Effective and Ineffective Stakes

Effective and Ineffective Stakes

A lot of people use something like post-it notes to remind themselves of important tasks. If you’re using this method, stop! Not only are there better ways to give yourself reminders, but post-it notes that catch your eye when you are focusing on something, are often the cause of self-interruptions. They can also remind your brain of something you still haven’t done, causing overwhelm and taking away from the feeling of being in control.

Imagine a computer monitor with post-it notes around the edge. Those notes are attention hijackers. Think of each one of them as having a little voice shouting “You haven't done it yet, do it!” Worse, non-strategically placed reminders are rarely effective. If you’re already engaged in one task why would you want to remind yourself of another?

FACTS:

Post-it notes and other non-strategically placed reminders are attention thieves.
Good reminders are actionable and timely.
Climbers use stakes on a mountain, which is a form of a strategically-placed reminder.

In mountaineering, you often have to cross a crevasse – a wide, deep rift in the glacier. These crevasses sometimes get snowed over, forming a hazardous “snow bridge” over the top. Step onto a snow bridge, and you call fall hundreds of feet into an icy crevasse. To mark these hazards, climbers use little orange flags called snow stakes. A stake is a reminder that there’s danger! Place effective stakes, and you can descend the mountain safely, even in near-whiteout conditions.

Grant Guise in the Wrangells of Alaska.

The same is true in the business world. A non-strategically placed reminder distracts you from your current task for no good reason. An actionable, timely reminder doesn’t waste valuable head space. You see it exactly when you need to.

We all have a place by the door where we leave something we need to take the next morning. You see it only when you need to see it, not before and not when it to late.

In the digital world, create timely reminders with tools like very strategic calendar entries or alarms.

SOLUTIONS:

Avoid post-it notes and other distracting reminders.

Use calendar entries and alarms to create timely reminders.

Make sure your reminders start with an action verb.

For example, set your reminder to “take out the trash” (rather then just “trash”).

“In the Himalayas, it can go from sunny to whiteout in 15 minutes. Failure to place a stake can mean delay on getting down, or much worse.”

- Panaru Sherpa,

Mountain Guide and 13-times Everest summiteer