You Want What, When?!

Have you ever noticed a lot of the productivity experts who say "it’s ok to say no", and "you need to create margin in your work day", are self-employed?

Um….I’m playing catch up here, but with no boss (or bosses) isn't that a whole lot easier to do? What about the rest of us who have senior management asking us to chase after a variety of shiny objects, and personnel we are trying to support through the latest flu outbreak?

The fact is, it’s really hard to say no (or even career limiting) even though the benefits it would bring are undeniable. We can’t control when a boss, or customer, will come to us with a problem or request. The good news though, is we can control what we do from that moment on. The chaos and disruption that occurs around us doesn’t have to influence how we respond to it. As a matter of fact, it can’t. Our health and welfare depends upon it.

To be our best selves doesn’t mean to drop everything and jump on the latest emergency that has been tossed into our lap. It does mean to focus on what matters at that moment, and have a system by which you can capture and process new items in an effective and efficient manner. There are many ways to do this, and even more people offering advice. Here is the routine that works for me:

Morning
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• Respond to urgent tasks/issues​

This could either be carry over work from the previous day, or acknowledgment of new items just received (usually via email, occasionally voicemail). I perform triage to determine urgency and set the stage for next steps, take whatever action might be needed, or provide updates to work already in motion.
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• Creative/Deep thought work

For me, mid morning is when I’m typically at my best. I’m sufficiently caffeinated, the initial fires of the day have been dealt with, and I can spend concentrated time on work which is more complicated or mentally intense. Often, I can dedicate at least 90 minutes of generally uninterrupted time to the day’s more challenging tasks. That would include things like:

• Presentations
• Brainstorming
• Projects

Lunch

Here is when I take a bit of a break and recharge a little. I almost always have brought my lunch in so I’ll eat in my office, and wrap up any loose ends from the morning work. After that, I’ll go outside, or somewhere nearby, to walk and clear my mind.

Afternoon
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• New tasks/issues

After my walk I’ll dedicate the early afternoon to the non-urgent work (as determined from morning triage) from the previous day or new items that came in today. If a new item should come in that is high priority I’ll take immediate action as described earlier.

• Administrative tasks

Mid afternoon is dedicated to performing the functions that come with the managerial title: one-on-ones, filling out expense reports, attending meetings, etc. This is intentional as my energy level is starting to diminish at this point, and typically these type of tasks require less creativity.

• Follow up on necessary items

Late afternoon is dedicated to follow up and communication. I’m looking for updates others are providing, and reviewing my body of work for any end of day changes which may need to occur.
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• Finalize and prepare for tomorrow

Before I walk out the door I take another look at my email, voicemail etc. to ensure nothing has slipped through the cracks. It is at this time I make a list of the top 3 issues I want to address in the morning. This allows me to not waste time tomorrow determining where to begin.

So let's be honest. This routine doesn’t prevent the shiny object chase or any of the other thousands of interruptions which could and will occur. Things happen which require changes to be made, and new priorities to be established. What I have found though, is while this system doesn’t prevent the craziness it prevents me from becoming crazy right along with it. There is a sense of calm and order knowing I’ve got a game plan and general structure to see me through the day.

One last piece of advise. Coffee. Always coffee.


Side notes that make the system work:

• All items are captured in Zenkit (online tool for task and project management work similar to Notion) which allows me to easily update and keep track of everything. All outbound communication is sourced from here.
• I send an acknowledgment of receipt on all incoming items in order to establish a sense confidence. I also provide daily updates on all items unless I've stated a specific time it will occur.
• I have an inbox zero policy. This means I’m reviewing all emails upon receipt, and I’m not using my inbox as a task list. This does require effort outside of the office, but long gone is the traditional view of an 8-5 job that has a defined beginning and end.
• Meetings pop up all the time. To the extent I can, I’ll schedule during the Administrative task period or in between work periods (ie - after "Respond to urgent tasks/issues", but before "Creative/Deep thought work")