Refuse To Choose

Chapter 1

The main problem with scanners is the belief that they should stick to one or a few things over the long term. They are often told not to be a Jack of all Trades. If they simply shed this belief, 90% of their problems will be gone.

People who are not scanners:

• those that drift around until they finally find their passion, then they stick to it
• those drifting around because of depression
• those with attention deficit disorder

A real scanner has no trouble focusing.

Chapter 2

On a piece of paper (or in the daybook), write as many accomplishments or experiences as you can think of (big or small). Include things you started but did not finish, even things you planned but never began. Don’t think for too long; just write what comes to mind. Don’t try to put any order to it.

The point is that even unfinished projects are achievements. Drop the results-oriented mindset.

Unless you’re okay doing one thing and only one thing for the rest of your life, embrace who you are!

If you get fired up when you see new things, don’t aim for fewer interests!

Sometimes you will be driven to master a subject. Other times a quick study is all you need. Both are okay!

Bees drift from flower to flower. They stay longer on some flowers. Bees are dedicated to one task, gathering nectar. They’re not dedicated to any one particular flower, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not dedicated creatures.

Figure out what you are dedicated to as you hop around from one project to another.

Use this koan:

Q: How long should you stay at something?
A: However long it takes to get what you came for.
Q: How do you decide what you came for?
A: You don't; you discover it.
Q: How do you discover it?
A: You notice what isn't there anymore when you feel like leaving.

When you lose interest, consider that you got what you came for. Your mission was completed.

Go back to the “What have I done so far?” list. For each item, ask what interested you. (What was exciting/interesting about it?) Then ask why you stopped.

Next to the list, make a column with the title “Rewards.” For each entry, write the reward you got out of it.

Scanners find boredom excruciating. They are also very fast learners. That’s why others perceive them as unfocused. They learn too quickly and move on.

You drop a project because you got your reward. Don’t needlessly stick to it.

Chapter 3

Scanners always hear a clock ticking. Whenever this year is ending, they are dismayed with their lack of accomplishment. These are masking your real fears, which are:

1. Will I ever actually get to use what’s inside me?
2. Will anyone know I was here?

You may believe that if you put off doing anything you love, it’ll be lost forever. When you love more things than you can do now, you panic. The only way to reduce this fear is to reduce the danger that is causing it.

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you’re rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.

– Benjamin Franklin (an amateur)

You have no life or death decisions to make. Don’t give up anything you want to do. There is plenty of time to do everything you want.

Occasionally someone looks at you and wonders why you’re not already rich and famous.

Top obstacles for panic scanners:

1. Fear of critics (leading to trying to be perfect and dropping it when not).
2. You’ve created a “See, it’s impossible!” list.
3. You’ve made the project too big. (Do only the parts you love.)
4. You’re pulled in too many directions. (It’s okay! Do one at a time or many at once, whatever works for you.)

Seriously try the following:

Go ahead with the a and fail! Start on any project you think you’ll fail at. No need to give it your best effort. When you fail, gloat about it openly! This should cure you of avoiding failure.

The real failure is not starting.

The wall calendar: Make a wall calendar big enough to show everything you hope to do for the next few years. Hang it on the wall as a constant reminder. Divide it into six large squares, one for each year.

Think of every project you really long to do (not all of them, just the ones you really long to do). Divide into the ones you want to do soon. These are the ones that can wait. Using different colors, draw a block on the calendar for that project.

This is the first draft. Attach it to your wall. The end result is a sense of calm and elimination of the feeling of panic.

She does not advocate structurelessness. To get things done, you need structure. Be it schedules, timetables, accountability, et cetera.

If anything in the book reduces your panic, write it (many) sticky notes, and put them everywhere.

Chapter 4

As a scanner, you’re not going to find the one passion that is so awesome that you can ignore the other passions. You don’t need to commit to just one.

Scanners must commit to everything that interests them! You must focus completely on the thing you’re working on at present.

Technique to cure commitment phobia: Learn, Try, Teach, Leave (LTTL). In your daybook, write a one page plan for every career/interest you’re considering, using LTTL:

Learn: For n months, I will learn the topic.

Try: After I’m done learning, I’ll implement a working prototype for a certain number of months.

