Productivity Enhancement Tools; Getting them to work
Introduction
Mornings
are a mad-rush for many of us. Hitting the snooze multiple times, rushing
through shower, skipping or gulping down breakfast, boarding bus/train
just in time, pushing accelerator paddle of bike/car in middle of heavy traffic
etcetera have become part of daily life for majority of professionals.
21st
century brought round the clock electricity, internet connectivity, 24hour
entertainment/news/sports channels, 24x7 health clubs, friends, relatives and
business colleagues operating at various time zones, advanced ERP’s; in short
our life is now active all the way through and boundaries between day and night
or different time-zones have somewhat diminished. In principle these
technological advancements claim to make our life more convenient, provide
greater control towards how we want to operate over extended hours, boost
creativity and improve work life balance however, the reality turns out otherwise.
Work pressure and burnout cases across the
world are at their highest levels; companies are investing billions of dollars
to improve work-life balance of their employees, a whole range of productivity
tools and literature are being introduced one after the other with very little
success in actually easing out our lives. Not only this is shortening the work
careers of talented professionals but also weakening families bonding, there
are new terminologies like ‘Sunday father/mother’ being coined that reflect gloomy
situation of millennial children.
Solutions available –
their current effectiveness
If we analyze the impact of productivity tools available on web,
software and applications on iOS or other systems, most of the management
professionals would have used one or a combination of productivity tools in
their career but the continuity of these tools and effectiveness is abysmally
low. Some of them have stopped following them after an initial push, some
lacked discipline, while others partially benefitted and rest cribbed about the
external environment that they never get to plan or when they are all set to
execute as per calendar some or the other event disrupts them.
Is there something wrong with productivity tools, the answer is
a clear ‘No’. Those working towards creation of such tools expected that user
would be in control and such tools will channelize our actions, 'urgent
and important', 'urgent and not important' will ease out priorities in the
VUCA world. Recall the day you spend about an hour to bring everything on the
calendar or listing down priorities well spaced out, called your team to share
the same and suddenly the bell rings, the other side is a top level executive
seeking some urgent details. Another time an unexpected guest drops in, a
senior colleague walks in or meeting get stretched beyond schedule, call
from a heavy weight customer to discuss his concern or the new product
launch, suddenly your calendar entries start staring back at you. Did you ever
gave a thought that is there something wrong with people around you or you have
to keep waiting for the simplification of work life which is never going to turn
into reality.
How to make them really work – solution to make solutions work
An old saying 'Well begun is half done', while interacting with
those using the productivity tools, I discovered that the ones' yielding greater
benefits of such tools are those who start early... early in life and
earlier during the day.
Start the day about 4 hours before leaving for office. For those who leave office at 9AM, wake up at 5:00AM. Freshening up, reading/writing, getting on with the most creative task
that you have been craving to work upon for a long time, making the strategic
plan blueprint, exercise, chat with parents, helping wife in the
kitchen, dropping children happily to the school transport. Few minutes relaxed
preparation for office, reaching office well about 15-20 minutes before office
time. That silence before work hours when you could fetch up with mailbox, plan
tasks to be taken up during the day without any interruptions (normally the
frequency calls from colleagues or from outside during the initial 1-2 work
hours of the day is pretty low), the morning team meeting with a clear plan.
You receive an urgent call in the middle of the day but you are in
control, your team briefings have been completed, tasks are on the way as they
should be and you are free to attend the top people or those unplanned events.
Expectedly all you productivity tools which seemed ineffective
earlier will start giving results and a journey to a happy and productive life
begins.
Be wary of some distractors in the morning like
e-mails, believe me no one is expecting your replies at 5AM in the
morning. There can't be anything more criminal than watching TV or
wandering unplanned after all, this is the only time when no external factor is
driving you, live the way you want to i.e. the most productive, I know you want
your life to be more productive and it is corroborated by the fact
that you have read this all the way down till this line and you have that
bright smile, will and confidence on your face to change the things around you.
Conclusion
We have the same amount of energy, choice is where to spend; on
the morning rush or morning productivity. Make a try for 30 days
and see the difference for yourself and I am confident you will not stop waking
up early. If you are already doing this then you know the importance, influence
those around you or your team to follow the suit.
Wishing happiness through better productivity
ved
Introduction
Mornings
are a mad-rush for many of us. Hitting the snooze multiple times, rushing
through shower, skipping or gulping down breakfast, boarding bus/train
just in time, pushing accelerator paddle of bike/car in middle of heavy traffic
etcetera have become part of daily life for majority of professionals.
