not another 8 ways post.

When I drive, I think. When I drive at the end of a confusing day, my thinking takes on a peculiar, stream-of-something tone. Such was the case yesterday when I tweeted, “Among the how-to books, are there any whether-to books?”

I was inspired by yet another how-to book on the seat of the car, just checked out of the library at the recommendation of a friend. Having looked at it overnight, I am planning to dig into it more. In fact, one statement is already shaping my day:

“What separates the great innovator from the mere data gatherer is the ability to stop gathering data and think about what has been gathered.” **

And, of course, the question is always, “how do I do that?” And the author obliges.

But the looming question for me right now is not the “how-to” question. It is the “whether-to” question. How do I decide whether to take those steps, to read that book, to read the blog that mentions the book, to write this post rather than clean off the desk or make the bed or just stop and think?

I can write 8 ways lists with great ease. So could you. I can read how-to books or how they did  (biographies and histories) or how could we (futurist) with delight and abandon. The whether books are harder, because they invite me to weigh and reflect and choose.

As you walk into the weekend, as you make your lists of what has to get done and how you are going to do it, what are your “whether” filters going to be?

Would you care to share?

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Footnote:

**CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life, by Dr Edward Hallowell, p 132.