Teach: I’ll stay on the job long enough to teach another person.

Leave: self - explanatory.

If you’re passionate about something, find the boss that recognizes your talent. Change jobs until you do.

Chapter 5

Everyone feels as if they have too many things to do to find free time.

When you’re too busy, you’re not thinking clearly. You lose sense of what doesn’t need to be done and pile on more work than necessary. And you need more downtime because instead of being fueled by work, you are drained by it.

Overworked people are scared of many things: not meeting deadlines and things getting out of control.

Quickly: Think of the last time you were free of that busy feeling. You did things you enjoyed without stressing about the time. Now, memorize that feeling and visit it at least once a day.

Fear arises when you have a sense of danger.

If you want to think clearly, be calm and smart. Schedule a “micro - nervous breakdown”. Once a day, at least.

1. Find a place of privacy (e.g. a rest room).
2. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and say “I hurt!” and “Ouch!”
3. Sigh. Pretend to cry. Real crying is OK.
4. If you don’t feel anything, pretend you’re an 8 year old with the same responsibilities. Say, “Somebody help me. I’m too little for all of this.”
5. Give yourself two to three minutes to feel any sorrow. Silently release your feelings. Notice the tension melting away.

Chapter 6: I Won’t Do Anything If I Can’t Do Everything

A common refrain:

“I wish I could live 200 years. Maybe that won’t be enough.”

Two secrets:

1. Scanners don’t really want everything.
2. Scanners don’t really want the depth they imagine.

If a scanner really wants to spend years on something, they go ahead and do it. A special type of scanner called a Serial Specialist.

Make a list of all the things you believe you want to do. Really - do this. Get them out of your brain and declutter it. Think before you write each entry. Don’t just list all the histories of the world. Imagine actually being involved in that activity.

Include:

• Everything you’ve done already.
• Everything you wish you could do for the first time.
• Everything you wish you’d be doing in the future.
• Everything you’d like to do once or twice only.

Give yourself a few days to finish this exercise.

How often have you got some free time scheduled to do a lot of things you wanted to do, and found you could only do a few. Planners often think things take less time than they really do.

Take a careful look at each item and think how long it’ll take to get what you want from each one. (This is the reward.) Not the time to complete it, just to get the reward.

To help, ask yourself:

• What do you really want to know about this area of interest?
• What would you most enjoy doing with that information?
• Who would you love to talk with about this subject if you could talk to anyone?

Estimate the time and write it next to each item.

Keep that list! One person kept a journal for his dreams. Each dream got a line. It gets a check once he has his reward.

Another benefit of the list is that you may find common themes. (e.g. love learning by reading.)

Once you start working on what you enjoy, you may find you can live with your boring job.

The Interest Index Binder: Keep the list of all your interests in a three - ring binder. Add to it when you get a new interest. Each sheet will have a different interest on it. Example: If you read something interesting in an article, make a sheet for it. Write the date and a note of what was compelling in the article (or anything else).

Next, get 20-30 ring binders. Each binder represents an interest. Create one for each interest. Even if you’ve done nothing on it, your brain will be at ease knowing it’s there for whenever you want to work on it.

Instead of having it all scattered (or interleaved in one place/book), it is a bit more organized.

(How do I incorporate this into the scanner diary?)

Chapter 7: I Can’t Get Started

The three magic steps (to start doing):

1. Use the backward planning flowchart.
2. Let the flowchart expose hidden fears that are making you avoid action, so you can take steps to mitigate them.
3. Set up a real deadline - make a commitment to someone to show your results (or otherwise make a public commitment).

Set up a goal and ask yourself:

• Can I achieve the goal right now?
• If not, what do I need first?

Repeat until you get to something you can do now. Then do it!

Put a target date for each part of the goal.

You need support. Generally, if someone is not moving it’s because he’s trying to do things solo.

Isolation is a dream killer.

Nothing works better than a weekly meeting with a team on your side. Get a buddy or hire a coach, but have regular meetings.

Consider this showstopper: “What if I write a book and no one likes it?” Don’t stop there - ask “What is the best way to get an answer to that question?” Then go and get those answers.

