Creating Value in Your Day

Ah, the tyranny of the task list! That neat, box-filled list we compile in Outlook or on an attractive magnetic notepad from the dollar section at Target.

As a former corporate executive, I know the experience of this daily and weekly ritual of gathering up the things that should be done and then recording their completion. It is how things get done, right?

Surely, things do get done. Like "get labels from supply room for file folders" and "send out recap of conference call." Those are tasks that needed to be completed -- but what value did they create? How has the world, your life, or even your day been enhanced?

When does "Be unusually kind to someone" every show up on your task list? Or perhaps "Sit for two hours and just think about how I can make this organization better?" What value would that bring to your company or business, versus sending out the conference call recap that no one will read?

I challenge you to mix it up -- add one "stretch" task to your task list today. Think of how satisfying it will be to check that box.

How Rules Rule Our Lives

Anyone who has ever attempted to play Monopoly has read a list of rules. In Monopoly, we follow the rules in order to maintain order and for the chance to buy Park Place and Boardwalk in order to build hotels and bankrupt our friends and family.

What if, however, there were a much larger, grander board out there, one on which we could build eco-tourist luxury spa resorts? Or perhaps build nothing at all and let Boardwalk become a natural habitat for birds?

We’d have to break the rules – in the risk of dreaming something grander or more resonant for ourselves.

Some rules are important, such as obeying traffic lights and wearing clothes in public. However, we may have developed our own set of rules from “rules” that we’ve heard from our friends, family, or the media we consume, such as, “I should get up before 10AM on Saturdays” or “Nice girls don’t wear skirts THAT short.”

Can you think of any rules that you follow that you or someone else may simply have made up? It is likely that words like “should”, “must” and “don’t” pop up in your rules. Try to think of one of these rules right now. Is following this rule holding you back from something that you really love? Say dessert, or maybe sleep? How about from following a childhood dream? Is it holding you back from bringing joy into your life?

Now may be the time to create some new rules, rules that focus on seeking out what you want instead of avoiding what you shouldn’t. What do you want more of? Laughter? Adventure? Love?

Make one new rule today that will bring what you desire closer. You just might find yourself Chairman of the Board.

Losing Power

Recently, power was knocked out in my area for almost a week. If you think about it, power is something that we rely on so heavily to fuel our lives: our water temperature, our lights, our food, our entertainment. So what do we do when suddenly the power is just gone? We adapt. We grill outdoors, we light candles, we go to bed early, we live without e-mail. And there is a certain enjoyment in the resourcefulness that we find within ourselves. In life, it is easy to rely on the power grid -- to be content in simply knowing that it is there, that someone or something else is powering our life. Whether it is a corporation, a non-profit organization, or a family, it is often comforting to know that there are others with a plan or vision of how things should be. What if suddenly, however, that power grid is gone -- through a merger, or a job loss, or a death? Then what do we plug in to? That is the time to get out the candles. Metaphorically, your candles may be books, faith, friends, or your own resourcefulness. How will you adapt? What will you discover in having to change course, to conserve your resources, to get creative? You just might discover that you held the power all along.