try not to blink.
While I’m sitting in my sister’s college graduation ceremony on Saturday, I received this text from my wife:
While I struggled to maintain my own self-control, I managed to type out the following response:
What involuntary actions (or reactions) do you struggle with? ch:
While watching 24 on Monday night, my friend @gregglovins told me, “The only person that makes you look unproductive in a day is Jack Bauer.” I felt both endeared to him and slightly concerned as–knowing our beloved multitasking TV hero like I do–no one was meant to live at such a high intensity level all the time. Only for 6 days. Or 6 seasons, depending on how you look at it.
Even my mom just told me I’m “like Jack Bauer and Bruce Willis combined.” Does that mean I can get blown up in every confrontation I encounter and still walk away looking like a stud while saying no more than 15 sentences during the entire deal? Well, regardless of the comparisons, I’m notably flattered, but I’ve gotten my fare share of laughs out of them.
Sure, I’ve had plenty of people tell me I’m unhealthy. No, not with implying I’m actually Jack Bauer; with doing all that I do. And to a certain extent, I hear them, and I’m grateful for their interest. In its most benign form, it’s concern. And I recognize that. Noted. But I also take issue with it because–while they may not mean it outright–they are actually implying that I ignore my wife, am not submitted to Godly leadership, and don’t listen to close friends. None of which are true.
The fact is, my level of operation is not new. Ask my parents what I was like as a kid and they’ll say, “He had a new project every day.” Legos. Tree-forts. Duct taped cardboard box bases. Recording projects. The point is, it’s in my blood. I’ve been living like this for over twenty years. I’m a true creative. A producer in the most real sense. It’s how I’m wired.
One long-time pastor I admire recently told me, “I’m not going to pray you stop any one thing you’re doing, because if I did, I’d be asking God to change who you are. Rather, I’m going to pray for wisdom on how to manage your time.” I was so grateful for this statement. It did nothing to demean me or my desire to live life to its fullest, all the while empowering me to seek the Lord for more insight.
You may not be married, raising kids, writing books, mixing a new CD, pastoring teens, overseeing a discipleship school, traveling, editing video, and writing business plans, but your work is no less valuable, and equally demanding of quality time. The question is, how do you organize it? How do you manage?
Here are a few of my tools:
1.) Omnifocus. Created by the Omni Group, OmniFocus is one of numerous projects designed to streamline tasks, to do lists, and projects. It’s one piece of software I can not live without. Granted, it’s on the more expensive side (the desktop version being over $100, and its iPhone counterpart at $20), and needs a good understanding of Getting Things Done, but for the serious producer, it’s a must.
2.) iCal (Mac). It goes without saying that my iPhone is more than just a fun toy or status symbol. It’s how I live. No, no, don’t go fundamentalist on me. (Please people). Without having my iCal at my finger tips–synced with my iMac, iPhone, and my personal assistant’s and my wife’s PowerBooks and iMacs–there is no human way I could keep up with the sheer amount of appointments I have to cope with.
3.) Address Book (Mac). And likewise, every single person that calls me or emails me gets logged into my Address Book. Granted, people I expect to have one phone call or email exchange with don’t get logged. But if there’s a chance of repeat communication, they’re in. The reason for this is that people are my business. Their names, locations, business interests, family members, and histories are essential to maintaining a strong network (something I’ll discuss in another post).
What’s going on in your life? And how do you manage your to-do lists, appointments, and projects? ch:
Here are a few highlights from ch:b’s time at the BASIC Conference this past weekend in Syracuse, NY. Especially memorable was the surprise privilege of baptizing my baby sister, Hillary, who unexpectedly showed up. I love you Snarph. ch:
I’m minutes away from leaving for the BASIC Conference this weekend. ch:b will be leading worship and I’ll be preaching for both of the main sessions in the evenings. But before I take off, I wanted to let you know that over 25 first times decisions were made for Jesus on Wednesday night during Operation:HighLife at Case Middle Auditorium in Watertown, NY. Willet also reported 5 new children sponsored with Food for the Hungry. We had over 200 teens in attendance, and I’m so grateful for the new inroads with this school, ever looking for how we can serve this community as the Bride of Christ.
Thanks for celebrating with us! ch:
I’m pleased to present the first installment of a new gritty reality TV series called “The Adventures of The Cho & The Goo.” It’s raw, in your face footage of two sub-humanoid lifeforms and their high intensity adventures.
This first video is called “Picnic @ 40 Degrees-F”, and includes hard core footage of a recent outdoors biking and gratuitous easting adventure of the dynamic duo, complete with soundtrack, all at 40 degrees Fahrenheit on a windy northern NY afternoon in March. Viewer discretion advised. ch:
Does your cell phone rule you? Or are you Lord of the Laptop?
A dramatic change has overtaken our culture in the last ten years. Whether you like it or not, it seems electronics are glued to people everywhere. Or rather, we are glued to them. iPhones & Blackberries are pulled from the pocket every few moments during dinner conversations; family gatherings are disrupted by quick stops to the kitchen computer for an email check or a Google search; and laptops have all but replaced coffee dates at the caffeine bar of choice. Just a few days ago I sat in a Starbucks off of 5th Avenue in Lower Manhattan and every single person was on a laptop or reading from a PDA. While my friend and I managed a few spartan words between each other, we eventually joined the masses and pulled out our mobile phones to check email, texts, voice mail, FaecBook, and Twitter.
The question is, what did we do before them?
While I could wax eloquent like the miserable but charming post-modernist Frank Navasky from You’ve Got Mail (Meg Ryan’s character’s boyfriend), convincing you I’m actually writing this from an Olympia Report Deluxe Electric typewriter, I’m not, nor am I going to. That’s idealism. And it’s pointless. Unless you want to become Amish. I’m on my 21″ iMac, and my iPhone 3GS is in comfortably in my jean’s pocket. And I’m proud of it. But the question remains, have we forgotten how to think for ourselves without the interweb? Can we define who the Soviets were without the use of a search engine? And better still, can we still carry on a conversation with other carbon-based life forms in the flesh without texting them to initiate the dialog?
Ultimately, the question is, “What are you doing to rule the beast?” As a guy who loves technology, and openly embraces its profound positive affects on my life, I’ve had to come face to face with the fact that I wasn’t doing enough to rule over it, and need to be ever vigilant of the monster. A 40-day media fast taught me a lot: making sure to keep my computer out of my home a few days a week; limiting my time on my iPhone for things other than phone calls (which I hate talking on the phone); and making sure I’m spending time staring at my wife and childrens’ faces rather than a flat, lifeless screen.
Technology isn’t going anywhere. If anything, its role in our lives will only increase. And rightfully so. We become more efficient, more informed, and more connected, allowing us to reach Kingdom objectives more quickly than any time in history. That’s because technology is God’s invention, not ours. But making sure the animal stays in its cage can be more challenging than we might think.
What are you doing to keep the monster at bay? Care to share some of your tips with us?