Hasta La Ideas

After reading Patrick Rhone’s advice to get items I will never complete off my to-do lists, I decided to do a thorough evaluation of all my lists. Not only were my to-do lists filled with things that I’m certain I won’t do, I was surprised by how many things I will do and want to do that have never made it onto my lists.

The reason to keep lists is to get tasks out of your head and onto paper. Simply writing down (or typing into a computer application) all the things you have to do, you can better manage your schedule, your stress level, and all of your tasks. You can make a giant to-do list with work and personal items all on one list. You can make multiple lists based on where you complete the work (at your computer, in the car, etc.). You can make lists based on a timeline (today, this month, this year). You can make lists in whatever way you choose, as long as the method you pick is something you’ll consistently use.

After evaluating my lists, I realized it was time to makeover my method for compiling information. I’m clearly not capturing information as best as I can to meet my needs. For my list overhaul, I took the following steps to get things in order:

1. Walk through. Grab a pad of paper and a pen and visit every corner of space in your life. At work, open each drawer, scan every shelf, and inspect every surface for reminders of things you need to do. At home, walk through every room, open every closet, and inspect every area for reminders there. Get in your car. Walk around the outside of your house. Read emails, memos, and notes from friends to put together your list.
2. Be realistic. Review your list and instantly cross off anything you know you will never complete.
3. Compare. Pull out your previous to-do list and compare it to the new one you just made. Did you forget anything that needs to be added to the new list?
4. Create. Based on whatever method you are most likely to use, separate your master list into smaller lists. As you work, be sure to prioritize tasks you must get done immediately. You may prioritize items with highlighters or a letter ranking (A, B, C) or a giant asterisk next to your most important action. Also, be sure to use specific and active language when putting items on your list. “The car” is not specific nor active, but “Throw away trash in car” is specific and active.
5. Schedule. All to-do items with a deadline should be immediately scheduled on your calendar. Be sure to schedule time to work on the item on your schedule and not only the deadline.
6. Work. Take care of the things on your schedule for the day.
7. Review. At the end of each day, review your lists and cross off all the items you completed, make sure you have added all new items to your list, and schedule tasks from the to-do list onto your calendar. Each morning, review your plan for the day and make necessary adjustments. Also, evaluate your to-do list methods every three or four months to determine if your lists and working as best as they can for you. (This review step is clearly where my previous method broke down.)

Do your to-do lists need an overhaul? Is it time you started a list (or two or three) of the things you need to do? Reduce your stress levels and get your lists made and in order.

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When a deadline isn’t met, it is often because of a breakdown in one or more of these four areas:

• Time management
• Prioritizing
• Impulse control
• Communication

Time management

Most people underestimate the amount of time it takes to complete a task. They forget to include extraneous time into their estimations for interruptions, recovery time to regain focus after an interruption, restroom and lunch breaks, their mind wandering, etc.

To get a more realistic idea of how long it takes you to do something, start timing your processes throughout the course of a day. How often does a coworker interrupt your work and for how long? How long does it usually take you to recover from this disturbance? Does your mind tend to wander at some hours of the day more often than at other times? How long is your average lunch break? When do you typically use the restroom? After two or three weeks of recording your processes, you should have a more accurate understanding of how long it takes you to do your work (and your not-work).

In the meantime, I recommend doubling your time estimations for completing a task. If you think something will take you 10 minutes, say it will take you 20 minutes. If you think something will take you a day, say it will take you two.

Also, remember that your coworkers and clients are also underestimating the length of time it will take them to complete work. If you are waiting on materials from a coworker, be sure to pad their time estimations when it relates to your deadlines and expectations.

Prioritizing

Whether it’s because you don’t want to do the work (the task you need to finish now is less desirable than another project further down on your to-do list) or you can’t do the work (such as the building is on fire and getting out of the building is in your best interest), incompatible priorities are often the cause of missing deadlines. When I was a teacher, students would prioritize going to soccer practice or hanging out with friends or watching television over completing their homework. Not finishing their homework on time would result in a lower grade, but in the working world it can mean losing a job, not getting a promotion, missing out on a bonus, having an upset client, receiving complaints, and canceled contracts.

A few minutes each morning spent planning out your work day can help you to keep the most important work on your schedule during your most productive times of the day. Even if you don’t follow your schedule perfectly, you’ll be mindful and aware of exactly what you need to do.

Impulse control

The immediate gratification gained from something currently in front of you (a link to a funny site, a conversation your coworkers are having about their upcoming vacations, beating a level on Angry Birds) can easily distract you from working toward important deadlines. Not having the ability to ignore these temptations can keep you from finishing deadlines on time or achieving larger, more beneficial goals.

Simply acknowledging that you are not controlling your impulses will often be enough to get you back on track with your work. If saying to yourself, “I’m wasting time,” isn’t enough to curb your behavior, take more proactive steps. Hide icons, turn off devices, wear earplugs, or do whatever it is you need to do to keep the distractions from luring you away from your work.

Communication

Providing regular updates about your work and properly managing the expectations of the person waiting on your work can go a long way toward helping you meet deadlines. First, you’ll be able to prepare the person well in advance if you are going to miss the deadline so he or she can make necessary adjustments. Second, you may find the person can help you to better meet your deadline.

Regular communication helps you to better set your priorities, keep you accountable, learn important information and skills related to the project, and manage your time. If you’re not going to finish a project on deadline, being radio silent is a sure way to upset the person who is expecting your work.

