Life Coaches Blog

I have a real treat for you today. In the 2nd of our interview series, friend and fellow coach Matt Cornell of Matt’s Idea Blog gives us his insights into productivity and the world of productivity coaching.

1) Can you tell us what you do and what your clients get from working with you?

I help clients at two levels. First, I help them get on top of all their commitments, communication, and information so they feel more in control, with less stress, and greater focus on the important work.

The second level is it helps clients ask the bigger picture questions about work, life, purpose, and balance. This also opens them up to new opportunities, which they are freer to take advantage of, if desired.

2) How does a Senior Research Software Engineer at University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Systems Engineer, Programmer at NASA become a productivity coach?

It does seem a funny sequence. The underlying them is enable others to improve themselves through new tools, ideas, and habits.

From the beginning I’ve both written tools (software) that helps people do their jobs better (at NASA it was systems to help launch Space Shuttles, for example), and I’ve always enjoyed coaching people in how to use the tools. At UMass I set up a new agile software process called Extreme Programming, a major component of which is paired programming – sitting together, working and learning with each other.

So the step to productivity consulting makes sense: I still help with tools (organizing ones in this case – files, planners, PDAs, etc.) but the focus is really on the process – the thinking changes that allow a much-improved workflow.

Someone asked why I don’t do before and after pictures, to which I replied that the visible changes (clean desk, nice files, etc.) were only a side-effect of the deeper internal changes. I joke that I would do before and after CAT scans

3) How do you see your previous job experience enhancing what it is you do now?

There are two big benefits. First, I can speak the language and gain the trust of the sophisticated, busy, and intelligent clients I have. They often come from scientific and engineering backgrounds, and having a common passion helps with the relationships. After all, not everyone’s willing to expose their entire lives to a stranger (or spend thousands of dollars) without some level of shared experiences.

Second, I can help set up just about any tool – programs come naturally to me, and I’m great at quickly doing research to help solve technical problems if they get in the way.

4) Let’s say someone was a total and complete productivity mess. What would be the first step you’d take to whip her into shape?

Well first, I’d want to chat with her to hear where her challenges are, what she’s tried before, and to jointly determine if working together makes sense. For example, some people don’t want to make workflow changes, they just want a cleaned-up office and files. So for them, I’d refer out to associates who do that kind of work.

If we decide it makes sense to go ahead, we’d work out the details of payment then get started. The first thing I have clients do before our two day intensive is buy the basic processing supplies (I keep a list here, FYI), and ensure they have functioning filing cabinets, with room for the new files we’ll be creating.

I also have them do some homework by applying a simple FAT (File, Act, Toss) sort to their paper and email, tossing/deleting the latter things, and filing the former. That way the time we spend together is on the items that contain commitments – ones they’ve made to others or themselves, or ones made to them by others.

A final point: your question involves an assumption that’s not uncommon, that of internal vs. external motivation. Some people think I can “do” productivity consulting to someone. It’s actually more of a re-education than that. So my “spider sense” goes off when I hear a person say “You’ve got to get my husband organized – he really needs you.”

I think of it as nested circles: On the outside are all the people who are overwhelmed in work and life (a lot). Inside that are the people who know it. Going deeper are those who are willing to change themselves to get relief. And finally are those who can afford me!

5) It’s become a truism that there’s never enough time to do everything we want. How would you help someone cut away stuff not to do?

It has to do with quantifying our work. With the system and ideas I teach, you keep an up-to-date list of everything you’ve committed to, which you review regularly. So what happens is, once I’ve worked with a client, they’ll have this often huge list of things they’ve said they’d do, which allows them to start making conscious decisions about a) what they’ve taken on (renegotiation happens), and b) what they’re willing to do when new opportunities/assignments come up (saying no, for example).

The great value here is that you’re not working the old way, typically adding more and more until you feel exhausted, and are wondering what’s life about, why are you irritable, why don’t you enjoy your family, etc. Naturally, as you know those conversations can be uncomfortable, but I believe it’s better to be up front on these, instead of letting them fester.

6) We’re constantly being forced to adapt to many different segments of our lives shifting with their own demands – the house light blows, our spouse needs a listening ear, and that big contract asks for a new draft. How would you help someone keep on top of all of that?

I agree – staying flexible and agile is crucial these days, given the rapid pace of life. (Slowing down is another great part of the conversation that gets to happen as a result, but we’ll wait on that.)

There are a number of parts that address this, such as simply being able to pause in what you’re doing, put your current project in your inbox, and address the new thing (if you’ve decided it’s more important than what you were doing), with 100% of your focus (i.e., being fully present in the moment). This is possible because you have a trusted system you can return to without spending hours trying to recall where you were, find the folder, etc.

7) What’s the biggest satisfaction you get out of coaching somebody?

I really enjoy the “aha” moments when it clicks for someone; seeing a major perspective shift is exciting, and a privilege. I also appreciate notes from clients once they’ve adopted the system.

One client (a 65 year old grandmother and graphic designer) called me a week after working together … from the roof of her garage! It turns out she’s been wanting to clear some trees and vines from it for years, and actually did it once we worked together. Note: I don’t recommend this for the faint of heart! Another client told me working together directly led to a doubling of her business.

Matt, I’m curious. How has your experience as a productivity coach changed or helped you clarify what you would see as your purpose in life?

Wow, it’s been incredible. For me, adopting this work has opened the doors to many new areas that I knew nothing about, including networking, sales, marketing, blogging, branding, etc. And this is just the start.

In addition, there’s all the personal issues that come up in taking on something very new, esp. dealing with FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). So it’s not at all just a routine business change, it’s more like a re-definition of who I am. And of course I want to enjoy life during all this upheaval – something Patricia Ryan Madson calls “enjoying the ride” in her great little book “Improv Wisdom.”

9) If you were to go through life with only 3 productivity books, which would they be?

Tough one. I’d actually recommend David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,” plus two non-productivity books, such as Madson’s (mentioned above), or George Leonard’s book “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment“. It’s too hard to pick three! There’s a reason I have 500 books on my wish list…

10) Tell us 3 things your readers don’t know about you

Well, I went to massage school and became a certified massage therapist in the 90s, I played guitar and sang in a rock band with a crazy group of people who all went through cocaine rehab together (I didn’t fit in), and I crashed a computer in front of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (it wasn’t my fault – honest!).

Thanks Matt!

Matthew Cornell is a former NASA engineer, and one of the few consultants in New England specializing in modern personal productivity techniques. He is the author of many articles on productivity, technology, and creativity, and is available for one-on-one workflow coaching, workshops, and seminars.

He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and resides with his family in Western Massachusetts.