So what does it really take to be organised day-to-day? It’s not as much work as you may fear. Once you get your systems set up, it comes down to 3 simple maintenance routines.

You say you don’t have time for maintenance? Think of it like taking care of your teeth. Just a few minutes of brushing and flossing a couple of times a day will keep you on the right track. Occasionally you need to get to the dentist for a deeper cleaning and check-up.

If you don’t look after your teeth regularly, you’ll wind up with pain, decay, and even surgery. If you don’t look after your personal organisation, the results are stress, health problems, missed opportunities, and a breakdown in work/life balance.

To avoid all that, establish these 3 essential organising routines:

PROCESSING

What is it?

A sorting process similar to triage. Your goal is to process and prioritise everything, getting all collection points to empty.

Why do it?

To make sure your time and effort go to the true priorities – not whatever has come in most recently or is shouting the loudest.

What does it look like?

• You look at each email and make a decision about your next action, which you capture on your lists. Then you move the email out of the Inbox.
• You look through that notebook (or piece of paper, maybe?) where you have been scribbling notes all day. You capture ideas and follow-up actions on your lists.
• You look through your in-tray and capture ideas and actions on your lists. Then you discard or file the papers.
• You empty your brain of all the bits and bobs it has been trying to remember for you all day. You write this stuff down somewhere safe.

How often should I do it?

1-3 times a day

How long does it take?

15-30 minutes each time, assuming you have learned how to do it right.

DAILY PLANNING

What is it?

A housekeeping and prioritisation process. Your goal is to reorganise any outstanding tasks from today and build a clear plan for tomorrow.

Why do it?

To ensure your day will be spent in a focused and proactive way, instead of working randomly and reactively.

What does it look like?

• You look at your to-do list from today and decide what to do with any outstanding tasks. Usually you’ll re-schedule them for tomorrow or a later date if tomorrow looks too full.
• You have a look at your scheduled appointments for tomorrow and the amount of time you’ll have to yourself.
• You plan your to-do list for tomorrow – keeping it realistic!

How often should I do it?

Once a day – before the day begins. That means you do it the night before or very early in the morning before checking email for the first time.

How long does it take?

5-10 minutes, assuming you have good lists in place to support this process.

WEEKLY PLANNING

What is it?

A time management process. Your goal is to balance your week between appointments and work blocks to move your projects forward.

Why do it?

To get your priorities scheduled into your week before other people’s requests for your time take over.

What does it look like?

• You look at your to-do list from today and decide what to do with any outstanding tasks. Usually you’ll re-schedule them for a day next week or de-prioritise them if the week looks too full.
• You review your long-range project and idea lists and decide when you’ll take the next action for each.
• You confirm appointments for next week and schedule the necessary work blocks for yourself.
• You plan your to-do list for Monday – keeping it realistic!

How often should I do it?

Once a week – before the week begins. Monday morning is really too late. Most people prefer to do this at some point in the weekend when they’re more relaxed and removed from work pressures (hard to believe, I know – but try it before dismissing the idea). Some folks find Friday afternoon to be a good time for this process.

How long does it take?

20-30 minutes, assuming you have good systems for managing time and projects.

SETTING UP THE SYSTEMS

If you want to learn how to set up your systems for managing lists, email and paper, check out this course or this one.

Filed under: Flow, Productive Routines, Tasks, Time Management | 1 Comment »

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productivity Polls | No Comments »

This article reminds me of that essay we had to write when we were kids: “How I Spent my Spring Vacation” by Kristin Lowe.

There are 4 extra bodies in the house this week, and they all want to be wherever I am, drawing me into whatever they’re doing. I am genuinely interested, but I keep wondering, “Does anybody else see the computer in front of me, or the phone I’m holding up to my ear?”

Our clients are all working this week – kicking off 2nd Quarter with much more optimism than Q1 – so nothing is slowing down on the work front. I could go into the office, but I sort of like staying in my jammies all day with everyone else.

