Avoid being busy; learn to be productive

How long is your current to-do list??

Our desire to be good colleagues often leads us towards an all too common trap: the doing-more trap. We spread ourselves too thin. We don't have enough bandwidth or attention to accomplish every task we accept. Furthermore, the interrelationship between tasks also leads us to waste time context-switching, which also coincidentally makes us perform poorly. Research by management professor Dr. Morten Hansen from U.C. Berkeley demonstrates that top performers do better at work if they “do less, then obsess.”

You’re probably thinking… this is easier said than done. Here are three practical tactics that help me to make “do less, then obsess” possible.

#1: catch all the work, but don’t do all the work?

A key part of our job is to deal with an overwhelming number of requests, especially if the person is a manager or a senior individual contributor. Let’s face it -- we can’t do everything that is asked of us. To deliver some things, we have to fail to deliver (some) others; or we’re likely to fail to deliver anything on time. After all, to focus on everything is to focus on nothing.

In my last staff meeting, I asked each executive: “if you are fully booked and you have to take one PTO day next week, which 20% of your work would you consider stopping or dropping?” Given that we must do some tasks to excel and that doing these well is important, consider saying no to the 20% so we can channel more energy into the vital few. Remember, not all requests are created equal. We must resist and negotiate away pressures that put our true priorities at risk.?

#2: tie yourself to the mast

Have you ever heard of a maker’s versus a manager’s schedule? If you haven’t, I encourage you to read Paul Graham’s famous blog post. I’m a maker when I’m writing this article or preparing a presentation as I can’t multi-task (e.g. check slack or email). To do my best work I have to get into the flow.

In 1975, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi described the concept of flow: the mental state where a person is fully immersed in the activity they are performing. This is coupled with an energized feeling of focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. To obsess, I often have to get into the flow.

I have also heard from friends about their success using the Pomodoro technique. Whenever I have to get into a flow as a maker, I block at least two hours on my calendar and turn off slack, email, notifications, and everything that may distract me. I personally prefer a 90 to 120 minute “focused” block. The idea is the same: tie yourself to the mast. Fully dedicate yourself to the task at hand.

I’m on a manager’s schedule most of the time and when I’m in the manager zone, I use this get-things-done (GTD) framework to help me organize and prioritize my inbox. Whenever I have a short break to catch up on emails, GTD helps me to quickly triage emails into different categories. Some I could respond quickly, say, within two minutes to complete. For others, I will batch process them at the end of the day so I can get to inbox zero every night.?

#3: create don’t do/go lists

A don’t-do list is a great tool to remind ourselves of the low-value work or events that could easily eat up our time. For each item in this list, add a short sentence to remind ourselves why we should NOT do it.

Theoretically, things that do not help the team’s OKR or career should go to this list by default unless there is a clear exception. If we must do any low-value work, try to create a system and continuously improve the system so we can spend less and less time on this type of work.?

As for the don’t go list, we can probably begin by skipping or improving some meetings. Try to avoid meetings you could be optional. If someone nags you to go to a meeting, especially an unproductive one, figure out a way to help the creator improve the effectiveness of the meeting. Nobody intends to create an ineffective meeting -- they simply don't know why. It’s in everyone’s best interest to ensure we are effective and productive.

As you progress in your career you’ll probably feel more and more overwhelmed. That’s normal. While we all have different work styles, I hope these three tactics help.