You may already know that I use and recommend an electronic system for a master to-do list. It’s important to have a structured place to capture anything and everything you think you should or could do.

On any given day, however, the master to-do list is too much. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and/or distracted. That’s why I use a distinctly low-tech approach to stay focused on my top priorities each day. That’s it in the photo. Yep – it’s a yellow sticky note on my computer (horrors!). The thing is, this is not like all those random sticky notes I see in so many offices. This one has a bit of architecture to help me be productive all day long.

At the top it says ‘Today.’ Right under that I’ve listed, numbered in priority order, my 3 targets for the day. I’ve chosen these because of their deadlines and the amount of time I have today to work on them. I will do everything within my power to work on these from top to bottom, one at a time. Even for me, this is not easy – but without this plan, I would be all over the place and finish up the day feeling like I had spun my wheels but gotten nowhere.

Under the Target 3 is a list of a couple of other things I’d like to get done as/when I get through the priorities.

Will I do more than 3 things today? Of course. Is it possible that I won’t get everything on my little sticky note done? Sure. But I know it will feel great to cross off even one or two of those high priority tasks, and this is motivating.

To help myself along, I treat myself along the way to a quick coffee break, a 5-minute Facebook indulgence, a stretch, or a phone call that needs to be made – only when I have finished one high priority task. Writing this post right now is actually a little reward for finishing the first (and yuckiest) thing on my list. That task actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – which is often the case once you just make up your mind to get started!

Would something like this work for you? Give it a try today!

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

When we talk about strategies for beating distraction during our workshops, I often mention the concept of white noise and find that this is not as commonly known as I thought.

I’ll date myself by saying I first learned about white noise as a kid when the one English-language television channel in Germany would go off the air at midnight. Between the final notes of the U.S. national anthem and the news at 6 a.m., there would be nothing on the tube but jumpy black and white dots and a steady “shhhhhh” sound all night long. My parents explained that some people liked to fall asleep with the TV static on because it drowned out other sounds in the neighborhood. They told me this masking effect of a constant sound was called white noise.

Since then people have figured out that white noise, also called ambient noise, is a great concentration aid during your waking hours. For people who work in an open-plan office, coffee shops, airport lounges or around kids, it’s a lifesaver. Kids and adults with ADHD find white noise to be soothing and a focus booster. Here are some links to good sources of white noise recordings:

Ambiance

First up is Ambiance, the application I use regularly on my iPhone. Get it at the App Store > Productivity > Ambiance. I pop in my headphones wherever I happen to be when I need to push through some work without distraction. The range of available recorded and looped sounds is impressive. My current favourites for working are ‘Large Wind Chimes’ and ‘Waterfall and River.’  To help us catch some shut-eye despite night road construction outside the window, it’s hard to beat ‘Rain on a Tin Roof.’  My hubby and I like the timer and slow fade-out features that ensure we drift slowly off to sleep without a sudden stop to the lulling sounds.

Simply Noise

A simple site that delivers steady static, just like my old TV. You can adjust the volume and oscillation of the ’soundscape’ to suit the circumstances and ‘enjoy auditory zen.’ You can also download the files of white noise, pink noise and brown noise. For more on this, put on your scientist hat and head over to Wikipedia’s explanation of the colors of noise. To listen to the different colours, check out this site.

White Noise 24/7

This site has a small selection of natural sounds and mechanical sounds available in streaming audio format. The second category includes a ventilator, washing machine and dishwasher…reminds me of that Thanksgiving weekend when my huge family was packed into my grandparents’ house, and I dragged my air mattress into the kitchen to sleep next to the dishwasher. It was the only thing that would drown out the sound of my uncles and grandpa snoring!

White Noise Machines

To create white noise for an entire room or office, consider some of these white noise machines or sound conditioners. For a good overview of how these machines work and why they boost productivity, read this article.

Do You Use White Noise?

Please vote on our Productivity Poll to let us know how/whether you use white noise. Thanks!

Do You Know of Other Good White Noise Resources?

Please let us know by commenting below – thanks!

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“How does information overload impact you?” That’s the question Jonathan Spira, chief analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm, asked senior executives at companies including IBM, NBC, Research in Motion, and Siemens, among others. The answers may surprise you.

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The South China Morning Post recently ran a series of my articles in the Job Coach section.

Thanks muchly to the editor for inviting me to contribute to the column!

These articles focus on some popular Team Productivity issues.

Enjoy!

