try not to blink.
Written during Jennifer’s pregnancy with Evangeline Mae in 2004, we’ve sung this family song for each child, and thought it would be the perfect way to announce Baby H4′s arrival, coming September 2011. | ©2011 www.christopherhopper.com, www.jenniferleehopper.com
So in my last post I mentioned that my office re-image had unexpectedly produced a valuable new side effect, one that almost instantaneously forced a new habit. And it’s changed my work-flow for the better.
Before, one could very well argue that my work space was a dumping ground. I won’t try to skirt my own responsibilities for a second here: I let a lot of junk build up. But because of the sheer amount of ministries I oversee, and the amount of wonderful staff that work to make all of it happen, “stuff” from those ministries and from those staff tended to deposit itself in my office. Files, mail, packets, notes, promo materials, sales product, signage, forms, passes, office supplies, books, and anyone who “borrowed” my office while I was out of town always let their stuff linger around for a few days after I get home.
But when the office got clean, I noticed everything. Every little paper. The absence of “table space” didn’t allow for any extras. As my dad drilled into me growing up, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” And suddenly, if something wasn’t in its place, I saw it. And it bugged the stink out of me.
This forced a new practice:
Whatever comes into my office leaves with someone or leaves in the trash can.
OPTION 1: THE SOMEONE
My co-workers and staff have heard a new phrase coming out of my mouth lately. “Woah, why are you leaving that here? No, no, no…” And I usher them out. This forces them to use their own filing systems. Not mine. It also has enabled me to delegate much more than I ever have before (a practice which is easy to talk about but very hard to learn). If, however, the item and resulting tasks pertain to me, see option 2.
OPTION 2: THE TRASH CAN
These are my projects. Things I need to do. And my detest of seeing anything pile up in my newly renovated office compels me to tackle the project I’m handed immediately, and then get rid of the evidence. Contrary to my former habits of “I’ll get to that as soon as I’m done with this,” the opposite has happened. The resulting attitude is “Get this new thing done asap so I can get back to my previous task.” While it seems counter productive to my brain, it’s actually decreased the amount of work I’m doing and nearly eliminated the dreaded piles-o-paper.
Among the obvious benefits of a cleaner office, better work-flow, and a stronger handle on enabling my staff to make decisions about things I’d normally make myself, I’ve also found that I’m hoarding less and throwing out more. Asking myself, “Do I really need this sheet of paper? Do I absolutely need these notes?”
The result? Freedom.
For all you hoarders out there, I’ll have one last tip in my next post that has freed me immensely from the grip of collecting stuff.
Is your trash can calling your name? Or do you need to have a chat with your dumpers? I’d love to know! ch:
Clutter. Have any? Maybe it’s the kitchen-black-hole-of-death drawer that’s crammed full of stuff. Maybe it’s the one room in the house you never show on “the tour” when guests come over. But if you’re like me, somewhere in your life, there’s total physical chaos.
Recently my office got a makeover. For those that might remember, I had painted it blue with a black city skyline 360-degrees. It was cool. Then I added my collection of street signs–placement care of those that tuned in during a live broadcast of the event. A table, some chairs. And inevitably, stacks of papers, collectables, gifts, supplies, and an old sandwich.
And then my thread of OCD kicked in.
Inspired by The Lightman Group’s make-believe office from the show Lie To Me, and Apple, I decided to throw nearly everything out, store the rest, and repaint: antique white on 3 walls, royal blue on the ceiling, and a light grey on the back wall.
In less than 4 days, my office went from chaos to clean. And so did my brain.
Many times our lack of productivity is directly tied to our environments. And I found that if both my head and my office were in chaos, work became frustrating. So one of them had to change. My mind always has been and always will be in a state of creative chaos. That’s how I’m wired. No changing there. So my office had to give way.
The result is that I love sitting in this clean space. I can breathe. I can think.
Sure, large canvas prints of my family are on order to fill up some of the vast amount of negative space. And I’ve added one of my antique model sailboats to the top of the bookcase. But that’s it.
Not only do I enjoy my office much more, but it’s caused me to adopt a new habit as well, which I’ll cover in the next post.
So which space do you need to give a face lift to? Go on, we want to know! ch:
[A big thanks to Will Farr for the recycled chairs!]
[This is the first in a series on Productivity]
Do you like to wake up to surprises? If you’re smart, you’re instantly qualifying that question with “What kind of surprise?” No dirty diapers or frozen water-lines. I mean a good surprise.
