In the best Dr. Phil voice that I could muster, I asked, “So how’s that workin’ for ya?”

As I suspected, in many ways it was working for him. Yes, this approach made things harder for those around him, and he ends up sacrificing more personal time than he wants to, and his stress level tends to be higher than ideal. But at the end of the day, he is still able to get things done.   And a lot done at that. By most accounts, he is a widely successful individual.

Changing our ways is hard at the best of times. But when the consequences of ‘last minute-itis’ are not that great, it is hard to break the habit.

Sometimes, other people almost give us too much of a break when we miss deadlines. We avoid penalties, when really we probably could benefit from a penalty once in awhile.

In these situations, we need to set our own standards. What does a deadline mean to you? Even if ignoring a deadline is essentially ‘penalty-free’, are you still going to do it? Your professional reputation, impact on others, personal life and stress level are on the line after all.

Focusing on getting things done sooner rather than later takes commitment and discipline. Are you up for the challenge?

We definitely know that focusing leads to better work. But do we really need to block out all noise in order to focus?  Couldn’t we just have a bit of background music?

Ironically, there are many indicators pointing to the fact that music might not be such a bad distraction after all.

1)      Music can block out distractions

Music can help to drown out other (more distracting) background noises. Music has also been found to engage the area of the brain involved with paying attention. This might help us to focus on the present task and avoid drifting off to other topics.

2)      Music may boost our concentration and productivity

Classical music has been cited as a great way to increase concentration and productivity. Some researchers claim that music helps us to organize incoming information. Other researchers cite that music with constant beats help us to march along in a productive fashion. Slow classical music (whose timing is about that of a human heart at rest) is supposed to help one concentrate best of all. Regardless, music without words tends to be recommended.

3)      Music may boost our learning

Researcher’s coined the “Mozart Effect” to describe the short-term enhancement of spatial-temporal skills (like those crucial in math and chess) after listening to Mozart’s compositions (which are very sequential). Does this translate into better problem solving skills in the workplace? This appears to be an untested question, but certainly an interesting theory.

Other researchers caution that this so-called “Mozart Effect” is minimal (or non-existent), however, so we should not expect to turn into geniuses by simply tuning into the classics. It is worth noting that Albert Einstein allegedly credited much of his intelligence to having learned to play the violin.

4)      Music can inspire creativity

Some proponents argue that music (especially upbeat tunes) helps to clear mental blocks and boost creativity. One author suggested that music occupies the part of our mind that hinders our creative abilities. “Like a soothing lullaby, music puts the worrisome unfocused part of the mind to sleep so the productive side can get to work.” Regardless, music can help to spice up a task.

5)      Music helps to improve our mood

It is hard to be truly productive if we are not in a good mood. Music has been shown to improve our mood, resulting in higher levels of dopamine – the ultimate feel-good neurotransmitter. Music has also been found to reduce stress hormone levels by as much as 41%. This alone could help lead to more flow and natural decisions in our day.

Summing it all up: does music help?

As with so many things, the questions still outweigh the answers. And some studies find no positive impact of music on our ability to focus.

Does music help you to focus? This may be a question that only you can answer. If the answer is yes, then by all means tune in.

Ironically, Ann Gomez sat in a coffee shop, humming along to music, while writing this blog.

The True Fire Fighters

Ironically, fire fighters (who are dealing with true crises) seem to be fairly calm.

Fire departments seem to live by the ethos “Let chaos reign, then rein in chaos”. With every second counting, they literally drop everything to respond to a fire.

Yet outside of these fires, they do many things to rein in the chaos. They test their equipment, they train and yes, they wash their trucks. When is the last time you saw a fire truck broken down on the side of the road?

How to Survive the Chaos

When a crisis hits, it often requires an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach and we (like the fire fighters) drop everything to respond.