Do this for anything causing doubt. This is what she calls reality research. Eliminate all the “What Ifs”.

Summary:

1. Pick a goal.
2. Make a backward planning flow chart.
3. Put a date in each circle.
4. Look for goals (fears and lack of information).
5. Do reality research.
6. Get a buddy/team for commitments (and to check on deadlines).
7. Start!

The overall summary of the chapter is: Start small, start now.

Chapter 8: I Never Finish Anything

Do you look around and see all the unfinished projects and weep? Do they make you feel like a failure?

Often, you stop the project because you got what you came for. Deep down, you know that sticking to it will make you unhappy. Stop feeling bad about it. This is the bad feeling.

Think how you feel when you are actively engaged in a passion. This is the good feeling. Don’t forget it.

Even if you know you won’t finish 99% of what you start, start them anyway!

The mantra:

Start small.
Start now.
Start everything.
Don't bother to finish.

These beginnings, and the work you do in them, are your products. Show them off - even if you’ll never complete them. Showcase them! Celebrate them when you stop.

But what about all the physical stuff you bought? Put them in a container. Add to it the details of the project, what the goal was, what the current state is, and what the next steps are.

Then either store it or give it to someone else, or showcase it in your house.

You still have to tackle boredom. Here’s how:

• Keep motivated by what fun things you’ll do after.
• Get a buddy to help.
• Track how far you’ve gotten (milestones, etc.).
• Invent a fantasy to keep it interesting (e.g. you’ll teach this to a class).
• The Pomodoro technique.

Part 2

There are different scanner archetypes. You’ll likely be a mix of two or three. Don’t try to identify with what you want to be, but with who you are.

Chapter 9: The Cyclical Scanner

He is a repeat offender. He has 4-5 major areas he’s interested in, and no matter how often he drops them, he picks them up again. He has no trouble listing what his interests are.

There are 3 subtypes:

1. The Double Agent (has only two interests).
2. The Sybill (many interests, torn between them, lots of clutter, worry about not having anything to show for life).
3. The Plate Spinner: works on multiple projects simultaneously, is a star at work, more likely to delay their dreams.

Chapter 10: The Double Agent

He is always stuck between two choices: (e.g. practical job versus passion).

Here is a list of examples of being a double agent:

• Have you given up a dream because it’s unrealistic?
• Would you love to live in more than one country or have more than one career?
• Do you believe life is full of hard choices?
• Do you ever consider just quitting your job and starting over in something you love?
• Would you hate to be seen as selfish? Are you stuck because change would cause too much sacrifice for the people you love?
• Do you sometimes think your problem would be solved if you were two or more people?

Instead of trying to change yourself, change the environment.

9-5 jobs for 50 weeks is not for this person. He needs a less conventional way of making money.

If you want to travel:

1. Find jobs you can easily replace and set up your next job before you travel.
2. Be an independent contractor.
3. Find high paid, short term work that pays for the whole year.

Look at the table at the end of this chapter

Chapter 11: Are You a Sybil?

Traits that indicate a Sybil:

You’re pulled in so many different directions at once that you usually can’t move at all.

You have half - finished books, businesses, board games, and blogs. You’ll never have anything to show for any of your interests.

Whatever you do, you feel like you’re missing something else you want to do.

The things that interest you tend to remain in your head for a long time, even after you’ve attempted to abandon them.

You have a major clutter problem.

You would love to finish a project before you move to another, but you’ve almost never done that.

You love insights, revelations, discoveries that make you say, “I never knew that.”

You’re afraid you’ll never build a body of work experience and a reputation.

If you match most of the items above, you’re likely a Sybil scanner. Your list of interests is not endless, but unless you suddenly became 5 - 10 or even 20 different people, you can’t imagine any way to do everything. You return to the same group of interests over and over. You’re happy to try new things as well, but you really prefer to revisit what you already love. You’re often surrounded by lots of creative clutter.

Paradoxically, most scanners have a low tolerance for chaos and often have bursts of organizing energy that feel very satisfying. But order never lasts for long because when the creative urge comes, there’s no patience for putting things away.

Like most scanners, you’re talented in many areas and when you’re using any of your talents, you’re as happy as a child in a toy store.

