The productivity benefits of keeping peanut butter at your desk.

Everyone is always looking for the next great productivity boost, but I bet nobody has ever considered the productivity benefits of keeping peanut butter at their desk.

To my knowledge, there are no benefits. In fact, many workplaces would probably forbid this because of nut allergies.

One of the things people caught up in a business or leadership culture often get bombarded with are “productivity hacks”, which are simply ways you can be more productive.

To be fair, some of these are great. Taking breaks every hour by going for a walk or doing another light physical activity is scientifically backed.

The vast majority of these hints are sourced from successful entrepreneurs/leaders/people. These tips work for them. They may not work for you.

For example, there are apparently people who get by on a series of 20-minute naps throughout the day to a total of four hours. I once asked a somnologist, a sleep doctor, if this would be possible to do. Once she stopped laughing, she said absolutely not. But if you somehow tried it and it somehow did, then sleep doctors and evolution be damned.

By all means, research ways to get better. Do not let the success other people have with their methods deter you from finding and using your own. Do not let their methods discourage you from doing your work. Other people might read faster or calculate more quickly, but that doesn’t mean your efforts count for nothing.

You accomplish the same goal in a different way. However you get there, it’s still called success.

P.S. This is my 20^th blog post, and you may have noticed that the format of my title has changed. This is because I’m working on creating more compelling headlines, which is part of being a better blogger. As you also may have noticed, I’ve begun to post much less frequently. There’s been a shortage of material lately, and if it doesn’t inspire me, I wouldn’t want to try and force the feeling on you just to meet a weekly quota.

I would never have come this far without readers who inspire me by sharing their stories as I share mine. The fact that I’ve been able to entertain, and dare I say even help some of you, is an honour and a privilege I take seriously. So, whether this is your first visit or you’ve been with me from the start, thanks for reading, and C-Suite Dreams!

Editor’s note: If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.

Potential Isn’t Practical, or, Why you seriously need to stop comparing yourself to others.

It was 11 at night and I was at school. A good friend, one year younger, walked in and we got to talking. He told me about One Young World, an incredible opportunity to meet world-changers and influencers from across the globe.

I was already aware of this organization. I had consciously decided against applying because when I stacked my resume against those of people who were selected, I wasn’t even close to being in their league.

My friend, much wiser than his age would dictate, told me that the organization places great value on the potential to make change. And he told me I had that potential, and that I should apply.

My first action was to thank him for these kind words. My second, third, fourth, and fifth actions were to raise reasons why I wouldn’t even bother applying. All of these were variations of the phrase “I’m not good enough.”

But if the whole process is based on potential, which even I think I have, then why wouldn’t I take a shot?

And it dawned on me that, somewhere along the way, I had managed to convince myself I wasn’t good enough. I might be good in my little bubble, where I know most people and can woo a crowd when I need too. But I’m a little nervous when we move a few steps beyond that level. And I believe I’m simply not good enough when we move to the level of, y’unno, doing important, positive work.

It wasn’t the big failures that drove me to this state of mind but the little ones. Failing to keep up small habits. Failing at things I had done dozens of times before. Failing to take control when doing so could have made all the difference.

Somewhere between all of these little trials, I started to believe I wasn’t good enough. I know it because my dream started to change.

Since I was 14, I have wanted to be the Prime Minister of Canada. We’re a great country with so much potential, if only we could realize how great we could be.

How could I have the audacity to dream of doing something so powerful as leading a nation when I couldn’t even manage to cook an egg properly, or catch the bus on time, or get a single case in class correct (and yes, there were days when all three of these happened).

No, I couldn’t lead. I couldn’t even think of doing it. The country deserved better.

So I pulled back my ambitions. I would have a successful career. I would have many great friends and hopefully a special someone. I’d be okay. In fact, I’d live what might be considered a textbook definition of a good life.

And yet, there was still that tiny whisper inside me, spoken by a voice somehow not silenced.

