You have a presentation due in three weeks, and you’ve developed a project plan and scheduled time to get it done. You know you need uninterrupted time every day to move the work forward. This work will impact the organization and will gain your team recognition. However, you find yourself ten days from the due date and behind in your plan. You are starting to feel the slow burn of stress and pressure; and, despite your planning, are concerned that you will be unprepared. Why is protecting time for deep work so difficult?
Here are five culprits:
- Scheduling the time to focus, but not being disciplined in honoring the appointment. Something else that is urgent takes precedence. This becomes the habit, and the deep work suffers.
- Not shutting the door: A shut door is a signal and in different cultures, a shut door carries different symbolic weight. One of the things learned in a long-ago Anthropology class was that in Germany, the doors are very heavy, and when shut, others know they are to knock first. Privacy is taken seriously. This is often not true in today’s (US) work environment. (Headphones also are a signal!)
- A culture of interrupting. We are all accustomed to immediate answers, and no-one wants to be the bottleneck in their organization, so to keep work moving for others, we allow consistent interruptions. This reduces effectiveness and productivity.
- Open office environment. Many organizations today have offices in which there several people working in close proximity. And during Covid, those working at home felt they needed to be readily accessible at all times. While this can encourage collaboration, it can also be extremely distracting.
- Too many projects and a lack of understanding or clarity on what to prioritize. Business has always shifted quickly; this is not new. Even when there is a strategic plan, it behooves leadership to be ready to pivot when opportunity arises. But as projects are added, there is little clarity on what to stop doing. The decks aren’t cleared.
At The Workbench | 3 Solutions:
- Develop Ground Rules: Determine how you work best and outline two or three practices that will help your workflow and will be acceptable in the workplace. If others depend on you to be extremely responsive, or you don’t have a lot of “juice,” you can request help in getting your needs met. Manage up and make the business case. Your increased productivity will be appreciated; you may also inspire others to advocate for their needs.
- Train Others: Once you have developed your ground rules and received buy in from your team or manager, you must kindly and patiently communicate that you are serious. This may take several tries. New habits always take perseverance and time to become natural, so keep this as a vision for yourself, and remain firmly patient throughout the process.
- Keep Questioning: If you are the leader faced with opportunities, (great problem to have!), resources must always be marshalled. Continue thinking critically and ask questions like: Is this opportunity in line with my vision? Is the ROI high enough to merit allotting resources? What other projects are in the works right now, and who can take this on? What are the possible outcomes? If you are an employee with a full plate, it is important that you are prepared to manage on multiple levels: self, sideways, up, and down. If you are already overwhelmed, it is acceptable to discuss priorities with your boss, ask what should get your attention, and what can be either put aside or removed from the list.
Resources | 3 Books
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Writing note: this was originally published in 2018, and I thought it a great reminder as we continue to navigate our complex and dynamic workplaces.
-Sending love and light-
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