Ironically, the things we do outside of times of crisis are the things that best prepare us:

1)      Set clear priorities: It’s okay to have a lot of goals. But the fastest way to get through them is to focus on one at a time. We only slow our progress when we perpetually jump from one thing to the next.

2)      Single-task: Multi-tasking is a myth. Focus is far more efficient and leads to better work. Turn your email off. They can survive without you (for a little while anyways).

3)      Establish simple systems: We waste time looking for information and generally getting bogged down. Establish simple systems to deal with the little things (email, To Do lists, paperwork, etc.) so you can get on with the doing.

4)      Set short-term deadlines: The evil procrastination goblin loves when we don’t have a deadline – at least not one in the short term. Set a deadline and tell someone else. A little bit of pressure is a great way to tighten our backlog.

5)      Strive for “good enough”: Better is the enemy of the good. Yes, things can usually be better, but is it worth the price? The U.S. Marine Corps uses the 70% rule: if you have 70% of the information, have done 70% of the analysis and feel 70% confident, then act.

6)      Push back: Is it really a crisis? Do you really need to drop everything? Remember that we train people how to work with us.

7)      Take a break: We absolutely need recovery time. Outside of crisis times, build in some breathers. Celebrate with you team. Or steal some personal time. Rest up for the next adrenaline rush.

You can handle the inevitable chaos

Fire departments cannot anticipate fires, so they need to prepare themselves to deal with these unpredictable events. You can too with a focus on upfront planning. If we can avoid hanging out on the edge of our capacity, the crisis won’t be able to send us over the edge, and we will finally be able to take 911 off of our speed-dial.

So much is said about our big priorities. Yet we know that the finest performances in life are often differentiated by the smallest details. And it is often these very same details – the little things – that can trip us up.

Professional athletes recognize that the slightest change in momentum can result in the difference between a celebratory win versus a devastating loss. Michael Phelps credits the tiny detail of keeping his head level to winning one of his gold medals.  

Rogers learned a costly lesson when a misplaced comma (of all things) in a multi-page contract ended up costing them more than $2 million (ouch!) in 2002.  

No doubt, we all aspire to stay on top of our details. But life moves fast and emails pile up faster than we can say “details matter”. So regardless of how much we aspire to show up early, hit a tight deadline and remember to do something, we can sometimes find ourselves drowning in the details.

5 Ways to Navigate the Details

Staying on top of all the little details requires an entirely different mindset than our big priorities.

1. Start at the top
Whether you are tackling a stack of papers or a pile of emails, start at the top of your list and work your way down sequentially. Other than a quick scan for hot topics, this is not the time to prioritize. Avoid cherry picking.

2.   Organize
Being organized helps us to process the details efficiently. One of the most common reasons why people put off the simple things is because it takes too much time to find the necessary information.

 3. Touch it Once
Ideally, we only touch an email / a bill / a phone message / etc. one time. The first time we read something is tied to when we act on it. Otherwise, we waste (quite a bit of) time re-reading.

4.   Make the time
Lots of people reserve time for their big chunks of work.  But very few people reserve time for the associated minutiae. Here is a rough guideline: if you are receiving 100 emails per day, you need two hours to process them.

5.   Cut back
Recognize that maybe you have too much on the go. If you still can’t stay on top of your details (despite all of the above), maybe there are some other things at play. Could you delay or delegate some projects? Does your team need to copy you on every email? Can you ask colleagues to bundle questions and save them for a weekly meeting?

Is Perfection Really the Goal?
What am I really recommending here? Do you need to perfectly attend to every last detail? Not a chance! We still need to protect the time for our priorities. And we have to accept the fact that we will stumble here and there. (Great accomplishments rarely arise without a few hiccups.)

 I am simply suggesting that the details (just like the big priorities) require their deserved attention. And with a good balance between our big and small tasks, we will all be swimming our way to (our own version of) Olympic glory.

1. Visual Cues – Define your goals and keep them in sight, literally. As a student my walls were covered with post-it notes that defined my goals – the grades I was going to get and the jobs that I wanted.  As a management consultant the medium changed from post-it notes to software and strategic plansbut the approach remained the same.  As a parent, I need only look at my children to be reminded of my life goals and priorities.  With my goals clearly in front of me, I can more easily prioritize and align taskswith goals.
2. Emergent Prioritization – There are only two types of tasks that matter.There are only two task categories that I focus on.  Those that are important and urgent; and those that are important but not urgent.  Everything else is simply not a priority and does not get done.  After all, if something is not important, why do it?  This one realization is my basis for prioritization – as each new task emerges, I first decide if it is important and then, if it is urgent, it becomes an immediate priority.
3. Just do it – The Nike approach really works.  If a task is important and urgent, it really is about just doing it.  We often waste time overanalyzing a task or putting it off because we don’t know how to tackle it.  I have found that just diving in and starting to work on something is the best way to get it done.  Once you have started, it is often easier and faster to complete the work than you thought.  And if it really is a complex task, at least you have made some progress and can then decide whether to break it down into more manageable bits, to seek help or even to delegate.
4. “Incrementalism”–The path to Zen like productivity.  It is easy to prioritize the important and urgent tasks because there is usually an immediate deadline or consequence.  But the truly Zen like people I know are those who think ahead to those important tasks that will come due in a week, a month or even six months.  I find that working incrementally on those big important items allows me to do a little bit each day or each week to move that task to completion.  And it leaves me less panicked when the inevitable deadline looms.  Incrementalism applies equally well to the small, daily tasks that we do to keep our work and our lives moving smoothly.  Doing these little things dailyeliminates unmanageable backlogs.
5. Artificial Deadlines: Deciding when something is done.  I have always tried to pretend that things are due sooner than they really are. This forces me to get things done in advance but still leaves me a few days of breathing room before the real deadline.  I also find that many of us have a bad habit of spending too much time perfecting our work fordiminishing returns.  To avoid this trap I try to estimate how many hours I want to spend on a task on a given day and then stick to it.  So that when my self-imposed deadline arrives, that task is done – and generally it is good enough.  The marginal value of working on perfecting that task is not worth the impact it has on the rest of your day and on the other things that you need to get done.

Kalindi Jog is the founder of write.think.do.She works independently and with anetwork of associatesto provide transformation planning and business writing services. Kalindi has over 13 years of management consulting experiencewith IBM Global Services, Deloitte Consulting and as an independent consultant.  She has worked with clients in Canada, the United States and the Middle East in both the public and private sectors. Kalindi has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University. Kalindi is a Professional Engineer (P. Eng) and a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

There was a great episode of BBC’s Money Programme a few weeks ago.  It was an episode that focused on email and the stress it causes in offices. 

We live in the “Information Age”, where information has never been so readily available.  In fact, our people these days are bombarded.  David Allen, the author of “Gettings Things Done” was asked in an interview what’s changed in the world and his response was “Nothing.  Just the speed and volume of whatever we’re dealing with”.  I think this information overload – from email, and indeed from all sides! – is a much bigger challenge than we realize.

Research carried out by the Universities of Glasgow and Paisley has discovered that one third of email users get stressed by the heavy volume of e-mails they received. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7049275.stm)

One of the common solutions talked about in helping to solve this issue of email overload is the idea of a regular ‘no email days’: that is, no internal emails allowed for an entire day.  The idea is based on 3 key assumptions:

• That email is too readily available and people send more emails than they need to
• That email is not always the best or only medium to communicate information, even if it may often be the most effective
• That people need rules – either self-initiated or boss-initated – to change behavior.

I think we would probably all agree with these assumptions, but I wonder whether ‘no email days’ really is the best solution. 

