From open office spaces to a focus on collaboration, there can also be a pendulum swing in organizations where sometimes things go too far.
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As I mentioned over the weekend, there are a number of studies exploring this topic of distraction including Udemy In Depth’s 2018 Workplace Distraction Survey. You can read it here. 
 
The report asserts that distractions have an impact on productivity. Some of the distractions noted in that study are talkative co-workers, email and others.
Many of the distractions I hear of in the work of my clients are:

• Unscheduled meetings
• Co-workers dropping by to chat
• Email
• Social media which takes you “down the rabbit hole”
• Materials and information which are not readily accessible and have not been stored in the locations you thought they would be in

What are you doing to minimize the distractions? What do you find distracting?

What conversations are important to have?

​Here are some other articles of interest:

Check out this article from Financial Times – “Digital Distractions are Making Us Dumb and Twitchy” which also includes some great tips from Professor Cal Newport.

Suresh Subamdam’s article on Is Your Work's Communication Channel Turning Your Team Into a Bunch of 'Slack'-ers?

Take a look at Digital Responsibility’s website and ideas on Digital Distraction.

Wishing you all the best,
​Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip gets us thinking about what often is the norm, not the outlier- when technology happens. In a virtual setting a core practice is to “always have a back up”. Technology will break down.
Having a back-up is important on many levels. It may include:

• Having another line/service in case your preferred service breaks down
• Communicating to the group what to do in the event of tech failure (i.e. should they try to call in again, and then switch to another platform OR should they look to email to find instructions)
• Having a list of all contacts for the call – this could include email addresses and phone numbers along with your class list
• Having a back-up computer/laptop in case your system goes down (or decides to update)
• Having a back up copy of your presentation loaded to the cloud and/or USB key
• Having a back up copy of your material (print)

 
Remaining calm and moving into contingency mode is key when facing a tech issue. Before anything happens work through your own list of what you will do and write it down. Have these items in a location which you will naturally “go to” in the event of a break-down.

What else is important for you to note around having a back up?
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With best wishes,
Jennifer

As we step into Quarter 2 it can be useful to do a bit of a review – on the individual level, and also with our teams.

For some individual reflection, take a look at the recent Quarterly Reflection Worksheet I created for the PlanDoTrack series of programming I offer around Planning, Productivity and Remote/Virtual Teams. Take a few minutes to complete that before you get too far into the month.
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At the same time, it can be useful to do a checkpoint around these items:

1. How are we going in our progress to our most important goals? Rate this on a 1-10 and get input across the team?  What will help you move the #s upward?
2. Have we had a recent feedback conversation “both ways” – between leader and team member? What’s going well? What’s not? Be sure to provide positive and constructive feedback.
3. What issues need to be addressed, or have the potential to derail us?
4. What team practices are working well? Consider meetings, social events, peer mentoring, 1-1 meetings etc.
5. What systems are helping with information flow and knowledge sharing?
6. Projects – Where are projects at? What is the status of communication? What project issues require attention? How are they doing according to the spotlight (Red, Yellow, Green)? –Check out this spotlight blog post for more!
7. Matrix relationships 
8. Reporting
9. Finances
10. Other Systems which need attention..

And ANYTHING ELSE?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

PS - ​Tip #18 – What doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done

“The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.”- Oswald Chambers

Scheduling and tracking are key parts of business productivity. Time management in a virtual business includes:

• Discernment – Knowing what is, and what is not important. In the big picture, in the immediate. For you. For the business.
• Prioritizing – Being clear on your Top 3-5 activities. Today, this month, this quarter.
• Scheduling it in- Making sure the big tasks and smaller tasks are scheduled in, particularly those things which are important to you and the business (review time, planning time, renewal time, maintenance, systems etc). Some research has also started pointing to the need for significant enough blocks of time being required to help you focus. For some this may be 90 minutes, others 3 hours.
• Saying NO - tactfully!  Given that we are usually operating in isolation, negotiation skills are key. Being able to say “I can help you with this, however, that may not be feasible…”, being able to delegate, defer or even say no, are all key skills. It’s not surprising that training I deliver on Communicating and Negotiating for Impact is popular!
• Being ruthless with your time.  Time is non-renewable. How do you choose to spend it?

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Activity
Consider the questions listed above. What do you notice about Discernment? Priorities, Scheduling, saying no, being ruthless with time. What is important for you in staying the course?
Take 15 minutes to make sure your schedule is up to date and includes time for the important activities in the short, medium and long term.
Add an additional 10% of time to projects or tasks which are not yet visible but need to get done.
Consider what your line in the sand is around tasks and new requests. Are you operating at 100%? If you had a new request come in, what would you do? How could you defer other tasks?

• What your successes have been?
• Where your focus has been?
• What products or services have you been focusing on offering?

Schedule it in. If you have not left space now, it’s unlikely it will emerge on its own!

Conversation Sparkers

• What projects, tasks or activities are important to schedule this month?
• What is your line in the sand around what more you can take on?
• What are the Top 3-5 priorities for you today? This week? This month? This quarter?

​
Best wishes,
Jennifer

PS - If you have enjoyed these tips, do be sure to check out the new on-demand, video based course I have created around these. The program can be taken at your own pace, You can stretch the tips out daily, weekly or monthly. Join me this year for bi-weekly calls as part of your registration. Cost: $129 US. Learn more and register here. 

