The easy way to develop your skills

People generally learn a range of skills when they’re at school/college/university. Then, for various reasons, some people stop learning. It might be initially frustrating, or they may think they lack motivation or opportunity so they stick with what they know.

But they’re missing out on a lot – often learning a new skill can blossom into an unexpected passion, introduce you to a whole new circle of people, push your career in a satisfying new direction or give you a whole new perspective on the world.

And it doesn’t have to be work-related skills – interests like learning a language, or how to cook, or how to appreciate art will enhance your life, and you never know where they might lead.

The easiest way to make this happen is to schedule your learning into your routine, perhaps just a little time, but regularly – that’s the secret. Just keep showing up – building your skills little by little.

You’ll look back in a year and realise you’re well on your way to mastery. And as well as your new skill, you’ll also have a great sense of satisfaction.

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Don’t stress – Just focus on the facts

As a project manager, one of the most difficult balances to maintain is your emotional buy-in to a project. Many project managers become so involved that they end up stressed and burned out.

Sure, to motivate your team, you need to care about the project and want it to be successful.

But the real opportunity to reduce stress is when you’re presenting information to stakeholders so they can make decisions. They’re relying on you to present them with all the facts, good or bad, and have done some analysis so it’s relatively straightforward for them to decide on a course of action – what’s not needed is your emotional involvement in their decision. It’s your job to manage the project, and theirs to steer it.

For example, you might have to inform the project executive that a project is behind schedule. You’ve done everything you could to minimise delays, you’ve informed them in a timely manner and you’ve provided them with fact-based estimates and possible mitigations to support their decisions. You’ve done all you can – stressing about the situation won’t change the facts, and it may reduce your ability to deliver the best possible outcome after the executive makes their decision.

Don’t shoot the messenger

And the better you get at analysing and communicating facts, the better your reputation will become. You will become a facilitator of good and timely decision making – what more could your employer and customers ask for?

So save your emotion for motivating your team, and focus on the facts when it comes to communicating with your project stakeholders and customers.

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Business Cases: Official vs Personal

We all know the rules about business cases:

• A project should not be initiated unless the appropriate stakeholders accept the business case;
• The outcomes of the business case form part of the success criteria for the project, and;
• The project manager is responsible for achieving those outcomes.

The project manager periodically checks that the project is delivering a solution that satisfies the business case and, if it’s not, puts it back on course.

From time to time, the project manager also confirms that the reasons for the business case are still valid. If they aren’t, the project is cancelled so the people involved can move onto work that serves the business.

A project can have a couple of different business cases. It will always have the official business case, created by the business to fulfill their goals. It can also have a vendor’s business case – this is created in response to their customer’s business case and incorporates both the customer’s and the vendor’s reasons for being involved in the project.

But there’s another business case that usually doesn’t get the attention it deserves – your own.

Your personal business case consists of the reasons why you’re involved in the project, such as monetary reward, reputation, job security and/or the intellectual challenge. But like any other business case, if you’re not really clear about your goals up front, and don’t review your progress towards them regularly, you run the real risk of putting in a lot of time and effort to find you haven’t met them in the end.

As for any other business case, your personal business case serves two purposes:

1. It gives you the ‘it’s just not worth it –I’m outta here’ criteria, and, more importantly;
2. It drives you forward – when you’re in the heat of battle, it reminds you why you’re working so hard and putting yourself under pressure.

So know your personal business case before the project starts – be very clear about the reasons you’re involved in the project, and define your exit criteria now, before the going gets tough. Then, with regular reviews, you’ll be able to keep focused on what’s important, stay motivated through those tough times and achieve your goals.

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Doing a lot but not getting ahead?

Greg has a lot to do.

He begins each day with a huge task list, determined to complete as many things as he can. He gets through a lot but at the end of each day there are always a few tasks that don’t get done, usually the ones that take a little longer – so they’re moved onto the next day and become a little more urgent.

Greg is playing the volume game; he’s judging his performance by how many tasks he can do. While he feels like he’s getting a lot done, he’s constantly stressed out by the high number of urgent tasks that interrupt his day.

If Greg approached his task list in a different way, he’d find that while initially he might not get as many tasks done, he’d end up with a smaller number of urgent tasks, more time and less stress.

So how do you approach your tasks differently? Try to identify tasks that have specific benefits – these are the important ones:

•    Identify if a task is something that will save you time in the future. An example is taking the time to work out proper estimates for a project – if you estimate poorly, the impact on your time in the future will be much greater than the time you spend estimating.

