Personal Effectiveness Module 4

Overwhelmed Ollie Traits

Ollie traits – ‘Fire–Fighting’ Moves at a dizzying blur, extinguishing

fires as they go, hose in hand Too busy dealing with today to think

about (or plan) tomorrow They’d love to structure their days – but

how can they with all these fires…?

Ollie traits – ‘Doesn’t say ‘no’’A ‘sponge’Very nice, very nice indeedKeen to help and doesn’t like to say no,

so they don’tNeighbourly

Ollie traits – ‘Flitting around’A ‘grasshopper’Flits between numerous tasks, blown by

the day’s events and each new interruption

Start loads, finishes less

Ollie traits – ‘Easily distracted’They can talk. Really talk. Forever. And

then some. And then even a bit moreAn opinion on everything from resolving

global poverty to local tittle-tattle – and positively keen to share those opinions.

Often found at office drink machines

Ollie traits – ‘Perfectionism’Crosses all the t’s and dot all the I’s.No rushed job is a good job.Exasperated when others don’t meet

their Olympian standardsSays they would love to delegate more –

but can they really trust people to do a task like they would?

Ollie traits – ‘Procrastination’ “Why do something today when you can

leave it until tomorrow”Constructs complicated reasoning in the

mind to justify not doing what they know needs to be done

Ollie traits – ‘Clutter’Barely visible most of the dayIs proud of the paper constructions

around them – many balancing with impressive precariousness

Looks for things a lot

Ollie traits – ‘Dreaming’Not up to date – but who cares. It’s just

a job.So chilled they are frozen; so laid back

they are past the horizontalHead not just in the clouds, it’s on

another planetTargets? A kind of slavery for others

Juggler Jim Traits

Jim traits – ‘Vision’Can see beyond the horizon Knows what they want to achieve,

where they are going and how they are going to get there

Goals and aims – short term and long term drive their activity

Jim traits – ‘Planning’Makes time to extricate themselves from

‘the mixer’ and hover above their work situation

Analyses… thinks …. plans…

Jim traits – ‘Prioritisation’Decides what needs to be done and in

what order and then actions accordingly Manages interruptions and expectations

accordinglyPrepared to ‘say no’ Ruthless with time,

gracious with people

Jim traits – ‘Focus’When they’re at work, they work; one

task at a timeWorks at a consistent, high intensitySelf-disciplined Self-motivated

Jim traits – ‘Organisation’Implements a support structure for their

management of time – email, calendars, to do lists etc. etc.

Long Term AimsWrite down a long term aims – ensure you

are ‘emotionally attached’ to each one‘SMART-en’ up the aimConsider and document how you would

need to manage your time to achieve the aim

Juggler Jim - long term aimsHas defined and documented SMART long

term aims (both work and personal)Has worked with his Manager/family in

sharing/finalising these aimsBlocks off chunks of uninterrupted time in

his calendar / diary for long-term aims – and sticks to them

Has interim milestones

To do lists

Juggler Jim – to do listsRegularly brain dumps a to-do list – and

then categorises it (reduces stress and ‘wheel spinning’)

Categories tasks as follows:a) Must do todayb) Must do tomorrowc) Must do this week d) Must do next weeke) Neither urgent or important

Juggler Jim – to do listsDoesn’t delay boring, unpleasant or tedious

tasks that are important or urgent - makes a start, chunks them, deals in same order as tasks he enjoys

Recognises that doing things right is not as important as doing them in the right order

No procrastination - categorisation based on the most effective order of task completion: brutal in establishing appropriate priorities

Finishes one task before beginning the nextBuilds in some contingency and is realistic in

what is achievable

HIGH URGENCY LOW IMPORTANCE Delegate if possible.

Alternatively, act quickly but don’t spend too much time on it.

HIGH URGENCY HIGH IMPORTANCEDo yourself – and soon!!

LOW URGENCY LOW IMPORTANCE Postpone, ignore, avoid

or refer to someone else

LOW URGENCY HIGH IMPORTANCE Do yourself or delegate to

key member of staff to begin solving the problem, or meeting the opportunity

Urgent vs Important – help in prioritising

Interruptions

Juggler Jim - interruptionsRe-creates ‘Saturday feeling’ and work in chunks of

uninterrupted timeUnderstands it’s not the amount of time you spend

on a task that counts – it’s the amount of uninterrupted time

Creates a method of communicating to others when he is not to be interrupted (and when he can be)

Collaborates with colleagues so that incoming calls can be covered (voicemail?)

Looks to work at times and in locations where less interruptions (late, early, Saturdays, meeting rooms, home)

Juggler Jim - interruptionsSets the tone for conversations at the

beginning in tone and body language (punchy and businesslike but focused)

Visits or phones colleagues, so he can leave when he chooses

Comfortable saying ‘no’ – doesn’t automatically put each interruption at top of his to-do list. Gathers enough information to make judgement

Disciplined with email

Expectations

Juggler Jim - expectationsPushes back diplomatically - “When do you

need that by?” and “Can you help me to prioritise?”

Explains if the target is unrealistic at the start and why

Raises the alarm early, letting customers know if he may not meet their expectations

Keeps them regularly updated with progress

Juggler Jim - expectationsUnderstands needs of others and they

understand hisPushes back on tasks that are outside his

skill set – potential damage to reputation and less like to hit time/quality deadines

Delegates/sub-contracts to others where required

Gets suitable developmentValues his timeIf self-employed may seeks additional

charges more for urgent tasks

Bottlenecks

Juggler Jim - bottlenecksSets deadlines for othersAssertive follow up - a ‘squeaking wheel’ –

reminds, hints, cajoles – uses phrases like ‘unless I hear from you to the contrary this is what I plan to do’

Makes it a matter of honour; explains consequences of failure

Juggler Jim - bottlenecksUses written reminder of the commitmentUses positive reinforcement - gives them a

reputation to live up to If need be may bypass the system – ‘in a

bureaucracy it’s always easier to beg forgiveness than get permission’

Bottlenecks – some questionsAm I making myself clear? Do I ask for

specific actions?Do I set a deadline?Do I confirm requests in writing?Do I encourage others to speak up when

they questions the value of a task – instead of ‘forgetting’ to do them

Emails

Email facts1.2 billion email in-boxes worldwide1 in 6 people worldwide have an email address62% deal with work messages at home or on

holidayHalf of people with blackberrys check email on

the toilet!Third of office workers suffer email ‘stress’14 million stress-related sick days each year in

Great BritainResearch suggests that a worker who checks his

emails every five minutes can lose nearly 6 hours a week

Juggler Jim - emailsChecks emails regularly at set times but not as

each one arrives – he’s turned off visual pop up and noise

Sets emails to ‘pull’ not ‘push’ Uses ‘follow-up’ facilityAsks to come off distribution lists where

appropriate – ‘unsubscribe’ for spam or sending an email request

Uses mail filters to organise incoming emailsDoesn’t allow unread emails to build up – small

in boxDeletes and archives regularly

Juggler Jim - emailsUses folders for filingUses out of officeUses flags to prioritiseSets emails to change colour for different

sendersUses drafts to avoid reactive emails – also

utilises travelling time to create draftsBuilds relationships and resolves conflict

by phone or face to face