Category Archives: 11 for 11

11 For 11 – February 2011 Update

Written on March 1, 2011 by in 11 for 11
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Here’s the next monthly update on how I’m doing on my 11 for 11 goals.

Yes, I’m trying to follow my own advice.  After all, how can I say whether or not 11for11 is worth doing unless I try it myself?

Let’s see how I did this month (February 2011):

  1. Read 11 new books this year – so far I’ve finished three new books this year: two novels and one non-fiction book. Meanwhile I have at least three non-fiction books on the go. I’ll have no problem making this goal…  although I still haven’t finished those non-fiction books yet.
  2. Exercise 11 minutes per day – I hit this goal in January. If I tally it up and figure out the average, I exercised over 15 minutes per day.   I’m resetting this goal to be 15 minutes/day (on average) in March.
  3. Connect with 11 new people every month – I attempted to connect with 11 people this month.  I didn’t always succeed, but I tried.
  4. Reconnect with 11 people you know every month – I hit this goal this month, through a mixture of online and offline folks.
  5. Write 11 minutes per day – yes, on average. This was attained in part through journal entries that I wrote most days of the week.
  6. Write another 11 minutes per day – it’s starting to vex me that I didn’t meet this goal.  I really need to buckle down and do this.  I think I need to set a fixed time and/or place and do this (in conjunction with #5).
  7. Explore 11 new places this year – again, no progress.  Still plenty of time, though.
  8. Experiment with 11 different art forms at least once in 2011 – I continued to play some guitar this month but I need to work on this.  I foresee some drawing experiments.
  9. If something gets you down or stresses you out, repeat the following phrase 11 times (slowly): “Everything is temporary – this, too, shall pass.” Still didn’t need to resort to this one yet!
  10. Add 11 good habits into your life or get rid of 11 bad habits in 2011 – In addition to exercise, I worked on drinking 8 – 9 glasses of water per day.  I was reasonably successful about this, but more so during the work week than on the weekends.
  11. Write 11 kickass blog posts, essays, articles, letters – in February, a number of people liked the 37 creative uses of a single vacati0n day post.  Other people, including me, liked the post about Johnny Cash and cover songs.  Whichever you liked, I feel comfortable in claiming at least one of these in February.  10 more to go.

Overall ranking for February: needs improvement (and more planning) but I feel that I did better this month than last month.  I feel like I’m in decent shape on eight of the 11for11 resolutions (same as last month).

I think that I can still achieve all of these goals in 2011, but I need to work a bit harder in March!

11 for 11 – January 2011 Update

Written on February 1, 2011 by in 11 for 11
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I decided that I’d do a monthly update on how I’m doing on my 11 for 11 goals.

Yes, I’m trying to follow my own advice.  After all, how can I say whether or not 11for11 is worth doing unless I try it myself?

Let’s see how I did this month (January 2011):

  1. Read 11 new books this year – so far I’ve finished three new books this year: two novels and one non-fiction book. Meanwhile I have at least three non-fiction books on the go. I’ll have no problem making this goal.
  2. Exercise 11 minutes per day – I didn’t hit this goal in January. If I tally it up, I exercised 8 minutes per day, on average. I clearly have some room to improve here. On the other hand, I’m getting pretty good at the ski jump game on the Wii.
  3. Connect with 11 new people every month – I certainly attempted to connect with 11 new people this month, mainly via the Internet. But I did have some good offline connections with a couple of people, so it’s all good.  Oddly enough, one of the people that I connected with this month, Chris Guillebeau, was the guy who inspired me to take on this goal.
  4. Reconnect with 11 people you know every month – I didn’t hit this goal. I certainly reconnected with at least three people but there’s lots of room for improvement here.
  5. Write 11 minutes per day – yes, on average. This was attained in part through journal entries that I wrote most days of the week.
  6. Write another 11 minutes per day – this one would be a stretch. I slowed down my writing pace in January compared to most months, so I don’t think I actually met this goal.
  7. Explore 11 new places this year – no progress on this one, alas. I expect that this won’t really kick in until the snow departs.
  8. Experiment with 11 different art forms at least once in 2011 – I’ve been playing a little bit of guitar again this month (at least I was until I broke my G string… oops…). It’s a good enough start.
  9. If something gets you down or stresses you out, repeat the following phrase 11 times (slowly): “Everything is temporary – this, too, shall pass.” Fortunately, I didn’t have to resort to this one.
  10. Add 11 good habits into your life or get rid of 11 bad habits in 2011 – I worked on adding the exercise habit into my life this month, but I need to do more work to make it stick.
  11. Write 11 kickass blog posts, essays, articles, letters – I don’t feel that I’ve written anything in January that meets this goal, although I did write a couple of good blog posts.

