Where's The Sticking Point?
Carl Pullein
Creator of the Time Sector System? | Author of Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived.
There’s always something that is not working exactly how we would like it to. It could be that you are great at collecting tasks, but your email inbox is a disaster zone with 20,000+ emails and no coherent way of managing them. Or it could be that your follow-up system is a bit hit-and-miss.
We all have these blind spots, and we often let them go, believing that as long as we have a task manager, use our calendar, and know how to find our files, we will be okay.
And to a point, that’s true. However, the areas not working well can cause a disproportionate drag on your overall effectiveness. They play on your mind, resulting in stress and a feeling of overwhelm.
Asking a few questions every now and again can help you clear these sticking points. It’s adding a little oil here and there to ensure the wheels of your system are moving smoothly through the days and weeks.
Recently, I realised that while I have mastered getting my core work done each week, I am slipping with my projects. The Audiobook of Your Time Your Way and my Apple Productivity course update are behind schedule. It was by asking, “Where’s the sticking point?” I saw this project bottleneck and can now seek ways to clear it.
One option is to give myself a project day every week. One day each week, when I focus only on my projects. Another option would be to allocate an hour a day for working on projects (audiobook recording, for instance, doesn’t work well when you work on it once a week)
These kinds of questions help you unstick projects and clear backlogs. It’s not really about the mechanics; it’s more about acknowledging a weakness in your system that needs addressing. Once you accept that, you can go about finding solutions.
Becoming better organised and more productive is a journey. You will continually evolve, grow, and reiterate your system, addressing weaknesses and making adjustments when your work circumstances or family life changes.
So, this week, stop and ask yourself: “Where’s the sticking point?” And make it an objective to clear the sticking point this week.
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