How to avoid procrastination
Humans like to think we're a clever lot. Yet those magnificent, mighty brains that allow us to split the atom and touch the moon are the same stupid brains that can't start an assignment until the day before it's due.

We evolved from primitive creatures, but we never quite shed ourselves of their legacy. You know the clever, rational part of your brain you think of as your human consciousness? Let's call him Albert. He lives in your brain alongside an impulsive baby reptile called Rex:

(Rex is your basal ganglia, but that's not very catchy so I'm sticking with Rex).

Rex evolved millions of years ago - unsurprisingly enough, in the brains of reptiles - and his instincts guide and motivate you to this day. Hunger. Fear. Love. Lust. Rex's thoughts are primitive and without language.

Here's the bit you're not going to like. Rex makes the final call on all your decisions.Every. Single. One.

We like to think of Albert as "our true self" - the conscious part of your brain. He's the talking, reasoning part. When we decide to go to the gym or write that term paper, Albert made that decision. 

Rex does listen to Albert. Like a child, he will do a lot of what he's told, as long as he wants to. But if Rex prefers to crash on the sofa to watch Survivor and eat Cheetos, that's what you're going to do.

The incredible ascension of mankind that surrounds us is largely possible because we've developed systems to nurture our reptilian brains, to subdue, soothe and subvert them. 

Much of this this system we call "civilization". Widely available food and shelter take care of a lot. So does a system of law, and justice. Mandatory education. Entertainment. Monogamy. All of it calms Rex down for long enough for Albert to do something useful - like discover penicillin, or invent Cheetos. 

Now let's look at your procrastination.

You're making a decision with your conscious mind and wondering why you're not carrying it out. The truth is the real decision maker - Rex - is not nearly so mature.

Imagine you had to constantly convince a young child to do what you wanted.  For simple actions, asserting your authority might be enough. "It's time for dinner". But if that child doesn't want to do something, it won't listen. You need to cajole it:

·         Forget logic. Once you've decided to do something, logic and rationale won't help you. Your inner reptile can be placated, scared and excited. But it doesn't speak with language and cannot be reasoned with.

·         Comfort matters. If you're hungry, tired or depressed your baby reptile will rebel. Fail to take care of yourself, and he'll wail and scream and refuse to do a damn thing you say. That's what he's for. Eat, sleep and make time for fun.

·         Nurture discipline. Build a routine of positive and negative reinforcement. If you want a child to eat their vegetables, don't give them dessert first. Reward yourself for successes, and set up assured punishments for your failure. Classic examples include committing to a public goal, or working in a team - social pressure can influence Rex.  

·         Incite emotion. Your reptile brain responds to emotion. That is its language. So get yourself pumped, or terrified. Motivational talks, movies and articles can work, for a while. I use dramatic music (one of my favorite playlists is called Music to conquer worlds by). Picture the bliss associated with getting something done, or the horrors of failing. Make your imagination vivid enough that it shakes you. We use similar tricks on children for a reason: "brush your teeth or they'll fall out".

·         Force a start. The most important thing you can do is start. Much of Rex's instincts are to avoid change, and once you begin something those instincts start to tip into your favor  With enough time, you can even convince Rex to love doing the things he hated. There's a reason we force kids to go to school or to try piano lessons.

·         Bias your environment. Rex is short sighted and not terribly bright. If he sees a Facebook icon, he'll want it. It's like showing a child the start of a cool TV program immediately before bedtime. Design your environment to be free from such distractions: sign out of instant messenger, turn off notifications, turn off email. Have separate places for work and fun, and ideally separate computers (or at least accounts).

Once you know what to look for, you'll start to recognize the patterns and control them.

There's an impulsive baby reptile in your brain, and unfortunately he has the steering wheel. If you can be a good parent to him he'll mostly do what you say, and serve you well. Just remember who's in charge.

How to avoid procrastination
Humans like to think we're a clever lot. Yet those magnificent, mighty brains that allow us to split the atom and touch the moon are the same stupid brains that can't start an assignment until the day before it's due.