Overall ranking for January: needs improvement (and some planning).  I feel like I’m in decent shape on no more than six of the 11for11 resolutions.

I think that I can still achieve all of these goals in 2011, so time for a renewed effort in February!

11 Ways to Get Out of a Creative Rut

Written on December 22, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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25-74SertrackIs your imagination in a rut? Has your muse gone on vacation without you? If it feels like you haven’t had a fresh idea in months, here are 11 ways to get your creative mind moving again in 2011:

1.  Change your tune.

Music has the power to fire up the brain’s emotion and reward centers, and to form new connections between ideas. When we open our ears to new music, a host of random associations, perspectives and emotions can float up to the surface to help get those creative juices flowing again. Stream other people’s music at Blip.fm,  or play radio routlette – that’s the roadtrip game where you hit the search button repeatedly, surfing through all available radio stations with the commitment to  listen to one complete song before you move on to the next station. (Sure, you’ll hate some of the tunes you hear, but a bad song is, what, three minutes out of your life?)

2. Change media.

If you’re a violinist, pick up a flute.  If you’re a blog writer, make a video. If you’re a painter, write a short story or dig into some modeling clay or build a bookshelf.  If you’re a management consultant, problem-solving for major corps 14 hours a day, take up ikebana or learn to knit socks… well, you get the  general idea. Quite apart from the mental challenge of learning a new skill or medium of expression, changing the physical tasks you’re asking your body to perform can have a remarkable way of changing your thought patterns, too.

3. Quit multitasking.

Without focus, there can be no creative flow. Wall off a chunk of time for doing your creative work, even if it’s just a half-hour on a weekend, and defend that chunk of time tooth-and-nail against all distractions. Really – the laundry can wait a few minutes more, and so can your buddy’s text message.

4. Think laterally.

Lateral thinking puzzles – like these and these – are guaranteed to force your brain out of its accustomed rut.

5. Get a chuckle.

Try watching a stand-up comedy routine before you tackle a puzzle or creative problem. As the New York Times reported recently, researchers at Northwestern University found people are more likely to solve puzzle with “sudden insight” – what we may think of as creative inspiration, rather than dull old left-brain slogging –   when they were amused by a short comedy routine. Makes sense, eh? We already know that creativity and stress don’t play well together, and that laughter is the best medicine for stress and anxiety!

6. Stalk a stranger.

“Don’t discount the joy of discovery that can come by weaving a stranger’s life into your own,” says Joel Johnson, Gizmodo’s much-maligned “hipster tech douche” who chose to follow a random Twitter user as different as possible from himself. The thing is, we tend to build a homogenous community around ourselves, both in social media and in Real Life – a group of like-thinking friends and colleagues with similar backgrounds and similar life experiences. Creativity is spurred when we expand our social horizons and let in “other” perspectives.

7. Expose yourself.

In fact, a growing body of research draws a link between creativity and our exposure to new information and conflicting opinions. Controversy is good for creativity, and simply hearing a dissenting opinion – you don’t need to believe it; you don’t even need to take it seriously! – leads to greater creativity.

8. Be contrary.

On a related note, cast your mind back to high school debate club. (What, you weren’t a member? Never mind – there’s no time like the present to get in on the game.) The point is, in a debate competition, the teams don’t get to choose which side of an issue they’ll argue on. The challenge lies in constructing a cogent argument to support any position. So, think of a topic that’s guaranteed to set you off on a rant, and work out an equally strong case for the opposite side. The more emotional you get about the topic, the tougher this will be – and the harder your creative mind will need to work, carving out a new way of thinking.

9. Be a kid.

Open a book or newspaper or web page at random, take the first statement you eyes fall upon, and challenge it with the traditional maddening question of the inquisitive child: Why? Keep answering the “Why? Why? But, why?” until you run out of logical answers, then throw out all logic and keep rolling, no matter how apparently ridiculous your answers become. Variation: “But what if…?”

10. Borrow a kid.

Armed with nothing more than a baggie of animal crackers, a cardboard box, and a fistful of crayons, spend three hours on a rainy afternoon with a smart pre-schooler. If that doesn’t jazz up your creative problem-solving skills, nothing can!

11. Take a nap.

Sleep makes people 33% more creative, according to Harvard researchers. There may not be a clear-cut “Eureka!” moment for you on waking, but sleep does seem to serve as a kind of “incubation period” in which the brain can process new ideas and make new connections between ideas. Result? New and more creative solutions to problems that can seem insurmountable to the over-tired and over-worried mind. If you can’t manage an extra hour’s sleep at night, no worries – even a 10-minute afternoon nap can have major mental benefits.

What’s your favourite way to get out of a creative rut?

11 Ways to Create Better Stuff in 2011

Written on December 21, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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As I look back on 2010, one of the things I’m most proud of is the amount of creative work I was able to put forward. At the beginning of the year, I came up with three words. Mine were Stretch, Collaborate, and Less. I managed to achieve each of these on a certain level, and I’ll be writing more about that on my own blog in a few weeks. As I’ve journeyed through this past year, I’ve learned a lot about the creative process. Much of that learning has come through my work on this blog, and I’m grateful to Mark and the Ka-tet for allowing me to hang out here.

So, as we wrap up the year, and venture forth into new and exciting things, here are my 11 ways to create better stuff in 2011.

1) Collaborate more.
This was one of my words, and it’s been by far the most rewarding experience of my year. I am working on a few collaborative projects now, as a contributor to this blog, at the Workshifting blog, and as part of a new podcasting project that will be announced in the next few weeks.  What’s the coolest part of my current collaborations? I’ve never met any of the people from Thoughtwrestling or Workshifting in person. Yet, these are some of the most rewarding relationships I have, and are the two projects from which I learn the most.

Work with other people as much as you can. You’ll learn so many things you can bring back to make your individual efforts even better.

2) Read more.
Stuck for a creative idea? Get reading. I just got an iPad a couple of weeks ago, and it’s changed my life. I now read more than ever before. It’s replaced TV watching for me. I have e-books, Kindle Books, iBooks. I have Wired magazine, blogs, and Flipboard articles. And the more I read, the more ideas I get. What I love about the iPad is that I can read things and as I go I can be highlighting, making notes, bookmarking, sharing, and jotting down ideas. My creative process is now inline with the information I am consuming. It’s changed the way I work, think, and create.

You don’t HAVE to have a tablet computer to make this work. You only need to increase the amount of access you have to the things you want to read. And if that just means buying a bigger back pack so you can put more books in it, then do that. But read way more than you do now, and your brain will be stuffed to the brim with new ideas.

3) Think less.
Athletes call it “the zone”. Artists call it their “creative flow”. Writers call it their “muse”. There’s a place one goes when they create, where they become at one with the Universe. Where what we commonly know as “thought” – the way our mind flips from one thing to the next – is removed, and we are able to glide along. The words come easily. The paint brush seems to move on its own. We can jump higher, run faster.

Many people are unable to get to that place easily. There are too many distractions and worries. Sometimes, people actually feel guilty for spending too much time in this place of non-thought, of pure creativity. I believe people should spend as much time as they can in that place. Stop applying thought to everything. Live from your creative place. Your life will be richer for it.

4) Just create.
Just sit for a minute. Clear your mind of any worries. Turn off the phone. Now ask yourself…if there was any one thing you would do if you were free, for just 1 hour, to create, what would you do? Write? Play music? Paint? Sculpt? Doodle?

Whatever your creative inclination is, be sure to explore it freely. And that means, just create. Pick up the guitar, and play some chords. Maybe a song will appear. Sit at your keyboard, or notebook, and just start writing. Maybe a story will appear. Pick up that paint brush. Maybe a painting will appear. Just create.

5) Use good tools.
Tools are extremely personal. The toolkit I use to create is probably very different from the one you use. And that’s totally okay. I like to type. My handwriting is atrocious and I get hand cramps. I have a blogger friend who writes all her posts in longhand before she retypes them into the computer. It’s what works for her. Typing is what works for me.

It doesn’t matter what tools you use, but it does matter that you use the tools that work for you. So always be curious about how tools can enhance your creative process. And always use the tools that help you to make better stuff.

6) Hit Publish.
Are you that guy who has 15 blog posts in the hopper, but none of them are “ready” to be published? Are you the gal who has written parts of 4 songs, but doesn’t want to post her performances on YouTube until they are “done”? Well stop that. Just hit Publish. Post your partial song on YouTube, and get some feedback. Record that podcast even if you’re not completely prepared. If you never hit publish, you’ll never know what people will have to say.