• Mapping Stimulates Creative Processes
• Efficiency is Now Top Priority for Firms
• Don’t Allow Email to Take Over Your Life

Filed under: Address Booking, Business Organising, Email, Focus, HR Buzz, Info-Overload, Mind Mapping, Team Productivity | No Comments »

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I spoke at a breakfast for Human Resources leaders last month, and we asked what was on their minds these days. Here’s what they said:

• Managing people’s expectations
• Dealing with increased levels of fear and anxiety
• Managing morale in the face of the media hype, especially for financial institutions
• Improving internal communication skills
• Keeping people motivated when they don’t know whether they’ll be around next week
• A new internal focus – ‘Back to Basics’
• Relying on internal expertise rather than external consultants
• Getting managers to lead and be decisive
• Noticing that employees are very self-focused
• Working to build confidence in leadership

My topic was Helping Your Team Accomplish More With Less.

I’ve prepared a 1-page summary which is ideal for team leaders looking for practical ways to help their people today.

Please download your copy here.

Filed under: Business Organising, Focus, HR Buzz, Productive Routines, Time Management | 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?

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Let’s say there’s been a massive traffic accident on a highway near you. Within minutes, the emergency room reception area of the nearest major hospital is packed with over 100 victims, all in varying states of need, all expecting to receive near-immediate attention. The emergency room nurses spring into action.

Question: What’s the first thing they do?

Answer: They apply a process called triage.

Definition: Triage is the sorting of, and allocation of, treatment to patients, especially battle and disaster victims, according to a proven system of priorities designed to maximise the number of survivors.

Application: What’s this got to do with email? It’s a near-perfect metaphor, actually. Read on to see how a triage approach to managing your inbox will add hours to your week and minimise email stress.

The word triage comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sort, sift or select. The triage process used by emergency room staffers is designed to simplify decision making. A colour-coded tag is used to identify the next actions to be taken as follows:

Black:  Deceased/Expectant

Patients are so severely injured that they will die of their injuries, possibly in hours or days; they should be taken to a holding area and given painkillers as required to reduce suffering.

Red:  Immediate/Life Threatening

Patients require immediate surgery or other life-saving intervention, and have first priority for surgical teams or transport to advanced facilities; they “cannot wait” but are likely to survive with immediate treatment.

Yellow:  Delayed/ Observation

Patients’ condition is stable for the moment but requires watching by trained persons and frequent re-triage, will need hospital care (and would receive immediate priority care under “normal” circumstances).

Green:  Minor/Wait

Patients will require a doctor’s care in several hours or days but not immediately, may wait for a number of hours or be told to go home and come back the next day.

White:  Dismiss/Walking Wounded

Patients have minor injuries; first aid and home care are sufficient, a doctor’s care is not required.

————————————-

Now, once our triage team has finished with the sorting, what do they do next? They turn their attention toward treating the highest priority cases.  They can do this with greater peace of mind and focus because they know every case has been reviewed and prioritised. To avoid random and reactive treatment – and potentially losing sight of true priorities – they’ve first concentrated on completing an efficient and focused sorting process before getting down to work.

EMAIL TRIAGE

So, to make this work for your email a couple of things are needed:

1. An understanding of the difference between sorting email and working on the stuff that’s in the email. Anything in between is highly inefficient, even if you like to call it ‘multi-tasking.’
2. A commitment to sort (a.k.a. ‘process’) your entire inbox down to empty on a regular basis. The goal of this exercise is to make a decision about every email and ‘tag it’ – literally if that’s your thing, or or file it for follow-up, or make a task out of it, or grab what’s useful from it, or get rid of it. This is a different activity from actually doing all the work required by some of the emails. You’ll do that next – or later – or never…per your decision.

(Skeptics, take note – this ‘extra step’ of processing will actually save you time, contrary to your fears. See here and here and here for more on this.)

To triage your email well, your brain may also need to get better at:

• being selective about deserves your time and attention
• being decisive about how and when you will follow through on things (or not)

Imagine, then, a triage system for your emails:

• Black: Dead or Done - Junk or stuff I’m finished with (delete or file as Done)
• Red: Do Immediately - Do or Die – as soon as I’m finished with the triage
• Yellow: Do Soon - Take care of this Today or This Week (file for follow-up or schedule a task accordingly)
• Green:  Can Wait - Throw into Next Week or Later (file for review on Friday/Monday or monthly)
• White: Info Only - Grab what I need from this (idea, information, link, phone number, etc.) – and then the email will be Black

Cautionary note to organising junkies:

Am I suggesting you create an elaborate colour-coding scheme for your emails? Please…no! It’s a metaphor.

Ready to move beyond the figurative?

Read this for how to set up some follow-up email files that work for lots of folks. Or take our course to learn how to do all this really well in Outlook, using your Calendar and Tasks better. Non-Outlook users, try Remember the Milk. When you’re ready to get good and truly sorted, check out this course to learn how to triage everything – not just email – using our FAST Formula.

One more thing – pop over to our Productivity Poll and tell us how many emails are in your inbox right now. The fun bit? You can see what everybody else said. It will either make you feel great or give you a good giggle. Both are nice.

Filed under: Email, Focus, Info-Overload | 3 Comments »