Tip #17 – Set a start & an end date: Parkinson’s Rule

“To the person who does not know where (S)he wants to go there is no favorable wind” – Seneca

There’s an old project management adage, known as Parkinson’s Rule, that tasks expand to the amount of time we give them. In other words, if we set a deadline of getting something done by end of day tomorrow, we’ll get it done. Conversely, we could have fixed another deadline of early next week, and the task might have stretched out to then as well.
​
Considering our start and end dates is critical in juggling multiple projects. From program and product design, to administration and finances, to actually coaching, there are a lot of varied tasks which make up a successful coaching business.
​
What are the tasks and activities which could benefit from a more fixed start and end date?

Related to this concept is that of time estimation.

Activity
​Consider the major activities, tasks and projects which are a priority this month. Where are they scheduled?
Ask yourself:

• What is the start date for this project or task?
• What is the end date I have set?
• Could the end date be a bit more aggressive so that the task could be completed in a more condensed manner? If not, why not?
• What is important to notice about start and end dates? How my tasks are expanding to the time I give them?
• What’s currently not getting done, which I wish it was?
• If it’s not about changing time windows, WHO can help me get it done? WHAT other resources do I need to allocate?
• What changes would I like to make?

Conversation Sparkers

• How do tasks expand to the amount of time I give them?
• Where could I be more aggressive or lenient with my scheduling?

Best,
​Jennifer

​#5 – Know Where your Time Goes

Productivity Tip #4 was Ruthless Time Management, and an invitation to do some data generation around where you are really spending your time. If you have not yet completed this activity, do it now. You’ll need it for this week’s tip, which is to do some assessment on where your time is going.

In today’s busy world, it is very easy to get side-tracked with the “shiny red objects”. These often look very alluring – perhaps promising a quick return or getting things done more quickly. Many times however they become a “rabbit hole” taking you off-course and away from the most important things.

In most of the planning frameworks I have created for the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder Planners, I usually include a small box to be filled in with your Top 5 Goals for the month (or quarter). This is a prompt to consider what is most important for you at any given moment.

Where we spend our time should be aligned with our priorities, as well as our values and what’s important for us.

This week, take stock of how your time is being spent in service to your:
Immediate priorities – what is your top 5 for the month/quarter?
Values – What are the elements that are essential to you and your work? Is it excellence, quality, customer service? Note how much time you are spending in values-based activities.
Vision – What % of activities are being spent towards your big picture goals? Towards what is really important for you?

In the Teams365 series of Time Management workshops I share a Time Tracker resource. I’ll be offering this in 2019 as both an on-demand and live program for professionals of all levels. If you are interested in staying connected around all things planning and time management, do sign up for the PlanDoTrack newsletter list.

As you review your data, what are the adjustments you want to make in service to your priorities, values and vision?

Touchpoint with PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner.
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If you have not yet completed your Quarter 1 Goals, refer to the Quarterly  Planning Tools. There you will be encouraged to note your high-level goals and your Top 5. Next, lay them out across the first 3 months of the year. After doing this, you may then want to flip into the monthly pages, and start noting the key activities in the monthly calendars. Start breaking down each activity with smaller steps, adding them to the Monthly To-Dos or the Month in  Focus sheet.

Enjoy,
​Jennifer

​Last month here at the Teams365 blog I intentionally focused on posts to support you in wrapping up the year. We usually never have enough time at this time of the year, so for today’s FlashbackFriday I want to reconnect you to these five posts. Do make a point of checking at least one of them out!

5 things to get in your calendar for 2019, right now! 
Have you got all 5 of these items in your calendar for 2019? Click on over to the post to explore what I’ve written and linked to around team meetings, team development, feedback, mentoring and skill development.
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Planning for Year End Activities with your Team 

Year end productivity reminders – 4 things to keep in mind
In addition to the 19 Productivity Tips for 2019, you may also want to check out this post which includes 4 key things to keep in mind around productivity (Going back to the basics including  - understanding your Pareto Ratio)

18 Questions for 2018 Year-end one on ones
While I have flagged these questions for year-end one-on-ones, these are just as good for the start of the year conversations. What have you already scheduled for 2019 conversations and 1-1 time with your team?

Bringing projects to a close
Some of you may still be moving to get projects to a close. Check out this post for several tips for bringing projects to a close.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

​Time is a non-renewable resource. Once we spend it, we can’t get it back.
Where are you getting good leverage from your time. Where are you not?
One activity I have shared with many professionals over the years is that of a Time Tracker. Our memory is an interesting thing. We may think we’ve spent time one way, when in fact, we’ve spent it in other ways.

This week, you are invited to track where your time is going. Grab a notebook, or an app like TopTracker, or Toggl, to start noting where your time is being spent (in 15 or 30 minute blocks). You’ll want to note things like:

• Commute times
• Time spent on social media (you can now use your iphone to immediately see your usage on different sites)
• At work
• In meetings

At the end of the week, do a summary of where your time was spent.  Ask yourself:

• What’s surprising?
  
• What could be consolidated or changed?
• What’s the impact of spending time as it is?
• What changes do you want to make?
• Where do you want to be more intentional with this?

Tracking is key to productivity. The more aware we can become around where and what we are doing with our time, the better able we can make intentional choices about where this is spent. When operating in a lot of uncertainty (which is the context for many business professionals today, especially remote and virtual professionals) having more control over our choices around time, can help with focus and confidence.
If your year-end schedule is different than the

Best,
​Jennifer