Issue 287 - Ten Ways to Routinely Break Your Routine - Vividly
By Robert S. Siegel

1. Hold a conversation with a new person everyday. Expand your world beyond people similar to you. Talk to people from other countries, other cultures or just try talking to the maintenance and cleaning people, the mailroom staff. You'll learn about ways of life and outlooks on life that are incredibly different from your own.

2. Avoid wasting time. You have far too little. Don't watch television. Yeah, I know, you mostly watch the history and science channels. People tell me that all the time. Turn it off and go do something else. Anything else.

3. Waste time. Relaxation frees the subconscious to connect the blocks of your knowledge and experiences. When you free your mind your subconscious has more power to bring in random thoughts or connect items that are not necessarily related to each other. Just don't waste your time watching TV.

4. Use your lunch, not just for lunch with friends or to run errands. Go to museums, new restaurants, new parks, try new foods. So many people waste this time (this writer could certainly do better) working at their desks or going to the same restaurant with the same people and eating the same food. New friends, foods and activities are Vivid.

5. Read books from the Dummies series on subjects you have no use for. Even better, read children's books; they're faster. There are millions of subjects you could expose yourself to with a few minutes each day. I have had a refresher course in fundamental science and history by helping my children study for tests. I have accompanied the kids on school field trips. I learned a lot, saw my children interact with their friends, and even took the opportunity to scare the little boys in my daughter's class right at the critical age when they seem to be developing an interest in the girls. That's Vivid learning plus Vivid fatherhood!

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Dear Ron,

First I would like to thank for your availability in
traveling to Montreal, Quebec for our Sales Team
and Telemarketers to benefit from your Training.

I was really concerned about the language barrier
of some of the participants, including myself. I
have to say that the course model and your
strategy in reaching key executives in an
organization is language proof!

I was the first one to be astonished by the
easiness of your calling system and strategy, not
to mention that I got 3 leads while doing your
course. One of those leads was Hydro-
Quebec, an account that I have been trying to
penetrate for a whole year without success.
In 2 minutes with your course I had a meeting
with their CIO!

I am extremely thrill to have spent those 2 most
valuable days in your training, which I am sure
will have a huge impact on our business.

Thank you very much for presence and your
professionalism.
Patrick A,
Account Manager

Hi Ron,

Your sales techniques are a must have for any account rep. I continue to beat your drum here at my company. BTW: Thanks to the info we obtained in class on Harley Davidson, I have a software trial starting with them next month! 
Greg M.,
Account Manager

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6. Play with Legos and Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs. The building challenges, the creation of something quickly and easily is both a puzzle solving exercise and builds visualization skills. In addition, anything that triggers childhood memories is good. If you're currently under a lot of stress it might be best not to let your spouse see you at this one.

7. Create a piece of art and enter it into an art exhibit. My guess, call it an educated guess, is that most of my readers can not even take this suggestion seriously. You have "No talent, time, tools, techniques, yada yada yada." So I am going to approach this from a different angle --- Product and Marketing managers that have survived more than a two years in their jobs all share a combination of tenacity and courage; I know this because without those traits you wouldn't have succeeded. So how about taking some of that tenacity and courage and give art a try? Carry a camera with you and capture some interesting scenes. Try drawing. See what you get.

8. Try writing a short story. You don't have to be Hemingway. Trouble coming up with an idea? Write the story about a character doing what you do, at work, home, having fun, whatever. Two thousand words are all you need.

9. Expose yourself to a wide variety of music (I draw the line at disco however and no amount of creative inspiration will cause me to cross that line). Thanks to the internet you can now listen to anything you can imagine and more. Search for Native American songs, popular or folk Indian music, and if you normally listen to American Pop then it's time to try some jazz and classical.

10. Change your schedule: If you normally arrive at work at 8 a.m. try 9 a.m. and 7 a.m. You'll see your world differently, you'll sense different emotions in the people you meet and hear different sounds. Try getting up with the sun and going outside to listen to the birds and feel the early morning breeze. It's wonderful.

Robert S. Siegel is a senior Product Manager for EarthLink, an ISP. He spent ten years as a senior Product Manager at BellSouth, now AT&T. He has an MBA from Georgia State University's Mack Robinson College of Business, a BA in Journalism/Public Relations from The Ohio State University, and is in The Wharton School's Executive Education Certificate of Professional Development program. He has lectured on Product Management, and is working on his book, Ideative; Purple Hair People with Nose Rings Need Not Apply, and a book with two partners, The Marketing Epiphany. Siegel writes on business, political satire, and fiction.

Contact Robert at robertsiegel@earthlink.net

Hope you found this informative, see you next time.

Until then. . .

Make it a great day and a successful week!

Ron

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