•    Identify if a task will increase your understanding of a project – this will help you avoid a crisis in the future, which is always time-consuming. For example, forming a deep understanding of a new project today may result in a question which, if asked now, will allow you to decide a course of action that will avoid a problem in the future.

•    Identify if a task is directly related to generating income, either for your company or for yourself.

•    Identify if a task builds a relationship with a customer – relationships lead to business.

•    Identify if a task builds a personal relationship – personal relationships improve the quality of your life.

•    Identify if the task improves your ability to enjoy life – tasks involving health, personal financial security and stress reduction.

You’ll find the number of important tasks is quite small and on most days, you’ll have time for other tasks. And if you make sure you get the important things done, you’ll have less urgent tasks, you’ll be more in control and ultimately you’ll be more successful.

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What you need to get productive right now

I meet a lot of people who are overworked, stressed out and generally feeling like everything is piling up on top of them. Many of these people work in IT, and for them I think that’s part of the problem.

The peculiar thing about tech-savvy people is that they tend to look for technological solutions to their productivity issues. They look for productivity software, mobile applications, collaboration tools and the like, but usually don’t get long term value from these gadgets. There is an initial flush of productivity when these tools are first adopted, but within a few weeks they’re back to where they were: stressed and overloaded. And their technological solution is languishing on the hard drive, half full of weeks-old actions and tasks. The ’solution’ has just added to their workload.

Solve the issue

If you’re trying to get productive, there are really only 2 things that you need:

1. CLARITY and
2. FOCUS

Clarity

CLARITY is being specific about what the task is that needs to be done next. Define it, quantify it, and describe precisely what you’re going to do about it.

Focus

FOCUS is a decision to get that task done, forsaking all distractions till it’s finished. The phone rings – ignore it and get on with it. An email arrives – ignore it (or better still, close your email). Every time you decide to stay focused is a victory for you and it makes it easier to stay focused for the next task. And the next, and the next.

Productivity tools can help, but only after you’ve got clarity and focus.

So decide NOW to have clarity and focus, and your productivity will start to build. And as your productivity gains momentum, you’ll find your stress and sense of overwork will fall away – no technology required.

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How many projects are too many?

Most project managers take on, or are given, too much to do – project after project comes along until it’s obvious they’re struggling. But by that stage, the damage is already done – milestones are in jeopardy, customers are dissatisfied and project teams are stressed.

I was recently asked to get involved in a project that was in trouble. With a little focus in the right areas, I’m pleased to report that the project is back on track, and I’ve considered offering to help on other projects for the organisation. But while I want to work at my optimum level, I don’t want to inadvertently bite off more than I can chew – how do I quantify my level of load?

I’ve identified a number of leading indicators that I can use to check that I’m on top of a project – indicators that help me identify problems before they occur rather than after. For example, I review and update project risks every day rather than having an unforseen risk cause a project delay.

I put the indicators in a daily checklist – if I can tick off the items on the checklist at the end of each day, then I know I’m on top of the project. And if I can do this for each of the projects that I’m managing, I know I’m not overloaded and can take on more work. Note that the indicator checklist isn’t my daily task list – that’s another story.

My daily leading indicator checklist for each project:

1. I’ve sent a summary of actions or minutes for meetings that I chaired that day.
2. I’ve spoken individually with each member of my team.
3. I’ve spoken with my customer(s).
4. I’ve reviewed project risks and updated the register.
5. I’ve updated the progress/completion of tasks.

When I notice that I can’t complete my checklists each day, I have an early warning and I can do something about it – before my project starts to suffer.

So here’s how you can work out how many projects are too many:

1. Work out what your leading indicators are – keep it simple but cover the essentials.
2. Make a ‘leading indicator’ checklist for each project you’re managing.
3. Check off the list every day.

By using a leading indicator checklist daily, you’ll keep on top of your game, and know where to focus to stay there.

Commuting time is YOUR time – use it wisely

Believe it or not, one of my favourite parts of work is commuting – even though I’m on my way to work, I treat it as ‘my time’, and I refuse to waste it doing work-related activity.

Making the most of commuting

Here are some ways you can use your commuting time:

1. Read. It’s easy to read on public transport (don’t try it in the car), so find something educational, motivating or inspiring. Reading non-fiction in the morning will get your brain going for the day – fiction will help you unwind on the trip home.
2. Write. Write some poetry, a letter or a story – this might be the opportunity to start on that novel you’ve always wanted to write.
3. Learn. I’m learning French on the train – and I’ve found if you practice out loud, you’re guaranteed to get a seat by yourself! Just kidding – I’m doing exercises in the lesson book. If you’re commuting by car then language CD’s are great – you can practice pronunciation too.
4. Listen. Audiobooks are ideal for the car and good on public transport when it’s crowded or you’re too tired to read. You can get them from iTunes, Amazon, Audible and many other places. Some MP3 players let you speed up the playback of Audiobooks which makes them even faster to devour.
5. Communicate. Contact people you want to keep in touch with. In the car, you can make calls using your mobile on hands-free. On the train, you can email or SMS.