You often do well at your job, but for personal projects, you’re not at all goal - driven. You just enjoy playing around with different subjects.

Not being goal - oriented is a problem for you. You often find yourself starting over and you usually don’t get far with any of your projects. And deep down, you long to have something to show for all the hours you spend with your passions. You wish you could present the world with a finished product or be an authority in one of your areas of interest. You’ve tried narrowing down your interests so you’ll be able to go deeply into one of them at a time.

Freedom is not every scanner’s best friend. Clearly, scanners need to replace some of that freedom with structure.

Can a Sybil find an underlying theme that all their interests have in common? Occasionally, they can do that, but for the most part, their interests are unrelated, often by choice.

Appearances can be deceptive. Sybils can be the most productive of all the types.

Sybils really need a schedule.

They often think they have to choose between their beloved projects. That’s the wrong way of thinking. At the same time, they can’t do all of them simultaneously. When you want to do everything and you want to do it now, what you really need is a schedule that lets you do one thing after another. But you have to find a way to match your schedule to the natural duration your interests require. Any other way won’t work.

She suggests something called a Scanner Planner.

Chapter 12: Are You a Plate Spinner?

You have several dreams and try to keep them all organized. You have a paper diary, an electronic diary, TODO lists, electronic organizers, none of them seem to work. You’re more of a minute - to - minute person. When something is thrown at you, you can always catch it. You’re the fixer at work, you like the challenge, but it doesn’t leave time for your own projects.

You are a plate spinner:

• You often come up with solutions to problems faster than most people.
• You enjoy the challenge of keeping lots of projects going at once.
• You find it hard to say no when people ask you for help.
• You like learning only when it solves problems, not for its own sake.
• You feel good when you’re needed and when you feel you’re making a difference.
• You feel that your abilities have trapped you into a smaller life than the one you could be leading.

I didn’t take many notes as this is clearly not me.

The LTTL System

Learn, Try, Teach, Leave.

The idea is you learn how to solve a problem. You find a way to improve upon it and systematize it. Then you teach someone else how to use the tools you built to solve the problem and then you leave.

This makes Plate Spinners happy because they get to learn, they get to invent, they get to test, and they get to teach.

She recommends the use of part-time or virtual assistants. When a creative person does work that someone else could do, they’re wasting their talents and depriving the rest of us who might benefit from those talents.

What if you don’t have the money for an assistant? Trust me, you do. If you took another job for an additional day a week and turned every cent over to the assistant, you’d still wind up ahead financially because you can make things happen if an assistant takes the details off your hands.

Time is one of the most valuable commodities. You either use it or lose it. Acknowledge that you need it and fight to get it. Time is all you have. Don’t waste your gifts when the world needs them.

Chapter 13: Sequential Scanners

Sequential scanners don’t return to their interests over and over again. When they’re finished, they don’t look back.

Chapter 14: Serial Specialists

Serial specialists stick to one topic for a while and then they’re ready for a change. They can seriously dedicate themselves to one topic and not be distracted until they tire of it and move on to something else.

Signs of a Serial Specialist:

• Your work record looks like it should belong to more than one person because you’ve changed directions so often.
• You immerse yourself deeply in a project or job for so long it looks to others like a permanent life choice.
• You find that once you get the hang of what you’re doing you’re ready to leave and start somewhere else.
• You love exploring the culture inside a corporation, a hospital, a film production house, and a Wall Street financial firm.
• You worry that your career changes will leave you without a body of work or a reputation as an expert in the long run.
• You think your problems might be solved if reincarnation were really true.

Often at the top of their game, they quit and start something new. Their family wonders if they’re self-sabotaging or are afraid of success. But what motivates them the most is knowing that life is too short to do only one thing.

They often ask themselves, “Why would I want to keep doing the same thing over and over?”

Umbrella careers are often a good choice for them. These are careers where people get to do multiple things in pursuit of a single goal. Some of them master one particular career, write a book about it, then move on to the next career and write a book about that.

Writing is actually a perfect skill for an umbrella career. Umbrella careers are perfect for serial specialists.

