I shipped in 2011 - you can too

This might be a useful exercise. Doesn't matter whether it was a hit or not, it just matters that you shipped it. Shipping something that scares you ... is the entire point.. from What did you ship in 2010 Seth Godin

"What did you ship?" is a great question for all of us to ask ourselves. What, beyond just doing one's job, did you accomplish (not try to do, not intend to do, not think about doing, not hope to get done, not plan to do - but actually DO) in 2011? What did you do that was a little bit scary? That you might have drawn criticism for? That may changed the world just a little bit?

Last year Godin listed a baker's dozen of things he "shipped." I listed nine things I shipped last year outside my day job. (But then he is Seth Godin and I am not, I rationalized.)

I'm thinking this is a good thing to do every year as it closes. Reflect a bit one's own productivity. So here's my 2011 shipping list:

1. I gave presentations and workshops for the Indian Prairie School District in IL, ESC Region XI in Fort Worth, for the SW/WC Tech Conference in MN, for the Minnesota Libraries Futures in Minneapolis, for ECS Region 10, Richardson, TX, for the U of Houston, for ISTE in Philadephia, for the Memphis School District, for the Independent Schools of St. Louis, for the Colorado Association of Libraries, for AASL in  Minneapolis, for the Utica, Syracuse and Finger Lakes BOCES, and for VEMA in Richmond, and TIES in Minneapolis. (Whew!)
2. Presented internationally at the Follett International Library Conference in Dubai, at the AASSA conference in Campinas, Brazil (new country for me), at the ECIS conference in Istanbul, and at the British Columbia Library Assocation conference in Vancouver.
3. Completed a 70,000 word book manuscript. (And finagled a contract for another book for 2012.)
4. Published these articles:
   

   “Stretching Your Technology Dollar” Educational Leadership (ASCD), December 2011/January 2012
   “Libraries in the Cloud," Library Media Connection, April 2011
   “7 Myths About Internet Filters,” AASL Blog. September 11, 2011.
           and designed four new presentations
   Rules of Engagement: Using Personal Technologies to Motivate Rather Than Distract
   Changed but Still Critical: Facility Design in the Digital Age
   School Libraries in the Clouds: Roles and Possibilities
   Developing Creativity in Every Learner

5. Published these columns:
   1. “These Horses Are Out of the Barn - Ride’m” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, January/February 2011.
   2. “Signs of a Welcoming Library” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, March 2010
   3. “GoogleApps and Librarians” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, April 2011
   4. “Are you speaking where people are listening? ” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, Aug/Sept 2011
   5. “Who doesn’t get it? ” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, October 2011
   6. “No more ‘book only’ librarians ” Head for the Edge column, Library Media Connection, November/December, 2011
6. Published 225 blog entries.
7. Chaired a Kiwanis club foundation board, servered as the club webmaster/photographer, participated in a local city leadership team, and volunteered to be a fund raiser for a YMCA building project. Organized and moderated the SIGMS Forum for ISTE in Philadelphia.
8. Hiked parts of the Superior Hiking Trail (4 of 7 "summits"), summitted Harney Peak in the Black Hills with my grandson, and bicycled for six days in northern Wisconsin.
9. Walked 3 miles a day, 5 times a week; worked weights at the Y twice a week; and still gained a few pounds!

Writing and speaking and most of this stuff is more fun than work. Our home contains no small children or other dependents to care for most of the time. My day job doesn't require much overtime and I have a fantastic, self-directed team there. I don't play golf, fish, or square dance. Television programs bore me. My Saturday and Sunday mornings and many an evening are spent writing and designing presentations and workshops. I have, through plain dumb-luck, very good health, a supportive wife, an interesting job with great co-workers, and lots of opportunities work toward the betterment of education. At least that's what I hope I'm doing.

I personally measure my days not whether they were happy or unhappy, but whether they were productive or unproductive. Did I have a fruitful conversation or meeting? Did I get something finished? Did I write something worth sharing? Did I read something challenging? Did I do an hour's worth of physical activity? Did I clean up a mess, revise an article, or organize something for the future? Did I do something that made my own life or someone else's just a tad better?

All of us need to "ship" - do more than is necessary on our jobs and professions (especially librarians and tech integration specialists), at home (as spouse/partners/parents/grandparents), and for ourselves (exercise, healthy eating, recreation, and the occasional reward).

What did you ship in 2011 and what will you ship in 2012?

I am by nature a lazy person of middling intellect - so if I can ship, you can ship.

BFTP: Gifts That Keep on Giving

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post December 25, 2010.  The temptation is to keep adding "gifts" to this list - charity, patience and perseverance, come to mind, but I think I'll let it be.

Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

Christmas morning. The house is quiet. Something that smells of cinnamon is in the oven. The tree is lit. The snow outside is very white and very deep. The LWW and I will head off to her parents' house in a couple hours. Our children and grandchildren will be invading next week for a few happy days.

I will admit that I can't wrap a package to save my soul, so the LWW spent hours yesterday gettting the robots and bicycles and LEGOs and underwear and books and computer games and noisy baby toys ready to be un - wrapped in seconds. You really have to be a grandparent before the old saw, "it's better to give than to receive," genuinely rings true. I don't believe our grandsons are any more or less greedy than other small children, but they do love presents - and their excitement is a gift to this grandpa returned many times over.

Material gifts for these boys are easy. A list from their mom, one's cash card and the local Target store is all that's needed. I have no illusions that 90% of what the boys receive will be lost, broken or forgotten within weeks. A few things might stick - a book that becomes cherished, a computer game that will engage, a special toy that will become "alive" and so escape the garage sales. But as I sweep the lost StarWars figure up from under the couch next week, I'll have to remember that material gifts are just this grandpa's shallow means of making his affection visible.

Were I able, I'd wrap these gifts up for each of my grandsons with these cards attached...

• Health. While about 95% of your health is due to genetics, for good or bad, the other 5% that you can control is important. Strike a balance between risk paranoia and complete disregard for your bod. Eat a candy bar now and then, but have the good sense to walk it off.  I hope you like the color and the size of this gift. To a large degree, the shape will be up to you.
• Passion. The luckiest people are those who find something that really interests them. What that something is makes little difference  - computers or hockey or inorganic chemistry or etymology or entomology or library science or whatever.  Wear this every day.
• Compassion. OK, this one is a little odd, but it's important, boys. The capacity to feel for others will give your life meaning and purpose. People who are best at handling the occasional blues do so by finding others to help. This one is polar fleece for the soul.
• Adventure. Here is the courage to take a risk now and then. Eat a new food. Travel to a different country. Accept a challenge to your physical strength and stamina and comfort. Read something by someone you don't agree with. Do at least one thing every year that none of your friends has ever done. Take pictures. The people with the best stories, not the most money, are life's winners. Wear this hat even when it seems a little scary.
• Appreciation. Never forget how truly lucky you are to be born to loving parents who can afford to feed you, clothe you, and take you to the doctor. Remember that you live in a country that is free of political violence and gives you both freedom and protection. Be thankful that you can get an education that will let you become just about anything you want to be. Even when things may not seem to be going your way, wear these glasses and you will recognize that you are still more fortunate than 99% of the rest of the world.
• Problems. Yes, I am giving you lots of problems as a gift. You may be an old man like me before you come to appreciate this package, but it may be the most valuable one you receive. Problems engage our minds. Problems make us creative. Problems (and finding solutions to them) give you self-worth. Problems keep life from getting boring. Problem make life fun - really! When you put these in your pocket, they may feel like a burden, but they are boosters.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or Winter Solstice or whatever flavor holiday you celebrate.

2011 Holiday Greetings

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!