HACKS TO LIVING AND WORKING INKnown FLAGLER COUNTY. more familiarly as Do As I Say, Not As I Do.
SLIDES THAT MISSED THE CUT.
• DRESS CODE WEAR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT IN FLAGLER COUNTY. • DON’T BE LATE FOR MEETINGS EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO BE LATE TO YOUR MEETING SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE LATE, TOO. • HOW TO MARKET YOUR NEW BUSINESS MARKETING IS FOR SUCKERS – HANG OUT AT BREAKAWAYZ OR KOKOMO’S AND YOU’LL HAVE CLIENTS IN NO TIME
KNOW YOUR HISTORY.
Whether you’re a newcomer to town or you’ve been here you’re entire life, you should know what makes this community unique and authentic.
DO THE HARDEST THING FIRST. Decision Fatigue
Avoid by getting the worst item on your to-do list out of the way first. Mark Twain’s quote explains it best: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
DON’T MULTITASK.
First of all, you can’t – so stop thinking you can. Multitasking is a myth. When we attempt to multitask, our brain actually switches back and forth from one task to the other. That switching eats an enormous amount of brain food (oxygenated glucose) that would otherwise be used to help you work through the tasks one at a time at a quicker pace. You end up feeling more tired, faster, and therefore, less productive.
SCHEDULE LESS TIME FOR TASKS. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” – Parkinson’s Law or The Pursuit of Progress
F*CK BINARY THINKING.
Forgive the lang*age but I’m sick and tired people thinking that we can do either this or that, but not both. Either/Or ends a conversation. It stymies creative thought. The next time your faced with binary thinking, even if it’s in your own little head, take a moment to think to yourself “What if we try to do BOTH this AND that?” Both/And extends a conversation and allows for creativity in your approach.
SLEEP.
This goes along with eating well and exercising, but even if you’re too lazy to do those I bet you can still work this one out. In all seriousness, when we were in college, we could stay out all night, cram for a test, and ace it. Those days are over. This may be the most important thing our generation needs to learn/relearn how to do.
PLUG IN.
I don’t care if it’s church, the turtle patrol, Pokémon go, Kiwanis, or a Rotary Club, just get yourself plugged in. Ask to sit in at a board meeting – if it seems like a good fit, ask to join as a board member. This town needs young people to be involved at a fundamental level. You have so much to offer but no one will ever know if you do not show up.
SHOW UP.
Get involved in our community by attending Commission meetings, School Board meetings, Non-Profit events and galas, Habitat builds, beach clean-ups, senior centers, etc. An awesome way to show up very quickly is to apply for Leadership Flagler through the Chamber of Commerce. Again, our generation needs to be represented in Flagler.
DON’T START YOUR DAY WITH EMAIL.
While email is essential to our work, it shouldn’t be the first thing you do when you sit down at your desk in the morning. Unless, of course, it’s the most difficult thing you’ll do all day, then you need to eat the frog. Think of email as someone else’s request of your time and your time is important. If you’ve made a plan for your day, trust me, the second you start emailing you might as well kiss that plan goodbye.
IN FACT, TURN YOUR EMAIL OFF.
Again, it’s a useful tool but often it’s just in the way. I send and receive anywhere from 40 - 50 emails in a day, and I’m copied on another 10 - 15. If I let them, they could easily take up my entire day, and sometimes they do, which is why I end up working until 2 in the morning. If you have an important task to accomplish, don’t feel guilty about turning your email off altogether. Again, it’s someone else’s request of your time, and that time is yours and yours alone. Use it wisely.
TAKE BREAKS.
As the “young’un” in your office, you’re probably seen by your superiors as one who possesses an unending source of energy and an unwavering willingness to work long hours and overtime. While that might be true, we all need to recharge. Studies clearly show that people who take regular 15 minute breaks are more productive. These breaks shouldn’t include facebooking or instagramming and should allow for mind-wandering – activities like walking in the woods, swinging in a hammock, singing nonsensical made-up songs to my daughter, and goofing around on a ukulele are some of my favorites.
JUST SAY NO.
Not to drugs, silly. If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m a firm believer that my time is MY TIME. I don’t answer every call, I don’t call every person back, I don’t email right away, I don’t take on every job, and I definitely don’t do anything that is not in my best interest. There are probably people frustrated with me because of that – hell, there’s probably at least one person in this room who has been mad at me for not responding quickly enough – but, frankly, I’m busy. If you don’t have time to work on a new project or an urgent task, just say no, and stick to it.
ONLY HANDLE IT ONCE. This is called the OHIO Strategy and it relates back to not multitasking. If you have an urgent or even a simple task at your fingertips, don’t let yourself be distracted by other tasks until that one is complete. (Unless of course, that task is going to lead to your death, like the numbskull in this ridiculously awesome photo. He should definitely stop this task right away‌)
READ.
Harvard Business Review, Manifestos and/or Memoirs by favorites in your field, White Papers, Peer-reviewed articles, etc. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to know your shit. Reading is simply the best way to get there.
MAKE MISTAKES.
One of my favorite passages of all time came from a required summer-reading novel from 9th grade. You’ve probably also read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury but chances are you probably won’t remember this line…: “You’re afraid of making mistakes. Don’t be. Mistakes can be profited by. Man, when I was young I shoved my ignorance in people’s faces. They beat me with sticks. By the time I was forty my blunt instrument had been honed to a fine cutting point for me. If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn.”