That voice demands more.

I don’t know if I can provide that “more”, that need to do something positive. I listen to this voice because it makes me feel like I haven’t given up. This feeling is cold comfort when you haven’t actually done anything to prove you haven’t given up on being something spectacular.

Now being the good people you are (thanks again for reading!) you’re probably thinking about the time I wrote about comparing yourself and how it serves no purpose but to make you feel bad.

But through this pep talk, I’ve discovered that it can do something even worse: comparing yourself can make you limit yourself. It makes you focus on what you can do, not on what you could do.

Comparing yourself makes you, or at least made me, think in a way that might be called practical.

Potential isn’t practical. If we measured potential by what was to our knowledge possible, then I sincerely doubt I’d be typing this right now. Literally, the keyboard, computer monitor, and Internet would probably not have been invented.

I know these blogs usually end with some degree of lesson learned or mission accomplished or, on occasion, an almost funny joke. I don’t have one for you this time. I have a story that has yet to be concluded.

I have the knowledge that I’ve been limiting myself. I have the annoyance/blessing/pain of an internal voice that demands more from me. I have the guilt of almost shooting down someone who had the courage to have faith in me.

All of that moaning being released, I’m going to apply to the conference. Because I have nothing to lose, sure. But also because someone sees something in me that I used to. If I don’t get chosen, that faith will not diminish. If I do get chosen, I don’t think it will restore the confidence I used to have, though it will probably help.

But if I don’t take control, then nothing will change. Things will only be okay. And now, finally, the little voice inside isn’t the only part of that can’t accept this.

Editor’s note: If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.

 

General resolves, or, How I will make 2014 awesome.

2013 was, in a nutshell, alright.

I made dozens of new friends. I learned to cook. I started writing a blog, and I believe I became a better writer.

I was more stressed than I’d ever been before. I was always afraid of failure. I spent so many nights either apathetic to my work or praying for miracles. I never missed a deadline, but I never quite did my best. I still did well, because producing under pressure is a by-product of being a “good” procrastinator. I still felt guilty, because that is the primary symptom of all procrastinators.

It felt great to beat the odds, even if I couldn’t beat the demon that was the fear of failure.

There’s nothing I’d love more than to make a sweeping declaration, here and now, that I would never again let that fear hold me back. It would make me feel good and impart to all of you the hope that I believe you’ve come to expect from this blog. The hope that we can all be better.

Yes, we can all be better. That part is true.

But it starts with a belief. More than any quotation, any philosophy, anything at all, it starts with one belief: it’s the belief that you are in control.

There is something alluring about the belief that we are not in control. The belief that I need to be in the mood to work or have the right circumstances to produce. The problem is that, for me, this mood or these circumstances always rose up as the clock counted down.

No more.

Here’s the deal I’m going to propose to you. I’m going to spend one year taking full responsibility. I might still fear failure. But I refuse to let it hold me back anymore.

No more “doing my best, given the circumstances” when I  am the one who brought those circumstances about.

No more “being busy”. Busyness is an excuse. “Oh, why couldn’t you read that paper to know what’s actually happening in the world?” You weren’t busy, you were lazy, and to the point above, you chose not to read it. Being legitimately busy is one thing. Using it as an excuse is quite another.

I have resolutions, which I’ll share next time. If you’re making goals, remember to write them down and to structure them. If you’re so inclined, post them in the comments as a public commitment, and check back in a year to post an update.

Let’s make 2014 awesome. Let’s do it together.

                                                                                                                                       

As an aside, I wanted to say how thankful I am that you took the time to read this post and all the others. I didn’t start blogging to help people, but I continued because I did. What I didn’t expect was to open up as much as I did, and for the blogs to hold me to account as much as they did.

Thank you for reading. Thank your for inspiring me to be better. Have a happy and safe December 31^st, and until next time, C-Suite Dreams!

Editor’s note: If you understand the reference in my title, you’re wonderful. If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.