MODERN BUSINESS benefits are huge . You will be able to schedule tasks by date and create action lists for specific days . This will ensure you manage your priorities more proactively , and will help you to balance your meeting and task workloads . Best of all , as many of your actions are driven by email , you will be able to schedule emails into your task list or into your calendar for action at the appropriate time .
Step 2 : Organise your Inputs Once you have a solid system in place for managing your actions , you need to think about how you deal with inputs . You probably receive many inputs every day , including emails , paperwork , phone calls , interruptions and meeting actions . Inputs present a number of challenges for the modern worker . Firstly , there is the volume . Where a few years ago 100 emails per day was a lot , now 300 per day is common . Secondly , how most people tend to manage these inputs is problematic . Many of us have hundreds ( if not thousands ) of emails piled up in the inbox . We desperately try to stay on top of the pile , marking emails unread or flagging them to maintain visibility of the emails that still need our attention . But it just causes stress , reactivity and missed deadlines .
The secret to staying on top of your incoming work is to treat your inbox like a post box . It is simply where you receive emails . It should not be used as a to-do list or a filing system . It should be cleared to zero at least once per week . When you process your emails , be decisive . Delete what you don ’ t need . File the things you are finished with , but feel you need to keep ( But please , a few well thought out folders is quicker and more effective than a complicated filing hierarchy ). Delegate anything that is not a good use of your time . But most importantly , schedule your actions into your task list or calendar rather than keeping them highlighted in your inbox . This will give you greater control over your actions as you will be managing the priority within the context of your time .
Step 3 : Realise your Outcomes How often do you feel like your job has become a series of endless meetings and emails ? What about the time that you need to work on the really meaningful work ? That time just seems to evaporate or get stolen by somebody else ’ s urgent crises . While meetings and emails are a critical way of getting stuff done , your ability to deliver in your role requires more . It requires time to think , to plan and to work on the activities that are driven by your outcomes , rather than just your inputs .
Many executives that I work with complain about not being able to find time for the important work . But you will never find time for this , you have to make time in your schedule . You need to proactively schedule time for the important stuff , and then protect it fiercely . You should protect it from the other people that want to steal your time away , and also from yourself , as it is easy to procrastinate over the more complex work that contributes to our outcomes .
The best way to create a connection between your outcomes and your actions is to invest some of your time in personal planning . Sometimes we need to stop doing , and take some time to plan and prioritise . Having a robust weekly planning routine in place is a good way to build a habit around this . Each week , review last
week , organise next week , anticipate what is coming up , and realign your priorities with what you are trying to achieve – your outcomes .
Tools like MS Outlook are seen as email clients , but they are so much more . They are designed to help you manage your actions , inputs and outcomes . If they are used in a coordinated way , they can give you the leverage you need to stay productive in the modern workplace .
Nelson Jackson once said “ I do not believe you can do today ’ s job with yesterday ’ s methods and be in business tomorrow ”. I would also suggest that we cannot do today ’ s job with yesterday ’ s tools and be in business tomorrow . Technology has contributed to our productivity challenges over the last decade , and it can also be a part of the solution . But only if we learn to use it in a smart way .
Dermot Crowley is a productivity thought leader , author , speaker and trainer . Dermot works with leaders , executives and professionals in many of Australia ’ s leading organisations , helping to boost the productivity of their people and teams . He is the author of Smart Work , published by Wiley . For more information , visit www . dermotcrowley . com . au or email dermot . crowley @ adapttraining . com . au
June 2016 ModernBusiness 63