Personal Improvement Blog
Career
Busy vs. Productive
Jul 27th
Shamelle has written a great post on distinguishing between “being productive” and “being busy” all the time.
This is a coincidence, since I was reading Seth Godin’s book (featuring his blog posts) and one thing jumped at me: “Give me nine-to-five executives who can create remarkable things and I will change the world”.
Put these two thoughts together and you will come to the conclusion that you can get a lot of things done without slogging for 15 hours a day. Honestly, I believe a strict nine-to-five job is generally not possible, especially as you move up the ladder.
Teams spread across different time zones, systems that function 24×7 and the sheer volume of decisions that need to be taken, makes it almost impossible not to have a Blackberry. Which, essentially, means, I disagree with Seth (on the nine-to-five part 
)
Back to the real question, how can you be productive and not just busy? To add to Shamelle’s advise, I have a couple of things you can do.
1. Deliverable-based Structure (as opposed to WBS)
Most of us, including myself, think of work in terms of activities and not as deliverables. For example, if I have to send out a report, my task is named as Create Report with sub tasks as organize a meeting, talk to systems group and get information etc. You can see the output of each activity is not clearly identified, with the result that the meeting happens, but there is no concrete outcome.
Instead, reword your tasks as units whose progress is measurable. In our trivial example, the sub-tasks could be Meeting minutes with commitment from the teams, raw data report from the systems group, analysis document prepared from the data etc.
2. Schedule tasks as much as possible on your calendar
This allows you to focus on things you need to get done by meeting with yourself. By allotting time to your tasks, you make sure you have made some progress on all your tasks, rather than look only at the urgent tasks.
An empty calendar can also get you pulled into meetings that don’t have much value 
.
Bonus tip: Use a Task Manager (not the Windows Task Manager). Check out my post on using TaskCoach.
4 neat things to do when you feel unproductive
Jul 16th
Have you had a day at work when you have felt/done more than one out of the following?
Image courtesy HikingArtist
- Did not look at your to-do list
- Postponed tasks without reason
- Spent an unusual time at the water cooler
- Asking strange/weird/odd questions on the internet or surfed endlessly
Then, you are bored, officially. Yes, we have all had those days when work seems uninteresting, but you cannot take a day off. What do you then? You can try one of 3 things
1. Buckle up and try to turn around an unproductive day into a productive one
2. Get back your lost focus
3. You can do these 3 things (I love lists!)
- Reconnect
- Recreate
- Rest
- Review
Reconnect
There are those “long lost” friends or close relatives you were intending to call this week to see how they are doing. Call them now. You can also take this time to network on a personal level and send out a “hi, how are you doing?” email.
Recreate
Download and play an enjoyable computer game [a flash game perhaps, so that you don't have to install it]. Don’t get carried away, though
If computer games are not your cup of tea, you could read an e-book or go to the office library, if you have one. Choose something that is light and fun, otherwise, you will start hating that too.
Rest
Take a nap, if you have a nap room (as they do in some companies, especially Japan). Or simply close your eyes for a few minutes. Taking a mental break and slowly counting to thousand might also help.
Review
This may be a good time to think about the big picture – your family, your goals in life, direction in which your life is going, satisfaction etc. Don’t combine this with point 3 though – your nap may turn into a deep sleep.
For the folks doing GTD or its variants, this may also be a good time to look at that “someday” list.
The idea is not always to “motivate” yourself to work harder – sometimes it is better to acknowledge that there will be days when you are not simply upto it.
What do you on such rainy days at office? Let us know in the comments.
3 Less-known attributes of truly Successful people
Jul 1st
There is a billion dollar industry of books, seminars and workshops on making people become more successful. There are also hugely successful people in our own spheres of life, people whom we meet regularly – senior members of large/great organizations, self-made enterprenuers and so on.
What are the things that distinguish successful people from the run-of-the-mill folks like me? This was what got me interested, when I found people in senior leadership roles, but had not yet crossed 40. Of course, education, luck and the simple aspect of being the one available may have taken them there, but without “stuff”, you cannot stay there for long.
I started observing such people and so far, I have found 3 attributes – passion, genuine interest in people and the ability to understand subtle communications. You will notice hard work is not in here – surprisingly, not all of them work 16 hour days!
