Up Market |
- Make the Right Thing the Easy Thing
- What’s In Your Pick-Me-Up Folder?
- How to Save Money on Small Business Legal Fees
| Make the Right Thing the Easy Thing Posted: 22 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT
One tool I’ve made use of is affordances, a term used by Donald Norman in his insightful book The Psychology of Everyday Things. Norman suggested that, just as the position of handle and spout on a teapot affords, or provides naturally for, the act of pouring tea, some things are designed to afford proper use. Levered door handles, for instance, make opening a door much easier than round knobs. Push plates with no knob at all make it clear that the door should be pushed, because pulling it would be extremely difficult. Some affordances are so obvious we don’t think about them. No one needs an instruction booklet when they buy a kitchen chair. Nobody needs to be told how to use a pencil. Spoons. Salt shakers. Books. Stairs. Socks. The list of things we don’t need instructions for is endless. Processes can have affordances, too. Please Break Down Cardboard BoxesA large company recycled all the cardboard boxes they received stuff in. Problem was that folks simply tossed the boxes into the recycle bin, filling it with big boxes full of air. A large sign telling them to break the box down didn’t do much good. The standard corporate response would be to create a study and focus groups to determine the best stick or carrot to force people to obey the rules. But what they did instead was create thin slots in the top of the bin, and lock them shut. The only way to put a box in was to break it down so it would fit through the slot. These people already had a built-in habit against throwing what they perceived as trash on the floor. They were willing to put it in the bin, but before, they just did it the easy way: toss it as you walk past. They didn’t start breaking down their cardboard because they suddenly became more responsible. They were still doing it the easy way. They didn’t change. What was easy changed. Organization = AffordanceThere is an entire industry built around organization. There are amazing folks who will help you organize your kitchen, your office, your meetings, your garage, your trip itinerary, your life. Organization is a form of affordance. Cooking utensils go near the preparation surface. Paper goes near the printer. You see Dallas and Fort Worth, then Denver, instead of tucking Denver in between. In new situations, we look for ways to uncomplicate the complex. What’s challenging is when we have to temporarily complicate what’s simple in order to unlearn bad habits — and create better habits. Skip Willpower; Buy HandcuffsMost of us try to develop new habits through sheer willpower. If we just want it badly enough, we’ll do it, right? You know what nonsense that is, even if you’ve actually said those words before. You will not wake up early or get in shape or lose weight or start saving or recycle or do any of those future-facing things just because you decided to. After all, you’ve probably already decided to, right? Willpower is a limited resource and it shares an energy pool with all kinds of cognitive processes we really can’t shut off. Research shows that if you’re trying to remember a phone number while you get a snack, you are far more likely to eat cake than fruit. The energy to remember the series of 7 or 10 numbers actually reduces your ability to make good food choices. Of course, if the only choices were fresh fruit or nothing, you could handle that with ease. Dr. Phil Stops Using the Kitchen DoorDr. Phil McGraw didn’t get as popular as he is by not knowing what he’s talking about. But he’s susceptible to the same unconscious tendencies we all are. Dr. Phil is a big guy. He is, after all, from Texas. In his book The Ultimate Weight Solution he talks about a simple change he made when he was trying to lose weight. His habit was to park in the garage, go through the kitchen, grab a “quick snack” and munch it while he changed for dinner. When he stopped to check, he was eating a shocking number of calories every single time he walked through the kitchen. He realized he had to stop snacking, so every day, he’d be determined not to touch anything. And then he’d remember it as he was finishing off whatever he’d nicked from the fridge. Memory didn’t work. Locking the door did. By locking the door from the garage to the kitchen, he forced himself out of his default mode. Obviously, he had a key to the door. But because it was locked, he was nudged from his mindless automatic routine. Suddenly conscious of why the door was locked, he’d go around to the front door and go through the living room instead of the kitchen. And not only did he stop gaining weight — he lost it. Break Routines to Break HabitsThis column is far too short to teach you how to create new habits. I hope you’ll go to your local library and read one (or more) of the many excellent books on how we form habits, and how to change them. My goal in this short space is to convince you that it is possible. Lock your kitchen door — if not literally, metaphorically. Do you stop for fries on the way home from picking the kids up? Give the kids a non-food reward if they remind you to take a different route home. Trust me, if kids know there’s