We evolved from primitive creatures, but we never quite shed ourselves of their legacy. You know the clever, rational part of your brain you think of as your human consciousness? Let's call him Albert. He lives in your brain alongside an impulsive baby reptile called Rex:

(Rex is your basal ganglia, but that's not very catchy so I'm sticking with Rex).

Rex evolved millions of years ago - unsurprisingly enough, in the brains of reptiles - and his instincts guide and motivate you to this day. Hunger. Fear. Love. Lust. Rex's thoughts are primitive and without language.

Here's the bit you're not going to like. Rex makes the final call on all your decisions.Every. Single. One.

We like to think of Albert as "our true self" - the conscious part of your brain. He's the talking, reasoning part. When we decide to go to the gym or write that term paper, Albert made that decision. 

Rex does listen to Albert. Like a child, he will do a lot of what he's told, as long as he wants to. But if Rex prefers to crash on the sofa to watch Survivor and eat Cheetos, that's what you're going to do.

The incredible ascension of mankind that surrounds us is largely possible because we've developed systems to nurture our reptilian brains, to subdue, soothe and subvert them. 

Much of this this system we call "civilization". Widely available food and shelter take care of a lot. So does a system of law, and justice. Mandatory education. Entertainment. Monogamy. All of it calms Rex down for long enough for Albert to do something useful - like discover penicillin, or invent Cheetos. 

Now let's look at your procrastination.

You're making a decision with your conscious mind and wondering why you're not carrying it out. The truth is the real decision maker - Rex - is not nearly so mature.

Imagine you had to constantly convince a young child to do what you wanted.  For simple actions, asserting your authority might be enough. "It's time for dinner". But if that child doesn't want to do something, it won't listen. You need to cajole it:

·         Forget logic. Once you've decided to do something, logic and rationale won't help you. Your inner reptile can be placated, scared and excited. But it doesn't speak with language and cannot be reasoned with.

·         Comfort matters. If you're hungry, tired or depressed your baby reptile will rebel. Fail to take care of yourself, and he'll wail and scream and refuse to do a damn thing you say. That's what he's for. Eat, sleep and make time for fun.

·         Nurture discipline. Build a routine of positive and negative reinforcement. If you want a child to eat their vegetables, don't give them dessert first. Reward yourself for successes, and set up assured punishments for your failure. Classic examples include committing to a public goal, or working in a team - social pressure can influence Rex.  

·         Incite emotion. Your reptile brain responds to emotion. That is its language. So get yourself pumped, or terrified. Motivational talks, movies and articles can work, for a while. I use dramatic music (one of my favorite playlists is called Music to conquer worlds by). Picture the bliss associated with getting something done, or the horrors of failing. Make your imagination vivid enough that it shakes you. We use similar tricks on children for a reason: "brush your teeth or they'll fall out".

·         Force a start. The most important thing you can do is start. Much of Rex's instincts are to avoid change, and once you begin something those instincts start to tip into your favor  With enough time, you can even convince Rex to love doing the things he hated. There's a reason we force kids to go to school or to try piano lessons.

·         Bias your environment. Rex is short sighted and not terribly bright. If he sees a Facebook icon, he'll want it. It's like showing a child the start of a cool TV program immediately before bedtime. Design your environment to be free from such distractions: sign out of instant messenger, turn off notifications, turn off email. Have separate places for work and fun, and ideally separate computers (or at least accounts).

Once you know what to look for, you'll start to recognize the patterns and control them.

There's an impulsive baby reptile in your brain, and unfortunately he has the steering wheel. If you can be a good parent to him he'll mostly do what you say, and serve you well. Just remember who's in charge.

How Can I Turn My Mess of Ideas Into Something Organized and Useful?

Hello people...i found this interesting, hope you do too.

Dear Lifehacker,
I have tons of ideas for projects and things I want to do, but they're all halfway there, only partially fleshed out, or just inspiration with no real plan behind them. How can I sort them all out and actually get started instead of just thinking up great things?

