Effing The Dog | Getting Things Done...Eventually

In the first of the ongoing EffTD™ Interview series, I interviewed Leo Babauta, author of the recently released fantasy e-novel Zen To Done, and founder of the popular "productivity-ish" website Zen Habits.

 In this in-depth and mildly confrontational interview, Leo discusses the philosophy that he employs to achieve happiness and why he does what he does.  It's a look at a man who either has delusions of grandeur - or is just plain lucky and attributes it to his "simple" system.  Or both.

Me:  What does the term "Zen Habit" mean?

Leo:  It doesn't mean anything really. For me, it's a combination of terms that calls to mind simplicity and diligence. It's the habit of being present, on focusing, on finding peace, on seeking simplicity in all things. Of course, the term will mean different things to different people, but those images they recall in my mind are why I named my blog Zen Habits. It's also an anagram of the words "Bite Hanz", which of course doesn't mean anything either.

Me:  I noticed in your book, Zen To Done, you try to simplify the steps needed to get more organized.  To me, the simpler the task, the less detailed it is.  People pay attention to detail.  In EffTD™, you're doing things over an extended period of time - so people take notice.    The term "simpleton" comes from the Old English phrase "a man who does tons of simple things."  Why do you believe simpler is better?

Leo:  I wouldn't say simpler is always better, but I've found that seeking simplicity forces me to choose the essential, and eliminate the rest.  That means that I focus on the most important things, in my life in general, in my work, in everything I do. I think that gives me power without being overwhelmed.

Me:  You recently quit your day job - congratulations!  You also said you have two projects that you planned to announce in the coming week.  Well, here's your platform...let me have it!

Leo:  I'm hoping this interview runs after my announcement, but the two projects: I've signed my first book deal! (Woo hoo!) And I've started a new blog for writers: WriteToDone.com. I'm super excited about both.

Me:  There you go, folks - you heard it here second!  An EffingTheDog.com semi-exclusive.  Leo, you seem to have done a lot of research for your entries, which is a credit to your character.  But, tell me, if you had a choice to hire for one of the following positions, which would you hire first (since both are obviously and inevitably going to be filled) and why - Fact-Checker or Fax-Checker?

Leo:  I'm not sure what a Fax-Checker would do, as I don't have a fax machine. I will try to avoid a rant about fax machines here (grrr). So I'm gonna say Fact-Checker. Also, personal masseuse would be cool.

Me:  You don't have a fax machine?  Wow, you are Zen!  A Fax Checker is essential for me, as my fax machine is actually my neighbour's.  That's a long way to go to get a piece of paper.  More congratulations are in order here - aren't you "the man" today - in that Zen Habits recently won the Performancing Best Overall Blog Award in 2007.  What do you plan to do now that you are an award-winning blogger?

Leo:  Yes, I am "the man". Not to be confused with the oppressive authority system, which is capitalized -- as in, "Down with The Man!" Once my award arrives by FedEx (I've been eagerly awaiting it and hope it's a solid-gold statue), I plan to put it on my shelf, next to my large Buddha statue, and right where my humility used to be. Also, I think I'll give myself a large raise. Seriously, though, I don't plan to change a thing about my blog -- I've been enjoying doing it so much, and I just hope to keep writing for Zen Habits, improving, and having this amazing conversation with my readers.

Me:  As a father of six, time must be a premium for you.  Yet you manage to keep everything in check.  Or do you?  What do you do when things fall through the cracks?  Do you ever throw your arms up in the air and just
leave them there?

Leo:  I think having six children actually gives me more time than most. For example, I let the older ones do all my errands and laundry, while the younger ones are able to dust, sweep, mop and clean the bathrooms
(non-toxic cleaner only).

But I do get overwhelmed, most definitely. When that happens, I know it's time to cut back. I don't like to be overwhelmed, so I immediately take inventory and then start dropping commitments like crazy, until I'm focusing on only 3 important projects. Everything else gets dropped or put on the backburner.

Me:  In your fantasy book, Zen To Done, you discuss many topics that I skimmed through.  One that caught my eye in particular was the idea that multi-tasking is counter-productive.  Explain how doing more than one thing
at a time actually gets less done.  I promise not to laugh.

Leo:  So many reasons, it's hard to know where to start. It's like juggling 3-4 balls at once: you might be able to keep them in the air, but eventually they'll come crashing down, and in the meantime all you're doing is moving them around. Not very effective. If you just have one ball to focus on, you can do a lot more damage with it. I like to throw it at breakable things. OK, that's not really the best analogy.

Instead, I'll just list a few reasons:

* Doing lots of things at once is more stressful, which decreases our energy and productivity.

* Doing more than one thing requires that we split our focus, which means we are less powerful with each task.

* Doing several things at once usually means that we are only making incremental progress on each thing.  Focusing on one thing means we can actually complete it.

* Switching between tasks has a time cost.

Me:  You also are a fan of rocks, especially big ones.  I used to have pet rock, but he died.

Leo:  I completely agree. You should not be allowed near rocks. For myself, Big Rocks means the important tasks that I want to accomplish this week. I schedule those before the smaller tasks, to ensure that I'm getting the important stuff done. Of course, if you don't give those Big Rocks your full attention, they will die.

Me:  My fax-checker just handed me a fax from someone who said you have a hidden talent: you're a poet.  It says here that your preferred genre is Haiku.  It's great to see that you write poetry - because you may be able to transition into Effing The Dog™ easier with that talent available to you.  A little trick that we use in EffTD™ is called "Effing Limericks" - which I will be writing about eventually on the site  Have you ever thought of using Haiku as a means of getting your productivity message across?

Leo:  I think I'll ignore the bulk of that question, as I totally don't understand it ... but just to clarify, I am not very good at writing Haiku. Which is why I stick to the sonnet as my main form of posting on Zen Habits.

Sometimes I consider writing very minimal posts, as they would be more consistent with my minimalist philosophy. But then I think they wouldn't be very useful, so I ramble on and on. People seem to like
that.

Me:  Being near the top of the Google ratings when you type in Effing The Dog™ is far and away the main inspiration for me to keep doing this; what keeps you going with your work?  What inspires you to put your knowledge and thoughts out there for all to see?

Leo:  It's incredibly fun. I love writing this stuff, and if I didn't, I don't think I could keep doing it week after week. And when I hear that I've helped people (literally thousands have written to me to say that I've changed their lives somehow), that's especially gratifying. Not nearly as gratifying as ranking high in EffTD searches, but still.

Me:  And finally, the most important question, the one that everyone has been dying to know:  What's the weather like in Guam today?

Leo:  Today my wife and I sat in our back yard with a beer and watched the most amazing sunset. It compares only to the sunset we saw yesterday and every day this past month. I can't wait for tomorrow's finale.

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