Nestlé Rowntree was the first company in the UK to introduce such a policy, after management were informed that employees were spending more time typing than talking to each other; they also found examples of people sending e-mails to colleagues who were just a small distance across from them, rather than actually speaking to them directly. (http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=4312)

When e-mail behaviour was tracked it was found that many were checking their inbox as often as 30 to 40 times per hour. The volume of e-mails has exploded in recent years with over 170 billion now being sent daily around the globe, according to technology market researcher Radicati Group. That’s two million every second! (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2939232&page=1)

Intel have taken a different approach.  Since email is not forbidden on the Friday; the idea is to solve the problem articulated by Intel CEO Paul Otellini in a recent interview in Financial Times, where he criticizes “the fact that engineers two cubicles apart send an e-mail rather than get up and talk. The whole nature of sitting down and hashing out ideas and collaborating is a bit stymied by the construct of the cubicles”. While other projects explore changes to the cubicle paradigm at Intel, they looked at a direct attack on the over-reliance of email, rather than tokenistically banning it.

“In our new pilot, we encourage the members of an organic group to focus each Friday on direct conversation – face to face or by telephone – for interpersonal communication within the group. Processing email from other groups is OK; sending email within the group is also OK – when it is necessary. But as much as possible, they will try to walk across the aisle or pick up the phone. While this may seem a small thing, experiments done in other companies showed a great impact once people started exploring communication with the human voice”. (http://blogs.intel.com/it/2007/10/quiet_time_on_track_no_email_d.php)

The US firm PBD launched a no email-Friday four months ago and have reported that it has been a massive success, with benefits including increased performance, happier customers and quicker problem solving. (http://www.pulsewebhosting.com/news/no-email-days-a-success/143/)

For me, anything that usefully gets people talking about email in a new and interesting way has got to be good in terms of helping to discuss and perfect the culture, but there are a couple of major flaws here.

Firstly, if people are using email badly on a Monday to Thursday, the fact that they are ‘allowed’ a day off doesn’t improve their usage more generally.

Secondly, they’ll still come back the following Monday to twice as many external emails, so on Monday will feel as if their email problem is worse than it really is!

For me, what I notice amongst the thousands of email inboxes I see are 2 very stark, very real facts, that about 98% of emailers have in common:

1. The volume is not only too high now, but it’s rising, and people struggle to speed up their processing skills to avoid ending up sitting on a pile of hundreds of unread or un-dealt-with* emails (*’undealt-with’ us subtly but powerfully different from ‘unanswered’!)
2. No one thinks the culture of their organization and its approach to email is perfect, and indeed everyone has ideas about how to improve it (and guess what, just to shake things up, sometimes the solutions of how to improve the culture are complete polar opposites too!)

So whilst ‘no email days’ are a great way of raising the issue of email culture and inviting feedback on what could be done about it, it’s hardly a sustainable solution.  The springboard onto better communication with employees about their needs? Maybe.

But also possibly the cause of significant stress in itself: consider the team of hard-pushed report-writers, desperate to gather information internally to hit a client’s ‘close of play Friday’ deadline.  Or the manager waiting to hear back on a vital decision that affects the future of his or her team.  We’d all be hard-pushed to refuse them special permission to jump ship and spend all day Friday frantically tapping into Outlook.  And then the flood gates open with many more conceivable and less than conceivable reasons to get out of the scheme, and whoever is running it finds themselves with an extra load of emails to deal with!

So, what else could you look at instead? 

• Think about the stress that email is causing your teams. 
• Start some conversations about this, perhaps at an away day or team meeting. 
• As Peter Drucker famously said, “what gets measured gets managed” so look at getting some measurements in place to see the average levels of emails that colleagues are receiving, and also how much time they are spending (if you decide to survey them directly it’s likely they’ll underestimate both!
• And importantly, as the BBC Money Programme on email concluded, invest in some training to increase email processing speeds, improve email culture and raise awareness about when not to rely on email at all.

I love email. When used appropriately, email can provide a competitive advantage and can accelerate the likelihood for success. Clearly, I am both a champion and a proponent of this powerful tool. In fact, I struggle to understand why people think any differently.