Sincerely,
The Idea Guy

Dear Idea Guy,
It's been said that an idea without execution is worthless, but don't feel bad about that. You've got great ideas, which is a wonderful thing. Now we just have to help you take the next step and get organized so you can bring them into reality. It's not that hard to do. Once you start getting your ideas out of your head and into a format that lets you be free to think, you'll be able to come back to them and work on them at any time.

Build an Idea Bank

Since you have plenty of ideas floating around your head, the first thing you'll want to do is start an "idea bank" for them. The first step in making those ideas real is to get them out of your head and into something you can look at when you're in the mood to work, not just brainstorm. Doing this instantly relieves that "there's too much going on in my head" frustration. I've mentioned before that I use Wunderkit for this, but Wunderkit is on the way out (to be replaced by a new version of Wunderlist), but there are plenty of other tools to help you keep and organize your ideas:

• For the visual: Evernote and Springpadboth do a great job of making your ideas visual, fun to read and easy to organize, and available on the web and your mobile devices.
• For the text-oriented: ResophNotes, our favorite note-taking app for Windows andNotational Velocity, our pick for the Mac all sync your text notes to the cloud and make them available on multiple systems.
• For the web-inclined: Wunderlist, Trello, and previously mentioned Asana are all great tools for not just tracking your ideas, but what you do with them and when. If you need to collaborate with others, they all allow you to, but it's not necessary.

Whatever tool you use, even if it's good old pen and paper (which we know many of you still prefer), make sure it's something you feel comfortable using and will turn to as soon as inspiration strikes. Get those ideas out of your head and into the bank so you can make a withdrawal when you need to. Keeping those sparks of genius in your head only guarantees you'll eventually forget them, and you'll be frustrated when you do.

Flesh Out Your Ideas

Once you have your ideas in a format you can draw from, your next step is to add meat to their bones. You may have a genius idea, but it takes more than that to make an idea reality. Start brainstorming and ask yourself "How can I make this real? What tools will I need, and how much time will it take? When can I set aside time to work on this?"

If you have trouble organizing your idea into a step-by-step or sequenced list of to-dos, you might consider mind mapping, a technique for organizing your thoughts and brainstorming that we've mentioned before. We even have some suggestions if you need a good mind mapping application to try.

If mind mapping isn't really your thing, you can always grab the old pen and paper and try good old fashioned journaling and note-taking to help you brainstorm and organize the ideas that come to you on a daily basis. Keeping a work diary lets you document your successes, which in turn makes you more motivated and productive. It also serves as a running list of ideas and thoughts as they come to you. This way you don't have to wait until you have time to sit and think about how to solve a problem, just jot down your idea (or the meat for your idea's bones) as it comes to you. Also, by writing about how you solve problems on a day-to-day basis, you can use the lessons you've learned to flesh out your ideas.

Prioritize and Work on Your Ideas Before They "Rot"

The hardest part of managing the ideas in your head is getting them out of your head and into a format where you can look at them, review them, and build a plan around getting them from idea to completion. Once you have a system in place to do that, let it do the work for you and keep you going. Remember, getting started is everything.Photo by Mark Turnauckas.

At the same time, don't forget to prioritize those ideas. You want to tackle the timely ones first; the ones that depend on changing external conditions. For example, if you're a writer, you want to tackle the blog ideas that are relevant to the here and now. If you're a developer, you want to get to work on your brilliant Windows 8 app before someone else beats you to the punch. Also remember that ideas have a shelf life. Not that your idea itself will be bad later, but that the conditions that made it brilliant will have changed. You may get another idea that's better, or you just won't be motivated to work on that old idea anymore.

Make sure you don't exchange frustration with keeping everything in your head for frustration that you have a huge idea bank and don't use it. Make sure your system enables you to work on ideas, not just work on organizing ideas.