Here’s how I’m staying focused in the midst of piano practice, Play-doh, PBJ sandwiches and paint being applied to the walls of the study where I (try to) work:

1. Hard stuff first - Whatever requires the most intense concentration is the first task of the day, before kids and clients start looking for me.
2. Clear priorities - I start my day with a gorgeously organised RTM task list – and I don’t go to bed until it’s ready for tomorrow.
3. One thing at a time - I write on a piece of paper next to me the ONE thing I am working on right now. I cross it off when I’m done. Under these circumstances it seems to take a superhuman effort to stay focused on one thing at a time, but by day’s end, the list of completed items is nice and long.
4. Batching tasks – Processing email, making calls, writing proposals, replying to email…these are all distinctly separate chunks of the day, interspersed with family stuff like cleaning the guinea pig cage, getting dinner together and watching a movie. There’s a rhythm to it; my brain likes the variety.
5. Change of scenery - I move my laptop around the house whenever I switch activities. Depending on what I’m working on and how deeply I need to concentrate, I might sit at my desk, on the sofa, or on the balcony.
6. White noise – If I sit at the kitchen island, the rain on the window drowns out the noise of the playdates and renovations. When the rain stops, sometimes I put in headphones and listen to recorded ambient noise: the sounds of a waterfall, ocean waves, or a thunderstorm. (By the way, this is a great trick for when you have to work in a coffee shop or airport lounge).
7. Support - My husband is on holiday too, and he’s great about throwing the kids in the car and making errands feel like a special outing. This is when I can call people without letting on I’m at home. I guess now my secret’s out.

Is it a picture of perfect familial and entrepreneurial bliss? Nah – I’ve shouted at everyone plenty of times…but this is what I wanted, right? Freedom, fulfillment and family. It works – as long as I stay focused!

How do you stay focused in the midst of distractions when you’re working from home?  How about in an open-plan office?

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productive Routines, Tasks, Work/Life Balance | 2 Comments »

There are a few things many of us do all day, every day. They include:

• Reading and Writing
• Meeting/Talking with Others
• Managing Email
• Shuffling/Searching for Information
• Planning and Executing Projects

If you were to get faster at doing any of these things, what would you be able to focus on with the extra time? What’s that worth to you?

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productive Routines | No Comments »

If we all worked alone, it would be a cinch to focus, get our work done and get on with living. The tricky bit is that most of us work in teams, coordinate projects and activities for groups or depend on others for information and support. This means there’s a lot of communication happening all day, every day.

With each email, SMS, chat, voice message or note left on our desk there is an expectation that we will respond ASAP. The volume – coupled with the presumption that we will follow through immediately – is the primary source of stress for info-overloaded employees today.

In a landmark study published in 2007 by Intel, the authors state, “The problem isn’t the abundance of accessible information. It’s the queued streams of pushed information; that is, the accumulation of messages governed by the expectation that the worker process them all.”

We need to get smarter about how we handle this. Let’s look at some strategies for resetting our rhythms and managing the expectations that other people have of us.

Turnaround Time Conditioning

If you think it makes you look professional and responsive to reply to every communication immediately, think again. Your colleagues – and your boss – could take this as a sign that you are erratic and reactive or that you don’t have enough to do! Your ability to remain focused on high-value activities and deliver timely results is where you should concentrate your personal PR campaign.

For those people who really do need to hear from you frequently, work together to determine a reasonable turnaround threshold for your communications – email in particular.  Is it 20 minutes? 40 minutes? 90 minutes? The benefits for both of you in having longer stretches of time to concentrate on important work are significant.

If you’ve slipped into a negative habit of interrupting each other frequently, have a conversation about the challenges and take control together.

For true crises, use the phone or your feet to walk to each other’s offices.

Selective Response

This is just a fancy way to say: Ignore anything you can. You’ve got more important things to do.

Worst Case Questioning

If you thought that last one was a bit tough to swallow, try asking yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t engage in this conversation?” Could you live with that scenario?

Remember – you’ve got more important things to do. What’s the worst thing that could happen if those tasks don’t get your attention?!

Stand-up Meetings

For conversations that are best had face-to-face, have a stand-up meeting. If nobody sits down, the meeting will be short and focused! This works for quick team meetings as well as 1:1 discussions.