I have received compliments on my email habits – particularly my reliability and consistency.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on some thoughts about my email philosophy.

1) Email: the right tool for the right purpose

There is a time and a place for email. I liken it to fire. Fire is great for certain things: heat, warmth, cooking. But if used inappropriately it can cause great damage and be disastrous.

Email is not designed for overly complex or potentially contentious “heated” messages. Face to face (or voice) is much more effective in these situations.

2) Keep it brief

Emails should be kept brief. Many people are reading emails on handheld devices these days. I try to enable people to respond from their handheld as well.

If the message requires more details, include an attachment that the reader can refer to. In these cases, I try to forewarn the reader and state my intent or request upfront, at the outset of my email.

3) Categorize your outgoing emails

At times, I like to categorize my outgoing emails – right in the subject line. This gives the readers an immediate heads up and allows them to quickly screen if necessary. I recommend three categories such as: Urgent (need an answer today); Comment (would love your input over next couple of days); Info (for your information only; no need to respond).

4) Rule of three

Email is not designed to be a conversation. As soon as an email bounces back and forth three times, it is time to pick up the phone. Otherwise, communication tends to get too complicated.

5) Saying thanks

Showing appreciation through email is important for politeness and helps to maintain the human connection. If a ‘thank you’ is being used in as a coaching moment, I try to be more specific. For example: “Thanks for going the extra mile regarding the meeting logistics. This is an important meeting and I think the client will notice these details.”

6) Consider your audience

When I have a choice, I always consider using the communication vehicle that my recipient prefers. For example, if they say “I am so overloaded with email” and if I have the time, I’ll call instead of email. Obviously, this depends on the audience and circumstances.

7) Have a system for scanning

I will scan, but I am adamant about only reading an email once. (Any more than that is redundant). I process my emails systematically in this order: 1^st – boss; 2^nd – Direct Reports; 3^rd – any subject lines related to something critical or something I am waiting for; 4^th – all other emails. If necessary, I will open an email and quickly scan for urgency.

Clear my inbox

I receive about 90 emails each day and tend to get my inbox down to about 10 most days. I strive to adhere to the ‘Touch it Once’ principle. When I can’t, I’ll move the email to a follow-up folder. I work through this follow-up folder as soon as I’ve processed my inbox.

9) Dedicate time

I dedicate time to email each day. For me, it’s first thing in the morning for about an hour. Then I work on email for approximately 30 minutes again at some point between 11:30-1:30pm; again at the end of the business day for about one hour and once again for about 30 minutes just before I turn in. I rely on email a lot but I try to minimize the impact on my day also. When traveling I try to check quickly on my BlackBerry while remote.

10) Let it sit

When I am not working on email, I close it and focus on other things. In fact, I will only open my email again if I have enough time to work on it. At a minimum, I need 30 minutes. Otherwise, I just feel frustrated about not being able to respond to something.

So there you have it: my perspectives on email.

I hope that you find these tips inspiring.

Michael (Mike) Cloutier is the consummate CEO. He is currently the President and CEO of the Canadian Diabetes Association. His past roles have included CEO of Critical Outcome Technologies Inc., AstraZeneca Canada, Pharmacia Canada and Searle Canada. He has also been active on the boards of numerous for profit and not profit organizations including Sheridan College, the Canadian Orthopedic Foundation, TD Toronto Jazz Festival and United Paragon Associates. Mike is an avid golfer and recently played 90 holes in one day to raise money for the Canadian Diabetes Association.



Do you feel behind on email despite spending countless hours trying to catch up on your email?

Are you faced with information overload?

Many people have a love/hate relationship with email. It continues to be a fantastic way to communicate. But it can quickly make us feel as though we have time for little else but email.

If any of the above questions strike a chord, read on for some simple solutions to reduce your email volume.

