How much of what you do during an average day is purely volentery? I mean how much of it is the decision 100% with you over whether you do it or not, with no adverse concequences to swing your decision? My guess – less that 1%. Either your boss, your wife, your son, your neighbour, your Dad, or you firend asked you to do it most of the time.
And that is fine – we will be asking others to do a fair bit for us too (you’re not? Are you sure? You really should start doing so…). But there is one thing you can do to make doing these things more efficient, more satisfying, and to a higher quality – ask a load of questions up front. And what should you ask? Well, as it happens I have a list for you:
1. When does it need to be done by? How long before this deadline do you need it?
2. How long do you think it will take?
3. Where or with who is the information I need to do this held?
4. In what form and format do you want the products/results? Have you got an example you can show me?
5. Is there any costs to this? How do we plan on keeping these in check?
6. Do you want regular updates, regular drafts, or just an end product? Can I give regular updates please?
7. What information do you already have on this? Can I have it?
8. Do you already know what result you are expect/want? Can you tell me up front?
9. Can I get help from other people with this if it is appropriate?
And the tenth question? It is actually one to ask yourself:
10. What can I learn from doing this job/work?
The other benefit of asking these questions is, especially in a work environment, that it is amazing how much more confidence and co-oporation you get by doing so. It shows that you are taking what they have asked you to do seriously, and that you want to do a good job.
So your action points? Well just one today:
- Ask these questions before you start on a job or piece of work
Rubbish title I know. But it is important. A productivity process is something we use to help ourselves become more productive. It might be a to do list. It might be the way we arrange our desk. Even the time we get up in the morning and start working.
These processes go through a four stage cycle which indicates how ‘sticky’ they are – that is, how easy it is for use to use them versus not use them.
Lets have a look at the four stages:
New [medium sticky]
When we first discover a new way of doing things, we have two pulls on us – an excitement and an interest that encourages us to use the process, and a protective/don’t-like-change/can’t-be-bothered-to-learn push against it. Most people manage to give something sufficient attention to see if it works.
Passe [medium slippy]
Oddly, the excitement of new-ness often subsides before we get comfortable with using something are part of our routine. This is a difficult time for such processes, and is the most common time to abandon them.
Routine [very sticky]
Once we get through the difficult Passe phase, then processes become embedded in our daily life. We just do them. Almost by instinct. Golfers called this ‘grooved’ – you have done something so many times that it becomes the sub-conscious things you do, and the route of least resistance.
Fatigue [very slippy]
When you have been doing the same thing for a long period of time, then fatigue kicks in. You start to take the benefits for granted, and focus on how tiresome it has become. This is when we tend to throw our systems and processes out the window – when I declare once again that I am moving back to a paper and pencil GTD system.
These phases happen whether we like them or not. And usually the latter. What we can try and effect however is how big the two most sticky phases are, and how small the slippy phases are. The more time you can keep what you are using in the New and Routine phases, then the more productive you will be.
How do we do this? Firstly, make new stuff routine straight away – use it again, and again, and again until you don’t have to think about it. If you can do this before the novelty of it’s flashing lights and pretty colours wears off, then you have done well.
Secondly, once something is Routine, then change little bits of it frequently to keep it fresh. Change the font. Use a different colour pen. By a new notebook when you are three-quarters full rather than painfully filling out the last pages.
So action points:
- Identify what you use and do to be productive
- Decide where in the cycle they all are, and how long until they move into another part
- Plan how you are going to keep things in New and Routine