an extra 15 minutes of Wii on the line, they’ll remember. Do you write a healthy shopping list, but then make impulse buys? Trade shopping lists with a friend. You’re much more likely to shop smart for someone you care about than for yourself (which is, you might note, an indication of a deeper issue: many of us fail to love ourselves enough because we’re afraid of becoming like those folks who love themselves too much). Do you hit the snooze button? There’s a stupid affordance if ever there was one. “I hate waking up so much, I’d like to do it 5 times every morning.” Do you know they make alarm clocks with no snooze button? Buy one. Put it across the room. Better, put it on your significant other’s side of the bed. They’ll get you up, right quick. (Put a carafe of water next to the alarm clock. Dehydration makes you tired. Down a big glass of water the moment you get out of bed and your rehydrated brain is more likely to stay awake.) Become a habit detective. Look for places where you’ve unconsciously built in affordances which reinforce your bad habits. Disrupt your patterns to temporarily break your default processes. Create an environment where the right thing is the easy thing. Like learning to drive or dance or do algebra, it’s hard work—but with practice, it becomes habit. Image credit: Ben Zvan |
| What’s In Your Pick-Me-Up Folder? Posted: 22 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT
I’ve read about the idea of connecting with your why to keep you moving forward when things get tough. I know my why, and I agree that it’s important in keeping me motivated. But sometimes all the obstacles just get me down and I find I’m forcing myself to get started even with the knowledge of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Do you have any suggestions for making those hard starts just a little bit easier? Sincerely, Overcome by Inertia Dear Inertia, I totally get where you’re coming from. Even though I know that I’m here to help others see, understand and challenge the status quo, there are days when I sit down at my computer and the overwhelm is almost too much. Sometimes it’s obstacles, but other times even unrelated things make it hard to buck up and get going. Last week, for example, my dog jumped up to try to get at a bag on the stove, turned on a gas burner, and filled half the house with the scent of gas before I noticed and turned it off. The unsettling knowledge that I was a spark away from a painful death, plus the knee that I twisted while sprinting for the stove in heels, could have made for an utterly unproductive day. But instead, I turned to my Pick-Me-Up folder — and managed a decent day’s work without too much delay. So what’s a Pick-Me-Up folder? It’s a folder you keep on your computer desktop, filled with things that make you happy. Pictures of adorable puppies, inspirational quotes, Playboy pinups, songs, videos… anything that can reliably put a smile on your face. If you’re having a particularly rough time, you can even give yourself a half hour to search for things to add to your folder. The best items are both amusing and meaningful, so they can serve double duty to boost you up and connect you to your why. As an example, the first thing in my Pick-Me-Up folder is the music video for Mika’s single, Elle m’a Dit. It’s hilariously fun to watch, and it pushes boundaries in the music world (tying back to my why). It’s also infectious — the actors are clearly having a blast, and it never fails to pick up my mood. Go on — I challenge you to watch the old guy dancing with his face covered in shaving cream and not at least crack a grin! The next time you have a hard time overcoming your inertia, start building your Pick-Me-Up folder. I guarantee a half hour in there will get you ready to tackle the rest of your tasks! Kirsten Got a productivity problem? E-mail your question to Kirsten and get your answer ASAP! |
| How to Save Money on Small Business Legal Fees Posted: 22 Jun 2012 02:00 AM PDT
Taking care of your businesses legal needs does more than protect you from enormous tax bills, business disputes and loss of revenue and assets (such as intellectual property). Handling your legal needs also means that:
Now that you know you need to take care of the legal side of your business, you may be wondering where to begin. Here are some things that you'll want to get around to dealing with in the (very) near future to make your business legal… Form the Right Business Entity for Your BusinessWhether or not you've formally formed a business entity, you do have one. Sole proprietorships spring into being, without filing any legal documents, the moment you start selling something. General Partnerships also launch when one or more persons begin working on a business together. There are a myriad of pluses and minuses attached to each business entity — which may include increased or lowered taxes, shielding of your personal assets (such as your home, bank accounts, etc.) from creditors, and even your partner's ability to acquire debt for which you will be responsible. You don't want to form an LLC or continue to operate as a sole proprietor just because it's easy. Legal Fee Saving Tip: Even if you decide to form the business yourself, consult with an attorney and accountant to determine which entity is the best fit for