How Do We Avoid Perfectionism and still Manage Quality? I did an episode on perfectionism recently. I argued that it is wasteful and thus should be eliminated. But, in some cases, it seems to be our only way to control quality. That is, our only quality target is perfection. If we eliminate it as a goal, then are we simply left with accepting sloppy work from our Knowledge workers?   In this episode, I’ll talk about some of the challenges of quality in knowledge work. We should arrive at some actionable ideas of how to manage quality in knowledge work. Can we have quality targets as knowledge workers?   And so we, we definitely want to avoid perfectionism. And we also want to support timeboxing, we want to support the idea that we can say, this should take me four hours, and then schedule four hours, and then get the work done in four hours. versus some perfectionistic approach where we work on it, work on it, and continue to work on and work on it until we run out of time. And then we declare it done. And that's not a thoughtful way to proceed. And definitely not managing quality.   Our productivity demands that we manage quality. And we need to manage quality because we need to manage cost. Otherwise, we go out of business. But how?   How to define quality in Knowledge work Only you, as the knowledge worker, can know what you are trying to say or deliver Example: delivering truth when it’s bad news What is quality? An outcome Quality is like school exams (at least some of the time) If we have an objective external standard Where does production quality fit in? ‘production quality’ above a certain threshold is not a measure of quality Unless it is. Entertainment seems to have this property. Kinds of flaws in knowledge work (expand here) Non-exhaustive categories of knowledge work and the associated deliverables Factual Knowledge – what are the facts, what do we know? E.g. diagnosis Process Knowledge – next action that should be taken, E.g. treatment regiments and delivery Understanding Knowledge – what is our strategy, changes to standard procedure e.g. when treatment doesn’t work Knowledge Creation – new knowledge/processes/workflows – Insight e.g. new treatments Problem solving – practical application of kinds of knowledge, experiments to try, “this should work” e.g. confounding symptoms Defining quality per type of Knowledge Work In KW, we don’t have an objective external standard – usually one-off work products Value in use KWs produce results that are necessarily incomplete and probably incorrect in one or more details Factual Knowledge – high quality = correct (“true”, “accurate”) to the appropriate level of detail The customer ‘doesn’t like it’ does not count against quality Process knowledge – high quality = ‘doability’/ease of use/regulatory compliance Again, ‘doesn’t like it’ doesn’t count Understanding knowledge – high quality = reasonability, experience, convincing, case study Knowledge creation – high quality = science Problem Solving – high quality = results (vs. cost) In these areas, production quality has a lower bound of comprehensibility, but improving it beyond that is probably a waste Thinking in Bets – "resulting" If our results have flaws, then our work was bad work? What is ‘resulting’ and why is it bad Redefine what a ‘good’ decision is The key is that the problem of resulting divorces our outcomes from the quality of our effort Why is resulting bad – it causes us to doubt, to change good processes for bad ones Avoid resulting in decision making – follow the decision process How to avoid resulting in Knowledge Work results – how do we know we’ve done good work Athletes and results (three point shooting) Knowledge work results have 1) hidden information (e.g. user needs, uncertainty about facts), and 2) risk So, knowledge workers have done good work when we’ve followed our process Knowledge workers have to avoid ‘resulting’ Helps avoid the perfection trap (overinvesting in quality) Avoiding resulting in our work It leads to perfectionism, which is wasteful Without other standards, we default to production quality, which is probably wasteful Avoid making our delivery processes weak (no ‘change resistance’ or consistency) Avoid resulting's sapping of our confidence What to do about quality? As knowledge workers, we need to get comfortable with ‘best effort’ Develop a process to adopt changes to our processes, don't change our work processes at the drop of a hat Scrum/Agile project management can help, but the user has to be highly involved Use lots of MVPs What else to do Develop confidence Focused work for our target amount of time is ‘good’ work An experiment is good to the degree that it produces usable data Not to the degree that it supports a specific hypothesis So do good experiments Apply this to MVPs

