Make Hay When The Sun Shines
by John R. Sedivy
One of the most difficult adjustments I had to make when I first started my own business concerned my work schedule. Prior to striking out on my own I had a pretty rigid schedule which was mostly dictated by others. Be at work between 7 AM and 8 AM (depending on the project) with a workday ending between 4 PM and whenever (sometimes the next day – again depending on the project). Generally production was an afterthought – as long as the desk was occupied. This occurred for years.
When I first started working for myself I tried forcing myself into a steady routine. My rationale was that what contributed to my success in the past should continue to do so in my situation and well into the future. Wake up at the same time, work a set of regular hours, and even dress like I was going to the office. For some reason it just never seemed to take, I just kept trying things to get into the groove. It would last for a short time, but then fizzle out after a few days or a couple weeks. I was missing one important point – I needed to make hay when the sun shines.
The True Meaning
I have heard this saying many times throughout my life and you have likely as well. But what exactly does it mean? I thought I knew, but I was actually mistaken. Based on my experience in the entrepreneurial sandbox it has come to mean the following – Work hard when you are inspired and able, play hard when you are not. Seems obvious and simple – however it’s easier said than done.
If you are working, really work. Give all your energy to making the most progress and the highest quality product. Do not be thinking of anything else while you are working – really work until you have accomplished the task you set out to do. Most understand this, I even had – what most are missing is the other part. When you are not inspired and not able to work, relax or involve yourself in some other recreational activity that you enjoy.
Just like when you commit to working and you really work – when you relax you should really relax. This means not a half work, half relaxing sort of activity. Decouple yourself from working – just relax. If you have a hobby, such as movies, reading, or hiking, whatever – completely disconnect from work – turn off your computer, turn off your phone, just relax and immerse yourself in whatever hobby you are partaking. This allows you to refresh yourself – and when you do get back to work, your productivity will likely be much higher than what it was before.
Challenge
The tough part is that this may not occur at a set schedule. Your sun may begin to shine at 1 AM one day, so your haymaking may occur from 1 AM to 7 AM on that day, between noon and 8 PM another day, or between bankers hours yet another day. It may even occur over a multi-day stretch without sleep. Many seem intent on forcing themselves and the rest of the world to conform to a set schedule without regard to what is being produced. Why should it matter when you work? What you produce really is what matters. What you should take away is that your peak productivity may occur at different times, once you begin to know yourself you will sense these peak periods and maximize your productivity accordingly.
Initially I had fought this. I had felt lazy for not working set hours. However, what I had learned was that by fighting my natural tendencies towards work and rest times I was actually making myself less productive. The more I fought, the less I would accomplish. When I let go and gravitated towards a natural rhythm that is when my productivity really began to spike. Creative types such as artists and writers understand this. Personally I have seem to hit a good rhythm by working for extended periods of time and then sleeping when I hit exhaustion. This may work for you or it may not.
Try it yourself sometime. Begin to remove structure imposed by others from your life and follow your feelings. This will make you uncomfortable at first. However given enough time and practice your comfort level will increase and along with it your productivity. You can try this gradually – similar to dipping your toe into a pool of water, or you can jump right in. The important thing is that you experiment and try some different approaches and monitor their affects on your life.
Make hay when the sun shines!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
Best Blog Reading – 8.1.09
by John R. Sedivy
My favorite blog articles that I read today, Saturday, August 1, 2009:
1. Starbucks Petri Dish: 15th Ave. Coffee And Tea by Brand Autopsy. An interesting experiment by Starbucks to reclaim their roots. If successful, perhaps this will prompt a shift of fewer stores and higher quality for one of our favorite brands.
2. Will It Blend? Video Camera by Blendtec. This video shows a video camera being blended. The nice part is that the camera is left powered on and recording and you see what the camera sees inside the blender – a unique perspective!
3. Pantastic! by Bakerella. What most interested me about this article was not the expose on pans – although it was quite thorough. What was most fascinating was the contest offered – pick a pan. A reader simply needed to leave a comment by a specific date and random.org selected the winner. This prompted 4,188 comments. To put this in perspective, the previous article by that blog had 282 comments! Not a bad trade, 3,906 comments for $50!