21st
century brought round the clock electricity, internet connectivity, 24hour
entertainment/news/sports channels, 24x7 health clubs, friends, relatives and
business colleagues operating at various time zones, advanced ERP’s; in short
our life is now active all the way through and boundaries between day and night
or different time-zones have somewhat diminished. In principle these
technological advancements claim to make our life more convenient, provide
greater control towards how we want to operate over extended hours, boost
creativity and improve work life balance however, the reality turns out otherwise.
Work pressure and burnout cases across the
world are at their highest levels; companies are investing billions of dollars
to improve work-life balance of their employees, a whole range of productivity
tools and literature are being introduced one after the other with very little
success in actually easing out our lives. Not only this is shortening the work
careers of talented professionals but also weakening families bonding, there
are new terminologies like ‘Sunday father/mother’ being coined that reflect gloomy
situation of millennial children.
Solutions available –
their current effectiveness
If we analyze the impact of productivity tools available on web,
software and applications on iOS or other systems, most of the management
professionals would have used one or a combination of productivity tools in
their career but the continuity of these tools and effectiveness is abysmally
low. Some of them have stopped following them after an initial push, some
lacked discipline, while others partially benefitted and rest cribbed about the
external environment that they never get to plan or when they are all set to
execute as per calendar some or the other event disrupts them.
Is there something wrong with productivity tools, the answer is
a clear ‘No’. Those working towards creation of such tools expected that user
would be in control and such tools will channelize our actions, 'urgent
and important', 'urgent and not important' will ease out priorities in the
VUCA world. Recall the day you spend about an hour to bring everything on the
calendar or listing down priorities well spaced out, called your team to share
the same and suddenly the bell rings, the other side is a top level executive
seeking some urgent details. Another time an unexpected guest drops in, a
senior colleague walks in or meeting get stretched beyond schedule, call
from a heavy weight customer to discuss his concern or the new product
launch, suddenly your calendar entries start staring back at you. Did you ever
gave a thought that is there something wrong with people around you or you have
to keep waiting for the simplification of work life which is never going to turn
into reality.
How to make them really work – solution to make solutions work
An old saying 'Well begun is half done', while interacting with
those using the productivity tools, I discovered that the ones' yielding greater
benefits of such tools are those who start early... early in life and
earlier during the day.
In
Hinduism 'Brahma Muhurta' is a period one and a half hours before sunrise and
is referred as 'God's Hour'. It has been traditionally considered as an
auspicious time in all practices of yoga and most apt for meditation or any
other high energy/creative work. It is said that the atmosphere is charged with
powerful positive vibrations during this period.
Start the day about 4 hours before leaving for office. For those who leave office at 9AM, wake up at 5:00AM. Freshening up, reading/writing, getting on with the most creative task
that you have been craving to work upon for a long time, making the strategic
plan blueprint, exercise, chat with parents, helping wife in the
kitchen, dropping children happily to the school transport. Few minutes relaxed
preparation for office, reaching office well about 15-20 minutes before office
time. That silence before work hours when you could fetch up with mailbox, plan
tasks to be taken up during the day without any interruptions (normally the
frequency calls from colleagues or from outside during the initial 1-2 work
hours of the day is pretty low), the morning team meeting with a clear plan.
You receive an urgent call in the middle of the day but you are in
control, your team briefings have been completed, tasks are on the way as they
should be and you are free to attend the top people or those unplanned events.
Expectedly all you productivity tools which seemed ineffective
earlier will start giving results and a journey to a happy and productive life
begins.
Be wary of some distractors in the morning like
e-mails, believe me no one is expecting your replies at 5AM in the
morning. There can't be anything more criminal than watching TV or
wandering unplanned after all, this is the only time when no external factor is
driving you, live the way you want to i.e. the most productive, I know you want
your life to be more productive and it is corroborated by the fact
that you have read this all the way down till this line and you have that
bright smile, will and confidence on your face to change the things around you.
Conclusion
We have the same amount of energy, choice is where to spend; on
the morning rush or morning productivity. Make a try for 30 days
and see the difference for yourself and I am confident you will not stop waking
up early. If you are already doing this then you know the importance, influence
those around you or your team to follow the suit.
Wishing happiness through better productivity
ved
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