Lisa Haneberg has recently published an amazing web-cast where she contrives in less than 30 minutes to share with us 10 powerful and efficient ways to generate breakthroughs. An interesting reading (actually, watching or listening) and a good foundation of sharing our tricks and tips on streamlining the efforts towards breakthroughs.
I agree with all the ten ways and want to comment on the introduction part of the cast (without
having a bash at the matter).
Lisa's comment that "everything in life can be explained by 2x2 matrix" (see, for example, today's continuation of "how to fire" - the managers' must read of the week) brings the 4 squares to the picture. She fairly describes the advantages of the top-right square, concurrently depicting problematic traits of the three "bad" squares. Completely supporting the point, I want, nevertheless, to advocate for the loser squares and to show situations where they may still represent a working mode - if not as efficient as the favourite of the matrix, still fairly important and bringing their own positive value.
Let's start with the Stargazer square. Lots of ideas - no action. How can we come up with great ideas if never gaze at the stars? Yes, it's a mode of dreams (no actions), seeding thoughts, and bearing creativity. It doesn't help to focus the laser beam but inflames the beam prior that. The Stargazer is an incubator of your ideas, dreams, and thoughts. It's a farm of dozens of "what-if" questions where, hopefully, a few (at least) will hatch to real missions, tasks, and plans. The very first Lisa's tip ("clearly decide where you want to go") is impossible without an incubating phase of the startgazer. While you're deciding you can't focus - simply nothing to focus on. But once you have decided the mission has been shaped and transition from the stargazer to the P2 mode must be completed.
The Victim square. Many actions - no focus. It's a laboratory of solutions, an experimental play ground for various views. Most likely it's a destructive zone if we look at it through the prism of a beam. But, similarly to the incubation phase, this phase is necessary to try and test various approaches. Arguably, it can belong to the P2 phase itself but this question is rather a question of taste and terminology. The point here is to acknowledge and appreciate the "trial and error" phase of the mission although no results except excluding other wrong ways may ensue from it.
The Stuck square. No actions - no focus. The double-no square is the hardest client for my advocacy to defend:-) Still, we need sometimes to relax from anything, to turn our beamer completely off and just sit in the silence and darkness. It's even not a planned relaxing activity (mediation, a spiritual training, or a planned vacation) - really nothing, absolutely unplanned, and even spontaneous. The unplanned here is key. I'm sure to recharge our battery we need it occasionally too.
I want to reiterate that I didn't mean to argue and bring contras to Lisa's web-cast. Instead, wanted to draw your attention to the fact that sometimes we're too focused, too productive-oriented, too much care about effectiveness, and feel guilty of not progressing to the target on full gas. I believe it's about proportions. The majority of our time should (ideally) be devoted to focus the laser but at the same time we have to not be greedy to spend some time on the three other squares too and let the beamer to rest a bit.
Related posts:
Three pragmatic isolations
An escape door
Technorati tags: GTD, productivity, discipline
Do you constantly complain about the lack of time? Does your schedule slipper during a day as time goes and you miss some important stuff planned for the PM? It happens often to me and the missing part in my life is often running and workouts. 
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