the seductive power of personal productivity

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Dan

I visit a lot of blogs that preach about productivity. Sites like Michael Hyatt, Matt McWilliams, Pick the Brain, The Change Blog, Smart Insights, Copyblogger, and Social Media Today all include posts about getting more done, being more productive. But can we go too far in our efforts to get more done? Are there times when it’s best to just walk away from a project in order to achieve balance in our lives?

Don’t get me wrong. I love all of these sites. I love the positive messages about how we can accomplish more. I love the motivational posts. I love the advice about social media tools and new applications that can help us produce more content.

But sometimes it feels like the more applications we add, the less time we have? And sometimes, it seems like the harder we try to fit everything we hope to accomplish into our schedule, the more likely we are to leave out the most important things in life. And sometimes productivity can become like an addiction. The more we push, the more we want to push harder. Before you know it, you’ve been suckered into working like a slave for an uncertain future goal. Have you ever felt this way? If so, here are a few things you can do to sidestep the seductive power of being over-productive.

1. Limit your time on social media: Part of building a platform includes using social media to build relationships. However, too much time on social media is a time-sucker. Although you might feel that social media is part of your recipe for success, it’s best to get on, schedule and post your links, make a few quick comments, and get off.

2. Limit your blog posts and comments: I’ve reduced my number of blog posts from daily to three or four times per week. This gives me more time to work on some of my more creative projects. I’m still working on reducing comments on other blogs. Although commenting on a variety of blogs can help drive traffic to your site, if it takes more than 30 minutes of your time each day, that’s probably time that could be better spent with your family or working in the yard.

3. Diet & Exercise: With an emphasis on producing content, sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves. We won’t be much good for others if we’re running ourselves ragged. It’s okay to turn off the computer and spend an hour or two a day exercising and cooking and eating healthy. Your projects won’t disappear, and the time away from them will generate more energy and ideas.

4. Weekends and Vacations: When the weekends roll around, I change my rhythm. Every other weekend I make a point to leave my blogging and writing alone, spend time with family and friends and have fun. I also make sure to take a couple of vacations each year. Last summer, I blogged about my vacation. This allowed me to keep the blog active and keep a journal of the good times I was having with my daughter.

Sometimes I start feeling like I’m trying to get too much done. That’s when I check my own to-do list. I prioritize and prolong a few deadlines. I remind myself that I need to make time for God, family, and my own health.

Questions: What about you? Do you find yourself trying to do too much? Have you been seduced by personal productivity? What methods do you use to achieve balance in your life?

choosing visuals that work

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Dan

My new recording setup.

Last time we covered Outlining Your Speech. Now you’re almost ready to give the speech, but there’s one more thing to consider: visuals.

Visual aids can help make or break your presentation. You need to choose visuals that will reach out and grab and keep the audience’s attention. Visuals also need to help listeners understand and remember key points. First we’ll talk about different types of visuals, then we’ll look at some general guidelines to follow when creating visual aids.

Listen to the podcast: Choosing Visuals That Work

1. Props and models: This category in includes inanimate and live objects.

2. Graphs: There are a variety of types of graphs. Line, bar, and pie graphs are most common.

3. Charts: This category includes flowcharts, diagrams, and tables.

4. Audio and Video: Computer media and slideshows can fall into this category.

Once you’ve chosen a visual, you need to decide how you’ll display it. There are many methods. Overheads, digital projectors, flip charts, computers, and poster-boards are all common methods of display. Each of these methods have some specific rules you should follow, but there are also some universal rules in regard to displaying your visual aids:

1. Strive for simplicity

2. Use design elements consistently

3. Select appropriate typeface styles and fonts

4. Use color carefully

5. Give a speech, not a slide show

6. Explain your visual

7. Use your visual at the appropriate time

8. Make sure everyone can see your visual

9. Avoid technical glitches

10. Pay attention to length of videos

Finally, once you have chosen and/or created your visual, there’s one more important step: practice, practice, practice.

Questions: What has worked well as visual aids for you? What has not worked well? Do you have any suggestions about design elements?

my monday morning attitude

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Dan

I know a lot of people who complain on Monday mornings. Heck, I used to be one of them. But what good does it do? I’ve been learning something. If we look at Monday morning as a new start to another adventure-filled week, we can’t help but feel better about the day, and the rest of the week to come. Attitude goes a long way. A positive attitude can carry us through the week and we’ll fly right back into another weekend. So let’s face Monday morning with gladness and excitement. Keep your head up and your eyes looking forward. If people ask you why you’re so happy, just say, “It’s my Monday morning attitude!”