I woke up today and found that my wife had set out the coffee mugs for my at-home staff meeting later on this morning. Not only that, but the coffee “accessories” were out, and a few extra chairs were at the table.
I was so touched.
Planning ahead has many merits, the most obvious of which is saving yourself time in the long run by taking care of essential tasks before things “get complicated.” Most of us actually plan ahead more than we realize, like setting an alarm the night before. But there is another far greater benefit of planning ahead.
The emotional intangible.
Setting out the coffee mugs, cleaning up the kitchen, and adding a few more chairs around the table are things I could have very easily done myself. But because my wife did them, not only did I not have to–which saved me time (and the fact that I’m not as thoughtful to do things like she does)–but I was instantly aware that she was thinking of me. And thinking of our staff.
While I was busy snoring away (which I do), she was taking just a few extra minutes to make sure everything was all set. I felt cared for. Important. And that meant more to me than any level of productivity; in fact, such acts by others actually increase our own productivity.
Aside from thinking ahead for yourself, who is one person you could prepare something for that would positively affect their work load today?
Being prepared speaks to peoples’ lives, that you care about who they are, not just about you getting all your proverbial ducks in a row. ch:
The Executive Leadership Team of 33 Live is thrilled to announce our very first youth conference, Redline Conference 2011, debuting this April 1st & 2nd at New Life Christian Church in Watertown, NY.
Thanks to all those who participated in the name contest. All entries were stripped of their author’s information (for reasons of potential bias), and given to the team. “Redline” was actually created by one of our own members, so the award process is a bit anticlimactic. But I promise the conference will not be.
Special thanks to @jasonjclement for the amazing logo design.
For now, here’s a teaser. ch:
To the unsaved, it’s a line of blood to cross over.
To the saved, it’s a call to live full-out for God.
Ever attended an event, or saw one advertised, and thought, “Who in the world came up with that name?” Well now’s your chance to prove you could have dubbed it better…or list yourself right up there with dweebs who coin cheesy conference names.
After 6 years of being New Life Christian Church’s Teen & College Pastor, our executive leadership team has finally felt it’s time to host our first 33 Live youth conference. And we’d like your help in picking out a name.
For now, any idea goes. Just list it below in the comments section; feel free to include the reason for your name, and any significant alternate meanings it may have. But as we narrow down the field, we might need your help selecting from a few ties. And if we pick yours, we’ll send you a free copy of the new Heaven Meets Earth CD as well as a pair of free conference tickets (April 1st-3rd 2011).
For starters, you might want to know some of the vision:
We endeavor to see the entire youth demographic of northern New York and southern Ontario, Canada brought into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. To this end, our conferences:
- Give unsaved teens the opportunity to hear the Gospel, encountering the presence of God.
- Equip Christian teens with the spiritual and practical tools necessary to evangelize and disciple their unsaved friends.
So there you go. From one word power-concepts to letter-number combo acronyms to epic slogans, we want to know what you’d name a youth conference. Have at it! ch:
Did you ever have a class that frustrated you in school? How about a particular teacher? Maybe their view on things differed from yours. Or maybe their treatment of a certain subject or student really got on your nerves.
If you’re like me, those memories have lingered with you.
One of my most frustrating seasons during high school was in art class. Now mind you, I loved art. And I really had a soft spot for all of my art teachers. Even the crazies. (I know you had a few, too). But it wasn’t art class itself that bothered me. It was subjective versus objective analysis that did.
I was a late bloomer in math. But once I bloomed, I was a straight “A” student. Unusual for a right-brained kid. And when the teacher graded the tests, a problem was either solved correctly, or it wasn’t. But in art, the grading seemed very subjective. I remember getting incredibly frustrated when my teacher would give one student a fabulous mark on a piece that I thought was “all right,” while the student who produced something truly exceptional was handed a “C.”
What?!
That’s because art, in its most simple form, is subjective.
Yeah, I know a particular teaching (and resulting assignment) can focus on a specific rule or technique. Rule of thirds. Pointillism. Contrast. Minimalism. But at the end of the day, art, unlike math, has no right answers. It simply is. And so the very notion that a teacher could pass or fail a student by what simply is drove me bonkers. Later on I would learn that my art teachers graded very much like God does, but not nearly as well.
Most of us want God to grade life like math. Right or wrong. Pass or fail. Black or white. I want God to be fair. For bad people to get what they deserve, and good people more so. The only problem is that God is not fair.