1) Encourage direct reports not to cc you. Managers often tell me that their employees cc them on every email. Wow! This sounds extremely redundant to me. If one person is responsible for something, surely we don’t need another person watching over their shoulder.  Regular, verbal updates are often a much more effective way to stay abreast.

2) Automatically sort non-urgent emails. I learn a lot through enewsletters and online seminars. Consequently I receive countless emails on these topics. So much so that I started spending too much time learning and not enough time on my priorities. I solved this by setting up rules to have these types of emails automatically routed into a folder. Now I can go through these types of emails at one time during my allocated learning time.  (Contact us for quick instructions on how to set up a rule.)

3) Pick up the phone. Email is best used for simple discussions.  When things get complex (or contentious), it’s time to pick up the phone.  I like the rule of three: if an email goes back and forth three times, it warrants a verbal conversation.

4) Slow down. Are you trying to do too much? Everything we’re involved with comes with its own set of emails. Instead, try focusing on a few projects at a time. Get them done quickly and then introduce a few new ones.

5) Park it. At the end of the day, email is only one component of our job. We need to turn it off and make time for other priorities. And yes, sometimes it is as simple as turning it off.

This blog is dedicated to the ‘big things’ – the ones that often drive our important goals. The following three things that will you get a lot of your big things done fast.

Sometimes, the biggest challenge is being spread too thin. While there are times when this is inevitable, there are many other times when it can be avoided. I recommend focusing on one or two projects at a time. When we focus on efforts, we make more rapid progress, we stay current, and we are more in control of our deadlines. This strategy also simplifies our life and creates fewer moving parts to manage. We are also able to get to our other projects that much faster.

2) Block off Time

Our schedules can fill up in the blink of an eye. We need to be proactive and preserve time for our projects. Some people like to block off time first thing in the morning. (I have preserved an hour each morning, before the kids awaken, to work on my book.) Others like to block off time in the afternoon. Regardless, we need to protect this time. I can guarantee that if we don’t protect our project time, no one else will.

3) Build in Accountability

It helps to have some accountability to keep us on track. Deadlines, meetings and commitments to others all work well. If you need to, find a way to build in some accountability. I have started a blog about my book progress as a way to keep me accountability. I would consider it a personal favour if you subscribed to my blog! (The more people who follow me, the more committed I feel … and yes, I sometimes need to play tricks with myself to stay focused.)

I hope that these three tips result in a productive season. I would love to hear from you if you have any more ideas to share.

Thanks for your time,

Ann

I like to be organized.

Ok – I admit it. I like to be organized. In fact, I sometimes find myself procrastinating by organizing. When I walk past an unorganized office, I need to resist the urge to jump in and start sorting. But enough about me …

Simple Improvement

Getting organized is one of the easiest ways to boost our productivity. It doesn’t strain the brain, yet it yields some immediate positive results.

Getting organized offers many compelling benefits:

• We save time by not having to look for things
• We significantly reduce chaos and distractions
• We are able to focus more on our most important work

Getting organized is actually pretty simple.

Most of us know what we need to do to get organized. The biggest challenge is likely finding the time. So my first tip would be to clear your schedule for 2-3 hours. My second tip would be to recruit some help. An assistant, an eager colleague or a dutiful friend all work. Finally, make it fun! Bring some snacks, turn on some music or even uncork some wine.

A few simple tips will help focus your efforts.

As you dust off your piles, consider the following organizing tips:

• Clear your desktop. Only keep the task that you are currently doing on your desk.
• Set up a staging area (for example, on a back credenza) for work you plan to complete later that day or week.
• Establish a home for everything. Create files. Group like with like. House things where you use them. Purge anything that is unnecessary.
• Put everything else away. Worried you’re going to forget about it?  Write it down on your To Do list.
• Commit to maintaining your organized office. Avoid creating a ‘to be filed’ pile. These piles multiple faster than rabbits. Instead, file it right away.

So there you have it – a low-key, easy project that can boost your productivity. Perfect for these lazy-hazy summer days.