7 Days, 7 Journals

To get the most out of keeping a journal, I've started to keep SEVEN journals.  One for each day of the week.

Why?  I write in journals to make myself happier and more successful.  There is overwhelming evidence that positive emotions increase when we write/think about our dreams for the future and when we write about the things we are grateful for now.  But there is also evidence that this type of journaling is most effective when we mix it up. In her book, The How of Happiness, psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky describes her research into behaviors that gave college students sustained, measurable improvements in their reported satisfaction with their lives compared to control groups.  She found that writing in a gratitude journal  increases happiness.  So does imagining the best possible future outcomes in one or more areas of your life.

None of this is surprising, but I was shocked to learn that gratitude journals were MORE effective when the students wrote just once per week versus when they wrote every day!!!  Lyubomirsky concluded that subjects just weren't as engaged in the activity when they wrote in their gratitude journals every day.  It was much more effective to write just once per week AND REALLY MEAN IT!

Similarly, the author's research showed that a few weeks of writing about the best possible, realistic outcomes in your life in the next few months measurably increased how satisfied students reported feeling about their lives.  But, again, the effect was more pronounced if this visioning happened weekly rather than daily.

To start creating these weekly habits, I'm now writing in seven journals.  I'm using "Google Docs" files so that I can log into these journals from any computer or iPad.  My "Journals" folder includes "Thanksgiving Thursday" for Gratitude Journaling.  When it comes to imagining the "Best Possible Outcomes"  in the next few months and beyond, I've broken this up into journaling about work on Tuesdays, my healthy lifestyle vision on Wednesdays, and my personal/family/spiritual life on Saturdays.

That leaves 3 more days.  I use one for brainstorming things I need to do at home, another for things to do at work, and the last is a completely open ended traditional journal in which I write about whatever comes to mind.

Brain on a Treadmill

I've been reading Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, by Daniel Amen.  Amen gives you a different perspective on taking care of yourself.  Instead of thinking about doing things that are good for your body, think about lifestyle changes that are good for your brain.

Why focus on brain health?  What's good for the body is often also good for the brain:  exercise, fruits and veggies, stress reduction.  But Amen says you might put a higher priority on some actions when your goal is brain health instead of overall body health.

A good example is exercise.  Amen writes that aerobic exercise has been shown to encourage the growth of new brain cells by pumping more blood to the brain.  Hence, my "brain on a treadmill" image.

Amen also cites research that resistance training may prevent cognitive decline in older adults.

You don't need to be graceful to walk or run on a treadmill.  But you do need to be coordinated to dance.  Dr. Amen claims that brain scans show that exercises requiring coordination activate the cerebellum which "enhances thinking, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed".  This may make these aerobic exercises even better for the brain that running on a treadmill because more of the brain gets a "work out".

Dr. Amen's favorite brain exercise of all is Ping-Pong.  Table tennis is an aerobic exercise.  Like dancing, it also requires coordination.  But, more than dancing, due to the need for strategy, it engages the prefontal cortex--the area of the brain most responsible for logic.  It may be one of the best available whole brain workouts.

Pleasant Surprises

I've had my new volunteer role for 2 weeks now, and everything has worked well so far, including some pleasant surprises:

• I've been able to control my time commitment.  I've used timers to make sure I spend no more than 30 minutes a day on this part of my life, excluding days when I have meetings that take more time.  This has worked perfectly.  I keep checking with the wife, the kids, the dogs: "Do any of you feel I'm spending way too much time on this?  Do you feel it's keeping me from spending enough time with you?"  No complaints.  They know I'm tracking my time and that I'm not cheating.
• I'm happy with the results so far.  The volunteer group has gotten organized, roles have been assigned, decisions, budgets, and plans have been approved. And I feel as if I'm off to a good start on my top priority:  to foster systems and a culture of collaboration in this organization.
• I'm seeing many of the trustees take on big responsibilities; they are working hard and with passion.  I've made it clear that I only have enough time to guide the group without taking on many other specific commitments, and they are responding by leading all the key projects and committees.
• As I've become more confident that I can find the time to do this role along with everything else in my life, I'm starting to relax and enjoy the interesting things I'm learning about local government, neighborhood, volunteer, and business organizations.
• I'm noticing that--more so than at work--I'm following the advice of the management books I've read.  Because I'm working with a new organization, I'm not as set in my ways as I am at work.  Without even thinking about it, I'm more likely to do the things that I've always read I SHOULD be doing such as letting people take on responsibility, eliminating barriers for them, and then getting out of the way.  It's as if the new organization is giving me a fresh start at applying leadership skills and I'm more able to do this "by the book".