7) Create a space.
Recently, I faced my home office desk outwards instead of facing the wall. It made a huge difference to me psychologically. I feel like I have more energy, for longer periods of time. And I feel comfortable going into the space to start creating. I keep things around me that make me happy, inspire me, or are just comfortable. So make sure you do have a comfortable space to create. It doesn’t have to be perfectly clean and organized (unless it is), and it doesn’t have to meet anyone else’s standard. It just has to be yours.

8 ) Bounce it around.
One of the things I love most about the social web is that people are so willing to be helpful. Whenever I’m stuck for an idea, I have some trusted online friends I know will provide me with constructive, honest feedback. And it works both ways. I can help them too when they ask. So don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you need it.

9) Schedule it in.
Make the time for your creative work. And don’t just make it, schedule it. Get up a half hour earlier (or go to bed a half hour later if that works for you). Spend time every day exploring your creative life. Make it a habit and you won’t be able to live without it.

10) Put it away.
As much as it’s important to just hit publish, it’s also a good idea sometimes to just put it away for a bit. If a writing task isn’t working, if the song isn’t coming easily, if the painting isn’t flowing, then don’t struggle. Walk away. Try again tomorrow. Often that’s all that’s required.

11) Enjoy.
Your creative life should be something you look forward to. It should be something you have fun with, and get satisfaction from. So, enjoy the process. Enjoy the results of your work. And enjoy others’ reactions to it. Do what you do because it brings you joy. There’s no greater gift you can give to yourself.

All the best to you in 2011.

Photo credit: Olivander on Flickr

11 for 11 – The story so far

Written on December 17, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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To recap, here’s this week’s posts on the 11 for 11 topic:

11 for 11 – 11 things to try in 2011 – written by yours truly

A list in which I tell you what to do in 2011 – Bill Wren’s post

11 for 11: Ways to Change Your Perspective – the words of Kat French

11 Words to be Mindful of in 2011 – Ian Rountree chimes in

11 for 11 – The Marshall Mix – the latest from Scott Marshall… by the way, blame me if you don’t like the title…

With any luck we might see a couple of other contributions before the end of December!

Have a good weekend!

11 for 11 – The Marshall Mix

Written on December 16, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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Since Mark asked, here is a list of 11 things I want to accomplish in 2011, in no particular order:

1) run a marathon. A marathon is 42 kilometers, and I am 42 years old. I would like to get one under my belt before I turn 43 in August. My long distance record is about 17K, so clearly I have some work to do.

2) pay off some debts. I have had a consolidation loan hanging over my head for the past several years, but if everything proceeds according to schedule, it should be paid off in about 9 months. Just in time to start saving for my wedding in 2012! :)

3) finish a graphic novel. I have a good start on it, and am now figuring out how to produce the final artwork. If I can do so and produce a couple of finished pages per week, the work (approximately 80 pages) should be done by this time next year.

4) eat better. I eat reasonably well now, and am a good cook, but I am sometimes lazy and will grab fast food or go to a restaurant rather than make something at home. Things have been especially busy during the last month, resulting in a hit both to my waistline and my wallet.

5) relax. I have been pretty stressed lately, mainly due to working for a new employer and suddenly having more of my time spoken for. The best way for me to destress is, ironically, to work harder on my meditation practice.

6) concentrate. This goes hand in hand with relaxation. I think of the ability to concentrate as a muscle that can be exercised and strengthened, enabling me to work when it is time to work, relax when it is time to relax, and stop worrying (or at least worry less) that I should be doing something else.

7) write. I am not really concerned about writing every day (in a blog or otherwise) for its own sake; I don’t really see any value in it unless I feel I have somethingnew or useful to say. Unfortunately, too often this year I have had ideas for blog posts or articles on my own site and elsewhere that have gone by the wayside due to lack of time or disorganization.

8) play. I am reasonably satisfied with the amount of time I hang out with friends and of course my time with my son and fiancée are top priority, but I am often slack about taking time for my own recreation, like finishing video games or reading.

9) travel. My fiancée will be returning to graduate school in the fall of 2011, probably in Toronto, so I will be commuting back and forth to see her; we also hope to go to Cuba with some friends in the spring. Apparently there is some possibility of traveling for my new employer as well, so I may be hanging out in airport lounges a lot next year.