Based on the length of the project, regular communication might be hourly, daily, or every few days. You’ll need to make this determination based on the type of work you do and the person or people associated with the work. Discuss expectations for regular communication at the beginning of the project so everyone will be comfortable with the frequency of interactions. Also, the minute you know there will be a delay with meeting a deadline, share this with the appropriate person or people.

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Similar to the open classroom trend in the 1970s, open offices became a popular layout design in the 1990s and continuing to today for businesses wanting to increase collaboration, break down hierarchical barriers, and save on overhead (cubicle and permanent walls are more expensive than no walls). For all of their advantages, even the biggest proponents of the open office layout admit there are some downsides to their structure — no privacy, constant noise, usually messy (no one takes ownership of shared spaces), and endless opportunities for distractions.

I’ve worked in a few open offices, and have been able to experience their benefits and disadvantages over the years. I currently work in an open office, and greatly prefer the setup to the alternative. There are certainly distractions, though, and to keep them at bay I usually employ one (or more) of these methods for tuning out the noise when I really need to focus:

• Pick up and move. If you can find a quiet area of the building to retreat to for an hour or two, and the equipment you need to do your work can transport with you, head to the hideout. Conference rooms, lobbies, and the coffee shop around the corner can be good options for finding a little solace. You can’t run away for the whole day, or even days on end, but a short time away from the noise can be beneficial.
• Wear ear phones. Even if you aren’t listening to music, the ear phones act as a muffler and send the message to your coworkers that you don’t wish to be disturbed. If ear phones aren’t acceptable in your corporate culture, invest in a good pair of ear plugs to wear when you really need to focus. (To hear your phone when it rings, you may need to forward your office calls to your cell phone and then turn the ringer to vibrate.)
• Don’t go out of your way to have a super-inviting workspace, at least not all the time. Don’t have a candy bowl on your desk or wind-up toys or novelty gadgets. Keep supplies like staplers and sticky notes in your desk drawer so coworkers aren’t always looking to you for these materials. In other words, don’t tempt your coworkers with a reason to interrupt your work.
• Come in early. If you know you have a big project on your schedule for the day, come in an hour or two before the rest of the office. No one will email you, call you, or even know you’re there working.
• Have a clearly marked and empty inbox. If people know where they can set paperwork or materials so you will see them, they don’t have to hand you the items. Your coworkers won’t always use the inbox, but they can’t use it if you don’t have one.

Additionally, there are ways you can create fewer distractions for your coworkers:

• Avoid using speakerphone at all costs. Even if you’re the boss, no one likes listening to your phone conversations.
• Turn the volume down on your phone’s ringer and earpiece. Again, no one likes listening to your phone conversations.
• Don’t call out to coworkers. Get up and walk over to someone if you need to speak with her, unless there is some kind of emergency where yelling is appropriate.
• Respect the earphones. Email or instant message someone who is wearing earphones if your communication is not vital. Your coworker can respond when he isn’t focusing so intently.
• Use an inbox. If someone has an empty (or mostly empty) inbox, use it for paperwork or materials instead of interrupting her work.

Do you work in an open office? Have you ever worked in an open office? Share your tips in the comments for curbing distractions in an open office environment.

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Three easy tips to help your productivity at work each morning:

1. Prepare everything on your desk before you leave work the previous night so your desk is ready for your work first thing the next morning. Have all the materials you need set and ready to go.
2. Avoid the break room. This might mean you need to bring your coffee with you in a thermos, but sitting down and getting started working right away will set the whole tone for the day. You can be collegial at lunch or in the afternoon when your energy levels are naturally waning.
3. Have a clear plan for the day. The clearer your action items and schedule, the easier it is to successfully manage your day. Even if your day doesn’t go exactly as planned, you’ll still get more done than not having any direction at all.

I also do something a little silly each morning that I find helps to get me motivated for the work day. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and say to myself, “Ready, set, go!” Again, it’s totally silly, but it motivates me.

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The past eight weeks have been a blur. I’m certain I will not look back on this chaotic time fondly. Rather, I think I will only feel a sense of accomplishment for merely surviving. It appears a period of calm is on the horizon, though, and I am looking forward to declaring April as 2011′s Super Simple Month.

Large disruptions are a part of life, and recovering from them can often feel as stressful as the disruptions. Returning to normal, or a new normal, can happen, but it won’t happen magically. Try these tips to help you get back into a manageable routine — this is how I’m getting out from under the overwhelming backlog of responsibilities:

• Don’t try to recover from the disruption in just one day. Give yourself a week or more to stop feeling like you’re drowning under catch-up work. The aphorism, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” is applicable here.
• Try to schedule part of your day focused on new items and part of your day on ones you missed while you were gone. This way, you can keep items from continuing to pile up.
• Schedule actions on your calendar and double or triple the amount of time you think it should take you to accomplish the task. If it usually takes you an hour a day to respond to voice mail, block off two or three hours to do it.
• Schedule the task you will feel the greatest reward from accomplishing first. You need momentum to propel you through the next task, which will be the thing you need to do the most.
• Now is not the time to multi-task. You likely still have a lot on your mind, and that will be enough of a distraction from your work. Go through your email backlog in a batch, keeping track of action items on a piece of paper or digitally. You can tend to the action items in a batch at a later time.
• Take care of yourself — eat well, sleep well, and ask for help when you need it. I realize it’s easier said than done, but try your best to keep your energy levels high.

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