Jason Womack

What does gear have to do with it?

On a 25+ mile bike ride today, in West Marin, CA, I enjoyed the scene of dairy farms, a watershed, and an amazing cloud-filled sky. At one point, I realized that I was comfortable, happy and engaged in exactly what I was doing.

What made that possible?

I believe it is the gear I have... The bike, the safety equipment, the clothes, nutrition...all of it.

Taking that thought further, I considered the highly engaged, those people around us who maintain focus on their productivity,their passion and their strengths. Curious, what would they say about the importance of their gear, their systems and their tools?

The Womack Century (this year, a bit shorter...)

For the past several years, my brother and I had planned a 100-mile bike ride on Christmas Eve day in Marin County, CA. This year, I'll be riding (weather depending...) though it won't be 100 miles. Probably 25-35...If you're interested, let me know!

4 groups of people making a difference - are you?

Getting Through Tough Times
The smartest way to get more clients.

David Ackert (from Los Angeles, CA) wrote this article recently. It is especially motivating during this part of the year. Reading it, my mind drifted along...

 

For many "Client Facing" companies and individuals, this season offers an interesting blend of opportunity and challenge. While more people than ever may see who you are, what you offer, and what you do, they may have been overwhelmed seeing the OTHER people, offers and services that are available.

While observing companies advertise, reach more consumers and improve visibility, think about how you as an individual might be able to do this as well.

TEACHERS: Your students look up to you in the classroom; what do they have to look up to outside of those four walls? 
Teaching high school from 1995-2000, I regularly submitted articles to magazines, newspapers and other local media. It was amazing and influential when students read articles I wrote on education, learning and assessment programs. Through building our credibility in our local community, we can maximize the "buy-in" we get from our "clients." (As teachers, our clients = the community.)

FRIENDS: Do they know you're thinking of them? Us guys have an interesting situation to balance. 
We want to have friends and build upon those relationships, but sometimes cultural norms get in the way of us doing something that would be nice. When was the last time you called a buddy to say, "Hey, I was thinkin' of you."? Or, when did you last send a greeting card that was not for an event, a birthday or a holiday? There's a network surrounding each one of that encourages us, pushes us and wants us to succeed. Let's let them know we appreciate them.

COWORKERS: How much could we not do without them? There are people on your desk, in your office or in your organization that really do make all the difference. 
In the next week or two, see if there's something you can do to strengthen (or create) a working relationship with someone. It's what long-term partners do with one another and over time it really impacts the quantity and quality of the work that gets done.

MENTORS: These are the people who have made the big differences along the way. The people who give you a little bit of coaching, an idea here and there, a subtle nudge in another direction. 
Of course, some mentors live or work far away. They may tell us something on the phone or in person, and then not get to hear what we did as a result of that coaching or those ideas. Consider putting a note together where you let them know, from time to time, how much you're doing and how (if you are!) you are using their advice.

 

Thanks, David, for putting an article together that got me thinking bigger...great work!

The power of being interrupted at work

Often times, a well-planned day goes "weird." You're unexpectedly invited to an important meeting, or a client you were waiting to talk with suddenly reschedules for next month. How do you react when your work flow gets interrupted?

As quickly as your day twists and turns, you may be tempted to respond by moving even faster, working harder and staying at the office longer. Sometimes, however, the best thing to do is to slow down and respond by "doing nothing."

Here is what I know about "doing nothing." We don't do it. I mean, if you had time to do nothing you'd do something. If you have a meeting cancel, for example, you're not going to do nothing with that time...You'll check email, review a document, attend another meeting, go get an early lunch, go for a walk around the blog (ooops, block!), read the paper... you get it, you'd do something! Instead of trying to increase or improve your productivity by doing more, consider responding by pausing to reflect on what you are doing, and where you are going.

Productivity - as you define it - has to do with what gets done during the day. An interruption to your work flow gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you'll do next relative to your goals and objectives for the day. Slow down, consider those goals and work on one of them...next.

Do you use Mac Mail (Apple)? Here's a tip...

By way of testimonial, here's a tip you can take away, right away!

(If you use another system, let me know...more tips on the way!)

Jason,

Hugely productive day thanks to your email tip. In fact, two email tips from you... on Friday I learned to remove the "preview pane" from emails. (Popped your audio CD while cleaning up my office.) What a tremendous difference that made. And then today, the idea to choose an email and press: command+ R, then S then W (sets reply, saves it as a draft).

I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to solve this part of email management and you've singlehandedly helped me do it with two simple tips. These two tips are in my daily system to STAY!

Thanks mate,

Pete

Two Keys to Workplace Performance

1. Questing
2. Connecting

In the Financial Times newspaper, page 5 of The Connected Business section, I read an incredibly exciting article written by John Hagel III and John Seely Brown. In this piece, the authors start by saying, "Passion drives performance."

What are you doing about daily that fuels your own quest? How many minutes a day are you actively pursuing some experience or information that is along the line of your interests, passion or need to know?

And, who are you connecting? How many people are in your network that don't yet know each other? Consider making an introduction (or two!) today to people that might share ideas and be looking for something just outside the scope of their current resource bank.