The lie: Perfection should be the underlying goal of your work Or (rephrased) you should pursue ‘excellence’ in everything you do. The truth is that technical perfection is both unrealistic and unnecessary. Excellent is an undefined word. Intro to perfectionism: I've seen a lot lately on perfectionism. Kevin Miller, on his Self Helpful podcast, did a series on it. That's been recent as of this recording time. But if you want to look him up in the archives, it would be January 2024. I became aware of a book by Ruth Soukup, "Do It Scared”. She covers seven archetypal fears that she discovered in surveying a segment of her clientele. She walks us through ways to address each archetype. And she has a tool to tell us, which is our primary archetype. One of her archetypes is the perfectionist. I even had a conversation on LinkedIn with a couple of a couple of buddies about this, where we're posting back and forth and kind of walking through some things on perfectionism. Let's see what we can know and figure out. The problem Definition of perfectionism - ‘nominal search for perfection’. Nominal because we know good and well that we can’t produce a perfect product But then we call ourselves ‘perfectionists’ – Trojan Horse Excuse or 'humble brag' Companies that build things have a different view of ‘perfect’ quality – additional areas of quality Lower cost, less work-in-progress, less inventory, cycle or turn time, etc. Imposter syndrome ‘Best effort’ is more correct, but its hard to say out loud How people actually judge our work and look for defects So people are going to have something to say about your work - this is good feedback The three aspects of perfectionism (Hat tip: Kevin Miller) Self-oriented - me being a perfectionist with my own work Outward-directed - me being a perfectionist when I'm their customer Directed at me - others being perfectionist when they're my customer But human beings are satisficers, so we don’t require perfect solutions nor are we (usually) willing to pay for them. Oftentimes, our feedback is more a statement of (temporary) preference than a judgment of quality. Our feelings get hurt pretty easily – the source of the perfectionism trap. Symptoms Imposter syndrome - Kevin Miller and ‘avoid getting found out’ – idealized self-image Overwork – over delivering on quality as a defensive mechanism or fear response Inflexibility of standards - 'superstition' Late delivery of work Don’t even start – no credit for a good try New mindset Good try Minimum Viable Product (MVP) from Agile Project Management Tailored suit and MVP – a good tailor makes just enough suit to see if it fits MVP can work into a bespoke solution Quality and efficiency are outcomes – no system is designed to produce less than 100% quality. Approach each task with humility, then confidence, then more humility. Results Less stress – perfectionism just transfers stress to worry in early production More experiments -> more learning -> getting better Deliver the work consistently with less turmoil Tools Agile = MVP and backlog management Communication with stakeholders Finish early enough for another go Good try – take credit for having had a shot The takeaway We can and should work to eliminate perfectionism in our work lives, and be careful with associated terms like 'imposter syndrome' and 'excellence'. In fact, imposter syndrome is a precise description of what we're doing when we're learning and getting better, we're behaving like imposters (but the good kind). We need to approach our work with humility ("I'm not perfect at this work"), then confidence ("But I've got strong skills and/or experience that will be useful as I do the work"), and, after delivery, more humility ("How can I get better?").