Commuting activities to avoid!

1. Playing games on your phone or a game device. These are just time burners, and the last thing you need is less time.
2. Newspapers. Most news is not news – it is irrelevant information that is designed to trigger your fear emotion. You can get up to date on relevant news in a few minutes on the ‘Net now, so use the time more constructively.
3. Work. A lot of people catch up on work while commuting – your personal time is valuable and this amounts to giving it away for nothing.

Restore balance to your life by using your commute time for personal pursuits – you’ll feel like you’re stepping off the treadmill and getting your life back.

Getting the jump on your day – identifying your key activities

If you’ve been trying to get yourself organised, you will probably have accumulated a massive list of things that you want to get done.

It then seems natural to focus on working through these lists, on cranking widgets, on getting things done.

Some days, you can make huge progress by knocking a lot of things off that list, and at the end of the day you feel a great sense of achievement.

Some days though, I knock a lot of things off the list – but I don’t get the sense of achievement. Or at least my sense of achievement feels hollow.

When I really think about it, on such days I don’t feel like I’ve made any progress on the things that really count.

It’s great to get a report written, or a bunch of emails sent, or complete an assignment. But did I really move myself closer to say, financial independence, improved health and vitality, or some other big picture objective?

Am I measuring my achievement on the right scale?

This got me to thinking about what is really important.

When I get to the end of my life, am I likely to look back with pride on all the proposals I wrote, or will I feel more fulfilled remembering the quality time spent with my family, or travelling the world, or helping those less fortunate than me?

So I thought that I would start by identifying the key areas that I think are important. I’ve identified four, but I’ve seen others identify more. Mine are:

Health	I figure that in the long run, you don’t maximise your potential unless you are in pretty good health. For me, good health underpins all other areas. I want to do something every day that improves my health.
Wisdom	Life is about lessons, and lessons are about wisdom. So I want to do something every day that improves my wisdom. I include certain types of knowledge, philosophy, meditation and compassion in this category.
Wealth	Like health, your ability to live a fulfilling life is at least somewhat dependent on money. So I want to ensure that I do something every day that contributes to my wealth. I don’t include work/career in this category. Some people give it its own separate category. I don’t.
Hearth	This is my word for family, friends & relationships. A rich life is a shared life, so I want to do something every day that improves my relationships.

 

I have a week-to-the-page diary, and I started by ruling it into 4 columns as described above. I established the habit of updating it each night with the specific activities that I managed to complete in each category. In the wealth category, I decided to EXCLUDE employment or career related activities – I only record activities that lead to passive income.

Tracking this for a few weeks, I noticed that I was doing pretty well in the health category (see Best Productivity Habit of 2007). I have been learning French for the last few months, and I have either been doing CD’s in the car on the way to work, or working through a lesson book on the train. This has been pretty consistent.

However, the alarming thing I noticed was how rarely I really did something wealth-building, and even worse, how rarely I phoned/spoke with a relative or a friend (I don’t count email).

It’s great to look back over a month and see that I’ve run a few miles every day, but it’s shocking to realise that I’ve spoken to family and friends only a handful of times in the month! All of these categories – Health, Wisdom, Wealth and Hearth are cumulative – they need constant attention or they wither.

So the most important thing for me has to get a tick in each box every day. All the other ‘actions’ on my task lists are really quite petty compared to these, although I confess it’s so easy to get distracted and think it’s all about the task list (especially the work task list).

I’ve found it’s a lot easier to identify a single action in each category at the start of each day – or better still – identify an action that I can turn into a habit.

Four completed actions makes it a successful day from my perspective, and I feel a much greater sense of achievement with those four actions completed than twenty inconsequential work-related actions.

It’s all about priority.

To do more, you have to do less

Things always get done more effectively when you focus on them, but there are just so many things that you have to multi-task, right?

How do you reconcile this paradox? Here’s a recent productivity adventure…

Like you, I have more things to do on my various lists than I can get through in a reasonable amount of time. I can identify many of these as ‘backburner’ tasks, but unfortunately I can also identify many as ‘important’. So even if I blow out the backburner tasks, I still end up with too many important tasks.

