This is typically written up as a way to manage email. But has a direct relation to managing your work. These are in priority order
- Drop – How important is the task? If you defer it multiple times, would anyone notice if this was never done?
- Delegate - If someone else can take on the task and be 2/3 as efficient as you, delegate it.
- Defer – if you don’t do it until next week, would anyone mind? How long can you defer until it can be dropped? The more you defer, the more likely you can delegate
- Do – won’t fit into any other category
A complimentary exercise when dealing with the the 4 D's is the 5 Whys.
Any time you are asked a question that you want to get to the root cause of it, like “is this really important” ask the question “why” 5 times. By asking why 5 times to each answer you force the person with the request to really dig to the bottom of the issue. Why does this really need to be done now? Priorities are ever changing and people can panic pushing priorities around (context switching is expensive). So ask Why, even when you know the answer can help manage expectations.
I also use the 5 whys in software development to help get to the root cause of issues
Close email, mark yourself as busy in Skype. Do whatever you can to have 1 focus at a time. If you have a day full of meetings, can you move them all to the morning to minimize context switching? Take the time to reflect on where your distractions are coming from, come up with a plan, and spend the next 2 weeks focusing on minimizing those distractions
Outlook is a tool used to schedule meetings which are distractions. If you know you have a busy day of meetings, don’t spend any time trying to get work done that day. Defer any work to the next day. Over time you develop an understanding of your schedule take the time and put time on your schedule for your work. As an example, I know the Friday after our planning session is the one I need to hunker down and get work done. I put time on my schedule to make sure I get 4 straight hours of development.
Gaps in your schedule are also a problem. It isn’t uncommon to have 15-30min gaps between meetings and that is not a productive time. If you find you have these gaps, consider moving meetings to fit in. As a team, make a point to schedule all meetings in the morning, or the afternoon. If you can focus all meetings to AM or PM, you reduce these gaps.
This comes from a book called “The Deadline”. The point of a meeting ceremony is that you can offer 1-2 people to step out of a meeting to refocus on another problem. Before that person leaves the meeting, they are required to ask a question or define an outcome of the meeting before they leave.
Most meetings are bloated and have too many or duplicate participants and don’t need everyone there. By allowing some to leave, you are being more productive with the time.
My teams uses this, but in a slightly different fashion and it has saved some stress for a few members who had other priority things to work on.
Class Responsibility Collaboration (CRC) cards are something used in technology to help describe a software system. Which outlines the responsibility a piece of code has (so it doesn’t try to do too much) and who it interacts with (so it doesn’t rely on too many other parts). I have adapted this to help manage my backlog. Here is how it works
- Get an index card and sharpie marker
- Put the Day of the week at the top of the index card
- Draw a line down the middle of the ruled line
- On the left side of the line, write down everything you want to get done that day in priority order. Don’t write to small and be realistic of your expectations
- On the right hand side, write down everyone you will have to collaborate with that day.
You may have a large backlog of work in your notebook or OneNote, but focus on today. If you need to set expectations on when something will be delivered make a few days’ worth of cards. If priorities change, rip them up and reschedule your days. But don’t get too far ahead of yourself. 1-3 days is enough, remember the 4 D’s.
This will help your work life balance as you will not go home thinking about the 10 things that need to be done. But you can focus knowing you accomplished everything on your card for the day and sleep well.