Managing Oneself - Peter Drucker and the second quarter of the 21st century This episode covers the "smartest person you've probably never read". Drucker foresaw the rise of Knowledge Work 60+ years ago. Not only did he define it for us, but he let us know that it would be the primary challenge of the 21st Century manager. He also told us how and why to improve it. I discuss his six factors of Knowledge Worker productivity. If you're a Knowledge Worker and/or a manager, you need to understand the six factors so you can start working on them in your organization. And you'll need to understand them because you have to manage yourself and your own productivity. Who is Peter Drucker Introduction Background on Drucker Drucker’s core thinking – management and firm performance A student of his times ('40s – '80s) Drucker - Manual worker productivity Knowledge worker productivity parallel to manual worker productivity Drucker - Deming, Taylor and scientific management Drucker - knowledge work and service work The rise of Knowledge Workers in the economy Knowledge Worker productivity drives overall economic success and growth in the 21st century Managers’ critical responsibility for Knowledge Worker productivity Drucker defined six factors that influence Knowledge Worker productivity: Intro Recognize that these are largely things that Knowledge Workers are responsible for Many of them help contrast manual work and its management to knowledge work and its management #1 Defining the task can be a challenge for Knowledge Work Models, blueprints, etc. are a primary way to define physical product work Information products can’t be modeled Multiple instances of physical product are useful Duplicating information has low cost so the work is usually one-off #2 Knowledge Workers themselves have to be responsible for their productivity Knowledge Work is unobservable A good Knowledge Worker knows more than both the boss and the customer Manager can't do it for them #3 Continuing innovation must be in Knowledge Workers' hands #4 Knowledge Workers must have time for continuous learning and teaching Continuous learning – must be self-determined for each Knowledge Worker Continuous teaching – others in the organization about the Knowledge Work result #5 Quality is critical, but hard to determine and manage in Knowledge Work Only the Knowledge Worker can determine what level of quality is possible Overproducing quality is a waste Quality vs quantity Define quality in physical product Specification = quality in physical products The challenge of quality #6 Knowledge Workers have to WANT to work for the organization The productive asset is portable Further, they must desire to give effort, not just time (engagement) Improving Knowledge Worker productivity How does this apply to improving Knowledge Worker productivity? If we look at the six factors, we see that they are all aspects of management as it relates to manual workers - we are probably still managing as if we were in a manual work setting. People aren’t taught to manage – either self- or other Absent over-emphasis on motivation, managing self and others is not too different Knowledge Workers need to understand self-management Conclusion Mindset for managers Mindset for Knowledge Workers Access to tools and training Learn to manage, if only to manage one’s self Now you know how to proceed with making yourself more productive and, thus, more valuable in the modern economy. The Attention Compass is the foremost tool for self-management for Knowledge Workers. Check on dobusyright.com. Note: the podcast relies heavily on the following article: Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge. Peter F. Drucker. California Management Review, Vol. 41, No. 2. 1999.

How did the Attention Compass come about? Why is it a thing now?   Larry's background through 2006 My career has been in IT management, so I understand something about tools, software, next generation technology. Throughout my career, I was always a productivity geek – Stephen Covey, David Allen, new tech, phone, etc During this time we noticed that email, (Windows) mobile phone, Ipod, and Outlook have replaced the paper Daytimer. Also, I'm still trying to make GTD work in Outlook I had already completed an MBA, so now I’m definitely a corporate business guy Then three things happened The Iphone released, signaling the entrenchment of mobile computing devices. Dropbox happened, meaning device to device information synchronization was readily available. Facebook grew (passed mySpace), making social applications/media 'normal' and mainstream. We’re in the social, mobile, and cloud world at the same time (and the great recession). Things began to change I started my Ph.D. I took a huge pay cut, so I had to take on lots of IT project work; I had multiple 'jobs' to track. I also had lots of Class work. Again, this meant a lot of work that was disjointed. Add in the PhD (dissertation) work, another kind of disjointed work. But the primary effect was recognition that I needed to get really good at PhD-level information management. The physical environment handed me lots of places to work, so I not only needed mobile computer(s), but I needed mobile data. Now I have two big questions: Where’s my stuff? And what’s my task? And I’m overwhelmed, so is my GTD implementation. The Ph.D. work and environment, along with the project work, delivered some constraints (or lack thereof). I don’t have a boss telling me what to do; with autonomy came responsibility. I needed to deal with the regular information (task, project level stuff, etc.) along with this complex unstructured academic information. Psychology, neurology, how our brains work – gotta externalize and it’s lots of stuff. At the same time, I've got to get rid of the paper - it's too inflexible and cumbersome to be as fluid as I need it to be. Some light dawns on my own attention/task/time management system. David Allen’s great, but GTD = paper = bad. Evernote goes mainstream enough for me have an account in 2010. I had been investigating 'note taking' apps and had been using OneNote. I knew scheduling, Gantt charts, etc. based on my project management background from previous jobs. I was continuing to learn about information management through my Ph.D. work in Information Systems. All of this came together into what is now known as the Attention Compass. Since I was involved with so many different kinds of work, lots of people who knew me well began to ask about how I managed. I told them and taught them. People clearly needed it, so I launched a business. I had to learn how to explain all this to people; nobody was talking about this stuff (that's pretty much still true. I needed clients to build habits, not just collect 'tips', so I adopted coaching as my delivery mechanism. The name, Attention Compass, is based on the system's focus on managing attention rather than time Corporate guy turned entrepreneur Delivering value through helping people I think people are in two camps – head in the sand or jumping around with tips and applications. Attention Compass delivers a tool, along with a complete set of workflows, for people who are ready to finally solve this problem in their lives. Now, its all put together. But, what does it mean? Where does Attention Compass fit in? Here's the big picture -  what you’ll hear me talk about on the podcast. Attention Compass is a foundational tool in managing knowledge work. So, it addresses the challenges of knowledge work management and productivity articulated by Peter Drucker. Attention Compass is a highly refined Personal information Management tool. So, it addresses our increasing need for the ability to manage our own information articulated by William Jones. Attention Compass tool and training solidifies Personal Information Management, which changes the nature and need for Group Information Management. So, it can disrupt the space currently occupied by Microsoft's Sharepoint and Google's G-suite. Finally, the WHY of Attention Compass and my coaching practice. Please connect with me on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrytribble/.

Think about attention management. About how we deal with our own ability to focus. That attention is primarily directed at the work we have to do. We need our full attention on our work, at least to the degree that our work is difficult and challenging.   One of my clients asked me to organize from the big picture perspective, what we’re trying to do with our attention. What are the big rocks of dealing with our attention effectively.   Attention = ability to focus There are four pieces, more detail below The first piece – Defend your atteniton The second piece - Manage your attention The third piece – Grow your attention The fourth piece – Audit your attention Four parts in place mean that we’re really good at this Attention thing First rock - Defend our attention The field is not level The three enemies to defense – the three attackers – waste, interruption, and distraction The first enemy - Waste is those things that have crept into our lives as, now, habits Nobody is doing this to us, we’re doing it to ourselves (lack of focus?) We can easily lose ourselves Rabbit trails Waste from apps The second enemy – Theft of our attention through interruption We lose our train of thought, our place We actually handle this pretty well in most circumstances The third enemy – Distraction = self-interruption Ideas and reminders pop up at the wrong time We combat this one by getting stuff out of our heads Defending against three primary things Attention Compass covers all three areas Get started now – save your attention Second rock – Manage our attention There’s a positive, offensive, “put your attention here” and a negative, defensive, “take things out of your awareness” Don’t want it to bother you? You're on defense. Capture it. We empty our brains to avoid this kind of distraction Eject it from your mind into the outside world and convince your brain that its OK We’re not just throwing it off our desk, that's when we get to offense Don't want to lose it or hunt for it? You're on offense. Put it where you'll trip over it The Attention Compass as a ‘room of requirement’ or ‘magic bag of holding’ The positive – it’s where you would naturally look for it Might have to get inventive on this stuff – laundry basket Reminders, used properly Two sides of the same coin Both of these things are core work and they work together These two rest on the first one – not worth it if you’re just frittering attention away Also, these two are where the toolset is critical Summary – get it out and put it where you’ll trip over it Attention Compass was developed specifically with this use case in mind   Third rock - Extending our attention Define extending our attention First metaphor – physical strength – duration of strength and intensity of strength Second metaphor – source of light – length is battery or bulb life Source of light – second is intensity – tight beam Extending our attention involves both kinds of extension How – discipline – stick for longer How – practice – learn quick intensity Mindfulness - definition Mindfulness in practice – stretch yourself and use the brain dump Work on both intensity and duration Tactics for extending Three enemies of extension – reactivity, perfectionism, procrastination The first enemy - reactivity Tactic for reactivity – work block Start small Blocks work for extending, as well Ending a work block The second enemy - perfectionism Tactic for perfectionism – time boxing Set an amount of time Must deliver at the end A time box makes you aware of time passing Solicit the feedback and adjust The third enemy - procrastination Procrastination – tactic – clear definitions Smaller tasks really help (example) Recap – three enemies, three tactics Interactions – work blocks=extending, time boxing=intensity Here is where AC’s daily and weekly review shine – there’s a clear, defined process to change, if needed   Fourth rock – audit Challenges Collecting good data as an input to the audit Can I do anything about it, or is my attention controlled by others The other three support having good data Perform the Audit Step one – have an intent or expectation Step two – collect data Step three - analyze Step four - plan for corrections One of the primary points of an audit is to make changes to your system You have to have a system before an audit makes sense Attention Compass’s process is most valuable here Recap – four rocks and you need them all Defend – the foundation Manage – apply your attention well, offense and defense, the tool is important Extend – avoid reactivity, perfectionism, and procrastination Audit – how can you get better? How can you target attention toward your roles?

