Personal Effectiveness Module 4

1. Personal Effectiveness Module 4

3. Overwhelmed Ollie Traits

4. Ollie traits – ‘Fire–Fighting’ • Moves at a dizzying blur, extinguishing fires as they go, hose in hand • Too busy dealing with today to think about (or plan) tomorrow • They’d love to structure their days – but how can they with all these fires…?

5. Ollie traits – ‘Doesn’t say ‘no’’ • A ‘sponge’ • Very nice, very nice indeed • Keen to help and doesn’t like to say no, so they don’t • Neighbourly

6. Ollie traits – ‘Flitting around’ • A ‘grasshopper’ • Flits between numerous tasks, blown by the day’s events and each new interruption • Start loads, finishes less

7. Ollie traits – ‘Easily distracted’ • They can talk. Really talk. Forever. And then some. And then even a bit more • An opinion on everything from resolving global poverty to local tittle-tattle – and positively keen to share those opinions. • Often found at office drink machines

8. Ollie traits – ‘Perfectionism’ • Crosses all the t’s and dot all the I’s. • No rushed job is a good job. • Exasperated when others don’t meet their Olympian standards • Says they would love to delegate more – but can they really trust people to do a task like they would?

9. Ollie traits – ‘Procrastination’ • “Why do something today when you can leave it until tomorrow” • Constructs complicated reasoning in the mind to justify not doing what they know needs to be done

10. Ollie traits – ‘Clutter’ • Barely visible most of the day • Is proud of the paper constructions around them – many balancing with impressive precariousness • Looks for things a lot

11. Ollie traits – ‘Dreaming’ • Not up to date – but who cares. It’s just a job. • So chilled they are frozen; so laid back they are past the horizontal • Head not just in the clouds, it’s on another planet • Targets? A kind of slavery for others

12. Juggler Jim Traits

13. Jim traits – ‘Vision’ • Can see beyond the horizon • Knows what they want to achieve, where they are going and how they are going to get there • Goals and aims – short term and long term drive their activity

14. Jim traits – ‘Planning’ • Makes time to extricate themselves from ‘the mixer’ and hover above their work situation • Analyses… thinks …. plans…

15. Jim traits – ‘Prioritisation’ • Decides what needs to be done and in what order and then actions accordingly • Manages interruptions and expectations accordingly • Prepared to ‘say no’ • Ruthless with time, gracious with people

16. Jim traits – ‘Focus’ • When they’re at work, they work; one task at a time • Works at a consistent, high intensity • Self-disciplined • Self-motivated

17. Jim traits – ‘Organisation’ • Implements a support structure for their management of time – email, calendars, to do lists etc. etc.

18. Long Term Aims • Write down a long term aims – ensure you are ‘emotionally attached’ to each one • ‘SMART-en’ up the aim • Consider and document how you would need to manage your time to achieve the aim

19. Juggler Jim - long term aims • Has defined and documented SMART long term aims (both work and personal) • Has worked with his Manager/family in sharing/finalising these aims • Blocks off chunks of uninterrupted time in his calendar / diary for long-term aims – and sticks to them • Has interim milestones

20. To do lists

21. Juggler Jim – to do lists • Regularly brain dumps a to-do list – and then categorises it (reduces stress and ‘wheel spinning’) • Categories tasks as follows:a) Must do todayb) Must do tomorrowc) Must do this week d) Must do next weeke) Neither urgent or important

22. Juggler Jim – to do lists • Doesn’t delay boring, unpleasant or tedious tasks that are important or urgent - makes a start, chunks them, deals in same order as tasks he enjoys • Recognises that doing things right is not as important as doing them in the right order • No procrastination - categorisation based on the most effective order of task completion: brutal in establishing appropriate priorities • Finishes one task before beginning the next • Builds in some contingency and is realistic in what is achievable

23. Urgent vs Important – help in prioritising

25. Interruptions

26. Juggler Jim - interruptions • Re-creates ‘Saturday feeling’ and work in chunks of uninterrupted time • Understands it’s not the amount of time you spend on a task that counts – it’s the amount of uninterrupted time • Creates a method of communicating to others when he is not to be interrupted (and when he can be) • Collaborates with colleagues so that incoming calls can be covered (voicemail?) • Looks to work at times and in locations where less interruptions (late, early, Saturdays, meeting rooms, home)

27. Juggler Jim - interruptions • Sets the tone for conversations at the beginning in tone and body language (punchy and businesslike but focused) • Visits or phones colleagues, so he can leave when he chooses • Comfortable saying ‘no’ – doesn’t automatically put each interruption at top of his to-do list. Gathers enough information to make judgement • Disciplined with email

28. Expectations

29. Juggler Jim - expectations • Pushes back diplomatically - “When do you need that by?” and “Can you help me to prioritise?” • Explains if the target is unrealistic at the start and why • Raises the alarm early, letting customers know if he may not meet their expectations • Keeps them regularly updated with progress

30. Juggler Jim - expectations • Understands needs of others and they understand his • Pushes back on tasks that are outside his skill set – potential damage to reputation and less like to hit time/quality deadines • Delegates/sub-contracts to others where required • Gets suitable development • Values his time • If self-employed may seeks additional charges more for urgent tasks

31. Bottlenecks

32. Juggler Jim - bottlenecks • Sets deadlines for others • Assertive follow up - a ‘squeaking wheel’ – reminds, hints, cajoles – uses phrases like ‘unless I hear from you to the contrary this is what I plan to do’ • Makes it a matter of honour; explains consequences of failure

33. Juggler Jim - bottlenecks • Uses written reminder of the commitment • Uses positive reinforcement - gives them a reputation to live up to • If need be may bypass the system – ‘in a bureaucracy it’s always easier to beg forgiveness than get permission’

34. Bottlenecks – some questions • Am I making myself clear? Do I ask for specific actions? • Do I set a deadline? • Do I confirm requests in writing? • Do I encourage others to speak up when they questions the value of a task – instead of ‘forgetting’ to do them

35. Emails

36. Email facts • 1.2 billion email in-boxes worldwide • 1 in 6 people worldwide have an email address • 62% deal with work messages at home or on holiday • Half of people with blackberrys check email on the toilet! • Third of office workers suffer email ‘stress’ • 14 million stress-related sick days each year in Great Britain • Research suggests that a worker who checks his emails every five minutes can lose nearly 6 hours a week

37. Juggler Jim - emails • Checks emails regularly at set times but not as each one arrives – he’s turned off visual pop up and noise • Sets emails to ‘pull’ not ‘push’ • Uses ‘follow-up’ facility • Asks to come off distribution lists where appropriate – ‘unsubscribe’ for spam or sending an email request • Uses mail filters to organise incoming emails • Doesn’t allow unread emails to build up – small in box • Deletes and archives regularly

38. Juggler Jim - emails • Uses folders for filing • Uses out of office • Uses flags to prioritise • Sets emails to change colour for different senders • Uses drafts to avoid reactive emails – also utilises travelling time to create drafts • Builds relationships and resolves conflict by phone or face to face