This is the 1st in a 4 part series of posts based on an interview with Matthew Cornell. Come back tomorrow for the next post in the series or subscribe to the blog. Read other posts from the interview»

They bring me in and I teach them a method for getting on top and freeing up their brainpower. Productivity consulting is what I call it.

Before this I worked at a research university for 15 years doing AI programming. That was my life up until somebody gave me a copy of David Allen’s book. I adopted the ideas. I lost 15 pounds. I cured my insomnia, and then got rid of a back problem.

I thought to myself: I’m either having a mid‑life crisis or there’s something to this book. I’m an ex‑NASA engineer, so I had to figure it out. So, I started studying the field and eventually went half time because I got so excited about it.

A little over two years ago I quit my job and became a full-time consultant.

This process has been amazing. It’s not for the faint of heart, though. For me, there’s a lot of anxiety. I’m the kind of person who wants it to work out a certain way. So, to let things be in flux and to just trust the process is really hard. It’s always exciting and it’s always scary. It helps me to look at everything as an experiment. In other words, accept that I don’t know the outcome.

I’m going to try this consulting, or I’m going to try writing this book. Heck, you can try this blog post and see if it sticks or not. That way, I get a little bit of healthy detachment—at least, that’s what I call it. By trying something, it becomes a Petri dish. I’ll put my little breadcrumbs in and see what grows. But you have to be comfortable with nothing growing – or some hideous green goo growing – or maybe something wonderful that you weren’t expecting.

At one point, I don’t remember exactly when, it finally hit me – this is the essence of a scientific lifestyle. It really kind of grabbed me and evolved into this “Think, Try, Learn” approach to discovering happiness. The basic idea is that you have something you want to do. You make an effort. You try it, and then, after you get the result, you ask yourself, “Did it match my expectations? What surprised me? What was novel?” Then you adjust your path.

Adjustment is key, but a lot of people have problem with adjustment.

Have you ever heard this idea of attachment leads to suffering? It’s a Buddhist thing. Let me give you an example. If you start a consulting practice, you could say that you expect X amount of dollars or some number of clients or a certain kind of clients. Now, if you’re attached to that, that means you have a binary. You either get it or you don’t.

You’re stressed all along the way because you’re like, “OK. I hope I get it. I hope I get it. I hope I get it.” You’ve got one answer. Then at the end of it, if it isn’t exactly what you have visualized, you’re miserable. Not only was the process not a joy, at the end product you failed. You want to be focused, and you want to have goals. But at the same time, you want to be flexible and enjoy the ride.

“Attachment leads to suffering” is a big deal. I think the science equivalent is committing to a theory and then ignoring the data. I believe economists call this “sunk costs”. You don’t want to change gears because your ego says, “Oh, I’ve gone this direction. Changing is risky. I’ve committed to this.” That’s the whole attachment thing. You want a certain direction to work out and when it doesn’t, you’ve failed. Though, you probably missed out on other opportunities by focusing on your end goal so intensely.

There’s that classic quote. I think it was Einstein who said the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over even if it’s not working.”

If you’re not getting the results you want, it’s time to make a change – regardless of the time or money you’ve invested to get you to where you are today.

Matthew Cornell is a productivity consultant and so much more. An experimenter at heart, he embraces life’s twists and turns with seeming ease – though, he might tell you otherwise. During our interview, he had some great stories and some great ideas on how to live a more productive, fulfilling life. Read his blog, check out his new eBook, and definitely follow him on Twitter.

Published Monday, July, 27, 2009