your business first. And if you decide to keep operating as a sole proprietor, please consider getting some business insurance. Contracts and Rachel's Rule of ThumbHere’s my rule of thumb that will protect your business from losing money, time and productive energy: Have a contract for every single relationship your business enters into. Are you joining forces with another company to develop a new product? Create a contract that governs that relationship. Selling your new widgets in that new widget store up the street? Draft an agreement between you and the widget store owner. Don't just use the first template that turns up in a Google search. Make sure you customize your contracts to actually fit your business. Legal Fee Saving Tip: You can have an attorney draft the types of contracts you'll need to use often — such as your Standard Service Agreement and Independent Contractor Agreement — and then use them over and over with the different clients and contractors you work with. Protect Your Intellectual PropertyWould you be horrified to discover another business that does what your business does — and is using a logo, name or slogan that is dangerously similar to (or exactly the same as) yours? If so, you'll want to protect your brand and the "good will" that goes along with it by registering trademarks for your business name, logo and slogan. This involves filing a trademark application with the USPTO’s Office and responding to their inevitable attempts to narrow your trademark protection. Once your trademark is established, you'll want to monitor your mark to ensure that unauthorized persons are not using it by setting up a Google alert, and through the use of non-disclosure and licensing agreements. If you don't prevent others from using your trademark, you could lose it. Likewise, be sure to protect your creative works of authorship — such as your information products and other original work. You can do this by posting a copyright notice on your original work so that anyone who interacts with it is notified that they cannot copy it or otherwise misuse it. Of course, that's just step 1. Take the extra step of registering your original work with the U.S. Copyright Office to create a public record of the work, deter copycatters and be afforded government protection that is not available with a mere copyright notice. Legal Fee Saving Tip: Conduct a trademark search prior to filing your trademark applications so you don't wind up filing an application that is not likely to be granted. Also, when working with an attorney, you may be able to obtain a volume discount on the legal fees if you file your various IP applications at once. Keeping Your Website LegalUsing the internet to build a business may seem really straightforward, but there are certain requirements that websites need to follow in order to comply with federal and state laws, and to avoid disputes. For example, if you collect even one iota of information from those who visit your website, you need a privacy policy. The privacy policy is all about letting visitors and clients know what information you are collecting when they visit your site, what you use this information for and whether you share their information with any third parties. You may also want to create Terms of Use for your website, particularly if you sell products or services from it. Terms of Use can cover a wide variety of topics; some examples include:
Additionally, you want to be sure not to infringe on anyone else's intellectual property, and disclose your affiliate marketing relationships. Legal Fee Saving Tip: Privacy Policies and Terms of Use are not cookie cutter. They depend on how the business is operated, third party services used to conduct business and what is being sold. Instead of stealing someone else's privacy policy and terms of use, draft them yourself and then hire a lawyer to review it for you. The review will be less expensive then drafting the policies from scratch, and the lawyer will point out any holes or pitfalls. Now, I know I just added a myriad of complex things to your To-Do list — but you'll sleep better knowing you've covered your tail. And with the advent of lawyers operating Online Law Offices, taking care of your legal needs has never been more accessible or cost effective. So hire an attorney and "get 'er done," so you can get back to doing what you do best! Image credit: Jerry Bunkers |
Last week we talked about why it’s so hard to save money, to lose weight, to do any of the things which require postponing present enjoyment to create benefits later. It’s easy to get lost in theory, in analysis of our biochemistry, in what is. What’s not so easy is doing something about it.
Dear Kirsten,
Paying legal fees sucks. It's as desirable as paying taxes. Unfortunately, as a business owner, you will have to do it sooner or later. Either you can manage the legal side of your business ahead of time and anticipate potential problems, or you can do it after the problems occur. Far too many small business owners wait until something goes wrong, which always costs more in money, time and headaches then dealing with the legal stuff up front.| You are subscribed to email updates from Upmarket To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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