Posts Tagged Time-management
The productivity framework – 4 key components
Posted by Billy in Productivity & Personal Growth on May 31, 2010
For my own productivity ‘system’, I have identified 4 key components that simplify the understanding of any system out there. The framework is completely underpinned by your personal modes of operation and your core purpose and desire. With this, here is the framework:
The 3 areas within the framework, as you can see, are tools, tactics and processes. They are defined as follows:
Tools – these are the technology pieces and other systems that help you facilitate your productivity. This would be your computer, smartphone, and software. Also included here are your notebooks and pens, post-it notes, etc. Whatever the tools are, these are here.
Tactics – these are the individual tasks or simple strategies within your system, such as a weekly meeting or daily download. Other areas include how you handle email, how you communicate and how you filter your information flow.
Processes – these are habits, routines, calendar events, and general management of your tactics and tools. It is essentially methodologies that govern the cooperation of tools and tactics.
Now remember, as I mentioned, if your system is not grounded in the foundation of your mode of operation (M.O.) and your core purposes, it will likely fall apart and you will be miserable doing it. The goal isn’t simply to get stuff done but the right stuff in the right way, going for accomplishment and not simply busy-work. Your M.O. is how you work most effectively. Not everyone operates exactly the same and this must be considered when deciding how to get things done. Your core purpose includes your personal mission and life vision. What are you trying to do with your life and does your system move you properly? Think about this and move toward identifying the 4 components for yourself and how they meld together.
What do you think? is this framework descriptive of your system of accomplishment?
10 steps to define your own productivity process
Posted by Billy in Productivity & Personal Growth on April 27, 2010
Many systems of productivity exist today. Thousands of bloggers, experts, consultants, and organizations exist all with their own prescribed system of ultimate productivity. But often, it is THEIR system and not one that works for you. So what does work for you? Is it simply an excuse to say that it doesn’t work for me because it wasn’t designed specifically for me? Or are we simply failures for not being able to hold to every written rule within the system that dictates our breathing patterns? Well, to start developing YOUR system, your meMethod to productivity, you need to first understand yourself, and that is often simpler said than done. Most people think they know themselves but when it comes down to it, they are as clueless as a stranger who just met them. In fact, the stranger can be more accurate as they come in with no specific biases or desires or preconceived images of you. Our own image often skews the perceptions we have about ourselves and this then affects our ability to design or operate within a system for personal productivity. Once we understand where we are, we can move on to the next steps in designing our system or approach.
The following steps describe an approach to this design process:
- understand yourself, your strengths, passions, and desires, your mode of operation, YOU.
- Identify your responsibilities, projects, desired habits, etc… all the things you need to, or would like to accomplish
- Analyze the current system or process you use. What works? What doesn’t?
- Gather the information, tools, tactics, and possible strategies together that you have come across or thought up
- Identify what fits within your “you” from step one. How do the current processes that are working fit?
- Drop what does not fit or has not worked.
- Identify the remaining areas of responsibility that are not taken care of by the viable tactics and strategies identified.
- Delegate as many of these as possible. This may be through outsourcing, coworkers or other individuals internally (within your organization or family), or complete automation via technology.
- Eliminate as many other responsibilities or tasks as possible since you likely will not do them anyhow.
- Items that are left… well, you might just have to buck up and do them! Have specific times and approaches to get the things done that need to be done but can only be done by you…even though they are no fun and don’t “flow” with YOU.
So, the question now arises… how can I understand myself more fully? There are many tools and exercises to assist you in doing this. I will list and briefly describe a few of them.
Kolbe A Index – This index identifies your MO (mode of operation). It essentially identifies how you like to get things done.
StrengthFinder 2.0 – This test identifies 5 areas of talent which may be developed to become strengths. It is accompanied by a book that explains them in more detail.
VALS survey – This survey is short and sweet, designed to identify mindsets distinguished by 8 categories or types.
Myers-Briggs – Identifies personality traits such as habits of communication, patterns of action, and characteristic attitudes and values.
Each of these tests will reveal valuable insights into how you operate, where you derive passion and energy, and where you ought to explore or focus. Remember this, it will be more valuable if you attempt to shed your ideal vision of yourself while taking these assessments and try to respond to each question as if in a vacuum. Don’t over-think them. For example, if the question states, “do you find yourself moving to the center of a big group or staying toward the edges of the group?” Don’t attempt to think where the question is leading and what the result might be one way or another, simply reflect back on past experiences in groups and realize where you gravitated or where you found to be more comfortable and where you gleaned energy. Was the middle too stressful awkward for you? Did you feel alone when on the edge? Again, don’t over-think it.
