need sabbatical style breaks where you take at least a month or so off every few years to do something different. If you don’t give yourself these periods to revive, your creativity will suffer and you will be working with a handicap.

Short Term Breaks

Here are some ideas for taking shorter term breaks.

1. Go for a walk. It is hard to beat going for a walk as a way to take a break. You get the physical exercise along with a chance to disconnect and let your subconscious work on any pending problems.
2. Call a friend. Taking 5 or 10 minutes to talk with a friend can be a very good way to get refreshed before going back to work.
3. Walk through a pet store. I find that spending 10 minutes browsing through the fish section of a nearby pet store is very refreshing.
4. Draw something. A few minutes sketching can be a great way to give yourself a break. It doesn’t matter if you are a good artist or not. Just grab a sheet of paper and do some drawing. Your goal isn’t to produce a masterpiece of art–it is to give your brain a chance to do something different.
5. Play a video game. This is only useful in moderation. If you spend 30 minutes playing a video game to take a break every few days, it can be helpful. If you spend 6 hours each day playing, you probably aren’t making the best use of your time. I prefer games with short levels so it is easy to spend 5 or 10 minutes, complete a level and then head back to work. I also prefer puzzle type games. Enigmo 2 is a good example of this. More recently I’ve been trying a game called Portal that in the first few levels seems to fit this criteria nicely.

Longer Term Breaks

Here are some things I’ve done to take longer breaks.  Many of these weren’t really vacation because I continued working, but they did give me time out of my normal environment.

1. Summer school. Many universities offer summer classes lasting 4 to 8 weeks. My wife and I spent a summer in Cambridge, MA a few years back. I took a few classes and worked remotely. It was a very rejuvenating experience. The educational experience was great and it was nice to have a change of scenery of being in a different part of the country for a few months. I hope to repeat this every 5 years or so.
2. Extended visits with relatives. This will of course depend on your relatives, but we’ve spend several weeks with my wife’s family. I continued to work remotely during the day and hung out with family in the evening. This worked particularly well when I was designing something that took a few weeks or needed to do a lot of writing.
3. Visit another country. We’ve gone to Mexico several times–most of the time as tourists. Our most recent stay was for several months. It was quite a change of pace and very interesting to get to know another culture.

Do you have anything unique you do to take a break? Please share your suggestions and idea in the comments.

Fire (or keep) the Workaholics

Jason Calacanis has an interesting list of things to save money in a startup. One of his points was to fire people who aren’t workaholics. David from 37 Signals responded with a post saying that you should fire the people who are workaholics.

Both of these posts are worth reading–even if you have no intention of starting a business yourself. Behind the work you do is a problem that needs solved. Your work solves this problem. Your paycheck reflects that somewhere in the value chain, someone is willing to pay for your ability to solve that problem.

In the two articles I linked to above, both companies are dealing with very different problems. Jason’s company Mahalo basically collects the best links on a given subject and posts them to a web page. They pay editors $30 to $35k per year (from what I understand) to do this. Their goal is to create a “human powered” search engine. Obviously the bar isn’t very high for this type of work. I’m not saying that the people working there aren’t talented, but the majority of their work isn’t difficult intellectually. They are solving the type of problem that can be solved by throwing lots of time at it.

37 Signals is a bit different. Most of the types of problems they solve are a bit more involved. They have come up with some highly creative solutions in the web application space. I’m not saying that they are full of PhD level employees, but there is a level of creativity that goes well beyond trying to collect a bunch of links on a particular subject. The type of problem they are solving can’t be done just by throwing a lot of time at it.

I’m not trying to say that people at Mahalo aren’t bright or that the people at 37 Signals don’t work hard. I’m trying to point out that there is a significant difference between what is required to solve their particular problem. Mahalo prefers workaholics because they add value through their time. 37 Signals prefers non-workaholics because they are solving problems through creativity.

When you look at your own career it can be very helpful to reflect on what you are being paid for. Are you just selling your time to your employer or are you selling your creativity? Obviously there is some overlap, but in general your ability to sell your creativity instead of your time will give you better work life balance.

6 Ways to Appear Smarter

In life, many opportunities are tied to what other people think of you. If the people around you think you are smart, you are more likely to get asked to participate in projects that will enhance your career. If people think you are dumb, you’ll probably be passed over.

Assuming that you are actually smart you don’t have to fake anything. Your goal is to make people think of you as a smart person. Humans aren’t particularly good at judging the intelligence of someone else. Here are six things you can do that will help enhance people’s perception of your intelligence.

1. Ask More Questions

Most people try to show how smart they are by telling others what they know. This often backfires. It is easy to appear arrogant. In addition, the person who always acts like an expert on every subject is likely to be regarded with some suspicion.

Asking intelligent questions can showcase your intelligence much more effectively than showing everyone how much you know. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is that most truly intelligent people are extremely teachable–that is how they became so intelligent. If you are trying to act smart without exhibiting teachable behavior people will think you are a fake.

The second reason asking questions is effective is because almost everyone thinks of themselves as smart. By asking questions you give them a chance to showcase their knowledge–something most everyone loves to do. Since they consider themselves to be intelligent and you are asking questions about the areas where they consider themselves to be experts, you must be intelligent as well–after all you are interested in the things that they consider to be important.

Obviously you can’t go around asking extremely stupid questions. You want to show what you know in a way that allows them to talk. Consider the following question when talking to someone who deals with furnaces and air conditioning units:

I was reading about geothermal heat pumps. What do you think about them? Are they really as efficient as people say?

