I like this because its the opposite of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking is something that creatives have long been bucking against; however, productivity research has made a strong case that multi-tasking is ineffective for most people.

The ticking clock anxiety that you feel especially when a deadline is involved is nothing new. I am taken back to cram sessions in college, laptops on my lap at bedtime, and skipped lunch breaks in my office.

“The aim of the Pomodoro Technique is to use time as a valuable ally in accomplishing what we want to do in the way we want to do it, and to enable us to continually improve the way we work or study.” [pomodorotechnique.com]

I found the following information from a cheat sheet provided by pomodorotechnique.com:

Step 1: Start the Day with a Plan
You need to maintain an Activity Inventory where you list and estimate your tasks. Estimations are expressed in number of pomodoros – more on that in a moment.  (max 7 pomodoros per task)

Each new day you select a number of tasks and write them on your daily To Do Sheet. That’s your commitment for today.

Step 2: Tracking and Executing Pomodoros
Choose a task to complete and start a Pomodoro timer for 25 minutes, then focus on finishing that task. Again, until that timer rings or buzzes… focus on the task! Don’t start other tasks or take interruptions or breaks.

Distractions are the most important thing to avoid if at all possible. Wait to look at the text message, don’t “jump on the Internet to check something out real quick” and you can wait to go to the bathroom!

If you finish the task before the timer rings, continue reviewing the task, and draw a line through the task on your sheet when the Pomodoro rings.

Step 3: Reward Yourself
After you’ve completed a pomodoro – take a 3 to 5 minute break before you begin the next pomodoro. After you’ve completed 4 or 5 pomodoros, then take a longer break such as 15-30 minutes.

Step 4: Recording (for nerds like me)
Recording is about listing your daily observations such as the number of pomodoros that you’ve completed that day. You can also record the number of interruptions, distractions and voided pomodoros.

The Rules:
1. Once a Pomodoro begins, it has to ring or it becomes a VOIDED POMODORO!

2. If a task takes more than 5–7 Pomodoros, break it down.

3. If the task takes less than one pomodoro, add it up, and combine it with another task.

4. The next pomodoro will go better.

So here’s what I’m going to do as I try this system out for myself.. I am going to experiment with a day of pomodoros. Because a lot of what I do is outside of my office and I am not as administrative and glued to my desk as others may be, I will use my administration day as the beta test for this method as it pertains to me.

I will set a goal on my first day of accomplishing 4 pomodoros in the morning and 5 pomodoros in the afternoon.

Does this sound like something that you’d benefit from trying? How will you experiment with this technique as it applies to your work day and productivity?

JoePa… the winningest coach in Division I College football history..

JoePa… after setting a record for most wins by a college football coach watches his lifelong career come to an abrupt end in horrible terms; but with great humility defers his own feelings about his situation towards the sympathy and sorrow that he felt for the children who were abused..

JoePa… while his legacy will not exclude Sandusky’s name; he will be remembered by more than that.. He will be remembered by all the good that this imperfect man had done throughout his lifetime.. He will be remembered by making a difference in so many others’ lives.. He will be remembered as he had hoped to be remembered..

JoePa… in his words said as pictured behind his statue above, “They ask me what I’d like written about me when I’m gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach.”

JoePa… you will be remembered fondly by many.. Even though as humbly as you came into life you humbly left it – this is the kind of humility that allows us to see Christ..

JoePa… You are.. Penn State..

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who cosponsored the PIPA legislation, pulled out his support yesterday and said this about it..

“I have decided to withdraw my support for the Protect IP Act. Furthermore, I encourage Senator Reid to abandon his plan to rush the bill to the floor. Instead, we should take more time to address the concerns raised by all sides, and come up with new legislation that addresses Internet piracy while protecting free and open access to the Internet.”

Republican Sen. Roy Blunt tweeted, “We can find a solution that will protect lawful content. But this bill is flawed & that’s why I’m withdrawing my support. #SOPA #PIPA.”

CNN covered the story here if you haven’t caught up with it yet..

There’s a lot of illegal activity on the Internet, no question about it; the big question is does the US  government have the right to police the Internet for its citizens? Take a look at countries that censor the Internet in the graphic below…

The purple colors and the light yellow are censored. Dark yellow is under surveillance and green is no evidence of censorship. SOPA and PIPA would put us in the light yellow.

I’ve never been a fan of “big brother” unless its from someone I would consider like a brother. Its not the government’s job to restrict access to the Internet. Restriction is different from defining certain activities illegal. It is well within reason for lawmakers to define illegal activity (such as child pornography) and attach legal ramifications to persons engaging in such activity. Putting restrictions on the World Wide Web, however, is a very slippery slope.

What do you think?

In this era of share – it is becoming more common for artists to realize that free distribution of certain content is actually a good thing. For an artist like myself, my bread and butter doesn’t come from sales of my copyrighted material. I allow free streaming and even downloading of a lot of my digital content.