But He is just.
Justice is doing the right thing for the right person at the right time. And the only person who ever knows that perfectly is the Holy Spirit. The inherent human problem with administering justice, unlike the Holy Spirit, is that we’re not very good at delivering it. Because we never have all the information all the time, now matter how much we think we do. But God always does.
The wall art hanging around my house is a perfect example of this.
The crumpled, ripped, and drooled on papers lining the refrigerator doors and walls of my house would last about 5 seconds under the scrutiny of any art museum curator. “Cute” is about all I’d get. That’s fair. But it’s not just. Because the museum curator has no idea that they were made by my kids, and as a result, have incredible intrinsic value. To me.
Regardless of what the world perceives, from your motives to your efforts to your productivity, they will always have limited information. Always. There is an all-seeing God, however, who doesn’t miss a beat. He sees it all, and He knows you. You’re offering Him your time, your talent, your treasure. From your marriage to your attitude with your boss, He knows. And trust me, whatever you’re offering to Him, no matter what the world’s standards are, it means the world to Him.
And it’s hanging on His fridge right now. ch:
When was the last time you were at work and the thought went through your head, I’m so tired of doing this over and over? It could pertain to just about any element of your life, because repetition is a natural part of our human workflow. Whether you’re at home managing a house full of kids (the most intense job on the planet in my opinion), or sitting behind a computer terminal in an office, you get good at things you do routinely.
But problems set in when you’ve completed that action a million times. Shoot, for some of us, we get bored after the third time. Then enters the overwhelming thought of doing this for the next 12 months yet again. And that’s when–without warning–frustration, lack of enthusiasm, and even depression set in.
That’s where I’ve found keeping things fresh is absolutely essential to keeping my head in the game.
The day I bought my kids a few Nerf guns (note emphasis on buying them for my kids), I thought I was going to pee my pants. While standing in the store isle surveying the myriad of foam-spouting weaponry, I had visions of us chasing each other around the house, diving behind couches for cover, successfully conducting top secret maneuvers through the kitchen…and blasting them in the foreheads while barrel rolling S.O.G.-style across the carpet.
The first few days were just that: Black Ops meets Barney. There were tears, screaming, miss-fires, thievery, espionage, and broken alliances. Everything you need for a good Nerf war.
But like all homes that engage in such land battles, eventually the spark dwindles. No one can find more than one gun (what fun is one?), and who knows who ate all the foam darts. Occasionally someone will find a few darts and blast a brother in the temple. It’s all good. But it’s short-lived. It’s never as fun as it first was.
Until Mommy and Daddy collect all the necessary equipment, and declare an all out war on the kids, during which Daddy sticks a pillow infront of his face, exposing only his huge shiny domed head, and announces a free-for-all contest on who can stick a dart on his melon.
The magic was back.
Often the hardest thing to do when faced with routine is thinking outside the box. You’d think it’d be easy: anything other than what I’m doing would be more fun. But thinking of how to incorporate that anything into your current something is harder than we sometimes think. But finding that elusive fun-factor element can make all the difference. Not only do we start to enjoy what we’re doing again, but productivity increases as well.
I’ve flown mini-RC-helicopters through my office wing, started random-funny-face contests, turned off the lights for a few seconds while a coworker is in the bathroom, even crawled under the conference table to surprise someone on the opposite end while they weren’t looking. Often exploiting the funny things about your own self can make even the most boring of routines exciting.
With a little work to gather the right resources, and some ingenuity, you can turn yuck into yahoo with ease! What are some things you’ve done to bring a little fun into your workplace? Share more ideas for others below! ch:
Historically, monuments were erected to mark the passing of epic battles, celebrations, or the passing of time. In the Old Testament, monuments–or in many cases, altars–were built to commemorate an encounter with God.
While I’ve built one or two small mounds of rock in my past, celebrating something significant between me and the Lord, I find writing about it equally as meaningful. Posting it online brings some sort of legitimacy to it. That someone besides me is reading it.
Looking back on 2010, it was a momentous year. A very productive year. Here are a few things that stand out to me; all of these are a living testimony to God’s faithfulness in our lives:
January 1st 2011. What will this year hold? Here’s some thing I’ll be spending a considerable amount of time on:
For the glory of the King and the advancement of His Kingdom. ch:
What are a few milestones you’ve passed, or are looking forward to?