Global Creative

I just added two new resources to the blogroll.

John Ratey’s blog which focuses primarily on exercise and the brain.  John also wrote the revolutionary exercise/brain book Spark.

John Medina’s blog  about “Brain Rules”.

John M. has a refreshing, humorous approach to taking care of our #1 organ.  He emphasizes the need for good brain care, especially sleep and exercise.  He also discusses the over-reliance on stress and adrenalin.  One interesting post explores the fact that our brains are designed to deal with stress for about 30 seconds!

This interests me because many Global Creatives elevate stress to an artform to get things done.

Medina’s website features 12 Brain Rules in video format.

Good Stuff!

Cameron

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with ADHD  get things done.

‘Expand the Mind’ has two very different components.  Part 1 addressed the practical challenge of freeing up usable space in the ADD brain.

The other component addresses attitudes and useful perspectives.  For example expanding what is possible.  So this component focuses more on improving mind ‘flexibility and resiliency’.

For all of our creativity, Global Creatives can fall prey to one dimensional thinking with respect to action.  Urgency and overwhelm (which produce stress and anxiety) squelch creativity and force the GC into a ‘just push harder’ frame of mind (not very flexible).  A common challenge of ADHD is black and white or ‘all or nothing’ thinking.  This is related to challeges around setting priorities.  It especially comes out when we slam ourselves (ANT’s) showing up as absolutes.

“I always mess up!”

“I never get it right!”

So, when you push a large object you literally put your head down.  Figuratively, when we come to a challenging task we do something similar with our familiar language.

“I just need to push harder!”.

This is a great time to practice the first E of REBEL - an expansive mind.

When we are focused solely on doing and finishing we are not focused on the potential resources that are available to us.

So some informal ways to expand the mind is a Cam favorite - asking questions.

Starting with questions for self (and the Fire Chief)

What have I not thought of?

What has worked in the past?

What is another way?

Questions for others (delegating is hugely under-utilized)

Who is the best person for the job?

Who can I bring in?

As ‘doers’ we naturally want to hang on to tasks and can be reluctant to hand off to others.

This can be useful for the occasional push to finish the big project but not a basket to put all of one’s eggs into.

Informal practice is great but formal practice is really where major headway is made.

Quiet reflective time is a wonderful way to cultivate an expansive, flexible mind.  This can come in the form of prayer, solitude, and mindfulness.  I am a big fan of mindfulness because it seems to work nicely with the global creative brain.

A study at UCLA has found that meditation is bringing real benefits to individuals struggling with ADHD.

Quiet reflection coupled with strategic planning is a wonderful practice that hels to ‘reset’ the brain.  Even 10 minutes of quiet reflection will make a difference.  Then out of this quiet ask these questions:

What are my intentions for the week?

What is one thing I can do each day that will make a difference?

enjoy

Cam

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with getting things done.

Expand the Mind has two very different components.  One addresses attitudes and useful perspectives.  For example expanding what is possible.

The other component is much more practical and addresses the issue of storage space in the brain.  

GC’s are famous for using their brains as their primary storage facility for thoughts, actions, shoulds, someday maybes.  Sytems get lost, forgotten and most often unused.  The real issue GC’s have to contend with is the phenomenon of overwhelm.  We often operate right on the edge, maxing out the ampage we have on board.  Much of this energy can go into keeping order of things we don’t need for our current task like “remember to pick up milk!”.

There are two ways to make more space in a room.  Move the walls out or remove some of the clutter.  Regular practice of dumping stuff out of the brain into a reliable holding space is essential for managing overwhelm.  A Global Creative loses his creative production element (his Creative moniker!) when overwhelm is nearby.  The default production element sadly becomes urgency where the GC prioritizes by the latest and loudest and is motivated only by hard deadlines.

Our global processor is a natural phenomenon.  The creative producer is not.  We have to pave the way for creative production.  One way is to stop using our brains as storage devices.  