10) stretch. I want to do some things outside of my comfort zone and/or experience. It could be something else creative, like composing music, or something physical like surfing, snowboarding, or mountain biking, all of which I have tried and would like to do more.

11) finish things. I have a number of small projects, like creating websites for friends or artwork for family, that are waiting to be completed (or started).

11 Words to be Mindful of in 2011

Written on December 16, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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Let’s go out with the best possible intentions; let’s not talk for a moment about the many “blog subjects that need to die” or the “buzzwords you should stop using.

Instead, let’s take a few moments to reflect on the concepts we can use to do better work in the next year. Let’s look at advancing our art, moving beyond the tools and concepts we’re using today.

Let’s think about;

  1. Courtesy - the grease that keeps our conversations going.
  2. Reciprocity - one of the many good responses to engagement.
  3. Resonance - a deeper extension of relevance.
  4. Champions - matured advocates (ideally, this should be you. And me.)
  5. Goals - the things we build our strategies facing.
  6. Diligence - the responsible big brother of consistency, leads to discipline.
  7. Connection - more important than a network.
  8. Contribution - another annex of conversation.
  9. Recognition - an extension of attribution. We know this, but we should do more of it.
  10. Collaboration - a big creative secret weapon.
  11. Endurance - the thing that got us this far – and will bring us through the foreseeable future.

We’ve got to make progress. Moving forward is part of the creative process. By extending, rather than ending, the tools (even buzzwords) we’re using today, we give ourselves fuel to keep moving forward. It’ll take some diligence and probably a lot of collaboration. We’re going to need to be courteous, and reciprocate - but I think we can achieve our goals, if we have the endurance.

What would you add to this list? What buzzwords can you think of that need to be advanced to the next level, rather than shot out of the sky?

11 for 11: Ways to Change Your Perspective

Written on December 15, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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A couple of months ago, one of my pastors asked for sermon ideas for 2011 on Facebook (apparently, pastors are seriously into the whole “planning ahead” thing.)

That was my first attempt at thinking ahead to the new year. All I could really come up with was “It’ll be the tenth anniversary of September 11.”

Clearly, I’m not as into the whole “planning ahead” thing as my pastor. Or our editor-in-chief Mark. Or the average squirrel.

So when Mark asked the ka-tet to come up with an “11 for 11″ post, I’ll admit I was dreading it a little. I love a good list post as much as the next blogger, but when I think about the future, my love of sci-fi always projects me forward something more like decades than months.

While near-future prognostication is out of the question, I am good at thinking thematically. When I think back over the last year, the themes that come to mind are: restoration, friendship, homecoming. 2010 has been all about rediscovering and getting rooted in my center: relationally, vocationally, spiritually and creatively. A good year’s work, if I do say so myself. Thematically, 2010 was an inward journey, during which my focus was largely on dropping the baggage that weighed me down.

Since 2010 was all about the inward journey, I think 2011 should be all about the outward one. But it’ll require a change of perspective and a shift in course.

img courtesy james72

So my contribution to the 11 for 11 project consists of 11 Steps in Reorienting Your Perspective.

1. If you’ve spent 2010 looking back, dedicate some time to looking around. I bet you thought I was going to say “forward.” Eventually, you might want to look forward, but if your perspective has been moored in the past for a while, you first need to spend some time reacquainting yourself with the present.

2. If you’ve spent 2011 focusing on the future, again, look around at the present. Sometimes we can focus on the horizon with such intensity, we fail to recognize that the landscape has changed around us.

3. If your focus has been largely vocational in the last year, spend some time flipping that focus to the relational. Oftentimes, we backburner our relationships as we drill down on moving our career forward. But friendships, marriage and children aren’t flies trapped in amber; you have to eventually give them the attention they’re due, or live to regret it.

4. If your focus has been mostly relational, consider spending some time in introspection or self-improvement. Believe it or not, sometimes the best thing you can do for your relationships is to stop obsessing about them. If your year-end frustrations stem from unsuccessful attempts to fix the people around you, perhaps you should turn that impulse for improvement towards a subject over which you have a bit more control.

5. If you feel a little lethargic, maybe you’ve gotten stuck in “consume all media, can’t miss a thing” mode. Perhaps a media fast will do your perspective some good. Take a break from Facebook. Declare RSS bankruptcy. It won’t kill you. Really.