Make Withdrawals When You Need To, but Never Stop Making Deposits

The last step is one you may or may not have trouble with: don't just pull from your idea bank when you need to. Make deposits part of your routine, whether it's part of aweekly review or some other regular brainstorming session. The best way to do great work is to do a lot of work, and the best way to come up with great ideas is to keep brainstorming and writing them down. You'll find your idea bank will be a lifesaver when you're short on things to work on or looking for inspiration, but you don't ever want to look at it and wonder where all the good ideas have gone. Ideally, if brainstorming is part of your routine, you'll never have too much trouble coming up with something worth doing. If you do run into creative blocks, we can help you overcome those, too. Good luck! Photo by Philip Brewer.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

-lifehacker.com

4 Ways to Stop Making Excuses and Follow Your Passion

Remember waking up before dawn to jump into the lake at summer camp? The hardest part was the moment right before you jumped, when you knew the water would be freezing cold but didn't yet trust that you'd acclimate. For would-be entrepreneurs who want to follow their passion but haven't made the leap, the fears about starting a new businesscan feel just like staring at that frigid, early morning water.

Maile Ehlers, a graphic designer and founder of PGH Papercraft, felt torn between freedom and stability. "I was climbing up the corporate ladder (at a paper packaging company), but I really wasn't happy," she says. She put off quitting for fear of stiff competition and unpredictable earnings, but after building a customer base in her spare time, she finally struck out on her own.

"New entrepreneurs are not confident about their own competencies, and thus aren't sure if it would be the right decision," says Hao Zhao, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "Such hesitation is normal."

Today, Ehlers' business is booming and she's branching into new markets. "Seeing that my business has been successful gives me the confidence to keep going and expand," she says.

If you find yourself making excuses about why your new venture should wait, these four tips can help you gain confidence and make a firm decision. 

 1. Decide if you're truly passionate. "(Entrepreneurship) is not for everyone," Zhao says. It may sound like a sexy career, but the reality is that it takes self-motivation and fortitude. If it isn't for you, that's okay. "Be honest with yourself about whether you have the tenacity to be an entrepreneur," says Paula Caligiuri, a psychologist and author of Get a Life, Not a Job (FT Press, 2010). "You'll eventually need it to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and persevere when the tasks become challenging." 

Ultimately, passion drives that momentum. "Taking the successful leap requires both caution and passion," Zhao says.

2. Get to know your market. Before launching a new venture, scope out your competitors, get to know your customers, and meet entrepreneurs that you might emulate. "Success requires expertise with the product and market, as well as careful planning and execution," Zhao explains.

Ehlers launched her shop on Etsy before quitting her job, which helped her assess the demand. "When I saw (business) was consistent, I put my two weeks in," she says.

Related: Can You Turn Your Passion Into a Profitable Business?

3. Create a safety net. If you're serious about starting your own business, save up the resources you'll need in order to succeed. "Lack of time and debt are the two greatest pitfalls that prevent people from starting a new gig," Caligiuri says.

At first, cut out TV time in favor of business planning and curb unnecessary spending. Ehlers didn't quit her job until she saved enough money to cover two months of costs, a precaution that helped reduce her pre-launch anxiety.

Related: 7 Frugal Startup Tips from Millionaire Entrepreneurs

4. Turn to family and friends for support. The people closest to you can be a vital resource as you prepare to start a new venture. "Encouragement from trusted family members and friends will help build entrepreneurial self-efficacy," Zhao says.

They can also help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. "Many people cannot name their own natural talents," Caligiuri says. "Family and friends can help us see what we are good at and what our challenges might be as entrepreneurs."

culled from the Entrepreneur.

Hello, i found this interesting....i hope you do too. Culled from Mind tools.

Rolestorming

Improving Group Brainstorming

---

Generate ideas using someone else's perspective.

© iStockphoto/Elnur

Have you ever been in a brainstorming session and had a good idea that was a little "out there"?

