Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I have a confession to make. I have a hard time saying no. I am constantly asked to do things…because I have done things in the past. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I have time in my schedule for the constant inflow of tasks. Yet the tasks still come, and I don’t say no…and I end up overworked, under-rested and resentful.

All because I have a hard time saying no.

Why Not Saying No Is A Problem

Someone once told me that the inability to say no was making you put 5 pounds of sugar into a 4 pound sack. It’s just not going to work. While I can see that (in hindsight), it never occurs to me that I am adding more sugar into the pile.

Why?

Because the requests never seem like a big deal.

The thing is, they add up. And they expand.

My husband says there is no such thing as a 5 minute electrical job (he was an electrician in the Navy). It’s true. Even a so-called simple job has a way of expanding and fast exceeds the initial estimate.

“Sure, I can do a flyer for an upcoming event. Oh, wait, now you want revisions? And different art? (and why didn’t you do this yourself?) And now you want me to get it printed?” This is the typical play of events for me. I never end up doing just what I was asked to do. It is always much, much more.

How To Say No

With my recent career change, I have had to really look at what is on my plate. All of my teacher friends assure me that the train was coming and there was no way for me to get off the tracks. So I knew I was going to have to be careful. But I didn’t have the tools I needed to be able to say no gracefully or effectively. So I started asking around, and got some great answers.

Let Me Check My Calendar

One of my friends never says yes or no to anything directly. She always says, “let me check my calendar and get back to you.” It doesn’t matter that she has her calendar on her phone and it is with her all the time. She uses that as a way to give herself some space to consider what she will have to give up to stay at her current activity level and still add in the new item.

The space, she says, is crucial. It gives her time to consider the request, its impacts and also gives the impression that she is considering it. So if the answer is yes, she knows she can do it without stressing herself out. If the answer is no, or as she phrases it, “I’m sorry, I can’t fit that in.” She claims that this makes it less likely for the requester to argue.

Setting Boundaries

A recent podcast by Stever Robbins dealt with this issue in the workplace. (I love it when a podcast comes up addressing my current concerns!)

Stever recommends setting rules and limits. Give yourself a set amount of time that you will spend on altruistic projects, and then do the projects until the time allotment is up. Don’t take on new projects if you don’t have time to complete them. You can present this to the requester as a rule: “as a rule, I only do 5 hours of altruistic work per week, and I don’t have any more time this week.” People are more likely to accept it if it is phrased as a rule.

Getting Outside Help

Another friend of mine recommended having another person vet your choices. Anytime she is asked to take on something new, she runs it by a trusted advisor. Not only does this give the space to consider the request, but at the same time her advisor will point out things she might not have thought of, such as past experiences with the requester, or other projects that have been similar. This added perspective saves her a lot of time and stress.

Conclusion

Saying no can be hard; saying yes can get you into a whole lot of trouble, productivity-wise.

Over To The Readers

Do you have trouble saying no? What has worked for you?

Photo by sboneham. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

How many people out there love meetings? I don’t even have to see you to know that you’re not raising your hand.

Meetings can be, at best, a necessary evil. At worst they can be a soul-sucking drain of your creativity and time.

One of the best ways to protect your productivity from this insidious sapper is to schedule a No Meeting Day.

What Is A No Meeting Day?

A No Meeting Day is exactly what it sounds like…no meetings. That means the calendar is empty. No scheduled meetings, no impromptu meetings, no “let’s just all talk for a minute” friendly chats that are meetings in disguise.

Why No Meeting Days?

Meeting suck up time. Most of the time, people are gathered, and they really have no input to add. They are there “to be informed”.

Think about it…if you have 8 people in a meeting for an hour, and 5 of those people have no real input, but just need to be advised of the decisions, you are wasting 5 man hours. Instead, you could type up the results and email it, and they could get the information in 5 minutes. It’s a big time savings.

Then think about the schedule. You get into work at 8, and there is a meeting at 8:30 to 9:30. Then another meeting at 10. No real in-depth work is going to happen that morning, because the two half-hour breaks between meetings aren’t enough to get into anything.

So most meetings are just pointless time sinks for most of the people there. It cuts up the days terribly.

So a No Meeting Day allows you to avoid those meetings as a rule, and allows people to focus on their work without interruption; it also allows people to avoid pointless time wasting for one day.

How To Accomplish No Meeting Days

If you can get your team on board with this, it is great. You know not to schedule meetings during that day.

Unfortunately, not everyone who wants your time is necessarily on your team.

The way to get around this is to block out your time on your calendar. Block the whole day, and mark it as busy.