As you look for a reliable storage device keep in mind the distinction between visibility and accessibility.  Visibility is often not enough to get us to remeber to use the system.  Objects (planners, PDA’s) over time can fade into the background.  Accessibility is much more important-how accessible the system or device is, how accessible that specific task is.  This has a lot to do with personal preference and preferred modalities.  A tactile individual is more likely to be drawn to a paper based system preferring the touch or feel of paper to a PDA.

One of my clients shared with me a very cool tool that is paper based and easily modified.  It’s the PocketMod.  

I’ve found the best systems are developed through trial and error.  The key is to keep tweaking the ststem (that means keep using it) till it works for you.

Cheers, Cam

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Another important fire chief question to ask…

What do I already know?

I am currently reading Appreciative Coaching by Orem, Binkert and Clancy for a Coach Approach course I am teaching with Denslow Brown.    This model of coaching is primarily based upon Aprreciative Inquiry — a sucessful process for positive change in the field  of organizational development.  

In addition to positive inquiry and clear development of values and goals,  the process relies heavily on what the organization or individual already knows — past successes.

Global Creatives can forget past successes, mired in or focused on the current challenge.  Reminding oneself of past successes is a place to start.

Have I been here before?

What have I done in the past?

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This is a review of each component of REBEL,  a process I use to help clients with getting things done.

G-C’s understand the value of “Remembering to Remind the Brain”.  Keeping the pump primed is key to Effective Brain Management.   There are two methods to consider.  A formal event such as a weekly or daily review and an informal event such as pausing and asking a relevant ‘fire chief’ question.

Formal

GC’s can get stuck in over-review (in a way it keeps them out of action phase).  A brief review of daily intentions can really clarify the tracks you are choosing for the day.  A lengthier weekly review similar to the GTD approach can go a long way in reminding us of our intentions and goals.

Informal

Informal reminder events don’t get the attention their formal cousins do but these can have a huge impact on the outcome of any given day.  An informal event shows up most effectively as a pause in the day- a check in on where you are and where you are heading.  Getting your attention is best done in the form of a question.  Central to the success of a question is what, how and when it is asked.

Consider the following:

What to ask.

“What is most important right now?….What’s a priority?….”

This helps keep the train on the intended track and limits tangents thru the day.

“Where is my brain?….What is getting in my way?….”

Recognizing distraction in the moment is a huge skill. 

How to ask.

“Hey Dipshit!  Get to work!” will get your attention but sets a tone of disdain and frustration.

You don’t need more stress.  You need more clarity.  Asking in a more neutral way will take the focus off you and place the focus where it needs to be — the problem and eventual solution.

When to ask.

“Where am I heading?….Do I want to go this way?….”

The best time to ask is soon after the train has left the track (not two hours later)

So make some space for R of REBEL and see what happens

CBG

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REBEL is a process I share with clients in the early stages of our coaching.  It is quite useful for Global Creatives wanting a more balanced and consistent approach to their work day.  Today I share the entire strategy.  Over the next several weeks I will expand on each component.

Would love to hear your feedback!

If you are an individual - use it freely

If you are a coach - please cite globalcreative.org

Cam

The Process that I embrace is REBEL

Think about what you are doing or would like to do in each area

R

Remember to Remind the Brain

Memory is a big component of ADHD.  Remind self of values, commitments/intentions, strategies/best practices, worst practices, misteps, what you are up to, priorities, work actions that contribute to: bottom line, adding value for customer, contributing to development of client or company.

A Weekly Review is excellent opportunity to do this.  Can offset pull of immediate gratification. 

E

Expand the Mind

Expand what is possible

Our black and white thinking tells us there are two options. Full out or dead stop.  There is a middle ground to explore.

Loosen up vs. tighten down.  We tend to just try harder when we run into an obstacle.  This is about trying different.

Clear out the clutter

A more practical exercise is to literally empty the brain-get stuff out of head and in to safe place.  Develop a reliable task & time manager outside the head.

B

Balanced Attack

Exercise the weak muscle.  Set aside time to plan, review, remember, reflect, adjust, organize, prioritize.  Tracking may not be a strong suit but you can develop ways to manage and track papers and information.

