Patios and Unplugging from Work (6-5-24)

This is the last in our series about patio furniture. This week will be about patios and unplugging from work.

Now that we have some comfy patio furniture and have created a better space, I’ve more or less made it a habit to spend a decent amount on my back patio every night. Sometimes, I sit back there and hang out with my family. We talk and catch up on the day together. Sometimes, I sit out there and read a book. Sometimes, I sit out there and just zone out, checking out the flowers, birds, and bunnies hopping along throughout the neighborhood. After a long day of handling work and family commitments, it’s nice to take a few moments to unplug and recenter.

What does this have to do with anything? Often when we talk about unplugging from work, we talk about unplugging over the weekend or during a long vacation. This implies that throughout the week we remain plugged into work. I know I’ve fallen into this cycle of feeling tethered to work all throughout the week and the pressure of always feeling on. Have you? I know that when I go through periods where I stay plugged into work around the clock I begin to burnout, which has a negative impact on all aspects of my life.

While it might not be as long as a weekend or as big of an adventure as vacation, I’ve found that my daily time hanging out on my patio has been incredibly valuable. Not only is it nice to unplug in the moment to enjoy time with family or appreciate the beauty around me, but it also has positive effects that last beyond that time on the patio. When I disconnect on a regular basis, even if it’s just for a few minutes, I feel more centered and capable of taking on what life throws my way. These little moments of unplugging are incredibly powerful, and I think we can all find moments like these in our daily life whether it’s chilling on a patio or engaging in another activity that makes you feel whole.

The challenge: How can you unplug and recenter on a more regular basis?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Patio Furniture and Clarifying Roles in Decision Making (5-29-24)

Last week was about not overcomplicating solutions. This week we will explore patio furniture and clarifying roles in decision making.

I mentioned in our last entry that we had a family conversation about the patio furniture. During this conversation, my wife and I asked our kids what they wanted. They were excited to have input. At the

same time, we were very clear with them about their role in this decision. We explained that we would listen to everything they said, and at the end of the day, my wife and I were the final decision makers. I further stated that my wife’s preferences outweigh everyone else on this. My kids understood and appreciated the transparency. They still felt involved in the decision even if they didn’t have the final say so.

What does this have to do with anything? Is it just me, or does it feel too often that we try to make decisions by committee? While I understand the desire to include individuals, doing things by consensus and committee is incredibly slow and ineffective in a world that moves faster and faster. Additionally, making decisions in this way is incredibly confusing for everyone involved. If everyone believes that they have an equal say and equal decision-making power, then it’s easy for everyone to believe that all of their suggestions/feedback must be acted on.

While I don’t believe we should make decisions by committee, I do believe there is a sweet spot. That sweet spot requires you to identify who ultimately will be held accountable for the decision and who has the decision-making authority. It also includes being transparent with everyone that while you will hear all of their opinions it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to act on all of them. If you combine this with being clear about the decision making criteria (lesson from a couple of weeks ago 😉) then you have a decision making process that is inclusive AND fast.

The challenge- Are you clarifying who has decision making rights and how the decision will be made?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Patio Furniture and NOT Overly Complicating Solutions (5-22-24)

Last week was about patio furniture and establishing decision criteria. This week is about patio furniture and not overly complicating solutions.

Especially in the spring and summer, my back patio becomes one of my favorite workspaces. As a result, when my wife and I first started talking about buying patio furniture she was concerned with us being able to buy something in the perfect set up to make it a great workspace. For example, it would need to be large enough to fit my laptop, keyboard, and mouse. Things would also need to be at the right height, so I wasn’t always staring down at a low screen. This was on top of the criteria that we had already decided was critical. I told my wife to ignore those things, and to stick to our key criteria because I would find a way to make it work. Check out the picture for my solution. #ergofriendly

You might wonder where this is going. I could have spent a lot of time, effort, and energy trying to find the perfect and elegant solution to set up my patio workspace. However, I embraced that I didn’t need perfection. I just needed something that worked. I found a cardboard box, flipped it on its side, and then added my laptop stand I have. My keyboard rests on my lap, and my mouse sits on the folio beside me on the couch. The box does the job, is easy to transport, and takes 1 second to set up. I use this cardboard box ALL THE TIME. It’s not pretty, but it solves my problem.

