There is a theme at the moment, one of lots of work and not as much time as I would like to complete these said tasks. This reoccurring theme is really forcing me to assess how I work and how I take on this work and deliver it. This is a big challenge and forcing me to read up as well as try new things to see what helps.
Losing Sight
As the work has increased, I find myself losing sight of some of the bigger picture more frequently. If you get knocked off course a few times, you can recover and carry on. But when those once or twice interruptions and asks increase, it becomes easier and easier to lose sight of what you should be working on and where you are going.
When you lose sight, it can be easy to start to lose the control you once had and some stress creep in. Stress of not knowing everything is covered and stress in having to run around and correct things before the next big storm.
The Current To-Do List
The To-Do list I hear you say is a great way of helping identify what you need to work. In fact I wrote an article on Owning that To-Do List. It allows you to prioritise during the day, take note of what is left and constantly be on the front foot of what is coming your way.
But there is a flaw, or something not covered. It’s that the to-do list is only done from your point of view and limited in focus. It may only span the next day and you are prioritising based on what needs to be done that day.
If you can get out of your head, or even better get another view, you can ensure you are tackling the right tasks that will help you move forward.
- Get perspective on how to tackle those tasks better
- Get Help on progressing them
- Ensure you are also prioritised in that list as well as work commitments
So how can we go about doing that?
Start to Focus Forward on Your Tasks
Supercharge your To-Do list and look forward to what you need to achieve. By getting in front of your tasks early on and comparing will allow you to really assess what is important that week.
- Spend 20 minutes, before your week starts or even at the end of your week, looking at what you need to get done. Paying attention to your own goals and development and not neglecting items that are not urgent at that moment but are very important. I take time out at the beginning of the week before starting on e-mails to list out my items taking note to review where I am
- Prioritise this list, like the To-Do list,obviously prioritise in your own calendar but prioritise that list. Trade items off each other, so you are clear on your number 1 priority all the way down. Balance each one off each other. If you want to take it a step further, review the list with someone else. They will offer a different view or question it, this may help items like your own development bubble to the surface while other tasks you thought were important or urgent are not.
- Note the date done and brief details. As we complete that big task, it can be easy to roll over to the next task to get through. Just take 5 minutes, note when you did it along with a few details of what you actually did. This reflection allows you to see what you actually did high level and also how long it potentially took you. There are several benefits to this, the one I didn’t realise is how much that simple task turned into an almighty beast, making me be careful in the future over scoping it better.
This is a continuing experiment and will update with the next evolution!
Blog - Wayne Hooper 