Mighty Minds Club — Newsletter #3: The "Pause & Reflect" Edition
Hello! You're getting the email because you've either (1) joined The Mighty Minds Club, (YAY!!) or (2) asked to be notified about The Might Minds Club at launch.
This is Newsletter 3. The 2nd one using ButtonDown (though several of you have reported not receiving your emails in this way… Ugh.).
A few quick updates & announcements:
- 1st report is…delayed. See below.
- If you've signed up for the Mighty Minds, be sure to complete the "on boarding" items, which will get you set up in Slack and few other niceties. Here is the link to sign in.
- I got so busy last week, that I neglected to post the Question of the Week.
. THIS WEEK'S Question of the Week is posted: "What is a tension you are feeling—something you feel conflicted about?"
Interesting things I've been reading / learning about:
This week has been a busy one for me, focused almost entirely output , as I tried—and failed—to get the 1st report completed (see below for an explanation). In terms of things I'm reading and learning about, this means there wasn't much way of input this week, save for a few random, much needed distractions. Oh, and when I did pop my head up to check my usual information sources, I found it all overwhelming, Portland, Austin, Aurora… the world has been rough this week.
That said, I do want to share four things that jumped out at me, all related to the theme of slowing down:
First, two things that gave me pause, over the last week:
A Poem
This poem, "Prayer to be Still and Know" brought some much needed peace to my soul. And forced me to slow down. Or think about slowing down. ;-) I'm sharing this here, in case this is what you need, right now. And as an enticement to draw you in, here are a few of the lines:
Let my ears forget
the clack and rumble, our tambourining and fireworking
distractions, our roar of applause. Let my hands quit
their clapping and rest in a new kind of prayer, one
that doesn’t ask but listens, palms up in my lap.
Feels like a good time to drop this line: ‘Poetry is what happens, when your mind stops working, and for a moment, all you do is feel’ —Atticus
On Flow
We're all familiar with Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's idea of the flow state, yes? The idea is that there's a flow state, where we're challenged just enough to not be bored, and not challenged so much that we're overwhelmed. I've used and reference the flow state for years. But, reading these comments from Brie Code, made me pause and reconsider what fuels this flow state? Should we create the conditions for flow through 'fight-or-flight' based challenges, or through a 'tend-and-befriend' love approach? And what are the effects of these choices? For context, Brie Code is the Founder and CEO of Tru Luv, and has put these ideas into practice as creator of the SelfCare mobile app. Anyway, great thoughts that have challenged my thinking; I'm sure I'll be revisiting these thoughts again…
Next, let's talk about taking a pause.
Did you say 'Fika'?
Earlier this year, I was introduced to the Swedish concept of "Fika" (learn more here and here), by way of my friends James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom. Superficially, a Fiki is "a coffee and cake break." But, these are simply the trappings. A Fika is more concerned with slowing down, to pause, and be, and be together. For a few months, James and Per hosted a weekly UXPodcast Fika, something I looked forward to precisely because there was no topic and there were no expectations, of anyone. Just show up and hang out. Just be. Anyway, while their Fika is on a hiatus, I was wondering if anyone here would be up for a Mighty Minds Fika, maybe later in the week? If so, just let me know and I'll set something up—I do read all replies.
On Slow
Finally, the week ended with a church sermon that hit me square in the chest. The topic? "Embracing Slow". Essentially the idea is that speed kills, (depth in relationships, etc.) We need to embrace slow in order to (1) embrace interruptions ("Put margin in your day for interruptions"), (2) embrace R&R (self-care), and (3) embrace relationships. (Note: Out of respect for diverse beliefs, I'm leaving out the scripture-y bits!). On this last point about relationships, the phrase “the slowness that relationships demand” really jumped out at me. Anyway, I know I'm guilty of being hyper-focused on one task over all others, to the neglect of other things—and people . I'm hoping to slow down this week, and make time for these other things. And this community!
Which leads me to…
Personal Matters:
Here are my personal reflections on all that is happening with the first report:
- I have learned so much in writing this. I learned a lot researching, to be clear. But in writing this report, I've had to work out and reconcile so many more details. Rather than simply present the end results, I'm using more of a narrative approach so you can 'see' my learning journey as it happened. I cannot wait to share this with you!
- This has been an intense and exhausting week of work. Actually, more than a week. I've been working on this report every day (and some nights) for 11 days straight, with the end ever on the horizon. It reminds me of when my wife and I went to Paris on our honeymoon. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in the distance, we thought "hey, let's just walk over there." Three and four hours later, the Eiffel Tower was still on the horizon and in the distance. That's kind of how writing this report feels. This has dominated my time and attention to the exclusion of most everything else; one day was even an 18 hour workday! (This isn't a good thing.)
- I'm very proud of how this is turning out, and would rather sit into the comfort of doing this right, than getting it done quickly. And as part of a beta / trial situation, I feel I have this luxury (something I won't have under more transactional circumstances).
- I'm frustrated that this has far exceeded the timeframe I planned on—and communicated. I'm trying to be gracious to myself, but every day this drags on is taking a toll, on me and those around me. And this is a sign that maybe a 'method of the month' club isn't something I can sustain. this concerns me, though I take some comfort in believing this is truly an exceptional case, and not representative of the norm.
Put this all together, and here is what is happening / happening next:
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First, I've moved the goal post: Closer! As the report is already clocking in at over 100 slides (don't worry, it's still an easy breezy read), I've decided to split this into two parts. As of today, I'm sharing Part One with the folks I interviewed, and will wait for their approval/feedback. I'm also sharing this with a friend who is great with editing (thanks Brandon!). I plan / hope to release Part One this week.
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Splitting things into two parts also gives me time to adequately address the content of Part Two, where we'll dig into the use and application of this tool. Also, this approach allows us—collectively—to engage in more of a dialogue while I'm wrapping up Part Two.
All of this sounds fine, with one big nagging concern: How will getting behind on this first month's report might affect future reports? My plan has always been one report per month. And I do believe the next two months are much more narrowly defined already and should be achievable, but that's assuming I have a full month to work with… Screw this up, and it cascades not only for this closed beta/trial group, but for plans I have for October through December.
All I can do is take it day by day. And learn every step of the way. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
(I hope you appreciate all this candor. I've have conflicted feelings about whether or not to share 'how the sausage gets made,' and whether that inspires or erodes confidence. But… in the spirit of learning together… I think we need more of this candor and understanding. And, I'm confident the first report will meet or exceed your expectations. Redemption!!)
Oh, and for all my 'busyness' this week, I did pause to keep a few zoom calls, that turned out to be the highlights of my week. One of these was with John Willshire who shared some amazing articles, models, and more that was absolutely mind-blowing. I'm going to loop him into a future Mighty Minds something. What, exactly, TBD. In the meanwhile, you should check out this talk he gave at dConstruct in 2015. You can see the beginnings of John's 'Zenko Framework'. Good stuff!
Random:
- Kind, Sort, or Type?
- A real life homeward bound
- Whatchamacallit in different languages:
- A old pepper grinder?
- Can’t stop watching
Quote of the Week
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” ― Douglas Adams