Now think about work for a minute. Have you ever overengineered a customer solution or a project deliverable? I know that I have. I’ve built things packed to the brim with features and benefits, when really the team just needed a “simple cardboard box”. Then, I would realize how much time and effort I wasted. Has that ever happened to you? As I’m further along in my career, I try to do a better job of understanding what the true need is and how to meet that need in the simplest way possible. By getting comfortable with the fact that most of the time I just need to deliver a “simple cardboard box” I can create the headspace and the time for when I need to deliver something with more features and benefits.

The challenge: How will you ensure you are not overly complicating the solutions you build and the outputs you deliver?

You get 278 bonus points if you read the message in the photo 😉

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Patio Furniture, Making Decisions, and Establishing Requirements (5-15-24)

Last week was about patio furniture and designing spaces to drive behaviors. This week is about patio furniture, making decisions, and establishing requirements.

Before purchasing the new patio furniture, my wife, kids, and I had a few conversations about what we wanted out of the furniture. We had talked about A LOT of different things. It began to feel a little overwhelming. Then, I sat down with my wife and we whiteboarded requirements. I’m dead serious. Few things are better than whiteboarding with a loved one 😉 We listed what were requirements vs nice to haves. The initial list of requirements was too long, so we ended up narrowing it down to 3-4 things that we absolutely needed to have. This level of clarity made the buying decision less overwhelming and so much easier. Now, we could look at all the options and say, “Out of all of them only X number meet our 3-4 requirements. If those meet our requirements there is no longer a wrong choice. Let’s just pick one and go.”

What does this have to do with anything? It’s easy for major projects or big decisions to feel daunting. It’s easy to become paralyzed by all the pressure that comes with these. I believe that most of the time when big projects or decisions are daunting, it’s because we are not clear enough on what success looks like. If we can clearly articulate the 3-4 things that would make us choose one option over another or if we can outline the 3-4 things that will make a project successful, then it’s so much easier to deliver.

The challenge- Have you identified the success requirements?

Bonus real world application– The other day I was talking to someone about skill development. They listed off about 10-15 topics that they could focus on. It was A LOT. They asked me which ones I thought we should invest in. Instead, I asked, “What is are the 2-3 things that these people need to be able to do.” They responded, “They need to be able to do X, Y, and Z.” My next question was, “Can they already do X, Y, and Z?” The person replied, “They can already more or less do Y and Z. X is the biggest gap.” This gave us clarity on our requirements. We didn’t need to tackle everything. We needed to create interventions that would drive the knowledge and enhance the skills, so people could do X. All of a sudden an overwhelming list of 10-15 things, turned into a much more manageable 3-4 things to do.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Patio Furniture and Designing Spaces (5-8-24)

This week we are going to start a series inspired by patio furniture. We will begin by thinking about patio furniture and designing spaces.

Back in March, my wife and I started talking about getting some different patio furniture. At the time we had this large and super heavy hexagon shaped table made of wood with built in benches. It had managed to make it through quite a few years, but now the wood was warping, and the table was starting to fall apart. While the table was super durable, it wasn’t exactly comfortable and inviting. My wife and I wanted a space where we would all hang out and enjoy reading books, playing games, or just chilling. We kept this in mind as we went furniture shopping and focused on things that felt cozy and comfy. We set up the new furniture in early April, and we’ve already spent more time outside on that furniture than we did all last year on the old wooden table. (Side note-I know what you’re thinking. “Dang! I wish I could look as cool as Andrew.” Be patient folks. It took me years to get here.)

What does this have to do with anything? In the above story, my wife and I wanted to drive a specific behavior (having the family hang out together outside). We knew that we wouldn’t do this just by saying we needed to spend more time outside. Instead, we had to alter the environment to make it easier to spend time together outside.

Think about your environment. Does your environment make it easier or harder to achieve your desired behaviors? Maybe you have a personal goal to be more active, how are you designing your environment to make that easier? For me, I’ve found that if I set out my running gear the night before, then it’s so much easier to go for a run in the morning. As you think about work, how does your environment enable the right behaviors? Maybe, there are changes in the physical environment you could make. Maybe, it’s about setting up the right culture, so the desired behaviors become easier and are rewarded, while the negative behaviors are discouraged. Maybe it’s about having better meeting hygiene, where clear objectives make it easier to accomplish things.

The challenge- How will you design your environment to help you be successful?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry