To get a handle on an overflowing To-Do list, divide a sheet of paper into two columns and label them “Urgent” on the left and “Important” on the right. If you like, also draw a horizontal line and label the top half “Business” and the bottom half “Personal.”
I don’t know anyone who wishes they got more email. Everyone gets too much. If you are tired of getting buried, follow these 6 steps.
I recently had the pleasure of joining marketing strategy expert Linda J. Popky, president of Leverage2Market® Associates, on the Marketing Thought Leadership podcast. Our topic, “Let Me Make That Perfectly Clear: How Clarity Ties to Organizational Success,” covers some of my favorite topics and perennial questions: What is clarity? Why is it so uncommonly found in today’s organizations? How can clarity improve productivity, performance, and employee engagement? Why is it so important for marketers and other knowledge workers? Listen to this podcast. Podcast Transcript:
Are your employees spending the majority of their time re-making decisions, waiting for others, managing email, and sitting in meetings? If you don’t think so, think again. On average, employees spend 34% of their time in meetings. Some spend far more.
The assignment was to produce an agenda for a list of topics. I got a C. There were no discernible objectives and no way to mine for intentions. I broke all the traditional rules—format, timeslots, responsibility assignments—by responding only with questions. The instructor wanted me to recognize how generous she was to give me a C.
I am frequently asked about goal setting and how to know if expectations are reasonable. The norm these days is long To Do lists and insufficient time. Managers push their employees hard, but don’t know what constitutes pushing too hard. Employees are proud and eager to be valuable and appreciated, but they feel stressed, are running full tilt, and often work late and on weekends. So how can anyone know what is realistic? There is only one way to be sure expectations are reasonable and that way usually fails.
If your organization is at all on top of things, your production line is lean and mean. The processes used to produce and deliver value for which customers are willing to pay are well-defined and reliable. You measure productivity in widgets per hour and expect 99.9% uptime and nearly zero defects. Priorities are clear. Routines are well-established. Roles are well-understood. Employees know exactly what to do, how, how well, with whom, when, and in what order. When necessary, they make decisions with confidence and without delay because they understand the objectives, options, and trade-offs, they have appropriate authority, and they know where to turn for additional information. In other words, they are Radically Clear. As a result, they are ultra productive. This is the region marked by the letter A on the graphic. Now consider what happens outside that region. As you move away from production and into ‘The B Zone,’ clarity takes a dive! And with it goes productivity!
Are you crazy busy? Do you have way too much to do? Here are a dozen reasons why you need to STOP IT! 1. There are only 24 hours in a day and you can’t change that. 2. Most of the items on your list are never going to get done so why kid yourself. 3. People are tired of hearing you complain about having too much to do. 4. You are not going to suddenly become five times as productive tomorrow. 5. “Not enough time” and “Too much to do” are victim words. You don’t want to be a victim!
The year is half over. If that is bad news for you, I am sorry to be the one to break it! In our not too distant past, weather, daylight hours, changing seasons, and the calendar year ruled all. These days – not so much! Nonetheless, old habits die hard and that calendar controls far too much in the business world. While you reflect on progress to date at this half-year mark, reflect also on all the things that should NOT be controlled by the calendar year. Here are a few just for starters: Strategic planning Budgeting Performance reviews Goal setting Something to ponder while at the beach this summer. Have a great July!
A few weeks ago, I wrote “8 Secrets Smart People Know About Time Management.” Among other things, I explained that there are five effective ways to deal with having too much to do and one of those is to accomplish more faster. People try to do this all the time. They buckle down. They shut out distractions. And then they beat themselves up for failing. Why do they fail? Because they aren’t really doing anything differently. You know the old adage about the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. By that definition, most people are nuts. Every week, every day, they do essentially the same things and hope that somehow they will get caught up. On top of that, people are faced with endless advice ranging from little tips to vast programs like Lean. Most people do not have time to digest all that they read or invest heavily in a process like lean. So here’s a simple way to reconsider your work and find a shorter, faster path. No new vocabulary or special tools are required. You can get as fancy as you like – but do that later. To get started immediately, embrace these staggeringly simple steps to accomplishing more: