Tag: productivity

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The Schedule

I am sharing today a schedule I use in my work every time the noise from distractions gets too much and/or I don’t actually think I am making any progress in what I do. It was inspired by reading ‘The Secrets of Productive People’ by Mark Forster, a book which, while labelled productivity, has a lot to do with creativity.

I call my process simply ‘the schedule’ and it has served me well for the last six years. Feeling stretched? Time to return to the Schedule. The aim is to keep work focused on a single task but also to allow structured time where the brain can wander and new ideas can come into the flow. 

  • 09:10 – 09:50
  • 10mins break
  • 10:00 – 10:40
  • 30mins break
  • 11:10 – 11:50
  • 10mins break
  • 12:00 – 12:40
  • 1h10 break
  • 13:50 – 14h30
  • 10mins break
  • 14:40 – 15:20
  • 30mins break
  • 15:50 – 16:30
  • 10mins break
  • 16:40 – 17:20

The breaks are as important as the focus time. Both count as work. Both count towards time on a job. Often we only value the active brain time, but sometimes our best thinking happens in between. 

One rule of the Schedule is to stop the task at break time, even if the task is almost complete. The temptation is to carry on, but as it usually turns out, an almost finished task is never quite as finished as you think. What ensues is a period of dwindling concentration and diminishing returns. Better to take the break, come back with fresh eyes and finish the task quickly, and move on.

Of course, few days fully work out like this. There’s fitting in with other people’s schedules. And there’s caring responsibilities. But when things start to feel a bit chaotic (see my post on the Chaos Field), re-establishing some order can help me think clearly again. 

My recommendation is not that you follow my schedule (by all means do if you wish) but to establish a pattern of work that works for your cycle of energy and attention, gives you time to think, provides structure and is something that you just do automatically without devoting mental energy to. 

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Harnessing Waves in Our Work

Sine wave running from trough to trough labelled with numbers 1 through 5 at the first trough, where it crosses the x axis, at the peak, where it crosses the x axis again and finally approaching the next trough

(This post from the archive originally appeared in September 2024, and became a motif in the Pattern Book for Regenerative Design)

Today’s post picks up on yesterday’s theme of riding the waves of human energy in our work. The idea is to create a cycle of working that tunes in to our own and others’ level of available energy to create better thriving for all involved. 

For the regenerative designer, the living world often gives us a good template for how to create thriving systems. And so, whether the wavelength we are designing for is a day, a month, a year or even a lifetime, here are some modes of working inspired by the changes that living systems cycle through. I have organised these into five touch points.

1 – Start of a new cycle 

  • Associated with potential and possibilities.
  • Might be a dream-like state.
  • Might be quite slow or dormant – possibly no activity visible on the surface.
  • Gradually shifting into planning.
  • Darkness, low levels of light or energy.

2 – Ascent 

  • Gathering momentum.
  • Plans transition into action.
  • Gaining confidence.
  • Work becomes visible.

3 – Peak

  • Maximum output or yield. Possibly a launch phase.
  • Everything is visible, a point of recognition.
  • The brightest part of the cycle, associated with clarity.
  • Celebration of achievement and milestones.

4 – Descent 

  • Harvest, where outputs are gathered, enjoyed and shared.
  • Reflection on work done, evaluation. 
  • Taking apart or shedding in readiness for the next cycle.
  • Gather resources for dormant phase.

5 – Rest and renewal 

  • Recovery and restoring. 
  • Lower visibility.
  • Less action, slower movement.

Of course, how we spend our time is a negotiation with others. The invitation here is to look for opportunities to acknowledge the cyclical ways in which we work. And to acknowledge more widely the cyclical pattern to the living systems that enable us to thrive.

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A process for processing processes

Processes make life easier, help us involve more people, guarantee quality and conserve our attention for other things. But only if they work. 

The first time we do something, part of the work is figuring out how to do it all. If we are likely to that thing several times, figuring out a process means we don’t have to make those decisions every time. 

Creating a process also helps other people over the activation energy hurdle and, where questions of quality or compliance come in, give us a way of making sure it is done properly And this work invested in creating a process frees up cognitive load to think about other things. 

In a sense, we relinquish our autonomy to processes for the benefits they yield. But when the process no-longer provides those benefits, it starts to cause problems. 

If for instance the circumstances in which the process was created has changed, but the process stays the same, then it becomes an ill-fitting glove on the hand of someone trying to take action. It constrains us, it is uncomfortable and we are constantly aware of it.

Things become worse when you don’t have a choice — when your organisation has told you you have to use this process. Then you no-longer feel the benefit of the loss of autonomy — it becomes a burden. And this can quickly lead to cynicism. 

So what can you do? I see three levers: improve, remove or emphasise. 

Improve — if that process is there to do work for you, but is no-longer doing its job, then make it work. This requires new up-front energy to reap down-stream reward. You may not want have to do this work, but the conditions have changed and you’ll continue to pay the price until you update procedures. A badly fitting process creates friction every day, which is energy sapping. If you are in a position of authority, then you hold responsibility for the processes your staff are obliged to work with. 

Remove — it’s much more common to add processes than take them away. Lean thinking in process design is all about stripping everything and then building back up with the essentials that do just enough to create a good product, whatever that might be.

Emphasise — and if you are stuck with the process, as many in larger organisations will be, then emphasise the value that the process is creating. If it generates data, make that data visible and valuable to the people using the process. If it helps keep people safe, then emphasise that message less it gets lost and then ignored. 

Improve, remove, emphasise. You could think of this as a process for processing processes.

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Letting things done

Anyone into productivity books will probably be familiar with the classic Getting Things Done by David Allen. It’s a book title that transcends the book —it becomes a value system. Done things are good things. Undone = unorganised.

So here are three alternative work modes I’ve been playing with:

Letting things done

This mode is for going with the flow — doing what needs doing in the moment. It’s a way of working that responds to feedback from your environment, especially your connection with others. It is about noticing what signals say more of this and less of that.

Doing things fun

This mode is the of energy flow. When things are enjoyable, it mysteriously unlocks hidden energy. ‘In every job that must be done, there’s an element of fun, you fine the fun and… the job’s a game’, or so said productivity consultant Mary Poppins.

Letting things go

This mode is for the work of relinquishing control. It is letting something go. It is exchanging with others. It is opening the work up to reciprocity. You have to breathe out in order to breathe in again. It’s the same with plans and ideas.

So we have:

  • Getting things done
  • Letting things done
  • Doing things fun
  • Letting things go.

Whereas getting things done signals our intent to exert our will, the other three signal working with interconnection, following available energy and emergent potential. It’s a nice map onto the Living Systems Blueprint:

  • Interconnection (letting things done)
  • Symbiosis (doing things fun)
  • Capacity to change (lettings things go)

As far as we are aware, humans are the only species that produce productivity text books. The other species just to seem to get on with it, using the resources available to them to live in harmony. Now, that’s the productivity book I want to read.