Once upon a time… there was a student enrolled in the M. HPCTL program at UBC. Every day… he worked a little bit on his course work. One day… he had to choose between two potential options for his thesis. Because of that… he had to consult some higher level experts, such as his peers and instructors, for clarity and direction. Because of that… he finally made a choice and continued to work progressively on his thesis. Until finally… he completed his thesis and Masters program and lived happily ever after.
This is how Pixar designs most of their stories for their movies, according to Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”. I suppose it is much nicer to create a narrative to follow, and I do wish everyone success with their upcoming assignments and course work!
I figure I will try to write a bit more casually to allow for easier commenting, and I will also describe my processes in hopes to give encouragement or ideas to anyone who needs it! If all goes well and everyone is in a good place, at least it can serve as a reminder for myself to get back to work!
I’m finally retired from international competition, but I ended up taking on multiple other roles and projects. I am still an active Athlete Representative for the Badminton Canada Players Association, as the vice president. I’ll need to go to Ottawa for a weekend to attend the AthletesCAN Forum in the 3rd week of September. I sure hope I can finish my Annotated Bibliography before that, otherwise, I’ll be working during a potential red-eye flight!
I’ve also volunteered to be on the Badminton Canada High Performance Committee. I’m also starting a Certificate in Business in September at Queen’s University. I’m also doing a 12 week crash course in a financial simulation program mid-September, and possibly starting a MOOC (massive open online course) on Blockchain next week. I think I have a problem saying “No”, but I also feel the need to “catch up” with the rest of life since I was competing for so long, so here I am now. Also, planning for a wedding next year, applying to coach the Canada Winter Games, and everything else in between is going to be a bit crazy.
But as the hero in my own story, I do hope it becomes an Epic (and not a Tragedy… LOL).
Anyway, back to business. The contract is due next week (September 7) so that becomes a priority. I will have to take a look this weekend and make sure I figure out how to proceed correctly. I have a local tournament this weekend (because I do love competing!), so I will most likely not get the chance to do any work until Monday, but I will probably read it over and think about it during the weekend.
I will also start researching and gathering articles. I’m planning on doing talent identification and high performance, so I will go through “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by K. Anders Ericsson (great book!) for references, and probably download a few key papers and look through those references as well. Maybe I’ll scour “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell too.
I’ll probably search: “talent identification”, “high performance”, and “elite” for now on SportDISCUS, and then jot down a few more for later. I use Evernote Premium, so that has been very useful. I think there’s a deal for 40% off annual membership right now too.
When I work, I like to use The Pomodoro Technique. Basically you focus for only 25 minutes and set a timer, preferably a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato (which is ‘pomodoro’ in Italian), and then you work non-stop for 25 minutes. After, you can take a 5 minute break and try not to think about your work. Every 4 pomodoros, you can take a longer break (I usually break for 30 minutes). It has worked reasonably well for me so far, but I also have other productivity methods I try to combine. I started going through David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”, which I have on Audible, but that has been a bit complicated. I may not use that system for now.
To allow for easier commenting on my blog, here are a few questions to answer if you need content:
- How do you do your most productive work? Do you have a particular system?
- What would your story be, using: 1) Once upon a time… 2) Every day… 3) One day… 4) Because of that… 5) Because of that… 6) Until finally… ?
- Knowing that you probably also work crazy amounts of hours, what do you like doing to unwind?
Thanks for reading!
Toby, thanks for the blog. I need to remind others to continue to post. By the way, congratulations on your upcoming marriage. Life is busy, but as one saying goes, if you want something done give it to a busy person. I don’t know who the quote is attributed but a colleague at work used to tell me this. There is lots going on..
Once upon a time there was a guy who loved coaching. Every day he started coaching alpine skiing and rugby. One day he decided that he needed to make some money. Because of that he did his masters. Because of that he got a full time job with the Coaching Association of Canada. Until finally he moved back to Victoria and work happily ever after making high performance sport more excellent.
Okay. That was probably a bit weak. Anyway, what am I up to? I am currently supporting / teaching / mentoring about 50 coaches in the UBC program and another dozen in the ACD program. The highlight is that we had 7 coaches complete the masters so far this summer. I am going into the fall and preparing to assist viaSport in the PSO assessment which will go from October to December. Then we need to implement the enhanced excellence funding project which leads into January and February. And behind this is managing the Nextgen PSO solutions project. And finally leading Athlete Coach Services. This is way more than a full time job and is very much a part of being involved in the sport system. How do I manage this… your question about productive work…
1. Plan – The good news is that job tasks are a bit cyclical throughout the year. Some are on a slow burner but mostly there are hot spots throughout each year. Therefore, just like a YTP, I try to plan ahead so that I can focus on each project as it comes along. Basically periodizing work
2. Delegate – I have a great team at CSI Pacific and the key is to give them meaningful work. They are eager to help (altruistic) so are happy to assist with projects. UBC is a bit different and I am searching for a team to assist.
What do I do to unwind. Be with my kids and family. Go camping or skiing depending on the season… And, I almost forgot, coach rugby on Sundays.
Thanks Dave! I have also heard that quote, but I am also trying to make sure I follow the new saying of being productive, not busy. It’s definitely harder to be productive because I have to stop and reflect every so often, but I think the reflection helps the planning, which will help the productivity.
I actually do like your story and it’s definitely not weak! It gives me a glimmer of hope it looks like things get better in the end, and the short term grinding will give rise to longer term gaining, or so I hope it will be.
It’s nice to hear about what others are up to and even their crazy amounts of work because it makes me feel like I’m not the only one, and also a bit of insight into how they can do everything they do! I do like the concept of planning like a YTP because things can be fairly seasonal, so that’s definitely a good perspective. I am also not so good at delegation, so that is something I need to consider improving.
I like how despite doing so much for coach development, you can still coach to unwind! I feel like I will be in a similar position as I am taking more of a technical leadership role and have less opportunity to coach, but I still enjoy coaching whenever I can.
Thanks for sharing Dave!