Improving sticky workflows

• Collect: Get ideas and to-dos out of your brain and onto a list.
• Process: Review your list daily and decide how to act on each item.
• Plan: Pick a few high priority items to accomplish each week and every day.
• Do: Schedule time to accomplish your selected to-dos without interruptions.

To clear your mind and improve focus, get your ideas and to-dos out of your mind and onto a list. 

Documenting to-dos in the moment lessens the likelihood that you'll forget to do something and gives you a master list of to-dos to reference when you're trying to decide where to direct your time.

Our working memory is what allows us to focus on the information we need to get things done at the moment we’re doing them. It is also in limited supply. You can think of it like our brain’s computer memory. Once it’s used up, nothing more can fit in.

When you overanalyze a situation, the repetitive thoughts, anxiety, and self-doubt decrease the amount of working memory you have available to complete challenging tasks, causing your productivity to plummet.

A recent Stanford study suggests that over-thinking not only impedes our ability to perform cognitive tasks but keeps us from reaching our creative potential as well.

1. List down the “strengths”. Knowing these will help you to be more confident in an interview or when looking for a job promotion.
2. Know your “weaknesses”.  Identifying weaknesses is the best way to improve them.
3. Find matching “opportunities”. Opportunities come in different shapes and forms. Sometimes opportunities past by you without you even noticing them.
4. Be aware of “threats”. Identify competition, new technologies, personal traits or obstacles.

• What are the professional qualifications/certifications you have?
• Can your expertise in some area make a difference to the organization?
• What projects/campaigns have you completed successfully?
• Do you have powerful industry contacts?
• What other skills make you stand out from the rest?

What do others think as your strengths?

A thorough reassessment is required of how the company operates and how best to capture the impact of automation.

Companies who have just automated on the surface have had small and limited results that don't last. Companies that have understood and deployed the high-risk, high-reward proposition have completely transformed it's business offerings and have become market leaders. They have also redeployed the freed up workforce and provided additional services, even turning their competitors into customers.

A joint effort of commitment and communication is essential for a thorough approach to automation and has to be led by top management.

Apart from IT, all stakeholder groups like HR, Operations, Business Units have to be engaged, and communicate consistently.

Planning work is time spent on listing, prioritizing and scheduling your work. 

Planning helps us become efficient in our execution. Thus, allocating special time for planning work is crucial. Proactive planning can be exceptionally productive and beneficial in the long run.

It is the stuff we have to do, like writing a check to pay our bills, preparing our tax returns, or even making a daily report.

Procedural work is best tackled by technology: automation minimizes the time spent and errors generated in any procedural work.

The structure of most working environments punishes people for efficiency and rewards them for looking busy. We need to shift our focus from the number of hours spent on something to the quality generated.

To make a 3-hour workday feasible, design the right environment to make it possible.

• Behavior is the result of environment. If you have many apps open, you’ll be more likely to be distracted.
• Eliminate the need for willpower. Think of willpower like a bank balance. For every decision you make, you spend a unit. Design the right environment, so you avoid depleting all of your willpower.

• Most of the time, you don’t start with facts. You start with opinions. 
• Data gathering and analysis and deciding what to do, and doing it all overlap. 
• Analyzing the situation is still really, really, really important. Asking lots of good questions is the key to getting good analysis and good results.

• What’s the story of the problem?
• Why do we want to solve the problem?
• What do we know for sure?
• What are we assuming?
• What don’t we know?
• What’s a similar situation?
• What happens if we do nothing?
• What’s the goal?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• What’s the first step?

"Find what is the smallest and most important thing to work on, get feedback, and keep iterating. Focus on who is impacted by your work and engaged them often. It's a journey." - Alan Trivedi, Trivedi Coaching & Consulting Group

"Reflect and visualize what success looks like. What are you trying to solve for? Jot it down on paper and compare your work objectively to this success criteria. Work with a trusted colleague if it helps bring clarity." - Christie Lindor, The MECE Muse