Are you Polychronic?

Polychronicity, I just read in the June issue of Psychologies magazine, is the preference some people have for doing several things at once. Such as reading email, talking on the phone and listening to music.



Monochronic people, on the other hand, prefer to do just one thing at a time. They will ignore the ping of email and screen calls while completing a single task.



Workplaces have both types of people. And while neither is superior, the styles are different enough that it can lead to misunderstandings.



Something to be aware with when your colleague waves you away to better concentrate--or invites you in for a chat, then proceeds to open mail.

Retail Therapy.

I've been doing my part to stimulate the economy.



And that's in spite of a recession and the feeling of dread that shopping all too often inspires.



So I want reward the retailers who give great personalized customer service. It's increasingly rare and much appreciated.



Among my perennial five-star favorites are:



* GoDaddy.com

* REI

* SOMA

* Trader Joe's

* Zappos.com

The Art Instinct.

How does natural selection inform our understanding of natural and artistic beauty?

"Human beings are born image-makers and image-enjoyers," writes author Denis Dutton in The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution.



Dutton links Darwinian theory with the universality of art and artistic appreciation, arguing it is innate in all of us.



In an early chapter dubbed Landscape and Longing, he points out that Kenyans are attracted to the Hudson River school of art with its hilly undulations and visual complexity.

The savanna, in turn, has greatly inspired modern golf course design.

In the chapter titled What is Art? he offers a list of 12 cluster criteria found cross-culturally, including direct pleasure, emotional saturation and intellectual challenge present in all works of art, regardless of form.

The book's a beaut, successfully proving that while forms of art may vary across countries and continents, the appreciation of art is a constant.

Why He Hates Dogs.

Time has published a pithy essay by Joel Stein that ponders something I have wondered for years: why do people willingly pick up a dog's poop?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990664,00.html

More vicious in their musings are the bloggers of http://doghaters.tribe.net/.

You might say their fury has been unleashed.

Rethinking Overhead in a Nonprofit.

Check ou this very interesting article in July's Fast Company that argues that the old adage about low overhead in a nonprofit=success is outdated.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/137/do-something-good-vs-evil.html

Reason No. 42 I Hate Reality TV.

Besides Reason No. 1 (it's waaay too easy to get sucked into the vortex) and Reason No. 11 (it seemingly celebrates the stupidest among us), the grammar--or lack thereof--of many "stars" is appalling.

Am I the only one yelling at the TV for her to use the correct pronoun?

On tonight's The Bachelorette, Jillian used "him and I" at least a half dozen times to describe herself and one of the guys.

Admittedly, I've indicted myself for watching.

But my thoughts lie with my 5th grade English teacher Mr. Michelob. And English teachers everywhere.

We All Scream for Ice Cream.

The thermometer has been doggedly north of 90 degrees in HOTlanta this week.

My coping mechanism? Keeping cool in the air-conditioned great indoors and eating lots of ice cream.

And reading the packaging, as it happens. Haagen-Dazs, to be specific.

Yes, they have great flavors: pomegranate chip in the Reserve line and passionfruit in the Five line. And lately, the Fleur de Sel Caramel bar.

But they also have clever copywriting.

The "flavor notes," for example, for the latter, which also comes as a premium ice cream: "Fleur de Sel caramels covered in a chocolaty coating blended into caramel ice cream with caramel ribbons and French sea salt accents. Crisp, salty nuances harmonize with rich, creamy caramel for the ultimate combination of sweet and salty."

Irresistable. Packaging copy as tasty as the product.

Tuneful Procrastination.

What deadline?

I'll organize my closet by color and style, purge old papers, make spaghetti sauce, schedule social dates and re-read a favorite book when a deadline looms but the muse is MIA.

Those who write know that procrastination is as intgeral to the process as the writing itself.

So says singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega in her playlist of tunes to procrastinate by published in the New York Times.

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/living-with-music-a-playlist-by-suzanne-vega/

Earthquake Bolts and Benne Seed Wafers.

I recently attended the Society of American Travel Writers chapter conference in Charleston. The CVB did a whale of a job hosting us.

My favorite creative flourish during our four-day stay was creative and copy-centric: supper club "tickets" shaped like bookmarks that highlighted the city's treasures from wrought iron to sweetgrass baskets, plantations to pecan pralines, she crab soup to church steeples.