Some skills that can turn people into umbrella careers:

• writer: You can spend years on a subject, write the book, and move on.
• teacher: You pick a field that covers many of the areas you’re interested in, and you get paid to study everything.
• historian: Everything has a history, businesses, families, etc. You can be hired to write histories.
• public speaker: You can wear many hats as a public speaker and market yourself in fields that interest you. You can record your speeches and turn them into books, reports, newsletters, etc.
• troubleshooter: You can take any job and turn it into a troubleshooter position by volunteering to solve problems throughout the system.
• information broker: It’s a fancy term for someone who is asked to find something out for somebody.
• journalist: A specialized information broker.
• librarian: Often called on to provide answers to a diverse set of questions.
• personal assistant.
• foundation officer: Reviewing grant requests in a large philanthropy. You’ll get to know about hundreds of wildly different programs.
• business owner: Owner of an adult education school, bringing in teachers, or the owner of a company that reviews and advises TV stations.
• consultant.
• documentary film producer.

Chapter 15: The Serial Master

When you’re excited about something, you’re on top of the world. But at some point, you want to try something new. You often don’t know what that will be, though, and you feel lost.

You love taking on a learning challenge. You look forward to the struggle against your own limits.

• You’re exhilarated by moving from ignorance to competence.
• You have less and less available time because you dislike leaving any hard - learned skill behind. But you continue taking on new ones.
• You get satisfaction from showing people how to do better.
• You enjoy being in the spotlight, giving demonstrations, getting respect, and perhaps applause.

Every scanner should give mastery a try. It’s not for everyone, but becoming a master at something gives you a taste of a stubborn tenacity you might need some time in the future. She’s not saying you have to stick to being a serial master just to try it for a little bit.

If you don’t have enough free time to master something, perhaps because you have so many other interests, just bring it to a quality good enough that you’d want to do it with your kids or nieces or nephews. Let them teach you how to become a very good yo - yo spinner. Let them push you until you get it. Kids know quite a bit about mastering things, and they can teach you a lot.

If you are a serial master, you have a problem most other scanners don’t: once you reach the limit of mastery that satisfies you and you’re ready to move on, you’re frequently stuck with nothing to do.

Chapter 16: The Jack of All Trades

Are you good at a lot of things and great at nothing? Do you feel you’ll never find your passion? Are you always hoping that the next thing you try will be the one the calling for your brilliant career?

Signs that you’re a jack of all trades:

• You have more certificates and degrees than most people, all in different disciplines.
• You’re good at just about everything you try.
• You thought your problem would be solved if you were good at only one thing.
• Bosses and teachers try to keep you on board.
• You notice that other people are passionate about the things you merely like.
• You would rather learn how to plant a garden, work with friends, paint a house, or just have a great day with your family than any job you can think of.

I’m not this, so I didn’t take many notes.

They’re usually not looking for the right career, although they sincerely believe they are. A Jack is satisfied with any place or job if the pay, the hours, and the coworkers are decent. They can even tolerate detailed work which others may not. A Jack of all trades cares primarily about their surroundings, including the people they work with. It’s not winning that matters. A Jack just doesn’t care much about success at all. They just want to be happy.

They often say about their workplace that they like things the way they are. It’s a friendly place and everything is interesting and they get to do a lot of different things.

When it comes to organizing their space, they tend to be scanners with the smallest clutter problem. They often don’t need to work with a calendar either. They don’t manufacture ideas at high speed, and they tend to put the ones that interest them into action.

Chapter 17: Are You a Wanderer?

They change interests almost every week. They commit to it for a week or two, then lose interest and find yet another. They speak about things that people around find boring.

• They’re always interested in unrelated activities.
• They’re intrigued by things that people around them find boring.
• They like trying on new jobs and lifestyles.
• They love adventure and new experiences.
• They lack a sense of direction in their life and see only the next move.
• They wish they had a map and a destination.

I didn’t take many notes as it’s clearly not me.

Chapter 18: Are You a Sampler?

They have nice friends, a nice family, a nice life, and an okay job. But there’s always a nagging feeling that something is missing. They don’t know what would fill that gap.

• They want to experience just about everything.
• They don’t want to do anything twice.
• They don’t like the idea of being an expert; it’s narrow and boring.
• They prefer learning by doing rather than reading.
• Once they know how something is done, they’re ready to move on.
• Friends and family think they lack ambition.
• They wish they’d live 200 years so that they could learn everything that interested them.