6. Then again, lethargy could also be from a more literal kind of overconsumption. Have the holidays brought on a nonstop festival of excess food and drink? Maybe it’s time to exercise a little restraint for a bit. Restraint doesn’t mean a diet. It just means not treating every meal as if you may never eat again.

7. Change your personal soundtrack. I think we underestimate the effect that the music we have in our environment has on our perspective. You don’t have to invest in a ton of new CDs or downloads. Go to Pandora, Grooveshark, or Musicovery and listen to a style of music that is completely different from your usual playlist.

8. Pick one friendship that you’ve let languish and commit to restoring it this year. Accept that you may have to work really hard at it. Accept that it may require more humility than you’re comfortable with. It’ll be worth it, I promise.

9. Fall in love. If you’re married, it’s my strong recommendation that you do it with your spouse. But the important thing is, let go. Lose your head. Falling in love is a bit like falling down the rabbit hole. Disorienting, dangerous, and definitely something that will change your perspective.

10. Attempt something completely impossible, and commit to it completely. My uncle used to make us run drills in church softball practice. We were to run to first base and not slow down till after our foot hit the base. Otherwise, you’d have to run the bases and do it again. It was surprisingly hard. We all tend to give up too soon. We want guaranteed success. Tilting a few windmills teaches perseverance.

11. Give up something you think you can’t do without. You’ll know you’ve found the right thing by the huge amount of resistance you have to the idea of giving it up. Too often, we can’t get enough of what we really don’t want. Giving up something we think we need is often incredibly freeing.

So that’s my list. What about you? What have you done that noticeably changed your point of view?

A list in which I tell you what to do in 2011

Written on December 14, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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I always love being told what to do. Don’t you? Of course not; neither do I.

Yet here I am with a list of things for you to do in 2011.

For what it is worth, this list is for me too.

How successful I’ll be in doing all 11 on the list is something only time will reveal. Here it is:

Bill’s List

1 ) Play. Just because.
I could say play promotes creativity, or team building, or mental health, but if I do I am justifying play. I’d be saying it needs a purpose. Play needs no justification. So play. Just because.

2 ) Observe. Pay attention. Take heed or ignore.
Think before choosing one of the last two; the choice is always there to do one or the other. If you observe and pay attention, you usually will know which one to pick.

3 ) Step back.
Whatever you are focused on, step back from it. You miss too much with tunnel vision.

4 ) Step forward.
To achieve something, you have to start. Without action, dreams remain dreams.

5 ) Listen to people you disagree with.
This is one of the best ways to keep your brain firing like Gatling gun and to ensure you see all aspects, not just the ones you want to see.

6 ) Do something charitable anonymously. Tell no one.
This is harder to do than it sounds.

7 ) Only rant three times in 2011.
Be it blogs, Twitter, Facebook or any other form of social media, commit to no more than three rants in the year. Careful! You don’t want to burn them up too quickly, like before January even ends.

8 ) Go to church.
Why? Well, I don’t go to church myself so it’s not that I’m recruiting, converting or doing missionary work. But read this about Why religious people are happier.

9 ) Make a list of ten songs you love to sing.
This is not a list of your favourite songs, necessarily. These are songs you love to sing. Now, sing them.

10 ) Get out of your car and walk.
Don’t do this for the environment; do this in order to see your world, not the world that passes by to your left and right as you drive to work. The worlds we “see” when we drive and when we walk are not the same. (Note: no iPods or cell phones allowed.)

11 ) Take a day off.
Make sure it is not a Monday or a Friday; it should be midweek. If you make it Monday or Friday you will start thinking “long weekend” and then you’ll start making plans and lists. The point here is to get away from those. Take a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday off and see your world as it is when you are normally busy at work. It may surprise you.

So there you go. Eleven things to do in 2011. My favourite is #9. The one I think I would have the hardest time with is #8.

Is the list about creativity and problem solving? Not really, though I think it promotes them. Is it about achieving your goals? Probably, but that really isn’t the point.

I think my list is really just about seeing and enjoying the world more. It’s about creating the conditions for being happier. And you know something? An additional benefit is that you’ll likely find yourself more creative.

11 for 11 – 11 things to try in 2011

Written on December 13, 2010 by in 11 for 11
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As the end of 2010 approaches, we’re publishing a series of related posts during the next few weeks called 11 for 11.

11 for 11 is the umbrella we’re using to contain our ideas, thoughts, recommendations, observations, etc. as 2011 looms before us.

Here are 11 things that you can do for a better 2011.