Question: What can you do to make today a great day?

our most precious resource: luka

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Dan

As a kid in a cult, I was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually abused. I was also physically used as a slave and occasionally beaten with two-by-four-sized chunks of wood. It was the 1970s and even though many people in the community questioned what was happening, nobody did anything about it.

Sometimes we think it’s best to stay out of others’ business, to not get involved, but if someone would have reported things to the authorities sooner, many young people, including girls that were sexually abused, may have been spared.

Have you ever witnessed child abuse or even suspected it? If you have, you need to speak up. Children are our most precious resource.

Here’s an old song from 1987 by Suzanne Vega on the topic of child abuse: Luka.

too old for school?

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Dan

I was a late bloomer. When I graduated from high school, I wasn’t ready for college. I wanted to play. I wanted to party. I wanted to live. I wound up spending twelve years struggling from one part-time job to another. I worked at burger joints, mini-marts, and I even did some telephone soliciting. They were all low-paying jobs with crummy schedules.

In my late twenties I started wondering what the heck I was doing with my life. I knew there had to be something better. But what?

Today’s post is a guest post at BornTwoLead. Please take some time to read the rest of Too Old for School?, and look around the BornTwoLead blog.

why i rarely read fiction

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Dan

As a writer of poetry and fiction you might think I read a lot of creative and fictional writing. I don’t. Anymore. I’ve probably read two works of fiction in the last year. On the other hand, I’ve read at least a dozen non-fiction titles in the past six months.

It hasn’t always been this way. When I was in my teens and twenties, fiction was all I read. I especially enjoyed science fiction and fantasy. In my thirties, I turned to the classics. I spent several years reading dozens of classics from Kesey to Steinbeck and Hemingway to Conrad.

I also started my college education in my thirties and I began reading books on communication, business, and psychology as an undergrad. My graduate studies led me to read about cults and folk music. I’ve read most everything about and by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. I kept reading some classic fiction titles, too.

After getting my M.A., I read nearly everything written by Cormac McCarthy and Wallace Stegner. I’ve also read dozens of Christian titles from C.S. Lewis to Rob Bell. My latest favorite fiction writer is Garth Stein who wrote The Art of Racing in the Rain. But here’s why I don’t read much fiction:

1. It hinders the creative writing process. Although I love great stories and I’m much more entertained by a good fictional story than non-fiction, fiction has the potential to influence my own creative ideas. As someone who started writing novels in his late 40s, I feel like I’ve found a unique voice. I don’t have the sense that I’m imitating any other writer. I want to keep that voice. Reading another’s fictional voice, especially while working on writing my own novel might have a profound influence.

2. Non-fiction is a constant teacher. Fiction can teach us valuable lessons about life, but non-fiction can teach practical skills. Non-fiction also doesn’t influence my own creative writing efforts. If you look at my All Star Reviews page, you’ll see only non-fiction titles. That’s because I haven’t read any fiction since starting that page about six months ago.

Question: So what kinds of books do you read and why?

Please take a moment to learn more about my writing. Check out my book pages: A Train Called Forgiveness and At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy. Both titles are available at Amazon, and A Train Called Forgiveness is available as an audiobook at Audible.

looks who’s turning eight

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Dan

Today is my daughter Annika Lyn Erickson’s eighth birthday. Wow! She’s grown. She goes by Annie. When Annie was first born everybody told me how fast it would go. Now I know.

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was crawling on the floor with her playing tiger, and changing her diapers. I already miss the times we used to play “babies” with her dolls during her preschool and kindergarten years. I think back on all our trips to grandma’s and grandpa’s and our summer vacations with fondness. I remember her first steps, her first words, her first bike ride, and many other firsts as if they happened yesterday.

A good friend who adopted a girl from China twelve years ago recently told me, “Dan, it only gets better.” That’s my hope for my life with Annie: that our relationship grows stronger and healthier with every passing moment. If you have kids, I’m sure you can relate. Here are some of the things on my list to remember. I hope these are things you might also do:

1. To say I love you every day: I grew up in a family where love was not expressed openly in words. I’ve made a point to tell Annie, “I Love You,” in the morning and at night. I’m glad I have and I’ll continue.

2. To give and receive hugs and kisses: Growing up, my family also did not use much physical touch to express love. I’ve always been open-armed with Annie. Goodnights, and goodbyes always include a hug and a kiss.

3. To listen: In general, we often don’t take enough time and energy to truly listen to our children. We’re able to understand our kids much better when we take the time to listen. I promise to do my best to listen to Annie before jumping to conclusions.

