Make your work visible

Walking past a tall city building yesterday I noticed data on TV screens showing how much CO2 they were producing, how much electricity was being used and how much water was being consumed. There were other measures too but these were the big numbers. All on show. Their consumption and production…visible.

The TV screens and information caught my eye because I'd just finished a meeting at a client business who uses techniques of 'visual management' throughout the organisation, but on the inside of the building!

Here's what they make visible: the key tasks that teams are about to work on (to do), the tasks they are working on (doing), and tasks just completed (done). This info is visible throughout the business.

You never have to wonder what they do in any team or unit because you can see it! Pictures on the walls, sketches on noticeboards, data on monitors, handwritten information and post-it notes on charts.

So here is a tool for you...



This visual tool is one that will help you manage your:
To do
Doing, and
Done.

The approach of making work visible is based on a technique called Personal Kanban, adapted from the lean manufacturing world of building cars. 

You make your work visible and minimise the number of tasks you're juggling! 

In his book Personal Kanban, Jim Benson guides you to be more productive and effective, and transform tasks that can appear conceptual... into actionable steps.

It brings clarity to overloaded desks and those crazy-long 'to do' lists. 

So the mini Kanban visual above is a page for you to click, save and print out.

Start putting a couple of items on your 'To Do' column. Write each task on a post it note. Move a task over to 'Doing' and start doing it.

When you're done, move it to the 'Done' column.

Then move another item over from 'To Do and start doing that. 

I use this type of Kanban approach often - particularly when there is too much to do. Great clarity, focus and super-productive. It keeps work visible, it lets you and others know what you're working on. It's transparent, communicative and clear. 

Niiiice! See?

It's hectic, busy and frantic - for some

A colleague I'm sponsoring by providing mentoring services cancelled our scheduled session for today.

Something or someone else was a higher priority and so I got 'bumped', again. 

The bumping I get over; but in reviewing other comments about the bumping and other reschedules I read words like 'hectic', 'busy' and 'frantic'. 

What's with all the busy-ness? 

According to a nice read in Time Magazine this week it's (ironically) not about the time! It's about bandwidth AND time. They're two different things and we need to slice and dice and handle and manage both of them. You need to be present while you're present or you're not really present!

Also today in my local metropolitan daily there was a piece (via Harvard Business Review) on how we need to stop complaining about how busy we are. 

I enjoyed the 'I'm more important than you' reference because 'I'm busier than you'. 

Yes, I'm busy but I am also incredibly focused on making the best use of the time (and preparing to have plenty of bandwidth). I have needed to run my business, keep my appointments, facilitate two workshops, get married, have two parties, pack and prepare for time away and other 'admin' stuff in the past five days. But I would never be hectic, busy or frantic about it.

I'm leveraging productivity tools and programs, outsourcing services, delegating tasks, prioritising constantly and my favourite... (which I learned in a time management program when I was starting my first job) using 'calculated neglect'. 

Some things just don't or won't get done. Other things are SO gonna get done. 

I'm very conscious of the 'currency' I apply when I'm choosing what I'll do and what I won't do. Is this about now or the future? Is this a short term or longer term win? Will this matter in a day, week, month or year? 

I like reflecting on my values on this too - why I choose and prioritise the way I do. I completed the the Minessence Values Inventory earlier in the year and everything is crystal clear : I know what's important to me. Prioritising is a breeze.

And now to shift the mood of my day from someone not 'picking me', my very next mentoring client was: on time, had completed the set tasks, had specific questions for clarification and was clear about what was next on his agenda. Now THAT was a breeze. I can be impactful, focused and provide great service. I can do my best work - without being hectic, busy or frantic. 

I think being 'busy' is a great opener for another deeper conversation - your priorities, values and what's really important. 

** And as a footnote, some more brilliant and entertaining reading on the topic from Rajesh Setty

Six minutes in 80

A strategic team day and an agenda that's full of tasks, activities, discussions and outcomes. But not enough time for breaks?

Six minutes in 80 - that's a guide for an optimal break vs activity ratio.

Why are so many leaders pushing for overflowing agendas? Is it that breaks are seen as time wasting or time off from the 'real' work at hand?

Maybe leaders think they have to get their money's worth from their people, the venue they've hired and all the audio visual equipment that's whirring away in the room.

Or they're concerned they just won't get to where they need to get to in this 'one magical silver bullet make it all happen' day... if they don't push on, rush and make 'em keep working.

Let go of control and allow breaks, schedule breaks and be generous with break time. Productivity is boosted, fatigue is reduced, alertness is improved. You can achieve so much during a break.

This infographic, about the value of taking breaks is a great reminder of the 'why' you need to pause occasionally and it's right there, the 6 minutes in 80 ratio suggestion.

Even two minutes to stand and stretch is better than pushing on through.

Next meeting, workshop, team session : schedule breaks. You'll get more out of the day, the team, the outcomes. 

It's a co-brainer

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you - Althea Gibson

Lengthy meetings can be boring and people are busy-busy yet we still need to engage, consult and 'play well with others' in the day-to-day of life, at work and in our communities.

There's plenty you can do alone but working with others during your day, role or career is a certainty; it's gonna happen. It's a 'co-brainer'. You'll need to be doing something with someone, sometime.  

I'm shocked, disappointed, at how little planning some people do to make any type of 'co' activity creative, engaging or dare I say ... enjoyable!

Over recent weeks I've heard about b-o-r-i-n-g teleconferences, 'all talk' workshops and supposedly consultative sessions that were really a presentation of what had already been decided. That's not 'co'. It's unproductive and oh-so disengaging.

To step up the productivity, inject some creativity and get the outcomes you need, working together with others is a 'co-brainer' when you know how. 

Henry Ford is often quoted for his insight and progressive thinking; I've always liked this one: Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.

What are you doing this week to truly get people working together? What do they think of what you're doing? What do they think you should be doing? That's co.