Recently, I managed to prioritise my list of really important projects down to 7 projects. I decided that I would identify the next action for each and begin to progress them all.

But then I thought about it and tried to project (no pun intended) what would happen if I I took this approach:

For the sake of simplifying the exercise, we’ll assume that each project was made up of 4 1-day tasks and I was working 7 days per week on them.

Pushing ahead with all projects one day at a time, my productivity would look like this:

So the first important project, project A, would finish in week 4, as would all the projects. i.e. NONE of them finish before week 4.

Now, these are important projects, and my definition of ‘important’ projects means that they may well relate to business or financial outcomes. So what if the completion of Project A was worth $10,000? This means I’ll get that $10,000 in 4 weeks. If all the projects were like this then week 4 would be a GREAT week, wouldn’t it?

But what if I focused instead? What if I took one project at a time and saw it through before moving onto the next? Then my productivity would look like this:

Now, I get at least 1 project payoff EVERY WEEK! This has to be better doesn’t it? Even if it’s not a financial payoff, we’re talking about important projects, so this means we achieve something important every week, rather than having 3 weeks of nothing then a big payoff. Furthermore, every single project finishes before it would have in the multi-tasking approach, except Project G, which finishes at the same time.

So what gives? Why do we get suckered into multi-tasking at all? So far I’ve come up with a couple of thoughts on this:

1. We lack the ability to decide which project the highest priority – we can’t work out which one to start with
2. Some projects don’t lend themselves to this kind of focus e.g. getting fit – you can’t get fit in one week – you have to build fitness over time
3. It feels very difficult to identify something as important and choose to do nothing about it.

The reality is though, that trying to move too many projects forward will mean that none of them get done quickly. When that happens, it’s hard to feel productive. You need to close projects to feel really productive.

I’ve been trying this approach:

1. Try to decide your prioritisation criteria without considering the actual projects you have on. E.g. You might decide that relationships are top priority.
2. Apply these criteria to the important projects on your list. E.g. organising a family holiday might take priority over doing your tax return for example if relationships are top priority.
3. If you still can’t decide, pick one at random and defer the rest.
4. Do it.

The good thing about this approach is that it really doesn’t matter which project you start with. If you realise that you didn’t choose the best one to start with, just finish it anyway, then move on to the one you should have started with. They’ll both be finished faster than if you’d multi-tasked them.

The other payoff that I’ve found is that once I’ve decided to defer a project, I feel much more ‘in the zone’ about the project that I have decided to focus on. It’s all good.

Best productivity book of 2007

The most significant book that I read last year and the one that really turned the lights on for me, was The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olsen.

It explains the difference between those people who seem to have it all, and those who don’t – and it explains it in terms of the small, seemingly insignificant but consistently regular actions that successful people take.

Importantly, it shows that these actions are not particularly difficult in themselves to do, but unfortunately they are easy not to do as well. Sadly, for most people, this simple fact is the reason they don’t do these actions. Success is the resulting accumulation of all these action that have been performed consistently.

Whether it’s a little daily exercise, or telling your spouse you love them every day, or saving a little money from each pay packet, it’s the regularity and consistency that leads to success.

They say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. You can’t eat 5000 apples the day you find out you have bowel cancer and think it’s all going to be OK. It’s just too late then.

And of course, it applies to success at everything – relationships, wealth, health, work and wisdom and more.

I think the most interesting idea in the book is the idea that you’re on one of two curves. You’re either on the good curve – where you are doing the regular positive actions that compound so that the benefits start to go exponential – like compound interest. Or you are on the bad curve – where negative actions compound negatively. BTW there is no ‘neither’. Doing nothing is the bad curve.

So clearly, this book is all about how good habits cause success to accelerate over time. One message I took from it is that if I want to be more productive, I need to perform a positive productivity action every day. It needs to be a habit. A Productivity Habit.

My first productivity habit was simply to track the activity in each of the areas of my life that I wanted some movement in.

For example, I ruled up a diary that I update each night like this:

		Health		Wealth		Wisdom	Relationships	Work
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

 

Before I go to sleep, I update it with the positive actions that I took that day in each area. It’s a simple thing, but I can immediately see when I’ve dropped the ball somewhere. Easy to do, easy not to do.

It sounds a bit dorky, doesn’t it? Well too bad. Since I’ve started doing this I’ve noticed how much the areas with the most activity have started to improve.

Most people don’t consciously attend to this kind of activity. Most people end up with average health at best, average relationships at best and average wealth at best. Remember, doing nothing is on the negative curve.

I don’t want to end up like most people, so I’m working myself away from average one daily action at a time.

Recommendation: Buy the book.