4. Dear Malcolm: Why So Threatened? by The Long Tail. Addresses a critical review by Malcolm Gladwell of Chris Anderson’s recently released book “Free.” Chris Anderson makes some interesting point here regarding free content and what may lie in store for writers, journalism and other industries.
5. Craving Intimacy In Our Social Networks by Scobleizer. A good discussion on what makes Facebook special and how it risks losing this edge. The author even suggests that others are looking to reclaim intimacy on other new, emergent social networks which I agree with. For additional information on streamlining your social network refer to my article “Cleaning Out Your Social Media Closet Part I.”
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
Meatball Sundae Book Review
by John R. Sedivy
What a disgusting concept! A meatball sundae! However disgusting this may sound it is the perfect analogy to describe an equally disgusting concept – trying to apply new marketing techniques to an organization, product, or service that is lackluster in nature. The new marketing, or toppings, are repulsive to commodities, or meatballs. Just as you can’t enhance the flavor of a bowl of meatballs by applying ice cream toppings, you cannot enhance a lackluster commodity with new marketing.
This the premise behind Seth Godin’s “Meatball Sundae”. This is the second book that I have read by Seth Godin, the first having been “Tribes.” I know, I know – I am reading out of order! However, I have only just discovered Seth Godin’s work in the past month – even though I had seen it referenced extensively in other marketing books and blogs. Although this book was released over two years ago, I believer our readers would benefit from my assessment given my recent review of “Tribes” – For a review of “Tribes” by Seth Godin refer to my article “Tribes Book Review”.
Highlights
Here are what I consider to be the top three strengths of “Meatball Sundae:”
1. Format
2. Analogy
3. Great Internet reference
Similar to “Tribes,” “Meatball Sundae” is a breeze to read through. The conversational tone and chunks of information are easy to digest by design – Seth Godin’s books are designed to match the style of blogs. I had picked up so many useful concepts in this book. I enjoyed “Tribes” and walked away with some useful information in that book, however with “Meatball Sundae,” I believe I learned much more. Having read this book has given me a greater appreciation of “Tribes.”
After reading two of his books I am beginning to think that Seth Godin is a mastermind for creating analogies that reinforce the major points of his work. The analogy of a meatball sundae is perfect, for the reasons described in the opening paragraph of this article – I will not reiterate them here. I will just say that I will never forget this image, for better or worse!
Finally, “Meatball Sundae” serves as a great reference for those interested in Internet marketing. There are some great case studies – individuals and businesses who employed the new marketing techniques successfully, and some who failed in doing so. I found by the end of the book that the concepts are solidified and I have a clear idea of how to, and how not to implement these new marketing concepts. It also introduced me to some players in the Internet business community that I was not aware of.
Drawbacks
After reading “Tribes” I had mentioned the lack of illustrations, lackluster examples, and the format (lack of table of contents and index) to be drawbacks of that book. However, having read “Meatball Sundae” and this being the second book I have read, I have a better sense of Seth Godin’s style. Similar to “Tribes,” this book had no illustrations. I find this to be a bit disappointing given the author’s power of analogy. Not that it makes for a bad read by any means – it just could be so much more powerful if it appealed to visual learners as well. The cover illustration was a powerful reinforcement – but it could be so much better if this design was layered throughout the book!
I found the examples in “Meatball Sundae” to be much more powerful than “Tribes.” Admittedly this is subjective and not all readers may agree. For some reason I just found this read to stick with me more. Concerning format – this book did contain a table of contents but lacks an index – which is an improvement over “Tribes,” but not quite where it needs to be in my opinion. This is a nitpick on my part, however given the valuable material – it would make my life easier by simplifying later searches through the book. Although I may be a bit behind the times not having embraced the digital books yet!
Closing Thoughts
If you are, or planning to, market your product or service on the Internet you have to read this book. Seth Godin is a genius with coming up with memorable analogies, and “Meatball Sundae” is no exception. I have to say that I enjoyed this book much more than “Tribes,” however having read “Meatball Sundae” it has given me a deeper appreciation for “Tribes.” There are some great concepts in this book with some equally great examples to reinforce these concepts.
If you enjoyed “Meatball Sundae” you should next read “Tribes” and then “Ignore Everybody” by Hugh MacLeod and “World Wide Rave” by David Meerman Scott.
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
