Notable

Time-management software — offline version. Photo by: dgray_xplane, Actual list by Bill Westerman.

A member of the back-to-paper movement, I love Bill Westerman´s “where the day went to crap” note on this illustration, as well as how this photo illustrates the power of analog lists. In my estimation PDA´s and, hm-hmm iPhones, take at least 10 seconds longer per interaction with one´s list. What´s  more, just looking at one´s iPhone tempts to check Twitter, and e-mail, and, and… Come on you know I am right, but the point is one can easily get distracted from the task at hand.

Another illustration I appreciate – “The Quality vs. Quantity Whiteboard UX “  manifesto, which includes these rules:

Email

• Check e-mail only @ 10:00AM, 1:00PM, 4:00PM.  Set e-mail check every 3 hours
• Send anytime
• No Email on Evenings
• No Email on Weekends
• Emergency? = Use phone

Focus

• Focus: 1-3 activities max/day
• Log: 1-3 succinct status bullets everyday on team Wiki

• Minimize chat
• Maximize Single Tasking

Out by 5:30PM – NO EXCUSES -

(Reality check: The author of this post notes this  just one day after skulking away from the office at 10PM on a Friday, because one fix sparked a slippery slope of obsessive compulsive css and functionality tweaking on the university´s leadership blog.)

Yesterday was the company julebord*.  An enjoyable evening to be sure, it made for a good end to a day that opened with a spirit-defeating meeting. Well into the ribbe* and Shiraz I couldn´t shake the feeling of disenchantment with the state of affairs.  Nagging were questions like: Are the strategic interests of the organization served by how and where I use my time?  Am I helping by participating in all these meetings and forums?  How can we do better?

These are the some of my ahah conclusions as 2009 winds down:

1. 6 is no good
   Representative committees are no good. Of late, truly useful interaction and progress has occurred only when there are 5 or fewer participants in the room.
2. Buck the futility of meetings and the tyranny of the email onslaught
   More gets accomplished through MSN and before/after meetings, than in meetings or through emails. One can save a lot of time by cutting out 90% of emails, and all meetings with more than 6 participants. Show up once in a while, bail on the rest?  (Additional inspiration: HBR – Manage your Time Like Jim Collins)
3. Lay low – Full stop on the meta-discussion
   Leaders across the organization are supposed to care about the how/who/why, but given their every-day they could really not care less. The results should be the focus, and I am sure that good results will win any argument. I should stop trying to get consensus/understanding on the “why” and “how”. Consensus has rarely been achieved, and when it has, it hasn´t gotten us anywhere really. ROI on time invested = .01.
4. A good model seems like a good goal – but it really just looks good on a slide
   What I bring to the table (and the same can be said of my most effective colleagues) probably doesn´t fit nicely into any role, in ANY organizational model that might solve what ails us.  The university is decentralized, and lets not kid ourselves, future centralization efforts won´t be plucking people from among the existing rank and file.  So you are outside of the box, far removed from the politics, you might want to take a second look around.And if one is already outside the box, why try and hop inside it? Maybe misguided craziness?
5. Geeks and nerds will always be a bit rogue
   It is often the uniqueness, the oddities and special talents of those in some of the best teams, not sameness that yields great results. Increasingly  the “odd-man-out ” in every single org model discussed lately, my gut feeling is that maybe I should just stick to participating in the virtual teams and ad-hoc collaborations.  It is even possible to further self-organize without getting anyone´s blessing.  This might also be more fun, in addition to being more effective.

   All we need now  is a secret handshake or a code word, maybe even a lair.
   

6. Fun shouldn´t be tabled for later
   Maslow was right.  Money is not what drives everyone. After my basic needs are met, I work because I want to achieve something more, and I like much of what I do.  We are not all characters in The Office, and it is possible to be too focused sometimes. One´s job can NOT be 150% about the organizations goals. (This can burn people out and that helps no one). Plan for a bit more fun, and few other bits from the top of old Maslow´s hierarchy.
7. If you build it, they won´t necessarily come, but maybe.
   Compelling is: finished products that can be demonstrated; processes that have achieved some results, and systems that are up and running. These are way more compelling that any plan or description.  Example: Installed WordPress and  Joomla, then people started using them. Propose adoption of WordPress MU and we got a institutional skepticism, budget concerns and a report. Propose a video and you get a long discussion. Make a video and you get a video. Develop an interaction yourself an you please your users; request a developer to develop it, and you get a place on their massive todo list.  Choose what is fastest.

It´s not worth blaming anyone, it´s not ideal. It´s not how we want things to be. It´s just how it is. (Unless you are lucky enough to work at Ben & Jerry´s or Google. Lucky, talented, ducks.)

* Translations:

julebord = corporate Christmas party in Norway
ribbe = traditional Norwegian Christmas pork ribs

Per your request, I did an extensive search regarding monkeys that are native to Canada. Unfortunately, I could not find the required information within the allotted 20 minutes.

Excellent service, right? This answer received by Wired’s Chris Hardwick after only one hour, as he tested outsourcing via the Ask Sunday service.  The answer also included: rental car reservation, information about two Moose Lodges, and a store address, per his 4 question request.  This tempting service lets you make up to 15 requests-almost anything that’s doable in 20 minutes for a small monthly fee.

Chris Hardwick’s enjoyable review of 3 books about time management: Get Things Done,  Never Check E-Mail In The Morning, and The 4-Hour Workweek, is a good read. What sticks with me though is this anecdote above. I don´t have my own assistant, but am imagining the possibilities now.  What I do have is Twitter and MSN.  My network is my “personal assistant”.  Google and Wikipedia are now like air — second nature. I probably search these resources 20 times in the course of a day with out thinking about it.  I am not alone, in my increasing use of these tools to find answers, and work smarter.

The rub though, is that they can be deemed distractions. Any briefly intentioned look at Twitter, Google, or MSN can quickly entice one into “checking something out”, reading an interesting tangential post, or starting on a new project after being inspired by something you read. In other words distractions. If I had an assistant I could avoid said distractions and stay focused, right? Wrong.  We need these small distractions.  My “breaks” entail learning, and I almost always, find that these breaks pay off in some way or another.  I do stay focused, entranced really, writing, coding and fixing sometimes for 10 hours at a time.  My real problem is procrastination for those tasks that aren’t so fun anymore.  The answer I think: finish them fast, so you can get on to the more interesting jobs. I’ll tell you how it goes.

read the article: Diary of a Self-Help Dropout: Flirting With the 4-Hour Workweek.