With the results from these tests and some time spent contemplating them, you will be much more prepared to design your ideal system of accomplishment. Take the steps above and discover yourself, then start designing!!
Fixed-schedule lifestyle, a great principle of productivity
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Productivity & Personal Growth on January 12, 2010
Entrepreneurs and new business owners have a tough time “changing channels”. If you are one, you know exactly what I mean. When we are at work, we work. When at home, we relax…and work. When at your kids baseball game, we cheer them on…and work (thanks you blasted smart phone!). Now, the benefit to this often is seen in the ability to simply take time off whenever desired and still be able to finish up those contracts, or whatever. This has been handy for me more than once. The danger is, however, quite obvious. If my wife said “lets go to California next week” (where she is from), we could do it. I would, of course, likely take time to chat with clients and do some work. With such short notice, there would inevitably be things that ought not be left or lack time to delegate. This can be great, although worthless if I simply worked the entire time we were there! Learning to manage the “channel surfing” of our attention is an invaluable skill and utter necessity, especially with other important attention grabbers such as family. This brings us to a powerful principle of productivity, part of the meMethod… fixed-schedule lifestyles.
This principle was illustrated quite well in a blog post offered by Cal Newport here. You may also learn more about him on his own blog here. The starting principles for fixed-schedule productivity are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Jason Fried goes against the grain, always interesting
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Entrepreneurship on December 15, 2009
Episode 4 of 37 Signals’ podcast is Jason Fried’s speech at BIG Omaha 2009. As usual, he creates some friction with his viewpoints that often oppose the “trend & hype” of current venture buzz. I like it! I like the balance and alternative thinking that helps ground the entrepreneur. Listen to it here. and here is the quick and dirty summary from their site:
In this talk, Jason discusses what he’s learned at 37signals over the years. Topics covered: The idea that you should “fail early, fail often” is bogus. Plans are guesses. Interruption is the enemy of productivity. Sell your byproduct. Emulate chefs. Focus on what won’t change. If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it now.
Listen to it, I highly recommend it. If you feel the need, let me know what you think of the key ideas, namely:
- “Fail early, fail often” debunked.
- Planning is a joke, just live in the moment!
- Don’t talk to each other, its an interruption. Use tools instead.
- Sell byproducts.
etc…
The “When, Then” Syndrome of Entrepreneurs
Posted by Billy in Entrepreneurship, Productivity & Personal Growth on October 22, 2009
A common conundrum that entrepreneurs find themselves in is that of work-life balance. Even more so is a life-timing balance. Often we are financially unstable, working 80 hour weeks, failing and starting up again, and we continue to put off life saying that once we achieve “x”, then we will be ready. The common ones are marriage, children, vacations and travel, family time, personal time (not work related), etc. I find myself with this dilemma on a regular basis, and here I am preparing for my first kid, a baby boy due in February! I’m excited and have simply had to put those worries aside and know that I’ll figure it out. There’s always a way and it’s never as bad as you initially think. Sometimes you just need to make it happen!
Live life in spite of circumstance
Sometimes life must be lived regardless of what circumstance permits. Vacations and family time can only be passed on for so long before it grows too late. Entrepreneurship is consuming and, for those who haven’t realized it yet, LIFELONG! Read the rest of this entry »
Minimize your Productive Resistance to Accomplish More
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Featured, Productivity & Personal Growth on October 3, 2009
Productive Resistance?
In any productivity system, you have a certain level of added friction and resistance that is introduced by the system itself, i.e. you have to carry a planner, spend time writing/typing, recording, marking complete, etc. All of these tasks would not exist if it weren’t for the system. Daily and weekly reviews, etc. also often add several hours to your week of unproductive (directly unproductive) minutiae. So why, in our pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness would we add a book of practices that simply add resistance? Well, obviously we think the added resistance will be accompanied by a higher level of productivity. We are willing to welcome the increased resistance in an effort to achieve improved results. Compare it to giving up gas mileage on a car for increased speed and power. It may require a bit more fuel to push through the resistance of a more powerful engine, wider tires, etc. but the increase in performance is worth it to us so we buy the car.
