Category Archives: competence

Do you know how to create memorable moments in your life?

Are they happening by chance or are you paving the way for them?

Is productivity simply about maximizing output, or is it connected to a deep and deliberate life?

In the competitive, industrial or post-industrial world, productivity is often defined by a simple formula: Output / Input. (Output is ideal output x efficiency). Or Value of Work / Hours Worked. You have metrics like revenue per employee, revenue per hour, and units produced per hour.

From this angle, productivity seems more fitting for machines. But there’s a more positive aspect that is not easily measured. Productivity means being engaged in doing the things you really want to do and doing them really well. It means being empowered to design a well-lived life, which sparks big memories out of tiny moments.

A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful. It could be a month or a few seconds. These moments often relate to a new job, a new relationship, a relocation, or a vacation.

In episode 19 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) The four elements of peak moments

• Elevation – moments of elevation rise above the everyday, above the routine
• Insight – moments of insight bring realization and transformation
• Pride – moments of pride capture us at our best
• Connection – moments of connection are shared with others

2) The acronym EPIC will help you remember the elements, but peak moments don’t have to be epic. They can be small but deeply personal, or painful, yet transformational. 

3) The benefits of peak moments 

• Make your life more memorable and meaningful
• Enhance your leadership, teaching and communication skills
• Create a better experience for customers, clients, patients, students, employees and others
• Improve your relationships and deepen connections

4) The effects of Duration Neglect and the Peak-End Rule – why we forget the duration of an event or experience and remember fragments of it (peaks, pits, beginnings and endings or transitions)

5) The four types of defining moments 

• Transitions, which are to be marked. Example – reverse wedding (ritual of transition to remove wedding ring following death of spouse)
• Peaks, which are to be remembered
• Pits, which are to be filled 
• Milestones, which are to be commemorated. Example – GE’s Adventure Series at children’s hospitals (industrial designer and his team shift their focus from the MRI machine to the experience of children getting an MRI done)

6) How to create peak moments

• Moments of Elevation – boost the sensory appeal; raise the stakes; break the script
• Moments of Insight – trip over the truth; stretch for insight
• Moments of Pride – give specific, sincere recognition; multiply milestones; preload your response in advance
• Moments of Connection – shared laughter; shared purpose and mission; shared struggles and challenges

Resources cited: 

• Chip Heath & Dan Heath, The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

To listen to episode 19, Create Peak Moments for a Meaningful Life, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download Transcript of episode 19.

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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

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Are you skilled at remembering and retaining what you read?

Do you integrate key lessons into your life and work?  

If you’re tasked with a writing project, do you have a reliable system for organizing ideas and forming your own insights?

Are you starting from a blank slate or from a solid foundation when you write?

We all write on some level. We write research papers, articles, blog posts, essays, books, memos, reports and the daily, basic stuff.  Students, academic researchers, lawyers and content creators, for example, write a lot. Even if you don’t consider writing a part of your profession or vocation, your ability to take smart notes will carry you forward.

The main goal of smart note-taking is not to stay informed. It’s to increase understanding and build your knowledge base, which you can apply to your creative projects and productive work.

You learn best when you connect ideas and evaluate the information. Does this confirm, contradict, or add to your existing knowledge? Have you mastered the subject enough to explain it or teach it to others through a presentation, an article, or a paper? How will your knowledge hold up in a test or in a real-world situation?

In episode 17 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) The difference between being familiar with a subject and actually knowing it

2) Why writing is a core part of the thinking process, i.e. the medium in which you think and not the outcome of your thinking

3) The Zettelkasten slip box method for smart note-taking, which was invented by Niklas Lumaan – a German sociologist who published at least 58 books and nearly 400 scholarly articles on various topics

4) The three types of notes to make –

• Fleeting notes, e.g. highlighting and underlining text; jotting down quick notes
• Literature notes, e.g. writing notes in your own words for future projects
• Permanent notes, e.g. storing notes in the Zettlekasten for long-term knowledge

5) The “reference slip box” is for source citations and brief notes while the “main slip box” is for permanent notes

6) The profound benefits of having an external system for note-taking and managing knowledge –

• you have a standardized, process-oriented method for organizing ideas and retrieving them
• you create bottom-up work so you’re not starting from scratch or with a blank slate
• you avoid the linear path to writing and instead pull from existing notes and ideas
• you learn more and apply more from your reading
• you become a more critical and original thinker

Resources cited:

• Sönke Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers

To listen to episode 17, Smart Note-Taking for Productive Work, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

# # #

Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

SUBSCRIBE           CONTACT

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Institute for Well-Being in Law, and bar associations across the country are hosting the second annual Lawyer Well-Being Week, May 3 to 7.

During the week, AILA will provide daily meditations and three well-being programs for AILA members. There will be a different morning meditation every weekday, a roundtable on resilience on Monday, a CLE on dealing with difficult people on Tuesday, and a roundtable on mindfulness on Thursday. 

As a member of AILA’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee, I encourage you to learn more and register at https://info.aila.org/wellness2021.

I am scheduled to present one of the meditations on Wednesday, May 5:

• 8:00 am (CT) / 9:00 am (ET) / 6:00 am (PT): Emotional Freedom Technique, or Tapping Meditation Involving Acupressure and Affirmations to Calm the Nervous System

AILA’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee has put together resources that can help you make quick improvements and long-team commitments to your well-being at the Lawyer Well-Being Center. 

Sign up for the free meditations and AILA will send out instructions. Other events must be registered for separately.