Hi Manuel,

> I often /want/ to do my best (work out, etc), but sometimes I don't,
> because
> I'm too lazy, or just forget it, because I sit in front of my computer
> reading
> interesting mailing list discussions.

The part of the Prime Directive about "given ... the situation at hand" is
very important for me. It asks me to look at the conditions that limited my
performance, or (as is usually the case) by which I limited my performance.

You did the best you could given your laziness and forgetfulness. Reading
interesting email discussions was the best you could do given that, at that
precise moment, you valued reading interesting mailing list discussions more
than you valued other things.

I love the Prime Directive--especially the second part of it, about "given
... the situation"--because it invites me to identify and challenge and
adjust those givens. Once I have identified and acknowledged those
conditions that led me (then) to do something that i (now) believe to be
less than what I "could" do (whatever "could" means), I can set to work
adjusting those conditions.

If I'm lazy (and I am), is there something I can do to make the hard work
easier, so that I can do it even when I'm lazy? Is there a way I can shift
my definition of laziness, or the implications of it? For example: I'm
lazy, so I want to get the hard work done first so I can relax.

If I'm forgetful (and I am), is there something I can do to help me
remember? For example: I've learned to set triggers for myself, such as
computerizing my TODO list with automated alarms, or putting my wallet in
the empty Milk-Bonz box so I remember to buy Brita more treats.

If I sometimes distract myself from more valuable work by instead doing more
interesting things such as reading email (and I do), is there a way I can
find or create more interest in the work I "ought" to be doing (whatever
"ought" means), or less interest in the things I use to distract myself?
For example: Every few years I spend a few weeks tracking where my time
goes. At the end of the day, and again at the end of the week, I review
where my time went. Those reviews often make clear that I'm spending my
time on things that give me some fleeting, intense value at the expense of
things that give deeper, more subtle value. So I begin to make mental notes
(and other kinds of notes) to trigger me to notice the activities I commonly
use to distract myself. When I notice that I'm about to distract myself, I
can (sometimes) catch myself and instead focus on the deeper value. And as
a bigger bonus: Just knowing that I will be recording my next activity
triggers me to ask, "Is this what I really want to be doing right now?"

Always, always, always, I did the best I could, given the conditions around
me or, more importantly, within me. The conditions limited my performance.
If I now wish I had done better (as often happens), the key to improving is
to remove or relax those limiting conditions. I apply The Prime Directive
to my personal work by saying, "I did the best I could, given..." then fill
in the givens. Then I set to work removing or relaxing the limiting
conditions so that I perform better in the future. Usually, the most
important conditions are the conditions within me, the conditions that I
created--conditions like laziness, forgetfulness, or valuing my connection
with mailing list communities over the work my boss is paying for. If I
created those conditions (and I did), then they are the conditions I can
most directly improve.

Dale

--
Dale Emery, Consultant
Inspiring Leadership for Software People
Web: http://www.dhemery.com
Weblog: http://www.dhemery.com/cwd