So the question is now raised… and I will illustrate with the car comparison: Read the rest of this entry »
New Business Models & Intrinsic Motivations
Posted by Billy in Boot Strapping, Business Theory & Strategy on August 27, 2009
A recent video on TED illuminates a point that a colleague and I have shared on multiple occasions, including a podcast called “My Business World”. The new model of business productivity, often referred to as ROWE (results oriented work environment). The concept is, essentially, to allow employees to do whatever they want, as long as the work gets done. Studies and experience are showing an increase in productivity and personal morale. The intrinsic value of getting something done with the opportunity to control one’s schedule and action plans is a bigger motivator than increases in pay, bonuses or other direct reward/punishment models of the past. It has been explored and compared to Tim Ferriss’ work with 4 hour work week here. The big motivator appears to be the fact that people can define their “ideal” lifestyle today and not in waiting for the elusive day of retirement, all while working and being productive, contributing to the economy.
Dan (in the video) also speaks of variations of this that I find quite interesting and extremely valuable form an innovation standpoint. Innovation is typically a matter of “captured chaotic response”, that is, in the course of living/working, we tend to stumble upon ideas, answers, problems, solutions, etc. The process of capturing this chaos and ordering it for reproduction is innovation. Many companies, particularly in the tech industry, have implemented innovation strategies that offer a percentage of time or a day or week to work on anything you want. Google is likely the most well known with their 80/20 rule, 20% of time is spent on any ideas outside of normal work. This 20% has produced 50% or more of Google’s innovations as Dan tells it. The natural chaos of individual human endeavor and thought creates substantially more innovation than the ordered workings of any company and that is seen in 80/20-like planning.
These are powerful aspects of the new motivating business model. It is important to understand the trade-off in emphasis. Instead of heavy focus and discipline regarding time, meetings, and such, a substantial focus and discipline must be placed on the results, and improvement of them (hence results-only work environment). This is basically the only indicator of proper performance and further reward/punishment may exist around this metric alone. Obviously if you are not getting the results required, you likely won’t stick around.
As a business or in defining your business, take a look at information regarding these new models and see if you can implement them for enhanced productivity and improved morale. It may even be a cost saver as monetary reward is less necessary. Any additional resources on these concepts? successes or failures?
Different Schedule Styles for Different Positions, Understand them!
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Entrepreneurship on August 20, 2009
A recent essay by Paul Graham found here illustrates two types of schedules that persons may run, particularly in tech-related businesses. He defines two duties first of all, or “hats” as I would call them. First, you have managers and second, technicians or “makers” as he calls them. The manager will be your typical ‘business person’ with meetings running throughout the day, typically an hourly schedule. The Maker, in a tech business, is the programmer who gets into the challenge, the task of programming, and once in the groove, is best left in the groove, not interrupted hourly for new activities. Their schedule is often run in, say, two half-day blocks. A meeting in the middle of a block often kills the entire block as a groove is difficult to obtain and even more difficult to maintain. He says:
When you’re operating on the maker’s schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in. Plus you have to remember to go to the meeting. That’s no problem for someone on the manager’s schedule. There’s always something coming on the next hour; the only question is what. But when someone on the maker’s schedule has a meeting, they have to think about it.
This is not simply with programmers but others that “make things” as Paul puts it, such as writers. Anywhere that ‘groove’ exists in making something. While the management can be effective with hourly shifts, the maker is not typically so.
Each type of schedule works fine by itself. Problems arise when they meet. Since most powerful people operate on the manager’s schedule, they’re in a position to make everyone resonate at their frequency if they want to. But the smarter ones restrain themselves, if they know that some of the people working for them need long chunks of time to work in.
Which brings us to Paul’s purpose for the essay:
Till recently we weren’t clear in our own minds about the source of the problem. We just took it for granted that we had to either blow our schedules or offend people. But now that I’ve realized what’s going on, perhaps there’s a third option: to write something explaining the two types of schedule. Maybe eventually, if the conflict between the manager’s schedule and the maker’s schedule starts to be more widely understood, it will become less of a problem.
So which are you, a manager or a maker? Would it be a good idea to switch schedule styles for more productivity? For most, a good assessment is recommended. See how those in your company work and think about better ways to work in light of these differing hats. Get a grasp on this, read the essay. Some are following Paul’s methods of late night work such as Sam at Leveraging Ideas here.
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