Stop the Drop-By Meetings

Even if a discussion only requires 5 minutes, everybody deserves a heads-up on a conversation.When people drop by each other’s desks whenever it suits them to have a chat, the discussion is generally unfocused and takes longer than necessary.

The ‘dropper’ may get what he/she needs, but the ‘dropee’ has been interrupted and compelled to comment on an issue without a chance to switch gears mentally.

When someone drops in on you and asks if you’ve “got a second,” look at your watch and give one of these answers:

• “Now isn’t a great time, but I should be able to think about that in about 30 minutes. Can we schedule a chat at 10:00?”

• “Sure, but I’m pushing to finish something. How much time do we need?” Stand up when saying this so your visitor isn’t tempted to sit down and linger! If the conversation drags, suggest you schedule a longer session at a mutually convenient time. Open up your calendar and/or walk toward the door while doing this.

Get Better at Saying NO or Later

If much of your day is spent spinning your wheels, and your evenings are spent working late when the office is finally quiet, you may need to work on establishing some better personal and professional boundaries. See 7 Ways to Say NO for some tips.

Put an End to Pouncing

One of the greatest complaints we hear from senior managers is that their people ‘pounce’ on them all the time. The second they return to the office, are seen online, or set the phone back in the cradle, a line forms at their door of people needing to talk.

What do the associates and support staff complain about? The bosses never give them any time. Thus, they grab it whenever they can.

The answer to this problem lies in establishing a sacred rhythm of daily briefing and/or weekly meetings (ideally on Monday or Friday – looking forward) to review progress, clarify priorities and schedule time to discuss critical issues.

The key is that these meetings must never be cancelled. If absolutely necessary, they can be rescheduled within the same week, they can be held via phone and remote desktop sharing, or they can be shortened…but they must take place.

When people come to trust that there will be a regular opportunity to touch base, they will begin to collect issues for review at the regular meetings rather than playing ‘catch as catch can’ all week long.

Reduce the Volume and Get Back to Work

There is a lot you can do to regain control of your work environment by
cutting the amount of input you have to deal with. You also need
to understand the difference between processing and working. These
topics have been explored in depth elsewhere on this blog:

• Create a ‘Front Office’

• Put Your Inbox on a Diet

• Establishing Com-Free Zones

Filed under: Flow, Info-Overload, Productive Routines, Time Management, Work/Life Balance | No Comments »

Here’s the challenge: do you value your time (a.k.a. your life) enough to place some parameters around how it gets used? Or do you find it easier just to go with the flow, crossing your fingers that it will all get done? How well is that working for you?

If you’re like many of our readers, you probably struggle with finding ways to make yourself available to colleagues and clients yet also get your work done so you have some time left for your life and loved ones.

Let me share a little truism with you: The less time you have, the more wisely you will use it. This is our variation of Parkinson’s Law, which states that ‘Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’ We have all experienced the validity of this law when we pulled off a great term paper the night before it was due. There’s nothing like a looming deadline to help us tune out distractions.

Enough Chit-Chat

The law applies to our social tendencies as well, i.e. ‘Conversations expand so as to fill the time available for their completion.’ If your door is always open, your phone is always on, and your chat status is a free-for-all, there will be no end to the interruptions and distractions you are battling. Whenever somebody else is bored or stuck, they will seek out the easiest path to their own procrastination: always-available-you.

Sound familiar? Let me share some tricks to help you change this by establishing what we call ‘Com-Free Zones.’

These are chunks of time each day when you block all communications and focus on – well, whatever YOU want to. This could be a critical task or project…but it could also be going to the gym without being tethered to your boss via the Blackberry at 8 p.m.

Defined Working / Available Hours

When do you work? When are you off work? Did you know there was such a concept?! Just decide, and stick to it – at least publicly, anyway. If your hours aren’t fixed by someone else, set them for yourself – especially if you work from home. If you are a corporate professional, decide when you start and when you finish, and don’t respond to email and text messages outside of those hours.