If so, you might have kept the idea to yourself, because you felt embarrassed about sharing it with your group. After all, if the idea was too far-fetched or different, it might damage your reputation, right?

However, you may have felt more comfortable sharing your ideas if they were "someone else's." This is where Rolestorming is useful.

This simple brainstorming technique encourages group members to take on other people's identities while brainstorming. This reduces the inhibitions that many people feel when sharing their ideas with a group, and it helps people come up with ideas that they may not have otherwise considered.

About the Tool

Rick Griggs developed the Rolestorming method in the early 1980s. Dr Arthur VanGundy then described it in his 2004 book, "101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem-Solving."

Griggs developed the technique to help people overcome their inhibitions during group brainstorming sessions. The theory is that if you pretend to be someone else, you'll feel more comfortable putting ideas forward. This is because taking on another role distances you from owning an idea, which helps you speak up.

You can also come up with additional ideas when you look at a problem from someone else's perspective.

What's more, Rolestorming is fun, and it's great for helping team members feel more comfortable sharing ideas with each other. It also builds confidence, because shy or less assertive people feel empowered to speak up.

Using and Applying Rolestorming

Follow these steps to use Rolestorming with your group:

1. Brainstorm Obvious Ideas

First, conduct a regular brainstorming session with your group.

Not only will this generate some good initial ideas, but it will also highlight more obvious ideas. This leaves you free to expand your thinking and push boundaries in later steps.

2. Identify Roles

Next, decide which roles or identities you'll use. You can assign one role to each person in the group, or play the role collectively, moving on to another role when you're done.

The person you choose can be anyone, so long as it's a person not in the current group. Consider people such as a colleague, your boss, a major competitor, someone in public life, a leader from the past, or a friend or family member. Ideally, you should know enough about them to take on their identity for a short time. (They don't necessarily have to be associated with the problem you're trying to solve.)

3. Get Into Character

For each role, allow group members a few minutes to get into character. Use these questions to help with this:

• How does this person see the world?
• What is this person's personality or attitude likely to be?
• How would this person solve problems?
• What are this person's strengths and weaknesses?

Make an effort to get into the persona of the character: the more deeply you understand this person's feelings, worldview, and motivations, the better you can use this perspective to generate good ideas.

Note:
If someone on your team chooses to become a person that everyone knows, such as your boss, a client, or a colleague, make sure that they avoid characterizations that could be harmful or disrespectful.

4. Brainstorm in Character

When people have a good sense of the new identity they've taken on, start brainstorming ideas using these new perspectives. Encourage people to use phrases such as "My person..." or "My character..." when presenting ideas – this helps to create the distance that people need to speak freely.

Make sure that everyone in the group has an opportunity to speak up and share ideas. (Techniques like Round-Robin Brainstorming can be useful here.)

5. Repeat as Required

Repeat the exercise with as many different identities as you need, so that you can generate enough good ideas.

Key Points

Rolestorming is a simple group brainstorming technique that encourages group members to take on someone else's identity and so come up with new ideas. It was developed by Rick Griggs.

To use the technique, group members simply take on the identity of someone else, and come up with ideas that they think the person would suggest.

The technique is useful because it helps to break down people's inhibitions about sharing ideas. It can also provoke better ideas, since you're looking at the problem from different perspectives.

Interesting read,

A few years ago, Brad Anderson, then CEO of Best Buy, told me something both provocative and profound. We were discussing what he looked for in selecting someone for a C-suite level role. Among other skills, he wanted to find executives who had the wisdom to know when the organization needed to be fundamentally changed and shaken up — and when the organization needed time to incorporate prior changes.

Brad's comment illustrates an important truth about succeeding to the executive level. Given the unrelenting pace of change surrounding organizations in virtually every industry, companies are looking for executives who know how to innovate and introduce change, not simply caretakers who can manage the status quo.

When ambitious managers one or two levels below the C-suite hear that they need to demonstrate the ability to lead innovation and change, this feedback typically triggers howls of protest, often preceded by "They won't" or "They don't." Senior management doesn't really encourage innovation, you'll hear. "They won't let me take risks." "They don't tolerate mistakes or failure."

