Your Work Environment

Ever been frustrated because you couldn’t do something? Ever feel like you didn’t have the right tool for the job? Technology in all forms is merely a tool. It helps us get a job done more efficiently, however that will not be the case unless we firstly use the right tool and secondly we use it correctly.

As Peter Drucker says:

“We have to extend the range of human beings through tools they have to work with rather than through a sudden quantum jump in human ability.”

Most businesses simply expect their employees to fully utilize the tools they are given. The reality is, in fact, that most people only use or appreciate a tiny percentage of the full potential of an application simply because they do not know that all the features of the product. Businesses simply expect their employees to be ‘experts’ in things like email, searching, Windows, Word and Excel. The reality is quite the opposite. It is worthwhile asking your company what productivity training they provide. If nothing is forthcoming you may need to take your own initiatives to become more skilled because any investment in your knowledge and expertise only makes you more valuable to your current employer and any future employer.

The first step is to take a close look at what tools you use. Then you need to ask yourself if are there any tools that are not helping you do your job or making you less productive. If there is, then stop using them. A good example may the fact that so many people today favour using emails rather than picking up the phone. Instead of firing off an email in response to someone you should ask yourself is this something that could be better resolved over the phone. If the likelihood of further discussion on the matter as the result of an email is likely, then making a phone call is going to prevent you having to deal with this later as well as bring the matter to a faster conclusion. Take the time to consider, what is the most effective tool for getting the job done?

Some tools required for your job have the potential, if used incorrectly, to actually decrease your productivity. Web browsing is a good example of this. How many times have you found yourself going to the web to look up something you need and then becoming distracted by other things on the page or in the search results. Before long you realize that you’ve been “grazing” on the web without achieving anything productive. This has a happened because you have left yourself an open ended task and failed to give yourself a set completion time for what you are doing. Because the task is open-ended your mind allows you simply to drift along.

If you need to find something on the web either set yourself a fixed amount of time to search for it or batch the task for a later time that you have allocated to web surfing. A good option to keep you on track is to set an alarm, either manually or on your workstation. In many cases you’ll find that just a simple prompt to remind you how much time you’ve spent will allow you to refocus on what needs to be done and avoid “grazing”.

Another example to consider is how ineffectively and inappropriately you may be using emails. How many times have you sent an email that you wish you hadn’t? Be it poorly formatted, provocative or simply irrelevant, we have all done it. If you had only taken a moment to think about what you were sending, why you were sending it, what it actually said then perhaps you wouldn’t have regrets. A simple habit to develop is to re-read all emails before sending them. There is no doubt that it improves the quality of your communication and holds you in greater stead with the recipient. In situations where you find yourself writing an email in an emotional response to something a recommended technique would be to save that email to drafts and revisit it at a later time when you are not so emotional over the situation. Upon later review, discretion can prevent situations you wish you had avoided. Also don’t forget that once you send an email there is no way to recall that message and chances are it has been saved somewhere for all eternity. In light of that it makes sense to take a moment to review what you plan to send before you send it because the emails you send are a direct reflection of you as a person. It may also help to understand that any email you send can be forwarded to anyone else without your knowledge. Would you really want what you said in that emotional email to be read by others? If not, then don’t write it.

Finally, are there any tools that you could use to do your job better? For many people something as simple as an electronic notebook would prove extremely handy. Did you know that such a notebook (it is called OneNote) is provided by Microsoft in some of its Office applications? Even if you don’t have it, it is cheap to purchase. Did you also know that there are similar “free” applications on the Internet that will synchronize your notes to every desktop you use and to Internet storage for free? It may take a little while to locate suitable packages but they are out there. The best way to find out is to ask people.

Another issue that is important to consider here is the fact that the concept of multi-tasking is a myth. Your mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time. You probably already know how easy it is to be distracted by things and people around you, therefore you need to create an environment that reduces those distractions when required.

One option maybe to let people around you know that you need to focus and therefore cannot be disturbed at all for an hour. If that proves successful then try and make that hour at a regular time during the week. If that is again successful, try and make that time regular everyday. If that is successful try extending the time to two hours and so on. Unless you take control and let other people know that you do not want to be disturbed between certain hours they will expect to be able to interrupt at anytime. By defining your times for seclusion most people will respect that since they appreciate you are available at other times.

Once you have created a block of time during which you will not be distracted by others it is just as important to remove other distractions from your work environment. Firstly, set you office phone to forward all calls directly to voice mail. Next, turn off your mobile phone. Now remove anything from the desk in front of you that is likely to distract you like papers, books, magazines and so on. If you need to use your computer then do so but if you are not planning on working on your emails close your email program for the whole time period and ensure that any notifications are also disabled. If you don’t need to use your computer then, if possible, move the screen, keyboard and mouse out of your line of sight.

Before you start it is good idea to create a list of tasks you want to complete during the time period. This will help you determine exactly what needs to be done and what the priority is. Finally get started.

At first you’ll probably find working in this distraction free environment to be distracting in itself simply because the brain is trying to find excuses to do other things. However the longer you work it this process the easier and more productive you’ll become.

Just before you finish and return to ‘normal’ duties review what you have achieved. If you are diligent with this process and try and extend the time periods as long as you can you are going to get a lot more done. Until you remove the everyday distractions you have no idea how much time they wasting and how unproductive they are making you.