True art shouldn’t be intended for profit. However, a worker is worth their wage. I’d like to see artists come up with sustainable ways to earn a living while not selling their creativity as a profit making machine.

Piracy and sharing is the issue here and the future of the Internet (a global and non-policed organism) in the USA is at stake. Will US lawmakers begin to tamper with the fabric of the World Wide Web? Let’s hope not.

Your thoughts?

If you live in Pittsburgh, like my family, you may or may not already know that there are beautiful murals around the city that honor MLK (click here).

But do you know what MLK stood for? Have you told your kids about him? Has your heart been pricked by the realization that this man gave such a call against the injustices that plagued our society against minority peoples only five decades ago?

He captured the essence of this in what was has been ranked the top American speech of the 20th century, MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself to over 200,000 civil rights supporters on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

So here it is.. The video of MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and a portion of the closing text follows.

I Have A Dream (closing portion)
By: Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

I, too, have a dream.. That one day we’ll have to look up the word injustice because we no longer see it played out in our world. That one day freedom will ring not only for the USA but for all peoples, everywhere. I, too, have a dream that one day you and I will stand before a great God and give an account for the ideals that we’ve carried out in our lives and He will say to us, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

What’s your dream?

Ode to the Twinkie. You represent so much in our society. You represent a never-ending shelf-life (at least according to Ghostbusters and urban legend).

Ironic is it that despite the myth of your eternal life, people continue to vote with the almighty dollar. We are beginning to realize that the temporary taste of two little Twinkies isn’t as important as the longer lasting gratification of grazing on other more healthful alternatives.

I’ll spare everyone the obvious correlation between the empty promise of eternal shelf life from the life-taking nutrition found in these tempting little treats. I’ll further spare you of tying this truth into a society that has used the USD to vote against another promise of eternal life and whole health – but this one is legit.

So… When was the last time that you tasted a Twinkie?

My problem has been that I can be tuned in and feel as though I’ve received some sort of revelation; yet after days, weeks or even years I forgot about that moment of clarity.

It’s been said that vision leaks. There’s truth to that statement. How can we keep those moments of absolute clarity in the front our minds long after they occurred?

That’s why I wrote this song, Go With Me.

Go With Me
Heard a whisper in the dark and knew that you had called
Felt your breath upon my face, sensing you were near
Oh Lord, sometimes it’s hard to remember that you were here

So I will not leave this place until you’re presence goes with me
Go with me, I pray
And I will not stray away for you are here with me
You’re with me, you said – (you said)

There’s a stirring in the air, a movement built with love
With compassion in its wake, that must be from above
Oh Lord, please let me remember that you were here

So I will not leave this place until you’re presence goes with me
Go with me, I pray
And I will not stray away for you are here with me
You’re with me, you said – (you said)

You said You’ll never leave me, You said that I can follow
You said that You are with me until the end
I’m here and I will follow, I will not chase another
Oh God I make this promise for all my days

So I will not leave this place until you’re presence goes with me
Go with me, I pray
And I will not stray away for you are here with me
You’re with me, you said

And I will not leave this place until you’re presence goes with me
Go with me, I pray
And I will not stray away for you are here with me
You’re with me, you said – you said

What happens when he loses? Most of the time he has this special cry that I’ve come to love and appreciate. I call this his loser cry. Now don’t judge me – it IS perfectly okay to play this game with my son – no matter what your psychology books tell you.

Last night I was again reminded how to act appropriately as a loser. If you know me and my family – you’ll know that we are die-hard Pittsburgh Steeler fans. Last night, our team lost in the playoffs against the Broncos. That’s it. Season over. The end of a dream for now.

I follow most of the Steelers on twitter. Last night I saw tweets from losers that had winning class. I’ll share one tweet with you from Ryan Clark, “Thank God for teaching me humility. Thank my loved ones for showing me unconditional love!”

We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t be a sore-loser. Well I think you can be a sore-loser, just don’t be an inappropriate sore-loser. Don’t deny the pain that you feel in losing or in loss – just act on that pain appropriately.

I was talking with my daughter the other day about winning vs. losing. I told her that anyone can be a winner and that it doesn’t take a great person to handle winning (although maybe it does). I also told her that it does however take a great person to be a loser and handle it appropriately.

In the game of life we are bound to lose. At some level we are all losers. And it’s in those times of losing or in loss that we can win the most. It’s in those times where our character and integrity are put to the ultimate test. It’s in those times where we ask ourselves what we’re even playing for?

What game are you playing? Are you playing to win…. or to lose…. or to just be in the game?

But now it’s time to get on with the year, right? Now it’s time to actually start working on those resolutions. Now it’s time to put the closing parenthesis on our break ) and get back into flow. Now is the time to catch up on the emails, voicemails, snail mails, and the piles that we’ve accumulated over the holiday break!

What are you going to start getting serious about? Good luck!

From my family to yours – Happy New Years!