4. To teach: Maybe I go a little too far, but I often have conversations with Annie as if she’s a little adult. My goal is to teach her ideas, concepts, and practical skills that will help equip her for life. She is already loads smarter than I was at her age.

I’m sure there are many more things I could add to this list, but I think you get the idea. We only have one moment to enjoy our children. We only have one moment to love, to hug, to listen, to teach. That moment is NOW! Don’t let it slip away. Make the best of it. And so here’s to my birthday girl:

Happy Birthday Annie!

I Love You!

- dad

Tell Annie Happy Birthday: Leave your comments below:

the power of constructive criticism

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Dan

Monday Morning Shorts

Many of us don’t like criticism, but if we ignore it, we’re missing the boat. Constructive criticism can help us improve our craft. That’s why I’m inviting you to be vigilant when you read my blog. Look for errors in spelling, errors in grammar, and dead links. Let me know when you find mistakes. Also, please feel free to critique and comment on the content, photography, music or poetry, or anything on danerickson.net. Your constructive criticism makes me a better writer, blogger, musician, and person. So don’t be afraid to give and receive constructive criticism. It’s all part of the growth process.

There’s power in constructive criticism. Do you ask others how you’re doing?

Question: How do you deal with criticism?

finding peace on the slow road to lasting change

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Dan

“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” – William Jennings Bryan

Change is not always something that happens overnight. I’ve read the stories about those who quit their jobs on a whim and do their own thing. They start their own business or travel to a foreign country to live out their dreams. I love those stories. But that’s not my story. Sometimes change is slow.

Sometimes change takes patience and commitment to doing the same thing day in and day out. Sometimes change is a long, slow labor of love.

Today’s post is a guest post on The Change Blog. Please take a few moments to read the post Finding Peace on the Slow Road and browse around the blog a bit, too

- dan

a train called forgiveness: excerpt six

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Dan

Here’s another excerpt from my first book: A Train Called Forgiveness available at Amazon, Ibis Books and Inklings Bookshop Online. This excerpt begins Andy Burden’s journey by train across the country. On his journey he meets several characters that help him to learn the power of non judgment and forgiveness. This is only the beginning of his journey by train and his journey to forgive his greatest enemies:

8.1

Let’s start over. It’s October, 1991.

I’m a burden to you.

Why? My story will make you think. You’ll question long-held beliefs. You’ll question power structures and religion. The story will disturb you. Or at least, it should. If it doesn’t, I question your humanity, your ability to feel.

My name is Benjamin Andrew Burden. I go by Andy, sometimes just A. A. Burden. I’m 28 years old. I live in a 20-foot trailer in the middle of an apple orchard in Jocelyn, Washington.

A. Burden. It’s ironic, isn’t it? I guess God has a sense of humor.

I used to drink. I used to smoke weed. I’ve been clean for several months now. Sometimes I hear voices. Since I’ve stopped drinking and smoking pot, they’ve faded.

I worked all summer for a stone mason, saved my money, bought a ticket for the train. The stone mason told me there’s a place for each stone. In the midst of my story, I’m looking for my place.

Tonight, I’m riding a train, The Empire Builder. Sometimes, in order to tell a story, you have to leave the story, separate yourself from the story.

My story is painful. It’s about child abuse, the loss of innocence. It’s about fear, isolation, and paranoia. I need to get away from it, escape, yet it still haunts me, every day. My story’s a burden, but it needs to be told. Somebody out there needs to hear it, perhaps many.

The train is heading east, toward Spokane. It ends in Chicago. My past returns with the mere thought of Chicago.

Peter used to tell us he had connections in Chicago, said he knew people in the mafia. He claimed he could take someone out with a phone call. He told us, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll never cross me.” I was young, yet not easily intimidated. Part of me knew: Peter was full of shit. But I was still afraid of him.

After Chicago, I’m not sure where I’m going, maybe Nashville. I brought my guitar and a few of my best songs. Maybe, I’ll make some connections.

A stranger came into The Crossroads a few months back, before I quit drinking. He told me that God had a message for me. He said, “You’ve got a special talent, Andy. God wants you to use it. Go to Nashville. Go.” He was probably a crackpot, but here I am, on the train.

I find comfort in trains, in train travel. I love the clattering bell at the crossings. I love the long, twisted whine of the whistle in motion. I love the powerful pull of the engine and the clacking off the wheels on the track. Most of all, I love the slow, gentle sway, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. It soothes my restless spirit.

Tonight, I’m wrapped in my Grandmother’s quilt. It keeps me warm as I stare out the window into passing darkness.

* * *

Available through Ibis Books and at Amazon

dan erickson

intentional rhythms: words, music, life

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