Passion
This is a no-brainer, but many people unconsciously set limits on their passion for work, either by limits on time or simply by the distance they are willing to go to get things done. Passion is ownership, passion is about finding ways to get things done, even if it means not going by the book sometimes (I am not referring to the non-negotiable rules like ethics, just the systems that organizations or societies setup). Passion is standing up and being counted when things are in a crisis. Passion means going beyond your defined role and responsibilities and ensuring that the overall team goals are achieved.
To have real passion, you have accept that sometimes, other things in life have to play a secondary role to your work life [This means you never talk about work-life balance - even if you go home on time usually]
Genuine interest in people
Passion can only take you so far. If you don’t have or develop a genuine interest in people and how you can harness their immense potential, you cannot become a successful person. Great relationships means word-of-mouth praise, which I find is the most effective way of marketing yourself. A word of caution: Do not try to manipulate people – you may be unpleasantly surprised about how many people can easily read this. Understand genuine concerns, show empathy and try to truly help people.
A successful track record is of no use if people under you refuse to give their best, due to some unconscious anger at you. You will have uncooperative people, who will balk at every work that you assign, delay their tasks and as a result, you end up doing all their work.
One other benefit of being able to interact with people well is that you become naturally good at networking. You will not need to fake things when asking for help – on the other hand, people will feel it an honor to work with you.
Ability to understand subtlety
You can call it reading between the lines or know the flow or oh whatever, but I have found this to be one of the most underrated secrets of successful people. This could be a situation or a person talking to them or a set of numbers being thrown at them. They can analyze what the situation is and come up with an answer that is simply awesome.
I really can’t explain this, but I am sure you can connect with the idea.
The obvious question at this stage is, can we develop these attributes? I haven’t found my answers completely. Have you? Let us know in the comments. If you have noticed other things which you feel are common among successful people, those are also welcome in the comments.
6 quick tips to keep your career on track
Feb 27th
The recession is taking a heavy toll on us, with massive job cuts and reduced pay being reported across the world. Everyone still holding a job is feeling tense – who knows when the axe will fall on them!
It is better not to give into negative thinking, but plan and prepare for such an eventuality. Here are some quick tips to help you. These are not new, but they are exactly what I did to find a different role in my organization.
1. Network like crazy
Network with all your contacts in your entire career. Yes, your entire career.
Dig out those old emails and make a list of people with whom you have more than a passing acquaintance. Send them a “hi, how are you doing?” email. No pitching for any jobs at this point. With those who respond, have a more detailed conversation and renew old ties. Please remember, there has to be a genuine connection, otherwise you risk being labelled as a person who remembers them only in times of distress.
2. Face time with people who matter
“Out of sight is out of mind” is probably a cliche, but true nevertheless. Know who the movers and shakers in your department are and initiate closer interaction with them. Go out for lunch with them or at least the coffee machine. It is easier to recommend someone whom you see every day than someone who may be more talented, but is not seen!
3. Establish your expertise
Nothing establishes your reputation like published papers. Write a few whitepapers and send them for external publication in conferences and workshops. Become a panel discussion member or a speaker at such conferences. They can add a lot to your credentials (and your credibility in the eyes of your cutomers!)
4. Keep looking for jobs
A job in hand is better than two in the bush – to paraphrase the old saying. Don’t let this stop you from constantly looking out for another one. It may be an internal role or outside the company, but never assume your job is permanent.
5. Work like crazy
Although there is no guarantee that workalohics will not be laid off, it may make a difference when you are competing against others for jobs. A workalohic will appear passionate about giving his all to the company when it is in a tough situation. This is also the moment to forget about Work-Life Balance. Indeed, in my blog series on Work-Life Balance, I had referred to situations where you may have peak and down periods of effort. This is one of those times!
6. Reduce your Cost to Company
If you are considered costlier to the company vis a vis the benefit the company gets from you, you are in danger. This is all the more true if you are a senior person in the company. Get a feel (or an actual quote from your manager, if you can!) on what is the cost/benefit ratio for you in the company. Take steps if possible to minimize that. For example, you can reduce telephone, fuel, electricity and other “perk” costs. Proactively forego raises or the company car till the company is back to normal.
Do you have any such tips that you have used? Share it with us in the comments.