Notes

ProductivityRx - Ask Four Questions to Make 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 times that follow.

What we need is 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, whether it's something that needs doing, who will do it so when that's going to occur. best 90s outfits , it appears I've trained with away, but continue reading if you need to find out how this four-corner approach could work for you.

These Amazing Times - The Miracle and its own Price We reside 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 planet over the last 20 years has created the ability for just about any person on earth to reach out and engage with just about any other person in an affordable and nearly instantaneous manner. This is our contribution to the myriad human accomplishments over the eons.

Of course, with the nice comes the bad. Joining this new ability has been mobile technology by means of laptops, smartphones and wireless networks. We are able to literally communicate to anywhere from anywhere. And we do, at all times! Consequently, the number of inputs we each process daily - 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 all of the new stuff. Second, the expected response times have shrunk to nanoseconds. The effect is that people constantly feel behind the curve and will quickly become mired in the sheer volume of it all.

In short, we are able to do so a lot more but we feel so much worse about it!

The Rx - An Updated Way to Process All That Stuff

I'm an ops guy, operations that's. Good or bad, it's what I really do best - make things work 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 the most of it.

Fortunately, this skill - referred to as Productivity in the professional development world - has timely application with all this overwhelming amount of inputs we each cope 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 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 little further than just to my clients, I'm going to lay out the basis for the method on this page and demonstrate how it solves the issue of feeling overwhelmed and out of control with your workload.

Ask and you also Shall Receive

Great email address details are often found when we ask simple questions. When you're trying to power through the various things you need to process at any time during the day, try these questions and their corresponding answers to see should they help you more efficient and effective:

1. What Is It?

In the wonderful world of Stuff, that is a multiple choice question with ONLY four answers - Trash, Archive, Reference or Work. Trash is self-explanatory - something you do not ever need again. read more is something you might need again but not very often, if ever - just like a contract or a letter that relates to a particular project. Reference is stuff you utilize (make reference to) to do your work - like a phone book. Work is whatever needs to be done.

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

Phew, that is the hard part. If get more info are struggling with this first question, create a sticky note listing all four forms of stuff and put it some place you'll 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 doing this for six years and the ones will be the only four types of stuff I've ever had the opportunity to recognize. Everything easily fits into one of those four. If you think of 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 realize what each particular thing is, we need 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 long term storage system (file cabinets, hard disks, etc.)
Reference = Put it away near your projects area in a way that it's easily accessed
Work = We can't move ahead with Work until we determine what Type of Work it really is:
Action Item: These are things you must do or you must have another person do (delegate); the ball's in your court.
Awaiting Response: They are things you are looking forward to 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 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 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 task items left open. This next question - Who Will Do It? - is really 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 whether it's something You should do of whether it's something it is possible to 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. Associated with 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 payment dates like "ASAP" or "Urgent" or "Immediately." The first two are unclear - my ASAP could be unique of your ASAP and "Urgent" is also relative. Immediately rarely means immediately, except possibly within an emergency room. These kinds of deadlines are further symptoms of the problems 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 than the question of when do we need to think about it again to make sure it gets done "in time." A project which will take two days to complete is best considered several days out from that beginning date to increase our flexibility in triaging all of the rest of the inputs that constantly come at us, while also bringing the project in promptly. Using some type of flexible reminder or tickler system is the best way to manage these deadlines to be able to adjust each day's puzzle pieces in such a way as to undertake your stuff in the most efficient and effective way. This gets you back again to the producing efforts quickly sufficient reason for a sense of command and control on the work.

That is right Virginia, I Didn't Give It All Away

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

Needless to say, I haven't given the whole baby away, but there's more than enough there for you yourself to face every day with the tools you need to stay static in front of the curve and feel more lucrative in your career.

Paul enjoys a national reputation being 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 with individuals, groups and organizations to create more productive working environments and drive individual success via high-content keynote addresses, interactive training seminars, and one-on-one coaching sessions. It is possible to learn more about Paul and his practice at http://www.quietspacing.com.
Here's my website: https://bitspower.com/support/user/kane54lynn