Notebooks are Like External Hard Drives for Humans

Recently I read that the average human gets, on average, 65 to 80 notifications per day. If your work is anything like mine.. you know that this is grossly understated. Day to day it came seem like you are juggling notifications from a dozen apps. 

We live in a time where information is more abundant than ever, we can find out what our resting heart rate with a quick glance at our Apple Watch, our Airpods can read us our text messages so that we can take in the information without interrupting what we are doing, we can look up anything we want on our iPhone.

It's amazing what we can do, and its mind-blowing as to how much further we as a species will continue to take this. 

Still, sometimes... it can feel like too much. Sometimes, when we face such a broad and complex problem.. the easiest solution is simplest! -- This sounds a bit like "Occam's Razor", but it's true! 

Information Overload

Day to day, I juggle what feels like over a dozen different apps... all firing notifications at me constantly. Slack, Hubspot, Monday, calendar notifications, email notifications, text messages... and that's just for work-use.

Then you pile in the various social media platforms, Uber Eats, crypto, stocks, and everything else in between... and it just seems like your phone is a constant distraction. 

This is neither a good or bad thing, just the reality of the modern world that we live in today. It's awesome that we have access to so much information at our disposal, but its important that we do not let it consume us! 

Managing a Team

If you lead a team of any size, you know that making yourself available for them as a guide is an important facet of your job. I lead a team of about 100, with about 30 of them in-office.

Our 5 year CAGR (31.9%) is higher than the average age of our office staff (25). In our industry, either of these are rare. This of course comes with a lot of unique challenges, at a very fast pace!   

Walking to down the hall to grab some water or use the bathroom comes with a few distractions in itself. Finding a quiet place to eat lunch for 15 minutes is almost impossible during the day, and I really never know what the day will bring. 

Outside of the digital notifications, come just as many in-person disruptions. (I wish I could find a better word to use aside from "disruption", I love that the team is so eager to propel forward into the future!)

All of this comes with the territory, but learning to focus and keeping my thoughts organized have been things that I've found to be more and more important as time goes by. 

Becoming More Effective at Asynchronous Communication

Asynchronous communication is basically... a forms of communication or messages that don't require an instance response.

There were times that I'd take a few dozen phone calls per day, which meant tons of interruption. After taking a call, it takes a few minutes for you to remember what you were doing. What I've found is it's usually a huge waste of time. 

Things like Slack (or another instant messenger), email, loom, and text are great ways to utilize asynchronous communication.

 Aside from the tools themselves... there there are few ways that I've been working to become more effective at it: 

• Encouraging the team to utilize asynchronous communication -- As I walk around the office, and I receive disruption... asking the team to send me a slack about it so that I can properly look into and address the issue or question for them. (No more rushed conversations in passing!)  
• Before pressing send asking myself... is my message clear, and have I provided enough context, or will they respond with a question? -- If I think my message lacks context, then I reword it to ensure a concise message with enough context for the person receiving it to understand what I am asking. 
• Not taking phone calls, unless absolutely necessary or for times where I absolutely must. -- Most times people will call you, then follow up with an email or text. Almost always they will get the message across just as effectively. (The difference, is the both of you can communicate asynchronously, and minimize disruption). 

These are just a few ways that I've been aiming to utilize more of this for efficiency and clarity. They could be helpful for you too! 

Using a Notebook and Task Management! 

When it feels like a million things are coming at you at once, having a notepad handy is something that really helps. Whenever I walk away from my desk, I always have a little notebook with me. I keep a notebook with me wherever I go! 

You never know when a thought will hit you... and having a notebook is like having an external hard drive, for your brain! We use external hard drives to store more data than a computer might be able to hold onto... this is what a notebook is for. 

Until we can have cloud storage for our thoughts like we do our digital files... a notepad will have to do. 

Writing things down is such a simple concept, and something that I've been encouraging with the team. Forgetting things can be a defeating feeling, especially when you forget something important. 

I've seen it many times, where a talented employee seems to be doing awesome! They seem to be "on top of things", until they aren't. The simple fix, is to ask them to write things down! Building this habit, helps you and others continuing to propel forward. 

Brain Dumping

Every so often, you just have to take out the trash! A brain dump is when you take your thoughts out of your brain, put them on paper... or another safe place, to deal with later! 

At least once a day, I've been sitting for a few minutes and writing things out (in my notebook). 

Writing out the various thoughts you have helps to organize them. Once I've gotten everything listed, I put the "projects" into a board that I have on Monday.com! 

Monday is awesome for organizing tasks, and planning things out. It allows you to collaborate with a team, and is basically... a really awesome spreadsheet. 

Some of the benefits I've found with utilizing brain dumps are: 

• Increased Clarity - Writing things out and getting them off your mind, allows for greater focus! 
• Improved Productivity - When there is a lot running through your mind, its hard to manage the order of things and how to tackle a big project or task. Sometimes you can find yourself doing things backwards. Writing it all out, helps you to visualize the most sensible order of things. 
• Lower Stress - I think this is straight forward... brain dumps just lower stress! 
  
  

Tips for Brain Dumping: 

• Don't stop at writing them down on paper - These can get lost between pages... put them in a task management system, or somewhere where you can organize them by categories or projects. (At one point, I used to use Asana, but find Monday.com to be a better option!)
• Be consistent with it! - What I found after doing these regularly, is that I start to think clearer from before I start the brain dump, rather than seeking clarity through it. 

The reality is, we can't stop the momentum of technology. I personally believe we must stay in the forefront of it for as long as we can, and eventually... the next generation wipes us out via further advancement. 

That is the amazing part about the human race, we continue to propel into the future. 

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech comes to mind, where he says: 

"Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."

Right now... the new is YOU!