Month: May 2008

1 in 5? Maybe? (Parkinson’s Law)

I’ve received bunches of feedback from the 5 in 5 Challenge. In gist, what most are saying goes a little like this: I want to do this, but it seems impossible. However…it has made me think more about what I’m doing, writing and I’m more conscious about my time and the quality–and brevity–of what I write.

So, what I’m thinking is this: Maybe we can do 1 meaningful thing in 5 minutes. (?)

Since writing that post, I’ve dug back through my copy of The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss to verify my point about working within time limits often results in a better in product. The point goes back to Parkinson’s Law. Ferris has this to say about it on page 75 of his book:

Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the immediate deadline.

With this in mind, I’d say that we’re all right on target! For instance, right now, I am working on a major project to create a mobile literacy outlet here in Charlotte that we’ve dedicated to launch on June 18 (this project includes the customization of a large delivery truck to be the centerpiece for a “mobile library zone”) That’s less than 1 month from now. My senses are heightened, I am on the phone, email and fax and searching for vendors like mad, putting teams into place and looking to hire a skilled and innovative contract program specialist–NOW. All these puzzle pieces are a floating around waiting to come together. However, I simply know they’ll come together in the right time and way. Is this Parkinson’s Law in action? Ask me on June 19.

Traveling Plans

Is there anything like “travel” to keep you aware and pared down to the absolute necessities? Being on the road keeps the mind open and the eyes peeled. The preparations for travel can be as time consuming as the transit itself! Ren Gen Guru Patricia Martin offered some smart and sharp suggestions to getting the travel pack down to the real essentials right before I packed for a big trip. There is something very Zen (and out-of-body) about being on the road and in heightened presentation form…what an opportunity to see what life (and creature comforts) are all about–and find out how necessary are “the necessities.”

5 in 5: Challenging Yourself

I’ve been intrigued by the 31 Day Comment Challenge that I first spotted on the Library Trainer blog. I’ve been taking this challenge but not following the guidelines set out for the it–I like the inspiration, but not the rules. And that’s working for me. I was flying out comments tonight and thought I’d give myself a really intense challenge. Send out 5 comments in 5 minutes. (I even brought in the kitchen timer to make sure I stayed in the time limit). What I found out was that the act of writing comments goes rather fast for me. Reading posts and actually formulating a meaningful response takes longer. I finished 1 and a half comments before the timer went off. But, I kept right on commenting and made 8 comments total within about 28 minutes. So, the news here is that it takes me at least 28 minutes to locate 8 posts of interest and them write 8 (quick) comments.

This all made me wonder a little bigger. How could my personal 5 in 5 challenge work in other, broader areas? What are 5 meaningful communications or actions we can make in 5 minutes? Is it even possible? I’ve read that time constraints can often assist in bringing forth the best end product (think: Project Runway). Anyone want to take this challenge–or build off of it?

5 in 5! Ready, set…

Building From the Top Down

Yesterday I had an excellent conversation with a colleague. He asked me what would I really like to do in the future. My quick response was something like: “I want to build a library from the ground up…well, really from the top down. What I mean by this is not beginning our building with bricks and mortar but with philosophy and commitment so that we are always poised to experiment, ready to adapt and have more limitless thinking and action.” It’s ultimately the invisible that strengthens the visible.

Here are three more questions that can help stimulate “building from the top down” thinking:

1. What if we crafted an entirely user designed library, organization, event?

2. What if our main guide for implementation was “Quick and Effective?”

3. What if we weren’t so concerned with counting resources, people, objects?

What big questions help YOU think (and build) from the top down?

Bake Sales, Bombs and Books

Remember this saying? I think there are still a few station wagons driving around that have it emblazened on their bumper stickers. I remember this saying and starchy screenprint image again as a former colleague of mine (who is now a teacher) recently sent me a request for direct donor support for her classroom of first graders. She’s using the assistance of DonorsChoose to take matters into her own hands. Although the service was founded in 2000, it recently received a boost because of some mentions on TV (7 years later!). I checked in on my friend’s project listed on the site and decided to help out by funding the project. Hoorah for teachers who work to get the job done by doing all they can to help the kids they work with each day. I wonder how an online service like this could work for libraries. Perhaps there is one already ? Let the “great day” that the old bumper sticker talks about happen!

100 Years

Today my grandmother, Carrie, is 100 years old. This past weekend I went back to my hometown to be with her and celebrate her life. This milestone has certainly made me think about all the growth, life and changes that my grandmother has experienced. 100 years. What a difference that can make. My grandmother has lived a rather cloistered life in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. And yet the world she knew in her teens or early adulthood has shifted so greatly, spiraling around her nest, a sky of changing colors around her very defined world. I think about what life was like for her when she was my age. And then I think what life could be like when I am her age (yes, I think we should all plan to live as long as my grandmother). How much the world changed in this time–both the hard world and the world of thought and action. Is there any way to prepare for “the world or tomorrow?” I think about my grandmother and the 10 children she gave birth to, the many concerns and personal trials she must have faced–yet she moved on. There is a grace and carefulness about her that I seldom see in my day-to-day life. Pehaps this comes with age. At the same time I see a playfulness and confidence that few twenty-somethings display within this little woman. I look at this picture of Carrie, my grandmother, on her wedding day (she was 15 years old) and I see in her all the power, fear and hope that rests in all of us. We don’t know what the next 100 years will hold. Really, we don’t know what the next 5 years will hold. What we can know is how we will approach it. Head on. With the eyes and fearlessness of a strong, gentle woman like Carrie.