Tag Archives: Productivity

Bill James-Wallace 11:41 am on July 4, 2020
Tags: Productivity   

Facile

Definition: Easily accomplished (Latin, French origins)

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” – Einstein

When I started training to be a facilitator, I learnt where the word facilitator came from – facile. To help make things easy to accomplish.

That was it, my job was to maker things easier for others to their jobs well.

People like James Clear in his book Atomic Habits also promotes making things easier when you are trying to take on new routines.

Cal Newport in his book Deep Work is advocating for setting up guidelines to make deep work easier.

Why would we try to make it hard for ourselves?

We should be doing what we can to make our lives and those we work with easier or simpler to help them and us achieve our goals.

This starts at home and continues into the work itself.

At home it begins with things like ensuring we get the best possible sleep, eating heathy meals (which can vary between individuals), getting enough sunlight and exercise. Simple things in themselves but each can affect our happiness and performance, particularly when added together.

If we are not happy, our energy and focus suffers, which will in turn affect our work. And as we get to work, how do we structure our days so we can be the best we can be?

It can be having specific routines and clear expectations. This will allow you and your direct reports to know exactly what is required, when and how.

There is a peace of mind and clarity in knowing what to do and how to do it.

For example, every day, before I get to the office I have listed my 3 Most Important Things (MITs) . They are my focus for the day – outside of my routine tasks. My day will already be busy so by having these priorities I can say no to casual, generally less important requests and focus on daily responsibilities and my 3 MITs.

I think of it like this: at the end of each day I am going to mentally reflect on how I went, even just casually. Was it a good day or a bad day? And then, what caused it to be good or bad? What was in my control and what was not?

If I allow the tasks of the day to jumble up and cause chaos that is my responsibility alone. Yes, there will be days where the “proverbial really hits the fan” and I need to throw my plans out, but over 221* working days in a year, most of those days I will be in relative control.

I will be in control because I have plans, routines and execution strategies to help me focus and keep things simple. I don’t need any further friction.

I do these things to make my life easier. Work, sometimes, is not easy but I don’t have it make it harder than it needs to be either.

 

*221 working days is determined as follows (in Australia):

  • 365 days in a year
  • – 104 days are 2 day weekends
  • – 20 days are annual leave (if taken)
  • – 10 days are public holidays
  • – 10 days are sick leave (if taken)

 

Bill James-Wallace 1:16 pm on May 27, 2020
Tags: Ambiguity, Plan, Planning, Productive, Productivity   

On Being Productive

I’m not sure when the “self help” industry started and I’m not sure why it started when it did.

Today it’s easy to see why. People are overrun with tasks, deadlines and responsibilities. Not all of which are useful. Many of which could be dropped and no-one would notice.

My productivity journey began in 1996.

I’d just been appointed Human Resources and Sales Manager for a newly developed business unit in a bank. It was termed Direct Banking, where people would call in to have their home loans assessed over the phone. All common place today but back then, major change.

It was very exciting as we worked long hours, changing systems and processes on the go to make sure we kept up with demand and expectations. The adrenalin and achievement was like a drug. We couldn’t wait to get back to it each day.

My manager, a very crusty Welshman who demanded a lot, noticed I was a little chaotic in the midst of all this. He suggested I stop in at McDonalds first thing every day and plan my day.

“What I was going to do? What I was going to achieve?” That was it, nothing more.

I agreed with the idea and so my affair with productivity (and coffee*) commenced.

This small activity made a lot of difference. We had our business plan so referencing that I could easily determine my next actions and explain why if asked.

Three things happened:

  1. The day became a lot clearer and therefore more enjoyable.
  2. My team were also better led because I could give them better guidance and they achieved more.
  3. We began to get ahead of our plans and be ready for the “next thing” – we looked forward to the “next thing”.

Obvious in hindsight perhaps.

But sometimes all we need a small nudge and the world falls into place.

What I was doing at McDonalds was listing my 3 – 5 MITs (Most Important Things). They would be my focus for the day.

They helped me make decisions and guide me throughout the day. If I got distracted, back to the list: “What do I need to accomplish today?”

I then coached others on developing their own MITs.

The term MIT (Most Important Thing/s) is now productivity lore. But it was there all along. The rate of change just gets us bent out of shape sometimes and we can neglect ways a small but powerful activity, either first thing in the morning or last thing at night, can prepare us for the next day.

Q: Do you follow something like this? Do you do something different that is just as effective or more effective?

Let me know.

*Coffee – I’ve transitioned off McDonalds coffee mostly but back then, when it was free re-fills all day, and being on one income, it was a bit of a lifesaver at times. 🙂