ProductivityRx Ask Four Questions to create Your Work Easier

We need a better way! A better way to deal with all the stuff; the stuff coming at people day long; the stuff we must do - today, tomorrow and the days that follow.

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

These Amazing Times - The Miracle and its own Price We live in amazing times, but so did the generations before us for some time back. So what's so amazing about this period? Affordable instantaneous global communication. That's my response. The wiring of the world over the last 20 years has created the ability for virtually every person on earth to reach out and build relationships virtually every other person within an affordable and nearly instantaneous manner. This is our contribution to the myriad human accomplishments on the eons.

Of course, with the good 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, all the time! Consequently, the amount of inputs we each process daily - calls, emails, texts, etc. - has grown in orders of magnitude (which is a lot!).

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

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

The Rx - An Updated Way to Process All That Stuff

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

Fortunately, this skill - referred to as Productivity in the professional development world - has timely application given this overwhelming amount of inputs we each deal with daily. My work with clients has focused primarily on how to quickly identify and process all of this stuff, then make contact with focused efforts on things that need doing today. The building blocks of this work centers on 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'm going to lay out the basis for the method in the following paragraphs and demonstrate how it solves the problem of feeling overwhelmed and uncontrollable with your workload.

Ask and you also Shall Receive

Great answers are often found whenever we ask simple questions. If you are trying 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 if they help you more efficient and effective:

1. What Is It?

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

In fact, if you're not sure what a particular item is, consider this yes/no question: Does anything further have to be finished with this? If the solution is Yes, then it really is necessarily Work. If the solution is No, then it really is necessarily one of the other three - Trash, Archive or Reference.

Phew, that is the hard part. If you're fighting this first question, develop a sticky note listing all forms of stuff and put it some place you will see it regularly. Practice getting used to quickly assessing what each thing you touch is. After 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 doing this for six years and those are the only four categories of stuff I've ever had the opportunity to identify. Everything easily fits into among those four. If you come up with a fifth, email me and we are able to discuss why it's not one of many four.)

2. Where Does It Go?

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

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

Archive = File it away in your longterm storage system (file cabinets, hard disks, etc.)

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

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

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

Awaiting Response: They are things you are waiting for someone else to get back 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" for you to do or someone else to do; the ball's in no one's court... yet.

Reading: That is professional reading, things you read to remain 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 in 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 with respect to anything you're going to delegate to others.

If you are dealing with an Action Item, it's often effective to ask whether 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 in to 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 believe "When could it be due?" is a trap for the unwary. There are two reasons for this. First, most Work gets handled out with due dates like "ASAP" or "Urgent" or "Immediately." The initial two are unclear - my ASAP may be unique of your ASAP and "Urgent" can be relative. Immediately rarely means immediately, except possibly in an emergency room. These kind of deadlines are further symptoms of the issues we experience with our always-on world.

Off the diatribe and back again to the point, the specific deadline is less meaningful in our analysis compared to the question of when do we have to consider it again to make sure it gets done "in time." A project that may take two days to perform is best thought of several days from that beginning date to maximize our flexibility in triaging all of the remaining 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 best way to manage these deadlines to enable you to adjust each day's puzzle pieces in such a way as to undertake your stuff in probably the most efficient and effective way. This gets you back to the producing efforts quickly and with a sense of command and control over the work.

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

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

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

Paul enjoys a national reputation as an expert in solving the productivity challenges faced by people employed in today's frenetic environment. Because the creator of the QuietSpacing(tm) productivity method, he could be 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 find out about Paul and his practice at http://www.quietspacing.com.