First of all, a confession: I’m terrible at following through on New Year’s Resolutions. For the past few years I’ve tried to avoid them like the plague because I know that I won’t follow through with most of them.

I’m a sucker for mnemonics and catchy phrases, though. For some reason, the phrase 11 for 11 stuck in my mind. Why not put it to good use? Therefore, I came up with a few ideas for 2011. They’re mainly aimed at the person who wants some more discipline and better habits in their life. Most of them are common sense. Some will help you develop your creative skills.

Oh, and these ideas are liberally sprinkled with the number 11.

Here we go:

1. Read 11 new books this year – I imagine that most of you do this already, but it’s worth mentioning. Reading can be entertaining and relaxing but, as we know, it’s an excellent way to learn.  I think that non-fiction may lead to better learning, but good fiction stimulates the mind as well.  Use this goal as a means to expand your mind further.

2. Exercise 11 minutes per day – 11 minutes may not seem like a lot, but 20 – 40 minutes of cardio at least three times a week can make a difference in your health. 11 minutes per day will help you improve your health and your emotional well-being.  Plus, once you establish the 11 minutes per day benchmark, you can always increase the duration of your physical activity.

3. Connect with 11 new people every month – entrepreneur/author Chris Guillebeau recommends reaching out to at least four new people per week and that’s probably a more powerful move towards growing your network. But for some of us, a slower pace may work better. Hence, 11 per month. In this day and age, it pays to know and work with more and more people, so adding 11 more new connections per month (note: this is not the same thing as Twitter followers or Facebook Friends!) can help you tremendously in the long run.  Try to reach out to some people with similar backgrounds, interests and careers but balance that out with some people who are outside of your normal circles.  Add depth and variety to your network!

4. Reconnect with 11 people you know every month – I’ve seen Chris Brogan give this kind of advice on a couple of occasions. At its most basic form, this idea is all about keeping in touch with people. It’s very easy to disappear into your own rabbit hole and lose track of the rest of the world – I’m terribly guilty of this. Make a point of renewing old acquaintance on a regular basis – you never know what you might learn.

5. Write 11 minutes per day – this is a start, but it really needs to be done in tandem with #6 below…

6. Write another 11 minutes per day – put 5 and 6 together and you’ve got 22 minutes/day of writing. You can do a lot over the course of a few weeks or months if you put in at least 22 minutes/ day. You should be able to write at least one page in 22 minutes. By the end of a month you have thirty pages of material. In a year you’d have 365 pages, enough for a decent novel or non-fiction book.  See item #11 as well.

7. Explore 11 new places this year – variety provides us with the raw materials we need to be creative. Seeing new sites gives us plenty of new visual stimuli to internalize. You don’t have to go far away, either. It can be a new restaurant, an art gallery, or a local tourist attraction that you haven’t visited before. A change of scenery provides great creative material to work with.

8. Experiment with 11 different art forms at least once in 2011 – if you write, try sketching, painting, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument. Just try something different! Using different skills helps you grow as a creator.  It often feels awkward at first and you may decide you don’t like doing the new art forms.  That’s OK.  If nothing else, you’ll have something new to write about!

9. If something gets you down or stresses you out, repeat the following phrase 11 times (slowly): “Everything is temporary – this, too, shall pass.” Everything is temporary in this life. This phrase will help you remember that minor irritants will eventually go away or resolve themselves.  I learned this little phrase during one of the lowest points of my life and it helped me to regain my footing.  Sometimes you’ve got to change the way that you talk to yourself (mentally, I mean) in order to make good changes.

10. Add 11 good habits into your life or get rid of 11 bad habits in 2011 – Steve Pavlina talks about habit building (or breaking) in terms of the 30 day trial periods for shareware. Take something you want to do (or stop doing) and try it for 30 days straight. That’s normally enough time to change a behavior. Read Steve’s blog post for more insights into habit change, especially the 30 day trial concept.  I’ve used 30 day trials to successfully kick a couple of bad habits during the past couple of years.  There’s always room for improvement, though!

11. Write 11 kickass blog posts, essays, articles, letters – this is a more focused goal related to items #5 and #6. This is taking your daily writing and channeling it into longer works. Longer works, whether they are fiction or non-fiction, force you to stretch your mind and skills into doing something bigger and better. It doesn’t have to be done publicly either. Writing a longer, detailed personal letter to a friend might deliver many of the same benefits.

One final note: treat all of these as minimums. Doing more will be even better for you.