Next weekend is the Encinitas Garden Tour. It’s a major local event that draws hundreds of people to our surfside village to view a dozen or so carefully selected gardens.
It’s a chance to walk into a stranger’s backyard and get inspired by their horticultural genius.
Three years ago our house on the tour. Our garden never looked better than it did that weekend in April of 2006.
Not that our place is typically shabby.
No, it’s really nice (which is why it got selected in the first place). But, once we were selected to be part of the tour, we got serious.
Deborah and I had always had a vision for the garden.
And a list of things we wanted to change and improve. But, week after week we didn’t get to them.
The garden was nice enough. And the tasks that we had in mind were real work.
So, we got distracted. We focused on other home projects.
We took walks.
And found lots of other ways to spend our time.
Yet, the vision remained.
Every time I looked out the window at the yard I would have a gnawing sense of incompletion.
Nice as it looked, the garden didn’t reflect my vision.
So, I’d get the gnawing.
Which wasn’t fun. So, I’d turn away.
Until, I got the postcard announcing the tour with a picture of our house on the front.
Everything changed when our house appeared on the garden tour postcard.
I got serious and focused.
Weekend priorities changed. We both spent lots of time in the garden.
We had a deadline.
The deadline wasn’t just an abstract date.
It was a day when we would have an audience.
Actual people. Droves, in this case, of people coming specifically to see and experience our garden.
Not only that, the promotional materials said our garden was one of those “secret treasures.”
So, we had a deadline. An audience. And a promise.
If you have all three of these elements linked to your vision – you’ve got a powerful combination. A combination that will truly motivate you to act and convert your vision into reality.
What’s a vision you care about but aren’t acting on?
What’s a project that you’re delaying?
Where are you settling for something that is okay, maybe even good, but not what you really want?
To move forward get these three things: a deadline, an audience, and a promise.
1) Set a deadline.
Decide when you want to have it done.
2) Get an audience.
Tell people about it. People that care about the work and who you care about, as well.
3) Make a promise.
Let those people know how cool the project is and how much they’ll love it – when the day (that specific day) arrives.
With those in place, you’ll roll up your sleeves and get down in the dirt to make your vision grow.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Jennifer Louden // Apr 23, 2009 at 9:39 pm
One of your students just sent me this – good stuff Eric!
2 Eric // Apr 23, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hi Jen,
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad they’re getting the word out.
Welcome to the small world!!
E
3 John Langlois // Apr 27, 2009 at 2:43 pm
It is so easy to be distracted with all the stimuli thrown at us.
Eric, your newsletter is yet another distraction as well. However, you have made my short list of RSS feeds because your newsletters are quite useful. They are productive distractions.
This post is yet another example of useful insight that I can apply to my world of project management. In Agile Development we use the concept of time boxing (setting a deadlines) to force the hard decisions about what stays in and what get thrown out of project scope during a run.
I like your additions of Get an Audience and Make a promise. These actions help to create a social contract. They put us on the hook to deliver.
4 Eric // Apr 27, 2009 at 9:59 pm
John,
I’ve never been called a “productive distraction” before.
I appreciate it.
And I feel like my social contract with you is stronger. Which will motivate me to continue to deliver more productive distractions.
E
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