People will catch on. Even your boss will catch on. You say you’ll lose your job if you do this? Hmmm….so how long are you going to live under that sort of pressure? 5 more years? 10 more years? And what will the payoff be for that? Just asking…

OK, here’s a cheat for you. If you occasionally chose to work ‘under the radar,’ e.g. after the kids are in bed, in the early morning or evening, don’t let everybody know about it! Queue your email messages to be sent out when your official working day begins. If you are careful and consistent about this, your workmates will start to adjust to your rhythm, and you will find your life again.

Control Outgoing Communications

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” So said Walt Kelly, and so say I about how we distract ourselves as much as the other guy.

I will put my hand up here and say I am as guilty of this as the next person. I will be working along and suddenly decide to make a call or send an email, check in with someone via chat, etc. Sometimes my communication is directly relevant to the work at hand, i.e. I need some information before I can move forward. But most of the time it’s nothing fancier than boredom or procrastination.

So when the only enemy to my productivity is actually me, my trick is to completely shut down all communications channels. That means I close (not minimise) Outlook and Skype, and I set all phone notifications to still and silent. Then I put my phone away so I don’t see it flashing. I am always amazed at how many times I try to click over to my email or reach for my phone. When neither is handy, I remember that I’m supposed to be working on something! So I make a note of what I need to do online or on the phone, then get back to work.

Even though I’m a productivity consultant, I have to play these tricks on myself. Maybe they will help you as well.

What’s Your Threshold?

I understand that you really need to be in touch with your colleagues and clients. I hope you understand that you really need time to focus and also to be not-working.

So let’s agree to a little experiment. Think realistically about how long your team, your boss, or your clients can reasonably wait for a response from you during the work day. Is it 20 minutes? 40 minutes? 2 hours?

Now try it. Test yourself and your work environment to see what happens if you are not available by phone, chat or email for that length of time. Find your threshold, commit to it, and use those golden minutes to actually get something meaningful done.

For tips on how to help people cope during your ‘extended’ absences, read Create a ‘Front Office.’

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productive Routines, Time Management, Work/Life Balance | 1 Comment »

Gone are the good ‘ol days when most white collar workers had a dedicated secretary to filter incoming communications and information, making sure the boss could keep his or her mind on the most important matters. Email, instant messaging and mobile phones have given everybody direct access to everybody else – all day, every day.

While today’s tech tools can be great business and productivity boosters when used with discretion and flair, the general trend is toward non-stop interruptions and distractions preventing most of us from finding the quiet time needed to focus and complete critical tasks.

So how do we leverage the tools to our advantage but retain control over what gets our time and attention? Here are a few nifty little tricks to help you mimic the days of old with your very own ‘Front Office.’

Voice Mail + Caller ID

We’ll start with an easy one. Make sure frequent callers’ numbers display on your land line and mobile phone when they ring, and create protocols for yourself about which calls you’ll answer immediately and which you will return later.

Leave a short and sweet greeting to the effect of:

“Hi – sorry I can’t pick up your call right now. I’ll check messages at least once daily and will get back to you within 24 hours. For urgent matters, please send me a brief SMS beginning with the word URGENT.”

Email Autoresponders

This is the same idea as above, to manage expectations and put you in control. Set your server to reply to all incoming emails with a message like this:

“Hi – thanks for your message. I will check email twice daily at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Hong Kong time (GMT +8) and will reply within 48 hours. If you need a response by a particular time, please indicate this in the subject line of your email. For urgent matters, please send me a brief SMS (+123 4567 8910) beginning with the word URGENT.”

Tip: For both suggestions above, be sure to follow up as you have promised; otherwise people won’t trust your system or respect your boundaries.

IM: Not Available

Even if you are in plain sight of your workmates, set your instant messaging status to ‘Not Available’ or  ‘Do Not Disturb’ when you are focusing on essential tasks or project work. Ignore all attempts to get you to crack – even the funny ones! You won’t have to do this more than a couple of times to send a clear message that your M.O. has changed.

Workstation: Do Not Disturb Signal

Come up with a team-wide signal to indicate when you are not free to chat or answer questions. Some companies use a coloured flag system on the door, cubicle entry or computer monitor. Others create open door/closed door guidelines and understandings.

