All tagged Getting things done
The thing about deadlines is that, if we’re conscientious, we’ll actually work to them.
Which, in general, is a good thing because deadlines ensure that we prioritize our tasks, allocate the needed resources (usually) and get things done with intent.
At the same time, deadlines - if not correctly set - can give us a false sense of security.
Where’s your head when you’re doing work?
Are you focused on the work itself - on exploring the nuances, the difficulties, navigating the actions needed to ensure it’s done the right way?
Or are you focused on just getting through it - simply finishing and moving on to the next item on your (never ending) To-Do list?
Getting things done, as a team, is a challenging task at the best of times.
It requires us to pull together and take actions that are consistent and coherent with respect to our common end goal. This, in turn, requires clarity, communication and alignment.
In other words, we need to all buy in and then do our bit (as part of the overall plan) to get there.
The Signal-to-noise ratio measures the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It’s commonly used in science and engineering applications but, of course, it has as much application in our professional and personal worlds, metaphorically speaking anyway.
When someone close to us emotionally recounts a personal situation and demands that we get involved and do something about it - and we do.
It seems to me that being smart isn’t enough.
Not when you’re trying to get something personal, something important, done.
You can intellectually understand what you need to do. You can comprehend why you need to do it. You can even detail how you need to get it done.
But there’s still no guarantee that you’re going to do it.
This month's podcasts focuses on the mental aspect of how we work - on the why we get started, how we get caught in ourselves and the mental mindset needed to succeed.
In this episode, I discuss the delusion that is inspiration, this idea that if we just wait for it, it will eventually come and deliver us to where we want to go. That's simply not true and I discuss what we should, instead, focus on.
I’ve written before of my distaste for meetings (here, here and here) and specifically, meaningless meetings that should actually have been emails or a phone chat - or none of the above!
I’ve seen companies where meetings are the norm and the work of actually getting things done (time for deep thinking or focused work) becomes the exception, something that gets done after-hours (or worse, not at all). In fact, I’ve often wondered if there’s a correlation between the percentage of time that executives spend in meetings and the performance of the company.
A few weeks ago, I set up my home office, a small room in the basement where I can focus and get my work done. I’ve set it up with everything I need so that I can be productive and not get distracted by whatever else might be going on at home.
In the span of these last few weeks, it’s already become my ‘haven’, a place where I can tackle my most important projects, where I can do all of the things I’ve got planned. It’s something I’ve wanted even before we moved into this house.
It’s a really weird thing.
In the process of learning something on guitar, specifically when I’m dealing with particularly tricky fingerwork, I’ll hit a point when I just can’t get my fingers moving fast enough, or to the right notes, or with the fluidity and rhythm needed for the song.
It’s that situation when the mind knows what to do, but the body can’t translate. Time after time, I’ll try but I’ll miss this note or I’ll flub that one.
There’s a level of chaos involved in the Karachi experience - that is, living a normal, everyday life in the Pakistani city.
It’s the 11th most populated city in the world, one that’s been economically impacted by a number of factors (as has the country as a whole) over the last few decades.
How many newsletters do you get in your inbox every day? How many emails do you get with an update on some issue or department or project? How many notifications do you get on your phone with the latest piece of “must-have” information?
Now, how many of them do you actually read?
It's natural. We start a new project or new initiative and we get excited, as we should be. We see the potential for change, the potential impact and we want to make sure it's a success.
So we plan. We think through our goals, all the needs and requirements, where we need to get to. We identify the piece parts needed to make for our definition of success, because…
Process helps. For so many aspects of our lives that we grapple with, someone, somewhere has defined a process, and it's one that works. Especially when it comes to routine, straightforward activities.
But for many other decision areas, from making the sale to conducting an analysis to hiring an employee, processes exist, and they help, but only to a certain extent.
