Plan your Planning

We all know that to.be successful in our career, we have to plan ahead, in our job, we have to plan ahead' in our life, we have to plan ahead.

Although we know this is true, we often forget to do it

When should we do it?

So, when do we do it.  

Forgetting about work-life balance, the weekend is a good time.

At weekend, we should be able to reflect on the past week,. 

What  did we achieve?

What goals did we meet?

What goals did we not meet?

Why not?

What circumstances have changed?

What goals need to be adjusted?

We should also know our availability for the coming week?

So, we can plan.

In fact we can forget the above comment about work-life balance.  When planning we can take account of work-life balance, planning in domestic or family matters.

So, schedule time for planning past reflection and future planning.   

Plan to plan.  It makes sense. It should help work-life balance.  It should make you more productive.

Should it be Productivity at all costs?

We have all seen examples of business leaders focusing exclusively on productivity growth - and failing to develop the business.

Elon Musk - and his (‘hard-nosed’) approach to managing Twitter (now ‘X’) is just one example.

Does this mean that a very strong focus on productivity is wrong?

As often is the case, the answer is ’No…. BUT ….)

A completely ‘hard-edged’ focus on the bottom line, on costs, can be dangerous.

There arere too many ‘soft’ factors involved in productivity - factors such as skill levels, culture, motivation, creativity.   These generally take a longer time to get right. But leaders who forget to address these softer factors - concentrating only on hard and structural factors - will fail to achieve peak performance.

So, take a full-throttle approach to productivity improvement but make sure you include the longer-term, softer factors to build the ’top line’ of the productivity ratio, whilst taking your hard-nosed look at the bottom line.

Should You Take a Vacation?

The answer to the question is obvious.

Yes, you should.

We all need a break from work occasionally to rid ourselves of accumulated stress, to refresh ourselves.  

But I've learned that there are things you can do to help maintain productivity whilst still having x complete break.

Firstly - prepare for the vacation.

One of the worst things about a vacation is returning to several dozen (or even several hundred) unanswered emails.  So make sure everyone in the office who might email you while you are away knows you will be away and incommunicado - you will NOT be answering work-related emails.

Also, tie up all the loose ends you can that could result in emails or other forms of message.

Delegate tasks to member of your team - making sure that they have the knowledge they need to accept the responsibility - and making sure that others working on the same projects or in the same area know who has the responsibility.

If you have cyclical meetings or tasks due during the vacation period, try to automate and schedule key parts of those tasks to keep things moving in your absence - it may, for example, be possible to prepare reports for meetings (as drafts which your team members van update if necessary)

Secondly, prepare for your return - plan as far as possible, your first day back ... at least to cover key priories or key projects.  Don't over plan - you have to be flexible enough to react to things that might have happened while you are away.

Thirdly, build in a buffer.  If you can give yourself a day off after your return before you start work.  This allows ytou to think, reflect and clear your ghad, getting back into 'work mode'.

Fourthly, try to include some tasks or meetings on your first day back that will interest you or you will enjoy.

if you follow this simple approach, your return to work will be easier and you will be more productive.

Who are You?

Your personal productivity depends on how well you know yourself.

What interests you?

What are you good at?  

What don't you like doing?

In the past, when have you performed well - and what were the circumstances?

Each of us is different.  We have different interests, different motivations, different abilities, different skills.  

This means we approach work tasks differently.

If we understand ourselves, we can more effectively plan our approach to new tasks to ensure we deal with them effectively and efficiently.  We should also realise where we lack the appropriate knowledge or skills and make sure we get help from others with that knowledge or those skills.  We should also be able to make reasonable and realistic assessments of timescales required. 

Understanding yourself actually creates a more effective, more productive you.  A truly virtuous circle.