Some employees put headphones in/on their ears and orient their computers so that passers-by can’t gain immediate eye contact. Brainstorm ideas with your team and support each other to implement the system. Everybody wins!

Personal or Virtual Assistant

Build a solid case for an extra pair of hands by logging your time use faithfully for a 2-week period. Demonstrate to your bosses which tasks could be done by a support person, freeing you up to clock more hours on the creative, value-adding work you were hired to do. Calculate and compare the cost of your hours against the cost of support hours to put some teeth into your pitch.

Consider part-time and virtual assistant options rather than thinking you need a full-time employee. Delegate work on an hourly basis or outsource entire projects. Then be a good manager – give clear expectations and deadlines, allow enough time for discussion and revision, etc.

Empower Others to Act for You

There’s a lot of power in systems that are written down so people can follow them to your specifications and quality standards. Make a list of all the things you do on a routine basis that could be documented and handed over to someone else. One by one, create a short how-to guide and train others to implement your processes just like you would.

This takes time, but the payoff is HUGE if you do it right!!

Away Find

Small businesses and open-minded corporates can achieve much of the above with this elegant productivity app: http://www.awayfind.com/

Filed under: Flow, Focus, Productive Routines, Time Management, Work/Life Balance | 1 Comment »

Last night – after a full day of consulting and mommying – I looked at my to-do list and felt my heart sink. You know the feeling – it goes something like this: “There is no way I can get all this done. It’s all so complex and time consuming. I’m tired, my hands hurt and I would rather go to bed…but it’s now or never if I’m going to have this stuff ready on time. Ugh…here we go…”

Then something cool happened. I blasted through all three projects, one after the other. I was totally in the groove:  everything came together easily, I was enjoying myself, I finished it all up and sent it off to others for review, then found myself shutting down the computer at 11:24 – much earlier than expected. I had even forgotten that my hands were hurting.

Now today I’m asking myself, “Did it really ‘just happen,’ or was something else going on? How could I make it ‘happen’ again? Is there a way to bottle and reproduce the sense of Flow I experienced?” Now that would be really cool…

Maybe we have bottled Flow in a way, now that I think of it. I have seen something similar happen for all of our clients and workshop participants, just after we’ve taught them how to master mind clutter and manage their to-do lists effectively. When we give them a few minutes to implement what we’ve taught, it’s as if time stands still. We could leave the room for an hour, and our clients wouldn’t mind or even notice. We have taken to calling this moment ‘The Zone,’ and we’re ultra-respectful of it, careful not to rush it.

Mihály Csikszentmihalyi is a psychology professor considered to be the world’s leading researcher on positive psychology, as well as the architect of the notion of Flow. He describes Flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost."

This diagram shows the relationship between a person’s skills and the difficulty of the task at hand. Flow is found where our skills are well applied to a challenging situation. Click on the image to see the full-size version.

So does this mean that I got into the groove with my projects because they were really hard, and I have an amazing skill set? Um…nah. However, it might mean that my proclivities for organisation and collaboration empowered me be ready and able to complete the tasks when I had to pull it all together under pressure. Here’s what I mean:

Factors that contributed to my Flow experience:

• Groundwork – I was pulling together a final product that reflected months of thinking and planning.
• Collaboration – I had planned the projects and will implement them with a team that is a joy to work with.
• Application of Learning – I was applying discrete skills I’ve been acquiring through reading, taking courses, and discussing ideas with mastermind groups.
• Deadline – My bit really did need to happen yesterday if I was to avoid stressing other people out next week.
• Passion – I was working on things that I believe make a difference in the world.

OK, so if this means that good planning, teamwork and skill acquisition combined with our natural talents and passions might be key ingredients of our Bottled Flow Elixer, this is very good news indeed -  for all of us. We’re created with unique passions and talents, we can surround ourselves with people we work well with, and there is no shortage of deadlines and opportunities for acquiring new skills.

Now let me turn this discussion over to you. What do you think were the key elements of a Flow experience you’ve had lately?

Filed under: Flow | No Comments »