who moved my brain? revaluing time and attention

HELLO.

Hi. Iʼm Merlin. I do 43Folders.com.

WHO MOVED MY BRAIN?

REVALUING TIME & ATTENTION

MERLIN MANN43FOLDERS.COM

Today, I want to tell you about my pal, Mike Monteiro.

MIKEMULEDESIGN.COM

This is Mike. Hi, Mike!

Mike makes things at MuleDesign.com.

Mike had a problem. Mike hates meetings. Mike is also a huge smartass.

Mike made these. They make you think about how you use peopleʼs time and attention.

YOU ARE A

BARGAIN.BIG

It costs very little to get your attention. Especially if youʼre a “knowledge worker.”

KNOWLEDGEWHUH, NOW?

Thatʼs a Peter Drucker term. KWs are smart people who add value to information. They also have girly, smooth hands.

“Lost in E-Mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast,” June 14, 2008

“Interruptions by things that aren’t urgent or important, like unnecessary e-mail messages — and the time it takes to get back on track.”

28% OF EACH DAY

Interruptions are a huge pain. Intel estimates that interruptions cost them US$1B last year.

People give you money because you know how to solve problems.

Not because you move email around and respond to things that go “DING!”

BLACK BOX JOB

Hereʼs the thing: your jobʼs kind of weird. At least compared to your Grandfather.(Unless he was a pimp, or a spy, or something. Anyway.)

{ } (thing you do)

specsmeetings

emailpizzaetc.

FlawlessWork

plop!

No one cares HOW you get things done; just that you DO. This is really hard unless

you actively manage your time AND attention.

Can you see the value of attention as clearly as the value of cash? Donʼt just say, “Sure, I

do!” Really think about it.

∞The things you COULD do are infinite,

while your time and attention are FINITE.

OPPORTUNITY COST

Opportunity Cost means: if I do “this,” I necessarily canʼt also do “that,” “that,”

“that,” and “OMG, THAT!”

FINITE TIME,FINITE ATTENTION

Concept: Joel Spolsky / JoelOnSoftware.com

Joel Spolsky says only so many blocks can fit in a box. I agree. Joel Spolsky is smart.

So, how do I keep my brain where I want it?

FIVE PATTERNS(THINGS THAT TEND TO WORK)

Well, hereʼs five things that tend to work. I call them “patterns.”

FIVE PATTERNS

1 Identify Leaks

2 Govern Access

3 Minimize Notifications

4 Work in Dashes

5 Renegotiate

These are realistic, but theyʼre personal, too. So, tweak them. Ready?

IDENTIFY LEAKS

Find giant holes that have filled with crap. Remove the crap. Then seal the leak.

GOVERN ACCESS

Stop allowing 100% access. Make mindful decisions about who gets access to you. And

when. And for how long.

WHO GETS ACCESS NOW?

Ask yourself. Seriously, do it. Because it says a lot about who you are.

MINIMIZE NOTIFICATIONS

Turn off everything thatʼs not an actual “alarm.” Know what an “alarm” is?

An alarm is something that says, “Hi. Stop what youʼre doing right now.

Or youʼll die. Honk.”

“DING!”

The “DING!” means Facebook zombies & spammers get to interrupt you whenever it suits them. Up to 2,000 times each week.

WORK IN DASHES

Plan your work in small chunks that you can tear through easily.

Rule of Thumb: If a task wonʼt fit through your typical window of availability, itʼs too

big. Break it down.

Get out of “Grizzly Bear Mode.” Stop scanning the campground for bears, and go

make some damned sʼmores.

TRAINING:10/50 DASH

10 min Collect & Process

50 min Work

10 min Collect & Process

Etc...

An experiment. Ten minutes of “Grizzly bear,” followed by 50 minutes of making

sʼmores. Repeat, D.C. al Coda.

RENEGOTIATE

This is a GTD-ish concept. Ask: “What could I change about this thing to make it ʻdo-ableʼ

AND awesome?”

QUALIFYING “YES”

Renegotiation means “yes” can have shades.

• Kinda• Maybe• Later

• A Little

QUALIFYING “YES”

Learn to say, “Yes, but...!” Youʼll do more and be less stressed about all of it.

FIVE PATTERNS

1 Identify Leaks

2 Govern Access

3 Minimize Notifications

4 Work in Dashes

5 Renegotiate

These work. I swear. Try them today.

Be like Mike: make things. And, seriously?

BE A DAD

NEVER be scared or embarrassed to defend your attention. Be a Dad for your brain. It

needs you, okay?

THANKS.

(NOW, YOU.)

Thank you for 45 minutes of your Time & Attention. I owe each of you three tokens.

WHO MOVED MY BRAIN?

REVALUING TIME & ATTENTION

MERLIN MANN43FOLDERS.COM

Now, please ask me questions, and tell me where Iʼm full of shit.

REALLY. THANKS.

Best thing ever. “Weʼre DONE here.” Thank you very much.

FIN.

Last slide. Please stop looking at this, and go make things that are awesome.