Just One Goal

In a week, my new volunteer role should be official.  President of my neighborhood Community Council.  A neighborhood community council plays so many different roles:  supporting the business district, advocating for the neighborhood with city government, fundraising, using the internet to keep neighbors informed, publishing a newsletter, sponsoring community events such as holiday festivals and parades, and leveraging relationships with police, fire department, recreation centers, and a variety of other neighborhood and government organizations.

Am I crazy?  How can I juggle this new role with work and family commitments?  My last few blog posts have described elements of my strategy:

• Using a timer to ensure I spend no more than 30 minutes per day on this role (other than meetings).  If I don't get everything done in that time, that's got to be OK.  This is worth this much time and no more.
• Because most of the work is on the phone or on a computer, setting up my home office to hit the ground running whenever I start one of my 30 minute sessions.  The key for the computer is building a "wall" between this part of my life and the rest by using a separate browser for community council work.  Separate e-mail address that is always logged in.  Bookmarks, "cloud" storage, websites all set up just for this work with no Facebook or any other distractions.  I don't have a lot of time too "get in the zone" when I need to do this work.
• Probably most important of all, with an organization that touches so many areas, I've let the other 14 Trustees know that I have just one key goal and need their help with everything else:  My goal is to make a breakthrough in how this 50+ year old organization collaborates.  
• Leverage modern tools such as "Google Drive" to share files, "Teamviewer" for conference calls in which we can all see the same computer desktop, discussion boards in which topics are created and any trustee can post.
• Facilitate communication among the trustees by phone, internet, and provide more social interaction because I know that we'll be more effective if there is SOME kind of social connection.

I might get tempted to get heavily involved in an upcoming festival, in networking with government organizations, in fundraising, or in other areas.  But I have to resist these temptations, ask others to step in, and focus on the one legacy I want to deliver in my one year term:  a permanent improvement in how this organization collaborates.  Other than the absolute "givens" for my role that are written in the by-laws, improved collaboration is my only goal.

Timers and Trust

I use the "Joseph-Joseph" timer shown in this picture to control how much time I spend writing this blog and doing volunteer work.  A timer helps me budget my time.  Without a timer, I'm likely to drastically "overspend" my time on these interests, leaving insufficient time for family, chores, and fun.

The timer creates trust.  I set a budget:  30 minutes to write a blog about once per week, and 30 minutes almost daily on my new volunteer role.  Then I have to be strict.  When the "Joseph-Joseph" rings, I have to stop.  No rewinding, no "just a few more minutes".  Develop a consistent habit of stopping immediately.

When I'm consistent about this, week after week, lots of good things happen.  Most important, I gain trust.  My family starts to trust that I won't get carried away and forget about them.  And I start to trust myself that I'll limit my time appropriately.  Another benefit is that, when the clock is ticking, I'm extremely focused.  I know that this is the only time I'm going to get to do this work so I'm fully engaged and efficient.

I wouldn't want to be a slave to a stopwatch on everything.  Most things at home are free flowing, spending whatever time I feel like spending.  But some activities matter to me and to nobody else in the house.  These are the activities that need strict time management so that the time I spend on them is in synch with my priorities and values.

Browsers for Work, for Play, and for Volunteering

I find that it's best to build walls between work, family/fun time, and my volunteer work.   Whichever situation I'm on, I find it's best to focus at that time in that one area of my life.  Otherwise I can't concentrate; I'm overwhelmed with all the things that need to get done.

Recently, I've learned to build walls between my Internet Browsers. I use Internet Explorer for work, Google Chrome for family/fun/social browsing, and Opera for my volunteer work.  I set up each with different e-mail addresses and bookmarked websites so that, when I choose to engage in that part of my life, all the messages in my inbox and all my bookmarked websites are precisely targeted for that part of my life.  For example, my volunteer work is community related so every bookmark is geared to local government, local news, and neighborhood organizations.  And all my e-mails are strictly separated.

On your mark! Get set . . .

Whenever I've done volunteer work for the last 20 years, I've had a horrible tendency to get carried away.  I"ve spent WAY too much time on the volunteer work at the expense of quality time with my family.   Now that I'm taking on this new volunteer role starting in January, how will I avoid making the same mistake?  I'm not the only one worried about this.  My wife and kids are worried; I think even the dogs wonder if I'll remember to feed them.

I feel confident that it will be different this time in part because of how I'm setting up my work area at home.  I've set up my desk with two computer monitors and a phone so that I can communicate easily and can have as many files and websites open as I need.  But, more importantly, I have my "Joseph-Joseph" timer shown in the picture above.  Wind it up, work for 30 minutes, and walk away.  No more losing track of time.  When it rings, I stop and go back to my wife and kids.