You’ve displayed your knowledge, but left room for them to be the expert. This will make you appear far smarter than simply giving a monologue that tries to illustrate how much you know.

2. Be the Last to Speak

Don’t be quick to talk. If a matter is being discussed let others speak first. Taking the extra time to refine your thoughts can make a big difference in how you are perceived. If you have the final word and simply summarize the good points made by everyone else, people will remember your contribution more than the people who really came up with the idea. I’m not suggesting that you steal others ideas, but restating the best ideas (even when giving others credit) will make you look smarter.

3. Cite Your Sources

Random information seems suspect. Referencing your source can be very valuable in how you are perceived. I’ve been around some people who act like they are an expert on everything. After a while they start to appear like a know-it-all, and people suspect that they are just making things up.

Citing your sources can be as easy as saying “I read a newspaper article that said…” or “If I remember the paper correctly, some scientists say…”. Citing your sources will make you appear more credible, humble, and it gives you a way out if you are wrong.

4. Enjoy the Arts

In a culture where most people’s entertainment consists of movies and television, you can set yourself apart by going to the ballet, opera, museums, etc. For example, assume you are talking to two coworkers of similar esteem. You ask one what he did over the weekend and he says, “I watched Simpson reruns.” You ask the other and he says, “I went to see the opera.” Who will seem more intelligent?

Obviously the person who keeps harping on the fact that they went to the opera is going to be considered annoying. But diverse cultural experiences are often mistaken for intelligence. As long as you aren’t trying to flaunt your experience it can make you appear smarter.

5. Take a Contrary View

This has to be done delicately. Simply disagreeing with everyone around you will not help. However, having a well reasoned position that is different than others shows you are capable of independent thought. You must be careful not to insult the people. Keep in mind that you are probably not aware of all the relationships that exist. Taking the position that the CEO of your company is doing a poor job while talking to his daughter will not make you look intelligent.

Here is an example: I personally feel that The Nutcracker has single handedly done more damage to ballet in this country than anything else. Most people’s exposure to ballet is seeing The Nutcracker around Christmas time and the plot is so incredibly boring that Americans as a whole have formed an unnecessarily low opinion of how stories can be conveyed through classical dance.

This opinion is probably contrary to most people’s views, but it provides an excellent starting point for a conversation (assuming I’m talking with someone who is at least slightly familiar with ballet). Even if you disagree with me, as long as I’m not presenting my ideas in an arrogant manner, the conversation has a reasonable chance of helping establish me as someone willing to think differently than the average person.

6. Carry “Smart” Reading Material

It is better if you actually read the material, but since we started with the assumption that you are smart we can probably also assume that you regularly read “smart” things. You could carry around a copy of the Harvard Business Review or the Wall Street Journal. You are simply managing perceptions and trying to make sure people associate you with sources of information that they think are intelligent.

And there you have it. Six things you can do that will make you appear smarter. If you are a total idiot these tips probably won’t help you. If you are reasonably smart they may help people take a bit more notice of your intelligence. The real value of this list is becoming aware of how your actions and conversation help shape people’s perception.

Executive Summary

• Since people consider themselves smart, asking questions about their areas of expertise will make them think you are smart as well.
• Restating the best ideas of a conversation will make you look smarter.
• Citing your sources makes you appear more credible and gives you a way out.
• Diverse cultural experiences are often mistaken for intelligence.
• A well reasoned contrary position shows you are capable of independent thought.
• Make sure people associate you with sources of information that they consider intelligent.

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Gym Membership

My wife and I have been planning on joining the local gym for several months, but we’ve been on the road so much that it hasn’t been practical.  Now that our travel schedule is slowing down we went ahead and filled out all the paperwork and signed up last week.

When we turned everything in we asked about the schedule and what was the busiest times of day.  The receptionist told us, “oh January is really busy with New Years resolutioners, but they will all be gone by February.”

One of the biggest mistakes people make with resolutions is shooting too high.  Some people think, “if I shoot for 100 maybe I’ll hit 51 which is better than if I shoot for 50.”  In reality it doesn’t work that way.  If you shoot for 100 with no expectation of continually hitting the mark, you are more likely to give up than if you shoot for 50 and are able to meet your goal regularly.

If you are busy and aren’t in the habit of exercising, setting a goal of exercising every day is probably going to be discouraging.  Start with something more attainable.  Like walking 2 miles each week, or doing 10 pushups each morning, or going to the gym at least twice a week.

The value of setting a goal that you can achieve is much greater than trying to stretch  yourself at the same time  you are developing a habit.  The danger of giving up is much greater if you don’t start with something you know you can achieve.

I don’t think we should do away with the whole idea of resolutions, but I do think setting smaller year long goals can lead to bigger gains.

Tuesday’s Tip: Kind of Like a String Around Your Finger

You’ve brushed your teeth and you are headed to bed. Suddenly you remember something very important for tomorrow. You can’t forget. You can go write it down, send yourself an email, etc. but you really just want to go to bed. How can you make sure you remember?

Simple. Grab your shoe and put it on top of the toilet. In the morning, you’ll stumble into the bathroom, see the shoe and groggily thing “What in the world is that doing there?” As your brain clears you’ll remember you put it there for a reason and soon you’ll be awake enough to recall what caused you to put the shoe there in the first place.

This is very similar to tying a string around your finger. You can do it with about anything. Just put something out of its ordinary place to help you remember.

If you are married, it might be a good idea to let your spouse in on what you are doing. Otherwise they might try to clean up after you and ruin everything–they may also begin to question your sanity if it happens too often.