ProductivityRx Ask Four Questions to create Your Work Easier

We require a better way! An easier way to deal with everything; the stuff coming at us all day long; the stuff we must do - today, tomorrow and the times that follow.

What we need is really a simple, clear way to process everything that's already in and getting into our day. A straightforward way to identify what each thing is, where it needs to go, and, if it's something that needs doing, who will do it so when that's going to occur. Oops, it seems I've given it away, but continue reading if you need to learn how this four-corner approach could work for you.

These Amazing Times - The Miracle and Its Price We reside in amazing times, but so did the generations before us for quite a while back. So what's so amazing about these times? Affordable read more . That's my response. The wiring of the world over the last 20 years has created the power for virtually every person on earth to reach out and engage with virtually every other person within an affordable and nearly instantaneous manner. That is our contribution to the myriad human accomplishments on the eons.

Of course, with the nice comes the bad. Joining this new ability has been mobile technology in the form of laptops, smartphones and wireless networks. We can literally communicate to anywhere from anywhere. And we do, on a regular basis! Consequently, the amount of inputs we each process daily - phone calls, emails, texts, etc. - is continuing to grow in orders of magnitude (that is a lot!).

Unfortunately, the price can be an expensive two-fold whammy. First, we have to process each of the new stuff. Second, the expected response times have shrunk to nanoseconds. The effect is that people constantly feel behind the curve and can swiftly become mired in the sheer level of it all.

In short, we can do so a lot more but we feel so much worse about any of it!

The Rx - An Updated Solution to Process All That Stuff

I'm an ops guy, operations that's. website or bad, it's what I do best - make things are better, faster, cheaper. I've always wished to be better at more interesting things, like marketing or sales, but I'm stuck with this particular talent, so I've made probably the most of it.

Fortunately, this skill - known as Productivity in the professional development world - has timely application given this overwhelming amount of inputs we each cope with daily. My work with clients has focused primarily on how best to quickly identify and process all this stuff, then get back to focused efforts on things that need doing today. The foundation of this work centers around the productivity method I created and customizing it to each group's or individual's needs.

To spread the love a bit further than just to my clients, I'll lay out the foundation for the method in this article and demonstrate how it solves the issue of feeling overwhelmed and out of control with your workload.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Great email address details are often found whenever we ask simple questions. When you're attempting to power through the many things you need to process at any time throughout the day, try these questions and their corresponding answers to see should they help you better and effective:

1. What Is It?

In the wonderful world of Stuff, this is usually a multiple choice question with ONLY four answers - Trash, Archive, Reference or Work. Trash is self-explanatory - something you don't ever need again. Archive is something you might need again but not very often, if ever - like a contract or perhaps a letter that pertains to a particular project. Reference is stuff you utilize (make reference to) to do your projects - such as a phone book. Work is anything that needs to be done.

In fact, if you are not sure just what a particular item is, ask yourself this yes/no question: Does anything further should be done with this? If the answer is Yes, then it is necessarily Work. If the solution is No, then it is necessarily among the other three - Trash, Archive or Reference.

Phew, that's the hard part. If you're struggling with this first question, develop a sticky note listing all four types of stuff and put it some place you will see it regularly. Practice getting used to quickly assessing what each thing you touch is. Once the list is ingrained in your psyche, you'll become adept at slicing and dicing the onslaught of stuff coming at you.

(Note, also, that I am achieving this for six years and the ones are the only four types of stuff I've ever been able to recognize. Everything easily fits into one of those four. If you come up with a fifth, email me and we can discuss why it's not among the four.)

2. Where Does It Go?

Now that we know what each particular thing is, we must put it in the right place. Things get much easier now:

Trash = Throw it away (or delete it if it's electronic)

Archive = File it away in your long term storage system (file cabinets, hard drives, etc.)

Reference = Put it away near your work area such that it's easily accessed

Work = We can not move ahead with Work until we know what Type of Work it really is:

Action Item: They are things you need to do or you need to have someone else do (delegate); the ball's in your court.

Awaiting Response: These are things you are looking forward to someone else to obtain back to you on; the ball's within their court.

Pending: These are things that aren't ripe yet, things that need another event to occur or perhaps a date to pass before they become "ready" to perform or someone else to accomplish; the ball's in no one's court... yet.

Reading: This is professional reading, things you read to stay abreast in your field; ball's in your court.

3. Who Will TAKE ACTION?

We have neatly and quickly dispensed with three of the four Types of stuff inside our lives leaving only the Work items left open. This next question - WHO'LL Do It? - is often a sub-question of Work and the most clarity regarding anything you're going to delegate to others.

If you are coping with an Action Item, it's effective to ask if it's something You need to do of if it's something you can Delegate to another. Needless to say, once delegated, the Action Item becomes an Awaiting Response, right? Observe how this works? Thus, this mini-question serves a focused, but highly useful, purpose in getting things into the right funnel for completion.

4. When Does It Next Need Attention?

Notice that I have totally side-stepped the deadline question. The reason is that I really believe "When could it be due?" is really a trap for the unwary. There are two known reasons for this. First, most Work gets handled out with payment dates like "ASAP" or "Urgent" or "Immediately." The initial two are unclear - my ASAP could be unique of your ASAP and "Urgent" can be relative. Immediately rarely means immediately, except possibly within an emergency room. These kind of deadlines are further outward indications of the issues we experience with our always-on world.

Off the diatribe and back to the point, the specific deadline is less meaningful in our analysis than the question of when do we have to think about it again to ensure it gets done "in time." A project which will take two days to complete is best thought of several days out from that beginning date to maximize our flexibility in triaging all of the rest of the inputs that constantly come at us, while also bringing the project in on time. Using some form of flexible reminder or tickler system is the simplest way to manage these deadlines so as to adjust each day's puzzle pieces in such a way as to move through your stuff in probably the most efficient and effective way. This gets you back to the producing efforts quickly and with a feeling of command and control on the work.

That is right Virginia, I Didn't Give EVERYTHING Away

The framework laid out above is the fundamental workflow model I developed to greatly help my clients quickly undertake the near-overwhelming inputs which come at them each day. It's a short process to go through several times each day or hour and leaves you feeling in command over your workflow.

Of course, I haven't given the whole baby away, but there's more than enough there for you yourself to face each day with the tools you must stay in front of the curve and feel more successful in your career.

Paul enjoys a national reputation being an expert in solving the productivity challenges faced by people working in today's frenetic environment. Because the creator of the QuietSpacing(tm) productivity method, he is a frequent speaker and recognized author on productivity-related topics. Paul works together with individuals, groups and organizations to generate more productive working environments and drive individual success via high-content keynote addresses, interactive training seminars, and one-on-one coaching sessions. You can learn more about Paul and his practice at http://www.quietspacing.com.