What a great idea--portable, informative and a whole lotta fun. I collected them all.

http://www.explorecharleston.com/

Enough is Enough.

Peter G. Peterson, the co-founder of the Blackstone Group, wrote in Newsweek of giving away his fortune.

He concluded his column with this exchange that crystallized his philanthropy involving authors Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller.

Vonnegut told a story about seeing Heller at a wealthy hedge-fund manager's party in a luxurious house in the Hamptons. Vonnegut said, "Joe, doesn't it bother you that this guy makes more in a day than you ever made from Catch-22?

"Not really," said Heller. I have something that he doesn't have: I know the meaning of enough."

The Tao says this: "To keep on filling is not as good as stopping."

The Artful Blogger.

And The Artful Banker. The Artful CIO. The Artful Teacher. And the Artful Plumber. The Artful Mail Carrier.

Appreciation of the arts can inform the way you live your life, your career achievements and your community.

Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit, has been advancing the value of the arts for 45 years.

Visit http://americansforthearts.org to learn how the arts can enrich the your life, the lives of your family, friends, colleagues and, especially, kids.

The Artful Toddler. The Artful Tween.

Has a nice ring, doesn't it?

Writing as Goulash.

Goluash is, according to one online definition, "a mixture of many elements; a hodgepodge."

So is good writing.

Author Toni Morrison says in the latest issue of O magazine that "everything I see or do, the weather and the water, buildings...everything actual is an advantage when I am writing. It is like a menu or a giant tool box and I can pick and choose what I want."

In other words, a well-rounded, inquisite writer crafts impactful copy.

So ask what books your copywriter reads. What galleries she visits. What movies he loves. Where she's traveled. What music moves him.



It's all part of the goulash of good writing.

The End is Beautiful.

There's an intersection where melancholy meets extraordinary beauty.

It's poetry, really, no matter the medium--a book, a song, a movie. It's a place of humanity, of solace, of inspiration.

Recently, I found myself recommending the final episode of Six Feet Under (available at Netflix) to a new friend for its understated dialogue, creativity and soaring soundtrack.

It's a place worth going to. I promise.

The Masterful First Newsmaker.

In the July issue of Vanity Fair, columnist Michael Wolff discusses the media prowess of President Obama and his 61(!) press handlers in a piece called "The Power and The Story."

The Commander-in-Chief has meticulously and brilliantly controlled his image, parceling out newsworthy nuggets to established media, paristan outlets and new media.

White House communication staffers are both medium and message. Maninpulation? Mastery? Does it matter?

Read

To Tweet or Not To Tweet?

Would Shakespeare tweet?

Today's USA Today doesn't think that The Bard would Tweet about daily minutiae.

Rather, there's an art to the Tweet.

The article goes on to say that while clever Tweets--though few and far between--are a joy to read, the vast majority are vapid and boring. Or simply TMI.

No doubt, many Tweeters are self-absorbed. They have too much time on their hands. Or they're starved for attention. And they're poor communicators, to boot.

A new tome, The Twitter Book, offers advice on crafting clear, concise and amusing Tweets. The kind that celebrities, who are paid to be entertaining, post.

Maybe even the kind that William would post were he Tweeting.

Go Green at Your Next Conference.

Tomorrow I'm sharing a 6-hour trip from Atlanta to Charleston for the Society of American Travel Writers Atlantic-Caribbean Chapter Conference.

With 4 strangers.

We're carpooling to reduce our carbon footprint, share the driving drudgery, split gas and parking costs, and make new friends.

And all it took was a couple of emails.

Could you do this at your next professional association meeting?

Revisiting Direct Mail.

Seems everyone is e-blasting these days.

Volume is rising. Our inboxes are bursting with spam. Most of us file and delete emails from unknowns. In other words, emails are often unseen and easy to ignore.

All of which makes direct mail an attractive option. Targetted and tangible, it stands out as a communication vehicle in a world email marketing.

Call it Old School, but postcards are an a cost-effective option you ought to rethink.

Hug Your Customers.

A "hug," according to retailer Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your Customers, The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results, is any personal touch that impresses and satisfies a client, from a handwritten note to remembering the name of her dog to introducing him to business contacts.

Any business can boost customer loyalty by hugging its customers.

Filled with solid advice, it's a breeze to read. And you'll pick up some hugging tips.