Consider having a monthly meeting where each meeting has an invited guest who can speak about a particular topic to a lay person. He doesn’t need to be an overall expert. Just someone very knowledgeable about one particular thing, too.

It could be someone from a completely different profession talking about the interesting things at their work.

She called these meetings “soirees”.

This led to working on or learning something for three months, and each member would then present what they had learned or accomplished during that period.

It’s called the Quarterly Creative Project Life Design Model.

One person following this approach accomplished:

• wrote, illustrated, hand lettered, and bound a children’s book

• helped build three houses with Habitat for Humanity

• installed solar panels in a friend’s home

• took a three - month course in conversational Swahili

• took two three - month courses in African dancing

• took three months with the community theater learning how to build

  sets and the next three months working with lights and special effects

• took a three - month course in sewing and another in costume design

• spent three months learning how to ride horseback

She talks about Cornelius Hirschberg, whose book, The Priceless Gift, sits by her table. He was a self - taught man who studied math, philosophy, music, literature, astronomy, physics, history, and languages for 45 years as he traveled to and from his job on the New York subways. In the book, he carefully and modestly explained exactly why we should all study everything just like he did, and he set out a program of study to help do it.

Samplers love to learn about things by doing them. They often end each project with something they’ve made: a glaze pot, a woven rug, or a first draft of a novel. They should keep these objects on display.

If you don’t have enough room to have them on permanent display, put them in storage, but have exhibitions every once in a while where you invite people and show them everything. It could be an annual show and tell party.

Chapter 19: Are you a High Speed Indecisive?

You start and stop things so often it makes your head spin and makes you feel like a failure. You get bored. You find everything interesting. You can be completely absorbed in one thing and suddenly find yourself wondering what else there is to do. You never get past the surface of anything. You get bored.

Signs you are a high-speed, indecisive:

• Bite off more than you can chew.
• You dislike having to finish one thing before you start another.
• You quickly grasp new ideas before others even notice them.
• You feel guilty because you drop new interests so quickly.
• You see potential where others see nothing.
• You secretly suspect you’re not looking for one right thing at all.

You get pulled away from your latest project sooner than other scanners, not because you lost interest, but because you saw something more fascinating.

I didn’t take many notes.

Epilogue

First, select your project and decide on a goal.

Second, schedule a date for a real deadline.

Examples of deadlines:

• Teaching a class
• Schedule a show and tell party
• Schedule a makeover party
• Set up a contest

Third, get to work. S

She advises making a simple down to the wire tear off calendar that fits on a wall near your workspace by stapling together enough sheets so that you have one for every day between the start and the completion of your project. If you set up your deadline for 70 days from today, you would have 70 sheets of paper stapled together. The first would say 70, meaning you have 70 days left to complete your project. When you tear that one off, the next will say 69 and so on.

Fourth: attend your deadline grand finale event.

Fifth, bask in your own glory.

Then return to full scanning mode. Pull out your scanner daybook and leave it open for writing up anything that is new to you. Bring out the magazines, save anything that intrigues you, even create a three - ring binder for it. Go anywhere, study anything, start anything, and remember, you don’t have to finish anything when you’re in scanner mode.

And then in six weeks or six months or even six years, pick another project that you love, roll up your sleeves, set a new real deadline, and do it all over again.

Appendix: Scanner Careers

There are two kinds of jobs that are right for scanners. The first is the Good Enough job.

But consider another kind: paid work that’s endlessly interesting and will keep a scanner happily absorbed forever. If you’re a scanner, you enjoy the learning phase of every new activity so much that you race through it and get to the boring part all too soon.

She became a speaker. What she didn’t know was that being a speaker is the most highly paid and least labor intensive job she could think of. She would do it even if she merely liked it instead of loved it because it left her so much free time to write books, travel to her second home in another country where she taught classes, and also have time to read lots of books.

Jobs for Those Who Love To Share Ideas

If you love to tell everyone what you’ve learned, you’re a popularizer.

You should target schools or go on the lecture circuit for special groups like the elderly, at-risk kids, single moms, and any other niche community.