Even if you are the only one doing this, block out your time on your calendar. Your boss might want you to limit it to two half-days, but this is still good for getting work done.

What To Do About The Clueless Scheduler

And let’s face it, having a busy schedule is no impediment to someone who schedules a meeting when you are busy. Every organization has one person who will schedule a meeting regardless of what is on other people’s schedules.

So after blocking out time, if someone asks for a meeting, just decline it. It’s that simple. You can propose an alternate time on another day, but don’t give into the temptation to accept the meeting on No Meeting Day.

No Meeting Day must remain true if it is going to work. After all, you give them an inch, they will take a mile.

Conclusion

A No Meeting Day can give you an unbroken stretch of time to get some in-depth work on. Block it out on your calendar, hold it sacred, and watch how much you get done.

Over To The Readers

Have you tried this? What were your results?

Photo by pawrsccouk. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I was setting out for my daily 3 mile walk, and thumbing through the various podcasts I had waiting for me. I scrolled past the ones about blogging, and noticed the list was getting very large. But at the same time, part of me resisted because I didn’t have a way to take notes while listening. Or so I thought.

A phone call interrupted me, and I answered on my headset. Then it dawned on me that I could use the same technology for taking notes that I was already using for the phone.

Today we will talk about two capture methods that you might be forgetting. These methods can help you capture ideas and notes no matter where you are.

Voice Memos

If you can use voice commands on your phone, you can do voice memos with those. I push the button on my headphones, and tell Siri to take a memo. (And just so it doesn’t get lost, Siri automatically sends it to Evernote.)

This can be done on Android phones as well, and Google Now also offers this ability.

The transcription may not be great, but if you read it soon enough after you take it, you will be able to figure out the auto-corrected words.

Camera

The camera is not just for taking pictures of your lunch. Use the camera to capture brand names, model numbers, prices, documents, white boards…anything you might need on the go.

Cameras can document what you need on the go, and often capture more detail that you might need. For instance, before going to the store to get a new ink cartridge, I snapped a picture of the old one. I also wrote down the printer model. What a shock to find that the store didn’t have a chart telling which cartridge went with what printer! Without the picture, I would have left without the cartridge.

Bonus Method: Kids

Here’s a bonus method I discovered a few weeks ago. My daughter and I were headed to the outlet stores and had a 45 minute drive ahead of us. I told her we were going to listen to podcasts, and handed her paper and pen. I told her that her job would be to take notes of things I mentioned.

It worked wonderfully. I have a list of my thoughts and ideas in a readable format, and I was able to make good use of my driving time.

Conclusion

Sometimes we forget about the tools that are right in front of us. The camera and the voice memo on our phones are the perfect capture tools when we are on the go.

Over To The Readers

Do you have a capture tool you forget to use? Share below.

Photo by Prepayasyougo. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Planning is the basis of any productivity system. Yet many people struggle with the two extremes: under- and over-planning. Today we will look at why you shouldn’t over-plan and how to make sure you are planning at the right level.

The Temptation Of Planning

For those both new to planning, and old pros, the temptation to take the plan to the next level is always there. After all, if a plan works well, more planning must be better, right?

Right?

Making The Gods Laugh

There was a saying in ancient Greece: “If you want to make the gods laugh, make plans.”

Is one of those gods named Murphy? Might be.

But the fact is, if you over-plan, something is going to come up to completely muck it up. If you are running a tight ship, that ship is going to spring a leak. If you think you have thought of everything, something else will come along and the plans will get shaken (at best) or thrown out the window (at worst).

Over-planning is just a waste of time. All that energy will be gone when your plans derail. And they will.

The Right Level

A better approach is to right-size your planning. It is good to spend a bit of time thinking about contingencies, as they apply to the tasks currently at hand. It is best to apply for the things you will do next, and maybe the next step after that. No more.

Conclusion

Over-planning can be a waste of energy. How much over-planning do you do?

Over To The Readers

When was the last time your plans went awry? Did you have plans beyond that? How much time and energy got wasted?

Photo by jean-louis zimmermann. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

When I ask people about time management, I get two types of responses. Either people are gung-ho time managers and they struggle with it, or they do no time management at all.

Asking further questions, I was surprised to find that most of the people in these two camps fall for some time management myths.

Here are the common time management myths and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Every Minute Must Be Planned

The people who do no time management told me that they believed that time management meant that they had to plan every minute of their day. Such an approach would be stifling and overwhelming to keep up.

I agree. Planning every minute does put a huge burden on the planner. Plus it leads to no down time and burnout, even if you plan your down time.

