It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action.
— O. H. Mowrer
For instance, if you're a semiregular exerciser like me, you probably have your own little tricks to get you to exercise. My best trick is costume—the clothing I put on or take off. If I put on exercise gear, I'll start to feel like exercising; if I don't, I'm very likely to feel like doing something else. Let's look at an example of a real productivity trick. You've probably taken work home that you had to bring back the next day, right? It was mission-critical that you not forget it the next morning. So where did you put it the night before? Did you put it in front of the door, or on your keys, so you'd be sure to take it with you? For this you got a higher education? What a sophisticated piece of self-management technology you've installed in your life! But actually that's just what it is. The smart part of you the night before knows that the not-so-smart part of you first thing in the morning may barely be conscious. "What's this in front of the door!? Oh, that's right, I've got to take this with me!" What a class act. But really, it is. It's a trick I call Put It in Front of the Door. For our purposes the "door" is going to be the door of your mind, not your house. But it's the same idea.
If you were to take out your calendar right now and look closely at every single item for the next fourteen days, you'd probably come up with at least one "Oh-that-reminds-me-I-need-to_____________." If you then captured that value-added thought into some place that would trigger you to act, you'd feel better already, have a clearer head, and get more positive things done. It's not rocket science, just a good trick.
You increase your productivity and creativity exponentially when you think about the right things at the right time and have the tools to capture your value-added thinking.
If you take out a clean sheet of paper right now, along with your favorite writing instrument, and for three minutes focus solely on the most awesome project on your mind, I guarantee you'll have at least one "Oh, yeah, I need to consider __." Then capture what shows up in your head on the piece of paper and put it where you might actually use the idea or information. You won't be one ounce smarter than you were ten minutes ago, but you'll have added value to your work and life.
Much of learning how to manage workflow in a "black belt" way is about laying out the gear and practicing the moves so that the requisite thinking happens more automatically and it's a lot easier to get engaged in the game. The suggestions that follow about getting time, space, and tools in place are all trusted methods for making things happen at a terrific new level.
If you're sincere about making a major leap forward in your personal management systems, I recommend that you pay close attention to the details and follow through on the suggestions provided below in their entirety. The whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. You'll also discover that the execution of this program will produce real progress on real things that are going on in your life right now. We'll get lots done that you want to get done, in new and efficient ways that may amaze you.
I recommend that you create a block of time to initialize this process and prepare a workstation with the appropriate space, furniture, and tools. If your space is properly set up and streamlined, it can reduce your unconscious resistance to dealing with your stuff and even make it attractive for you to sit down and crank through your input and your work. An ideal time frame for most people is two whole days, back to back. (Don't be put off by that if you don't have that long to spend, though: doing any of the activities I suggest will be useful, no matter how much or how little time you devote to them. Two days are not required to benefit from these techniques and principles — they will start to pay off almost instantly.) Implementing the full collection process can take up to six hours or more, and processing and deciding on actions for all the input you'll want to externalize and capture into your system can easily take another eight hours. Of course you can also collect and process your stuff in chunks, but it'll be much easier if you can tackle that front-end portion in one fell swoop.
The ideal time for me to work with a professional is on a weekend or holiday because the chance of outside disturbance is minimal then. If I work with someone on a typical workday, we first make sure that no meetings are scheduled and only emergency interruptions are allowed; phone calls are routed to voice-mail, or logged by secretaries for review and handling during a break. I don't recommend using "after hours" for this work. It usu ally means seriously reduced horsepower and a big tendency to get caught up in "rabbit trails."[4]
For many of the executives I work with, holding the world back for two contiguous days is the hardest part of the whole process— the perceived necessity to be constantly available for meetings and communications when they're "at work" is difficult for them to let go of. That's why we often resort to weekends. If you work in an open cubicle or office, it will be even more of a challenge to isolate sufficient time blocks on a regular workday during office hours.
It's not that the procedure itself is so "sacred"; it's just that it takes a lot of psychic energy to collect and process such a large inventory of open loops, especially when they've been "open," "undecided," or "stuck" for way too long. Interruptions can double the time it takes to get through everything. If you can get to ground zero in one contained time period, it gives you a huge sense of control and accomplishment and frees up a reservoir of energy and creativity. Later on you can maintain your system in shorter spurts around and "between the lines" of you regular day.
Dedicate two days to this process, and it will be worth many times that in terms of your productivity and mental health.
You'll need a physical location to serve as a central cockpit of control. If you already have a desk and office space set up where you work, that's probably the best place to start. If you work from a home office, obviously that will be your prime location. If you already have both, you'll want to establish identical, even inter-changeable systems in both places.
The basics for a work space are just a writing surface and room for an in-basket. Some people, such as a foreman in a machine shop, an intake nurse on a hospital floor, or your children's nanny, won't need much more than that. The writing sur face will of course expand for most professionals, to include a phone, a computer, stacking trays, working file drawers, reference shelves. Some may feel the need for a fax, a printer, a VCR, and/ or multimedia conferencing equipment. The seriously self-contained will also want gear for exercise, leisure, and hobbies.
A functional work space is critical. If you don't already have a dedicated work space and in-basket, get them now. That goes for students, homemakers, and retirees, too. Everyone must have a physical locus of control from which to deal with everything else.
If I had to set up an emergency workstation in just a few minutes, I would buy a door, put it on top of two two-drawer filing cabinets (one at each end), place three stack-baskets on it, and add a legal pad and pen. That would be my home base (if I had time to sit down, I'd also buy a stool!). Believe it or not, I've been in several executive offices that wouldn't be as functional.