In most companies there's more than a kernel of truth to these managers' complaints. At the middle management level you typically don't have the clout or resources required to make sweeping changes. Nonetheless, the dilemma remains. Senior-level decision makers in your company are looking for evidence that you can lead innovation and change; simply being a master of continuous improvement won't cut it. Fortunately, demonstrating your skills in this area doesn't demand that you singlehandedly develop a new breakthrough product or revise the company's overall business model. Usually, if you search, there are opportunities in your current job and at your current level to display your ability to drive change, even if you are in a support function like finance or human resources.

Senior-level decision makers aren't looking for someone at your level to make "roll the dice" bets that can have a significant negative impact on company performance. Rather, they're interested in the quality of your ideas and how you shepherd them through the organization — whether it's introducing a new organization design or revising a management process. So, look for opportunities in your current job to grow the business or change how things get done. Is the annual planning and budgeting system overly time-consuming and out of sync with the pace of the business? Is there a better way to identify and respond to the needs of customers? How can you reduce cost in one part of your organization — via centralization, automation, or outsourcing — in order to shift resources to more value-added activities?

As an example, consider Lynn Hollings, a mid-level manager who took the initiative to introduce change within her organization. Lynn headed up a product management unit for a large consumer products company. She, like a number of executives within the company, knew that a few major customers were becoming more powerful and demanding as their annual purchases from the company grew.

After conversations with a range of executives within her operating group, Lynn devised a plan to create customer-focused teams designed to meet the needs of a handful of key retail buyers. Each customer team included sales and sales support as well as staff aligned to the group's product development units, in-store merchandising, finance, and logistics departments. The goal of each customer team was to partner with the major retailers and create highly customized approaches — in product, merchandising, delivery/inventory management, and billing and collection — all with the aim of creating customer loyalty and growing revenue.

In addition to selling the operating group president and other group executives on the concept, Lynn enlisted a number of people from across the corporate organization to help create the new organization structure and supporting systems. Although the effort involved a number of staff members, there was no question that Lynn was the key player guiding the initiative at every step along the way. As a result, she gained a reputation as an innovative manager who could drive change.

Keep in mind that in addition to the results of your proposed innovation, senior executives are looking for a series of personal skills and attributes that serve as a preview of coming attractions concerning your ability to lead change at the executive level. For example:

• Are you able to deal with uncertainty and ambiguous situations — or do you get uncomfortable when situations aren't black and white or when all the details aren't buttoned down?


• Are you prepared to take prudent risks — and can you rebound from failure and capture learnings from a failed initiative that can be applied to future innovations?


• Can you communicate a compelling case for change and enlist others to support you proposed innovation?


• Do you have the managerial courage to persist in the face of opposition? Are you willing to push the organization out of its comfort zone and withstand the criticism of those tied to the status quo?

To advance to the executive level, it's not necessary to be a creative genius like Steve Jobs. However, senior-level decision makers want to make sure that you have the leadership "gear" to introduce change when circumstances call for it. Without periodic innovation — in product, process, and organization — organizations tend to become rigid over time. That's the real point of Brad Anderson's message: that companies need to be stretched and challenged periodically to avoid complacency. And that demands leaders who know when to push the organizational envelop, even when all the t's aren't crossed and all the i's dotted — as well as leaders who have the necessary tolerance for risk and the skills to lead an organization through change.

Culled from HBR....

PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

Make Time to Prioritize Do you truly understand how you spend your time? Most people assume they dedicate more hours to strategic work than they actually do. Look back on the past month in your calendar. Add up the time you spent on your strategic priorities. Was it enough? It's likely less than you thought. That's because most people tend to do the most urgent things instead of the most meaningful things. Identify your top five priorities for the coming year, and each month make sure you spend enough time on those priorities. If you don't, it's time to cancel some meetings and build in time for the things that matter.