How to avoid this: Plan in large chunks of your day. Block out chunks of time, and list what you will focus on during those times. Leave ample time to unwind, such as a few hours at the end of the day, or your lunch time.

2. Every Minute Must Be Productive

The people who tried to do time management tried to cram every last-minute with something to do. While this may feel productive, it actually can lead to more stress. Things inevitably happen to derail plans. While it is good to have something with you to take advantage of unexpected lulls in time (such as waiting for a doctor), it is OK if you choose to relax during these unexpected breaks.

Forcing “productive” tasks into every nook and cranny will take away the time that you use to relax, unwind, and just play around. Recreation is important.

How to avoid this: having things with you that you can do if you are faced with unexpected wait times; but don’t pressure yourself to do them.

3. Time management Is For Work Only

Several people I talked to said that time management is something that only works at work. While time management systems were written with work in mind, it is possible to apply the techniques to home.

Failing to do some sort of time management during non-work hours just leads to large quantities of unstructured time with no purpose. It is one thing to choose to spend time watching television or surfing the web; it is another altogether to lose huge blocks of time to these activities because you had nothing better to do.

How to avoid this: have a general plan of what you want to accomplish during your time at home. It is OK if you choose (or need) to vegetate. Just make sure you’re not doing it because you have no idea of what else you could do.

4. The Schedule Must Be Adhered To

People on both sides of the responses – both planners and non-planners – indicated that if you do time management, you have to stick to the plan.

A rigid plan is a cause of unnecessary stress and inflexibility.

How to avoid this: If you are going to make a plan, realize that life happens. If something has made your plan shift, don’t force yourself to get back on track. Re-think, re-group, and re-plan.

Conclusion

Time management is one of the key things that will make you productive. Don’t fall for the time management myths.

Over To The Readers

What do you think? Are there other myths that you succumb to? Or do you have better ways of getting past the myths above? Share below.

Photo by Beverly & Pack. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

So you’ve done a project, wrapped it all up, delivered it. Now what?

In July we are going to look at projects: how to pick what to do, how to get started, how to move forward consistently, how to fix stalled projects, and what to do after you finish a project.

Today we look at what you need to do after the project is done and the importance of handing “done”.

The Importance of Done

Far too often we finish something up, and without even drawing a breath move on to the next thing.

But without stopping to consider what we just accomplished, we are denying ourselves the acknowledgement that we completed something. We pass over the accomplishment as if it didn’t exist.

How could that possibly serve us well?

Recognizing Done

We have to allow ourselves to recognize that we have done something. We have to get closure on what we completed before moving on to the next item, or we will spend our days in a whirl of activity without really understanding what we finished.

In order to get closure, we need to take a moment and consider what we just accomplished. Make it real in your mind. See what you have created/completed and really look at it.

Lessons Learned

Another thing to do as part of the closure is to take a look at lessons learned.

Even if you are not ever going to do this set of actions again, nor anything like it, it is important to figure out what went well and what went not so well.

Why?

Because you can learn things about not only the project at hand, but also your general methodology.

For instance, you could notice that you had significant delays when you sent email to a particular person. Perhaps you only got answers after you called him. That might mean in the future you should skip the email, or follow up more quickly with a phone call.

Or you might notice that your shared calendar helped keep everyone on track. This would indicate that it is a useful tool going forward.

Or you might have just finished a project you know you will need to do in 3 months. You could write up an SOP to make sure that you don’t struggle with the same pain points again.

Conclusion

Finishing a project is great, but it is important to be able to acknowledge your completion for closure, as well as extract lessons learned.

Over To The Readers

When was the last time you took even a minute to think about something you just finished?

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Have you ever been excited to start something, only to have that interest wane and the project fizzle out?

In July we are going to look at projects: how to pick what to do, how to get started, how to move forward consistently, how to fix stalled projects, and what to do after you finish a project.

Today we look at how to keep projects moving forward.

Keeping Momentum Going

In physics, we have the Law of Inertia:

“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”

We know that if we are already doing something, it is easy to keep going. We also know that if we aren’t doing something, it is easier to keep not doing it.

The Law of Inertia applies to projects as well. So how do we keep those projects going and moving forward?

Three Techniques

We’re going to look at three techniques that not only make it easy to start, but will ensure your projects keep moving forward.

Make It Easy To Start

Are you more likely to sweep the floor when the broom is right at hand, or when you have to go to the garage, move the bikes, and then pull the cobwebs off the broom?

Are you more likely to work on your book when your writing program is open in front of you, or when you have to go digging through menus and documents to open it up?

