The work you do when you are graceful is what we need, now more than ever.
—Seth Godin, in Graceful
This path is before me, whether chosen by the universe or because I’ve listened and cared deeply. Craft first, then connection, and then grace.
Tag: philosophy
AFK Oblique Strategies
If you’re not familiar with Oblique Strategies, they are a collection of short phrases, dilemmas intended to make you think. Originally published as a set of notecards in 1975, these contradictions are one of my favorite discoveries while working for Automattic.
In my case I like to say they cause brainwaves.
Luckily, you don’t need the original index cards to use Oblique Strategies any time you want to change your thinking, because there are electronic versions such as a Mac dashboard widget and an iOS mobile app (one of several apps).
The original strategies include phrases such as:
– Listen to the quiet voice
– Make what’s perfect more human
– Do the last thing first
I took two-and-a-half months off work this summer—a lot of AFK time (away from keyboard)—and I’d like to share with you several of my own AFK-related Oblique Strategies that came to mind as I planned meaningful activities during the break.
Which isn’t to give you advice or say I have any answers. Rather, these are food for thought that I hope jar your brainwaves like they did mine. Save them for your next thinking time, or for the next time you take a bit of vacation from your work.
– Stay at home on your travels
– Make today a dull repeat of yesterday
– Read an old book with new eyes
– Most frivolous as most meaningful
– Be still for as long as possible
– Start with the least urgent
– Turn the computer —on —off
– Are you more joyful?
My Kind of Todo List
Remember Teux Deux? Me, too. Stumbled upon an old screengrab of my todo list from 2009.
— Rock it
— Kick some butt
— Laugh
— Have fun
— Say thank you
This is my kind of todo list.
The Investigative Mindset
Knowing where to look for answers is more important than memorizing a set of requirements or rules.
I have a confession: I often have no idea what I’m doing.
I remember clearly what it felt like my first day at my job: I was new, overwhelmed, and maybe even scared. But the work was exciting, mind-filling, and fun. Now, several years into the role, I still feel this push-and-pull. I’ve learned to juggle these opposing feelings and be both productive and successful at my job.
The key to this—and I believe one of the most important traits for my success—is an investigative mindset. Knowing where to look for answers is more important than memorizing a set of requirements or rules.
Why? Rules and requirements change, and the context I work in is constantly changing. I’m more productive in my work by making good, informed decisions—not by the book. I can work smarter, gaining a new awareness of how everything works.
How? To develop this mindset, I exercise the following:
- Take initiative on my own first: do the legwork to find the answer. Be tenacious and know where to look.
- Ask questions, know when to stop looking and ask for help. Not being afraid to be ignorant or wrong.
- Share my ideas for the better solution.
- Look to my teammates as a critical force—we learn together.
Often, the investigation takes me out of bounds—out of my “area”—that’s OK, and natural. I talk to other people outside my team, and I learn a bit more about how it all works together. I fill in the gaps in my knowledge. I’ve raised my awareness.
It wasn’t always this clear for me … after only 3 or 4 months into being at Automattic I had a revelation that changed my mindset—put it into words. One day, I ran into a quote one of our internal P2 sites, expressed as a formula or pseudocode.
( intuition + investigation ) > memorization
I said “Yes, Yes, YES!” I was in the privacy of my home office, so no one heard me, of course. It really made sense, though. And it alleviated part of the struggle I was having to completely internalize all the things I was supposed to know and do. All the stats and bots and checklists and dos and donts.
This was later echoed by something UX guru Jared Spool said at An Event Apart:
The mindset of investigation is about informed decisions, not going “by the book.” Dogmatic, rule-based methodologies exist only to enforce things; they avoid critical thinking and good decision making.
I realized if I made good, informed decisions I could solve problems in both normal and edge cases. Instead of a one-time answer, I could build a framework to answer any question. A mentality. The outcome of finding the answer, solving the problem, sharing the solution—rewards this mindset. A loop. Doing it over and over.
This feedback loop is hugely powerful. It gives me confidence to continue to strive for an investigative mind.
Notes:
1. A video my colleague Justin Shreve posted echoes this investigative mindset, specifically as it applies to software development: Being a developer is being a problem solver.
2. Thinking about investigation reminded me of my time in the Future Problem Solving (FPS) club in high school. We found creative solutions to mock issues like world hunger or renewable energy. It was fun and challenging, but the best part was the process itself. Investigate, organize, present, debate. Learn. (Random trivia: according to Wikipedia a later team from my school won a state FPS competition. Rock!)
3. One more quote: “Never memorize what you can look up in books.” —Einstein (unsourced)
You Can't Win
If you are passionate about a cause, preach it loudly and clearly, and see it as the best way to do things, you are labeled a zealot.
If you keep your head down and stay out of the shouting matches, often ignoring them simply because you don’t have the time or energy, you are labeled as complacent.
The middle ground, if there is one, is to be pragmatic. Embrace standards and strive to meet them as much as possible, but know when to give in and just get the job done. Or better yet, build something the right way, and lead by example.
I’m ashamed it’s taken me all these years to come to this realization, but hey—better late than never.
The Sensible Leader 