E

Exposure

Exposure of time-how do you get things done.  How do you not get things done.  Where are you efficient and effective, where do you lollygag.  Find time-bleeders. 

Exposure to new experiences.  Get out there and do it.  Too much planning will kill good actions.  Put the ball in play!

L

Limit Scope

A necessity in order to complete.  Limiting allows us to be more selective.  When we say no to one thing we say yes to something else.  When completion replaces urgency as a motivator we move to a new level of operating that includes choice and creativity.  Actively being selective leads to richer more fulfilling experiences and outcomes.  

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We utilize the metaphor of a football field to explore the phenomenon of brain interception and getting to the end of the day with a lot done but not what we intended.

We introduce Search Mode and how to use Clear Mindfulness to manage the search for the winning lottery ticket.

We bring back the fire chief to help us make important distinctions between:

Tracking Opportunities and Chasing ‘Stims’

Exploration and Interruption

Time and Speed

Enjoy

CBG

 

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 ”Is my job safe in these uncertain economic times?”

Certainly a question worth asking and yet who has the time to explore this query?

You’ve learned about the pro-active stance of the “fire chief”.  Now we get to put him to use.

Learn about Big Black Holes and what to do about them.

We equip our fire chief with necessary tools to explore pertinent Big Black Holes and we find that they are not Black Holes after all.

 

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A big struggle for most Global-Creatives is managing their attention. In ADHD land we call this distractibility. Trying to make it in our modern hyper-connected world compounds the challenge since everyone and everything is vying for our attention.

The Global part of G-C brain can serve us so well from highly innovative and fresh perspectives to true “out of the box” solutions. Yet that same processing style can make sustained and intentional activity seem like a gargantuan feat that requires vast reserves of energy.

Beyond the executive function challenges explained mostly by ADHD, 2 common beliefs tend to exacerbate the splintering of our attention on a daily basis. The first belief is that multi-tasking is real and that it is beneficial (it is neither. Merlin Mann does a lovely job of busting the Myth of Multi-tasking). The second belief is that we have unlimited reserves of attention to distribute anywhere of our liking. I’ll suggest that what is often overlooked is the fact that we have a finite amount of attention available at any given hour, day or week.

Here is a helpful exercise. Start to view your attention more like something that has a discernable quantity- much like energy or time. Look at your attention like it were an apple pie. Notice what has your attention and how large a slice it gets.

How big a slice is going to the project at the top of your list?

How big a slice is going to checking emails or phone messages?

How big a slice is going toward worrying about a conflict or unfinished task?

How big a slice is going toward that shiny new opportunity?

How often are the slices changing, morphing and disappearing?

Notice if you are actually hunting for distractions.

G-C’s are masterful at delaying the work they really want to be doing. So a first step is to notice where your attention is going.  Reserve judgment and stay curious.  Judgment serves no one but the inner critic and keeps us from valuable learning.

CBG

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I hate gimmicky tricks to fool ourselves into doing something we need to do. Yet the 10 minute rule is one trick that really works. It’s based on the premise that anyone can do anything for 10 minutes.

Many Global Creatives struggle with getting started, especially important but non-urgent actions - the actions that Steven Covey labels Quad II actions in his time management matrix.

The key to the 10 minute rule is that at the 10 minute mark you choose to continue the task or stop the task and pick something else to do. Choice is a powerful tool here and a component of The 4C’s and the Power of Completion (Look for The 4C’s in an upcoming podcast). If the task is still extremely challenging then stop.

How it works

Global Creatives can have difficulty with transitions. There are two parts to any transition - the transition into the task and the transition out. With a glitchy activation for task system, we can really struggle with transitioning into a task - getting started. Once we get started, though, we are OK.  What tends to be missing is a spring board, a place where G-C’s can gain some traction and some initial movement on a task or project. The 10 minute rule serves the purpose of a reliable spring board.

So if you have enlisted the ideas from the podcast and still not getting going then give the 10 minute rule a shot and make space for developing your own rules.

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