The easier it is to start something, the more likely you are to start it.

Set yourself up for success. Make things easy. Move tools near where they will be used. Create shortcuts to get to things more easily.

Give yourself a break. Don’t do difficult.

Do A Little Each Day

Mark Forster said “work little and often.” (see Work Little and Often) because doing that can get you further on a project than if you wait until you have a great deal of time.

If you spend 15 minutes each day on your project, by the end of week two you will have spent 3.5 hours on the project. If instead you had spent an hour a week on the project, you would still be 1.5 hours behind the level of 15 minutes!

Plus, doing a little each day keeps your mind in the game.

Now you may be thinking, “I can’t get anything done in 15 minutes!” So I have a challenge for you: get a kitchen timer and set it for 15 minutes. Now work full-out on your project until the timer goes off. Surprising, isn’t it?

Break It Down

Of course, tackling a huge project works better if you don’t see the whole project, but only a small, achievable bit.

It’s easier to clean your sock drawer than it is to purge and reorganize the whole bedroom.

It’s easier to write a single slide of a presentation than it is to write sixty.

It’s easier to research degree options than it is to complete a master’s.

Breaking down a project into do-able bits makes it easier to do the project. If you make it so simple that it takes no effort to do it, you will get the task done without even thinking about it!

The Powerhouse Triple Play

Now, what happens when you put all three together?

You break your tasks into 15 minute chunks that are easy to do?

You guessed it…massive project progress.

Conclusion

If you have a project and are having trouble making progress, try working every day, making it easy, and breaking it down. Or try all three together.

Over To The Readers

Have you ever gotten through a project on one of the three above? Have you tried all three together? What were your results?

Photo by Steve Worsethandetroit. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

In July we are looking at some of the simple things you can do or use every day that make a huge impact on your productivity. Today we will look at planning.

Why Plan?

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” ~Benjamin Franklin (tweet this)

Planning isn’t just about slotting appointments and tasks into your day. Planning is more than that.

Planning is about seeing what is coming at you.

Planning is about knowing what you are committed to.

Planning is about knowing what else you have outstanding.

Planning is about being flexible enough to rearrange things to fit both your commitments and the events at hand.

“My Days Are Too Crazy To Plan!”

I have heard it dozens of times…”my day is too crazy (or unpredictable) to plan!”

Those are exactly the type of days that need planning. Because if you have an unexpected lull, it is better to get something productive done than to ramble about lamenting the state of your day and how it keeps you from getting things done.

How To Plan

Planning, at this level, is very simple:

1. List your time commitments to others
2. List the things you must get done, with approximate times
3. List the things you would like to get done, with approximate times
4. List the things that don’t need to be done today, as a way of reminding yourself that you should focus on something else.

Once you have those lists, you can start putting it together.

I’m a visual person, so I lay out the day, highlight any areas where I have a time commitment, and then start penciling in things from my must-do list. By seeing the day laid out, I can determine if I am expecting too much of myself.

Adapt As Necessary

My day never goes as planned. A task may take longer than I thought, or something may come up, or I might just lose all energy and inclination to do anything.

Having those lists lets me back things off and rearrange as necessary.

It is because I know what is coming that I don’t feel derailed by having to adjust. And I rarely have the feeling that I am overwhelmed and losing control of everything I have to do.

Conclusion

Planning is the one thing I do that has the greatest impact on my priority.

Over To The Readers

Do you plan? How do you do it?

Photo by photosteve101. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

How many projects do you have going on right now? I would wager that it’s more than one. And I would also guess there are more waiting to be done.

In July we are going to look at projects: how to pick what to do, how to get started, how to move forward consistently, how to fix stalled projects, and what to do after you finish a project.

Today we look at how to pick what to do and get it started.

What Is A Project?

There are many definitions for projects out there, but I like to define it as this:

A project is anything that needs multiple steps to complete, that you would not normally complete all at once.

Changing a light bulb is not a project. Installing shelves in your laundry room is.

Your Project List

If you don’t have a formal list of all the things you have going on, now is the time to start one.

Even if you have a list, you might want to make sure it is complete.

Think about all the things you have that are incomplete, or that you want to do. Start writing them down.

You can jog your memory by walking around your work and home and seeing what triggers memories. Or you can use a RAM dump, such as the one found at OrgCoach.net.

Do You Need To Jettison?

Next, look at the list of projects. Are they truly things you want to do? Or are they driven by “shoulds”? Have they stood the test of time, coming back to your mind time and again? When you look at them now, do you feel a surge of good energy, or a drag of negative?

