Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), shares her thoughts on managing your time, the value of time and why you should protect it. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. http://www.TheProductivityPro.com
Time management training tends to focus on individual workplace productivity; and while that’s all well and good, most of us actually work within team environments. It’s not a good idea, therefore, to just ignore the productivity issues affecting your coworkers. Your team workflow process can’t function smoothly if the individual parts are broken.
Raising awareness of group productivity issues requires little more than circulating an informal survey among your teammates, and then distributing the results. Simply ask something like, “What are your X biggest time management challenges?” You can make “X” any number you like, depending on how much time and resources you have to dedicate to the issue.
Needless to say, your team’s manager bears the ultimate responsibility for maintaining an awareness of overall productivity issues; and if you manage the team, then you can implement the survey yourself easily enough. If you don’t, consider approaching your manager and offering to take on the responsibility. They’ll probably appreciate your initiative.
Admittedly, this means a little more work for you. However, it takes very little time to initiate the process, and if handled properly, it will increase your team’s overall productivity—which should shave some time and costs off your organization’s bottom line.
I recommend you circulate the survey quarterly, and then make an effort to help your colleagues address their biggest problems. Again, this needn’t take forever, especially if you leverage the copious resources available online; and in a time = money sense, it certainly justifies any effort you put into it.
Even better, you can invest a few bucks in a copy of my new book, What To Do When There’s Too Much To Do, scheduled to hit the bookstores in mid-2012. This slim volume includes simple, direct ways to cut back on your task list and face down the workplace productivity monster. Watch for it!
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), talks about getting out of a rut. You don’t always have to do things they way they have always been done. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. http://www.TheProductivityPro.com
“Reflective thinking requires the continual evaluation of beliefs, assumptions, and hypotheses against existing data and against other plausible interpretations of the data.” — John Dewey, American educator.
“Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.” — John C. Maxwell, American author and leadership guru.
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.” — Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher.
As a savvy SuperCompetent, I suspect you take a few moments occasionally to examine your workflow process, carefully considering what works and what doesn’t so you can maximize your productivity going forward. Psychologists call this process “reflective thinking.” Whether you call it that or not, you almost certainly practice it on some level, because reflective thinking underlies and informs any effective workplace productivity schema. It also acts as a touchstone for how you react to new situations, especially emergencies and other crises.
Put simply, reflective thinking represents a process of learning from experience. You spend time in thoughtful reflection, integrating new knowledge, deciding how to handle specific situations in the future, and identifying what you want to improve. It may also include decisions about which practices to abandon, and which new ones to adopt. Ultimately, every change you make to your personal productivity efforts—every time you tweak a system, implement something new, or trim away something that no longer works—is rooted in this process.
In many ways, reflective thinking resembles metacognition, because it involves thinking about how you think and coming to terms with how you learn. Some researchers consider the terms synonymous, and at the very least, they do overlap somewhat. Certainly, both allow you to take positive advantage of your self-knowledge, whether in terms of your general education or, more specifically, in how you hone your productivity at work.
You can do your reflection and the resulting winnowing on the fly if you have to, and many of us do. However, I consider that akin to fixing a car as and when it breaks down. It keeps the motor running for a while, but eventually, things will grind to a halt as failures cascade through the system—failures that could have been avoided if you’d spend some time reflecting on the system overall, so you could find and correct the problems point by point.
Long-term success at any business venture requires you to occasionally step away and look at the big picture, so you can then home in on the “problem children” in your workflow. If you don’t already regularly set aside some time for reflective thinking, do so. Put it on your task list as a Priority 2 item—important, but not urgent—and keep those appointments with yourself so you can locate and fix the bugs in your workflow machine.
Reflective thinking has a second component that relates to but diverges from the metacognitive one, in that it bears directly on one’s ability to adapt to the changing work environment without either freezing up or going off half-cocked. This form of reflective thinking is the opposite of multi-tasking—which doesn’t give you enough time to really think about your situation—and the antithesis of the “fools rush in” attitude of doing something just to do something.
Admittedly, when events come to a head, you can’t just stand there doing nothing; you have to make a decision, probably quite quickly. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, action beats meditation any day. That said, you need to contemplate the situation long enough to decide the best course of action. If you react too quickly, the results can be disastrous. So study the context and gather as much information as you can before you respond.
Effective communication requires the consistent use of this form of reflective thinking. If you say or write the first thing that comes to mind, especially in response to a tense situation, you may make things worse; whereas if you let things cool a bit and offer a measured reply, you have a better chance of remedying the situation.
As long as you don’t over-think things, both forms of reflective thinking positively impact your workplace productivity by smoothing out and tightening up your workflow. On the one hand, reflective thinking about your systems, processes, habits, and tasks can help you cut wastage and improve your personal efficiency. On the other, the “look before you leap” form of reflection helps you avoid unproductive situations and mistakes that might, ultimately, crash your personal productivity, at least temporarily.
So implement reflective thinking and its sibling, metacognition, in your personal action plan. Step off the merry-go-round now and again, so you can stop and think—and focus on what really matters. If it helps you get things done more efficiently and keeps you from making as many mistakes, then it’s well worth the effort.
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), gives pointers on keeping your schedule under control. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. http://www.TheProductivityPro.com
” Remember self-help tapes? You used to throw them into your car [stereo] or Walkman when you were going on a lengthy trip so you could ‘grow on the go’ and hope to return home all the better for it… Well, podcasts that discuss various aspects of productivity very well could be the evolution of those self-help tapes.” — Mike Vardy, Stepcase Lifehack.
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” — Paul J. Meyer, American motivational speaker.
“None of the world’s problems will have a solution until the world’s individuals become thoroughly self-educated.” — R. Buckminster Fuller, American author, designer, and inventor.
From a productivity standpoint, the relentless march of technology allows for all sorts of new opportunities for self-education. And make no mistake: you have an obligation to constantly hone your personal productivity skills, lest you find yourself suddenly overwhelmed by your workload as it evolves to meet ever-changing workplace conditions.
Fortunately, productivity training can be as simple as sitting around and listening to other people talk—which brings us to the topic of productivity podcasts. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can acquire a whole host of these simple audio presentations for free, and with very little effort. Some focus on specific professions, from the creative arts to software development; but many handle general productivity topics, often in gratifying detail. A good podcast can last anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour, making them perfect for filling up your downtime gaps or drive time that you might otherwise waste. Just download them to your MP3 player, and off you go!
A quick Google search will net dozens of these little productivity programs, whereupon the problem becomes which of the many to spend your limited time listening to. Luckily, you’ve got me to round ‘em up for you. In this exciting entry, I’ll give you the scoop on five productivity podcasts I believe you’ll find both enlightening and educational.
43Folders Podcast
Although the entries appear very irregularly and it hasn’t updated in a while, Merlin Mann’s 43Folders podcast is both helpful and fun. But this podcast goes beyond mere infotainment, because while he’s a pleasure to listen to, Mann’s recommendations have a lot of merit—and he uses them personally in his self-described quest to help you “[find] the time and attention to do your best creative work.” If nothing else, Mann’s exuberance can be infectious, stirring you on to greater workplace productivity.
Accidental Creative Podcast
Todd Henry, the author of The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant on a Moment’s Notice, helms this info-packed podcast. Henry posts new episodes about twice a month, and while he doesn’t joke around as much as Merlin Mann, he’s a vibrant speaker, interesting to listen to, and manages to snag some pretty good productivity experts as guest stars. In recent months, Noah Scalin, Michael Bungay Stanier, and Mark McGuinness have made guest appearances.
The Productivity Show
This Australian-based podcast starts from a Getting Things Done perspective, but ranges widely over the entire productivity field. It draws its guests from a variety of endeavors, including popular music, and often focuses on specialty software products designed to boost productivity. There’s a two-year gap between the last two podcasts in the series, but as of August 2011 the host, Tony Goodman, appears to be back in the saddle; and in any case, the archives make for fascinating listening.
Back to Work Podcast
For those who’d like more Merlin Mann (and prefer to get your fixes more regularly), I recommend Back to Work, which Mann hosts with a fellow named Dan Benjamin. These two enjoy great chemistry, and spend their podcasts exploring topics like personal limits, communication, and solving workplace problems in a chatty conversational style. But beware: these ‘casts often last an hour or more, so they don’t lend themselves to filling small pieces of downtime; they require a bit more investment.
Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips
Stever Robbin’s brief productivity tidbits offer a sharp contrast to the Back To Work crew’s lengthier discussions. They rarely clock more than five minutes, making them just right for listening to while standing in line at the pharmacy or waiting for the traffic light to change. Robbins comes across as witty and interesting, and his to-the-point, time-saving tips make a lot of sense.
Bottom Line
Aside from staving off boredom, these and other podcasts will keep you thinking and questioning what you already know and do, making them valuable tools for refining your workplace productivity schema. It takes just a minute or two to download the individual ‘casts, and if you’ve got an iPod, you can subscribe to many of them via iTunes. So why not embrace this opportunity to better yourself?
How often do you read an email before handling it? In other words, how many times do you click on an email before it before it’s gone from your inbox? Please vote in my poll. Thanks!
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), gives pointers on managing your time and keeping your schedule under control. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. http://www.TheProductivityPro.com
In this month’s newsletter article, Telecommuting: Creating a Productive Home Working Environment, I discussed some ways of keeping your home office productive. Here are a few more thoughts I’d like to share.
Although telecommuting has many advantages, it does have its challenges. One of the greatest lies in getting your family, friends, and neighbors to take your work habits seriously. They may (at least subconsciously) assume that just because you’re home all day, you’re not really working—and so you can do anything for them at any time. Allowing them to continue to think this way will play havoc with your personal productivity, so nip such tendencies in the bud right away.
Let’s look at friends and neighbors first. While some may respect your work schedule, others won’t think twice about interrupting you to chat or ask a favor—something they probably wouldn’t do if you were slaving away in your cubicle over at HQ. When it happens, politely but firmly point out that you’ve set specific work hours for yourself, and that you need to focus on work during that time and can’t afford any interruptions. Make it clear, however, that you welcome their visits at any other time (if in fact you do). While some people may think you’re a jerk, you can live with that if they’ll just leave you alone. Most, however, will get the point and back off graciously.
With family, just sit down with everyone and lay down the law about when, and under what circumstances, they can disturb you. If you don’t, they’re likely to trample down the borders between your work life and home life so badly they’ll cease to exist. The worst culprits here may not be your children, surprisingly, but your significant other. I know one worker who had to give up his first attempt at telecommuting, because his spouse always had chores for him to do and errands for him to run—reasoning that, after all, he had all day to get in his eight hours. That’s a recipe for disaster, and in fact it killed his productivity at work. He ended up going back to his traditional office after a few weeks, so he could get more done.
Many would-be telecommuters actually hurt their own workplace productivity by assuming they can combine telework with child care. This simply doesn’t work in most cases, because both efforts require focus and commitment—and no one can really focus on two things at once, as much as we might want to. If you have young kids at home, even for part of the day, send them to day care or hire someone to look after them, so you can get your work done. Your kids may not understand, but it’s best for everyone involved.
Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro(R), discusses a vital part of managing your time: the importance of vacation time as it relates to being productive. (C) 2011 Laura Stack. All Rights Reserved. http://www.TheProductivityPro.com
