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Posts Tagged ‘General Productivity Articles’
Owning Clubs Does Not Make You A Golfer (or, What’s a PIM and Why Should I Care?)
Actually, I don’t golf, but I like the analogy, which I first heard from my friend Rick L’Amie at Moxie Marketing. Conversations with him and others have started me thinking about the process for finding the right productivity tools, and first recognizing that there is a need. Golfing is kind of definitive, often something happens that makes you realize that you want to learn to golf, and it’s easy to know whether or not you are already a golfer. Productivity tools are different. Most people have very ingrained habits for how they deal with commitments, communication, and information – it’s just “how they operate,” and probably how they have always operated. It often doesn’t even occur to people to stop and ask themselves if they have a Process, and if the tools they have are working.
I recently saw someone with a paper-based planner. I asked him, “how does that work for you?” He was surprised by the question, and had to stop and think about the answer. So then he asked if we could sit down and talk about it, which I was happy to do. He started by asking about other tools, both paper and electronic, and so we talked about PIMs (personal information managers). I told him that to be sufficient, a tool had to do a good job at handling at least five things well: calendar, to-do list, email, contacts, and notes, plus a capture tool is necessary also. Then I explained that there are three things to consider about your personal productivity (“time management,” if you will, although I think that term is no longer relevant):
- Recognizing that a tool is necessary. Why? Because you can only manage things when you can see them, and you can only see them when they are out of your head. And ‘out of your head’ on little scraps of paper (physical or electronic) is not particularly helpful, so you need someplace to store all of it.
- Choosing the right tool. Before the advent of electronic organizers, there were many kinds of paper tools, but most were essentially the same, with a calendar as the main feature, and perhaps a place for notes and an address book. Early in the days of electronic tools, Microsoft Outlook was among the first and the most dominant, and it handles all 5 components pretty well (although most people use it only to a fraction of its potential, because of number 3.) Now the problem is that there are so many tools on the market, and most of them are very specialized, i.e. focusing on only one or two of the 5 components. So now people are faced with the task of having to assemble their own set of tools, and they don’t even realize it, nor do they know how to pick the best one for them, because they don’t have a Process. Which leads me to #3….
- Owning a set of clubs does not make you a golfer. In other words, the PROCESS is the missing piece to using these tools successfully. You could have all the latest gadgets and a whole arsenal of apps, but unless you have a methodology, a step-by-step process for exactly how you need to use these tools for effectively managing all the details, then you’ll be just another hacker on the golf course. I’ve spent my entire professional career developing my process, called the Empowered Productivity System, and through this company, RegainYourTime.com, I teach it to people. There are also others.
For more to think about regarding your own personal productivity, or “time management,” you might enjoy my earlier post, “Three Secrets to Personal Productivity.” Thanks for reading, and if you’re using Twitter, I’d love to connect with you there: @mnthomas. Also, I’d be happy to discuss your own process and tools with you any time. Advice is always free!
Why “Time Management” is No Longer Relevant
Search engines, billions of websites, targeted advertisement and easy access to digital content provide us with myriad ways of taking care of our most complex informational and entertainment needs. What is now scarce, and therefore valuable, is the user’s attention, which explains the intense efforts made to obtain it through focused advertising, pop-ups, short videos embedded in news portals and, most disheartening, spam.
-from THE ECONOMICS OF ATTENTION: MAXIMIZING USER VALUE IN INFORMATION-RICH ENVIRONMENTS
Managing your time used to be the same thing as managing your attention. If you designated some time to attend to something, it was more likely that thing would get done. This was back before the digital revolution so thoroughly changed the way information is generated and shared. In other words, before there were so many distractions. Now, the world is constantly available at our fingertips, with the plethora of radio, television, internet, scrolling marquees, skywriting & advertising, not to mention new ways to instantly communicate, and handheld digital devices that are becoming more and more omnipresent. Allocating time to something no longer means that it will receive your attention, and without attention, your time is somewhat irrelevant. Attention creates action, produces quality and facilitates productivity. Attention also has a dramatic impact on your life. What you give your attention to, is what determines your experiences.
Think about it…there are entire cultures built around subjects that probably don’t even register with you. Don’t you know people who are involved in things you know nothing about? Perhaps its monster trucks, or vampires, or science fiction, or quantum physics. There are people whose lives revolve around subjects that are barely a blip on your radar. Those people give their attention to those topics, and therefore have experiences around them. And you do the same. So, as William James noted, “your experience is what you choose to attend to.” And all of those experiences eventually add up to your life. But if most of the time, you don’t “agree” to give your attention; you are just constantly distracted and reacting to all of those things that are vying for your attention, then maybe you do not have as much control over your life as you might like.
So perhaps it’s time to reconsider the way you manage the details of your life. For most people, their primary tool is a calendar. A calendar is a time-based tool. Allocating your time on a calendar can help, but maybe it’s time to change your thinking. Consider a productivity system that will enable you to view, and therefore better manage, all of those details necessary to service your life. This is a better way of allocating your attention to them, and keeping them in your focus, making it more likely that they will get done. You can only manage things when you can see them, and you can’t see them when they are inside your head. If you can view your workload (or, more importantly, your whole life-load) in a meaningful way, and not just as random entries in your calendar, then those details are more likely to capture your attention, despite all the distractions. If they get your attention, it’s more likely that you will take action around them. Any good personal productivity system (of course I suggest my Empowered Productivity System, but you may already have a process that works well for you) has a comprehensive task management tool. I’m working on compiling a list with reviews, so be sure to check back. But in the meantime, here is a place to start.
For more beautiful photos from Shawn P. Thomas, check out his Flickr stream. Thanks for reading!
Turning Productivity into Passion, Part 2
A while ago I wrote about one of the greatest benefits of increased productivity: the extra time it allows you to give back to a cause you believe in. I am fortunate to be on the board of an Austin non-profit called GENaustin (Girls Empowerment Network). GEN’s mission is to foster healthy self esteem in girls by engaging them to explore and define their personal values and to build skills that empower them with confidence and the courage to make wise choices. They do an event every year called Career Week, where they invite professional women in to share information about their career path, with middle school girls. It’s a great opportunity to meet some fantastic girls, learn a bit about the work that GENaustin does, and share wisdom. This school-year the events are being held the weeks of October 25th and February 14th. The only qualifications are that you are a woman, that you live in the Austin area (or will be here during either of those weeks) and that you can speak about your career in a way that is engaging to middle-school girls (GEN staffers will give you tips and information to help you prepare). It takes only about 90 minutes of your time and can be scheduled at an Austin-area middle school that is convenient for you. GENaustin is targeting some professions specifically because they have been under-represented in the past, but anyone is welcome. And if you know any fabulous women in the following industries, we’d love to invite them to speak: financial/banking, doctor/nurses/medical professionals, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers/high tech professionals, veterinarians, teachers, business owners, women in uniform (police, fire, military, etc).
If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to be a volunteer for a worthy cause, now is your chance! If you’re interested, please contact me directly at maura at regainyourtime dot com, or the Career Week Coordinator at GENaustin, Tiffany Merkel, at tiffanym at genaustin dot org.
Here is a little more about my involvement in GENaustin, and please check out their website!
What Martial Arts Teaches Me About Productivity and Control
I have the honor and the privilege of being a student of the Shoshin Ryu School of martial arts. I’ve recently returned from the annual Nationals conference, this year in Boise, Idaho, where students and sensei from the dojo all over the country gather for 4 days of intense training. It’s so inspiring and I always return with so much to reflect on.
One of the lessons, from Curry Sensei of the Alaska Dojo was “Eliminating Chosa” which was about refining your movements to remove wasted effort. It reminded me that efficiency is useful regardless of the application. In martial arts, conserving your energy by eliminating chosa can provide you with the extra burst you need to win a fight or escape an attacker. Throughout your day, how many times do you switch tasks, right in the middle, because something else called your attention? Switching between tasks greatly increases the time it takes to complete any task and also decreases the quality of your output, just like wasted movement in martial arts. Perhaps in your work day, the consequences aren’t as dire, but you still need more effort and get less done.
Another lesson was from Soucy Sensei of the Connecticut Dojo and he reminded us that if you understand the way that your joints and limbs move, where they are strong and where they are weak, you can control them and use that control to gain the advantage in a match or a self-defense situation. I believe his words were, “control or be controlled.” This is so true not only in martial arts, but it also reminded me of the value of controlling your attention. There are so many things competing for our attention, trying to take our attention from us, that if we don’t exert control, we are at risk of spending all of our time just blowing in the wind of reaction, too infrequently being purposeful and making choices about how we spend our time (more on that here). Just like in martial arts, if you can only react and defend, you can never take control of the situation.
Nationals reminded me that my practice with Shoshin Ryu is not only about sport or self-defense, but also about personal growth and discipline…an exercise for the mind and spirit as well as for the body. I am so grateful to all the Shoshin Ryu teachers and students for allowing me to participate and helping me to advance my art.
Thank you for reading!
How to ADD Time to Your Day (Really!)
Feeling like there aren’t enough hours in your day? Doesn’t everyone? I’ve discovered a powerful secret that has given me several extra hours in my day to get things done. Impossible, you say? Read on…
One of the things that’s difficult for me to “find” the time for is exercise. Sometimes I’ll think, “if I skip my workout, I can make some real progress on my to-do list.” Skipping meals, especially breakfast, also seems to be a common time-saver among my friends.
I’ve come to realize that there is an important point that’s missing with this logic. Exercise and eating right, especially breakfast, actually add time to your day. We treat them like a net-negative when it comes to how much time we have in the day to do things. They are actually a net-positive, and not only on a cumulative basis, but on a daily basis. We all recognize that when we eat right and exercise, we have more energy and motivation. But even when you look at it that way, it makes it easy to think that skipping a day is ok, and before you know it, you’ve skipped many days. But what I’ve come to realize is that if I have a healthy bite to eat in the morning AND exercise for at least 20 minutes, I get MORE time IN THAT DAY than I had without it. On the mornings when I take 15 minutes to grab a bite for breakfast, and 20-30 minutes to exercise, I actually feel energetic and productive well into the evening. On the days I don’t, I’m typically drooping in the mid-afternoon, and then again by about 7pm. During these “droopy” times, I’m easily distracted, unfocused, and end up resorting to busy-work-type activities that don’t accomplish much, or sometimes even daydreaming or otherwise fussing around without getting anything done. On the days without breakfast or a workout, I’m longing to hit the couch by 7pm, the dishes stay in the sink and the dog doesn’t get a walk because I’m spent.
Exercise and breakfast actually give me more productive hours in my day. They help me to spend a productive afternoon focusing and getting important tasks accomplished, I whirl around the kitchen making dinner, cleaning up, walking the dog, tidying the house, preparing for the next day, and feeling great about it all. That 45 minutes or so I allow in the morning to take care of my body, easily adds several hours of productive time to my day. Now every time I feel like I “don’t have the time” for breakfast or a workout, I remember this and it’s a powerful motivator to lace up my running shoes! You might find that a change of perspective, from a good diet and exercise as a net-negative, to a net-positive of time in your day, might be just what you need to motivate you to change your habits.
Do you have anything to add? I’d love to read your comments. Thanks for reading!
Using Technology to Bring More Control into Your Life
In some ways, we are more connected than ever: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube…these tools give us unprecedented opportunity to connect with and attract the attention of people who in the past seemed much farther removed: celebrities, politicians, corporate executives.
I’m also beginning to realize that technology provides plenty of tools to keep others at arm’s length if we so choose. First came Otherinbox. This allows me to receive emails, or not, while still keeping my email address private. Many benefits are exchanged for the implicit permission to be marketed to via email. Now I can reap those benefits by providing an Otherinbox address, all the while still controlling whether or not I actually receive those marketing emails, and when. Otherinbox has given me much more control over my email inbox…all the advantages of a “junk box” with none of the inconveniences.
Recently, I signed up for a Google Voice account. It’s new and different and so understandably, I still have some reservations about it. However, I’m realizing that Google Voice can be to my phone number what Otherinbox is to my email. It gives me the control to take calls, block calls, let them roll into my voicemail, and even listen in while the message is being recorded. I can also make calls with my Google Voice number, or give it out when I’m asked, thus protecting my “real” phone number, and preventing corporations and marketers from reaching me directly if I don’t want them to.
I had been thinking lately that privacy was dead. Maybe it’s just getting a new beginning.
Is “Effective Meetings” an OxyMoron?
It doesn’t have to be, although that seems to be status quo in larger companies these days, and sometimes even in smaller ones. Here are some things to consider to make meetings at your organization more effective.
As yourself if it’s appropriate to have a meeting, or if there are other means available to solve the problem. A good question is “what’s the GOAL of the meeting?” Fill in this blank: At the end of the meeting we will have ___________.” It’s true that although people try every day, email is NOT the place for a group discussion. This just leads to bunches of emails for everyone involved to wade through, much of which is a waste of time. There are many web applications that are useful for gathering input from a team. If you’re trying to find a convenient time to do something, consider a site like TimeWizard or WhenIsGood. If you are trying to collect input, take a look at Google Forms, which will drop the results into a spreadsheet in Google Docs for you, or Survey Monkey, which has a free option and a paid subscription.
As the meeting planner, after answering the question about the goal of the meeting, the next rule of an effective meeting is to have an agenda. Consider putting time limits, or at least guidelines, on each topic, and assigning a timekeeper and minute-taker at the meeting. Also, the minutes should be published, preferably in the body of an email, not as an attachment (it increases the likelihood that they will get read, or at least skimmed). This gives an opportunity to take a discussion off-line if necessary, keeps everyone on-track, and collects all the ideas and comments that come out of the meeting.
If you are a leader in your organization, consider whether the company culture allows people to “opt-out” of a meeting, or if it’s just expected that everyone will attend who is invited. Allowing for an option gives employees control over their workday, which is an essential factor in job satisfaction. As an attendee, make sure you understand what part you will be expected to play in the meeting, and whether or not it is useful to your current objectives. Invitations to meetings that have no agenda and haven’t addressed the goal should be considered carefully. These have the potential to be a huge time sink.
The effectiveness of every meeting depends, lastly, on three critical questions posed at the end, and recorded in the minutes:
1. WHAT’S the next action?
2. WHO is responsible?
3. WHEN is the due date?
Having these questions and answers recorded in the minutes creates accountability through publicity. It’s much easier to miss a deadline when no one knows you have it. When it’s a public deadline, people are much more likely to meet it.
If you have anything to add about effective meetings, I hope you’ll post them in the comments. Thanks for reading!
Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mnthomas.
Productivity and Company Culture
Earlier in my career, and now again, I find myself working with either small companies (less than 50 employees) or divisions within larger companies, which often operate as small companies within a larger framework. And I’ve discovered that individual productivity (workload management) has a significant impact on the culture in the company or department.
It goes without saying that in your company or department, most employees probably have a very full workload. Have you ever considered how your staff or co-workers handle this workload? The answers are probably varied. There may be those who produce competent work and meet deadlines. Are those employees happy? Do they seem constantly stressed? Do they work long hours to get their work done?
Do you have employees who seem to be busy, but you can’t quite identify exactly what they produce? And what about those who tend to be the bottleneck in the organization? Is this causing animosity? Individual rivalries? Territorialism? Many interpersonal issues within your organization may be a result of the self-management styles of the employees.
Some people are naturally better at managing full and hectic workloads. Others aren’t, but this doesn’t mean they can’t learn. Most people are ill-equipped to handle the demands on their attention caused by the Information Age. Your employees could be losing hours in their day simply because they don’t manage information well, and usually people don’t manage information well because they have never been taught. Consider these points from Coopers & Lybrand:
- Of all the pages that get handled each day in the average office, 90% of them are merely shuffled.
- Professionals spend 5-15% of their time reading information, but up to 50% of their time looking for it.
A survey conducted by America Online found that, on average, people check their email five times a day. A study in Scotland, using optical monitors fitted to workers eyes, found workers glancing at or otherwise checking email as much as 40 times per hour!
When workers feel tied to their email, as if they MUST be immediate with their response, this reflects a culture problem in the organization. It means no one can focus on any one thing for more than a few minutes or seconds, and this must be addressed at the levels of both personal workload management, and company communication culture. (For more on this, read this post and this post.)
In addition to communication, accountability has a big affect on culture. When there are employees who don’t produce, or who consistently miss deadlines, but there are no consequences, this brings down the productivity of the whole organization. But often people aren’t held accountable because of the workload-management skills of the individuals delegating the work.
If your staff has interpersonal challenges, stress issues, works more hours than you think they should, or any combination of these issues, personal productivity skills could be lacking. Giving your staff the techniques and processes they need to keep up with the demands of the Information Age could have a huge impact on your bottom line, in employee satisfaction, teamwork, and productivity.