If there are things on the list because someone else expects or wants you to do them, get rid of them. (Do you really need to waste time and energy getting a CPA because your parents expect it? Especially if you are not working in accounting?)

If there are things on the list you used to want, but no longer consider important, get rid of them. (Do you really need to sort your stamp collection, when you left that hobby behind 10 years ago?)

If there is something on the list because it meets the criteria of “When I have [insert name of project], I will be able to [another cool thing]”? These are not real projects and should be jettisoned if at all possible. (If you have a project on there, like “when I get my MFA then I can write my memoir”…skip the MFA and make the project “write my memoir”)

Picking A Few

Now you should have a smaller list. You are going to pick a few to work on.

This technique comes from a great little book, Get It Done: From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 Minutes a Day by Sam Bennett.

In the book, you are asked to ask yourself five questions about every project:

1. Do you think you will learn from, and enjoy working on this project?
2. Will completing this project make a difference in your life?
3. Will completing this project make a difference in the world?
4. Does your soul ache to work on it?
5. Ten years from now, will it matter whether or not you have done it?

These all attack the “how important is it” from different angles.

And even more importantly, this will let you find the projects that are the most important to you.

Getting Started

So you now have a list of projects. You have to decide how to tackle the list. (if you have more than five, narrow it down further)

The first thing to consider is if any of them are already started? If they are, how much would it take for you to finish them? If it isn’t much, take care of it and get it off your list.

Another way to decide which one to work on is to determine its relative impact. Will one of these projects make a bigger difference than another? Consider doing that one.

This is not to say that you should only work on one projects at a time. Natural lulls in the project are perfect opportunities to work on another project…as long as you don’t get too much going at once.

Conclusion

The key to getting projects done is to decide which ones are the most important, then narrowing it until you have just a few to work on. Then decide which ones are closest to done, or the ones that will have the most impact, and work on those to get started.

Over To The Readers

Do you have a lot of projects on your list? Do you have a list at all? Try the exercise, and see if it boosts your productivity.

Photo by mripp. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

What are the simple things you do or use every day that make a huge impact on your productivity? In July we are going to be looking at some of my favorites. Today we begin with my morning routine and mini-habits.

Morning Routine

I am not a morning person. But what I have found is that when I am deliberate about what I do the first thing in the morning, it sets the stage for the whole day.

I started doing a morning routine as suggested in the book The Miracle Morning back in March. Since that time I have been more consistent with my exercise; have read four non-fiction books; done regular meditation; planned my day more than 75% of the time (before I get into what I am supposed to do during the day); and journaled/wrote morning pages nearly every day.

All of these things I knew I wanted to do, but I never could find time to do them. Now I do them right away and set myself up for success.

What My Routine Looks Like

My morning routine hasn’t changed much since I implemented it.

Mini-Habits

Mini-habits fit naturally into this new plan. Mini-habits are things that are so small that they take no effort to do, but spur you to do more, without the guilt if all you do is just the small thing.

This is based on one of the non-fiction books I read with the morning routine, “Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results“.

Mini-habits are tasks that are too small to resist, eliminating the need for willpower to get them done. After all, if the habit is “open word processor” you can do that without thinking and without resistance, and yet it can spur you to get some writing done.

This book is based on the science of brain, habits and willpower. Please note it is not meant to eliminate bad habits.

My Current Mini-Habits

I have five mini-habits currently in place:

• Walk to the corner. This gets me up on my daily walk.
• Drink 1 glass of water. This gets me drinking water instead of caffeinated beverages.
• Write 50 words. This gets me writing either blog posts or fiction.
• Open Scrivener. This gets my fiction-writing environment open and prompts me to do something.
• Read 2 pages (category). This gets me reading a book in the current category.

What These Tools Have Given Me

These two tools, together, have given me a boost on getting things done. I am actually doing the things I deem important now instead of letting them get shoved to the side by daily activities.

The morning routine knocks out several of the important activities before I get the day started. The mini-habits make it easy for me to start other tasks…and are usually done by the time I have set as the deadline for completing the mini-habits.

Conclusion

What has this meant to me? I am getting more done than I thought possible, and doing the things that I consider important, instead of letting them slip under the urgent.

Over To The Reader

I would like to challenge you to come up with a basic morning routine that is focused on self-development, and try it for a week.

In addition, come up with a mini-habit to get you started on something you want to do. It needs to be extremely small, but aim at what you want to do.

Like these? Hate these (don’t hate without trying!)? Share if you feel moved to.

Photo by Walt Stoneburner. Licensed under Creative Commons.