Productivity experts point to email, messaging, and meetings as major sources of distraction and stress. They have become fond saying that we should stop doing what everyone else wants us to do and concentrate on what really needs to get done.
Uh huh.
How do we figure out for ourselves what really needs to get done? And how do we help others sift through emails, messages, and meeting requests so that they can know what really needs to get done?
Here’s a great start: redefine your role by desired outcomes and help everyone else do the same for their roles. Instead of a vague lists of tasks and responsibilities, we can describe any role in just three to five sentences. Each sentence describes a desired outcome. Prioritize these desired outcomes. Then suggest the percentage of time to spend each week on each outcome. All of this can fit nicely on a single page. The last step is to share everyone’s one-page role definitions.
With our roles defined like this, we always know what really needs to get done. We still will have emails, messages, and meetings. But our collaboration will make more sense and we can better navigate with our desired outcomes as context.
In your corner,
Mike
Today’s photo credit: E-Mails @ Computer via photopin (license)