In this episode, I answer a question from my buddy and listener, Joel. He feels like he has "Squirrel Brain" and wonders how to get rid of it. So, I define "Squirrel Brain" and talk about tactics for Taming the Squirrel.   I love your questions. Reach me at [email protected] or connect on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/larrytribble. I'll try to answer and let you know when I publish 'your' episode.   Joel’s question – what about taming the ‘squirrel brain’ What is the squirrel brain – uncertainty about what to do There is no ABSOLUTE priority list Backlog management is the key to managing the squirrel Back to the priority list – one, three, or more things in a day If you typically don’t get through your list, that’s a different problem What about this squirrel? A big list is from the squirrel What gets on my task list today? Let’s tame that squirrel The to-do list invites the squirrel First thing, it engages our brain’s creativity, brainstorming Second – it engages our brain’s sense of urgency Be careful about asking your brain this question It leads to acting like Scrat from Ice Age OK, what’s the suggestion – no to-do list, but a running backlog Emphasis on ‘running’ backlog Backlog – organized list of Everything – it’s a big list Organized list – organization is a key, cause it’s a lot of stuff Organization is the difference between a backlog and a pile Pile – you can only deal with individual units or the whole set Organize so that there are intermediate levels/groups Emergent – emergence and refinement Backlog is the state of the art for managing large lists Reasons for a backlog Reason one for a backlog - You have more to do than anybody could get done Reason two - track the things you don’t want to do now Decision to postpone Backlog stores information that you don’t want to deal with now – parking lot Reason three – you can’t trust your brain Properties of a backlog One – easy to get things on it Two – highly visible and accessible from everywhere Three – no ability to capture your attention Four – it hides things you don’t want to see now Five – easy, powerful search Six – categorization, ‘durable’ areas of similarity - contexts Seven – items can Live in more than one context at the same time Eight - Velcro holds everything Nine - Needs an inbox Ten - Backlog cannot be publicly accessible – your email client is right out Bonus properties Bonus property – a way to link items to each other Bonus property – holding or pointing to work items Bonus property – reminders Using a backlog – Workflows A backlog is fluid, adaptable A backlog is defined by interactions and organizational mechanisms I live in my backlog My backlog is front and center in my work Multiple Contexts – some about ‘Now’ Constantly Updating with new information - capture Refining the backlog Why refine – capture more information Primary purpose of a backlog is for items to evolve Refine thoughtfully, on a schedule, capture what you’re learning Workflow – refinement is a regular procedure Don’t refine too much too early Refine things that are near, not on the horizon Review of the three things Backlog – other issues Backlog Holds tasks – a task is never completely defined until its done A backlog must have multiple contexts Multiple ways to organize things – not a static list (so probably not inyour CRM) What about collaborative stuff? It has to be personal – your thinking and your organization – emergent organization Impersonal is the fundamental challenge of group information management systems Recap: I think we are all victims of the squirrel from time to time. The best way to tame it is to be careful about how we build our task list. The typical To-do list question "What do I need to do today?" is heavy-duty Squirrel fodder. Instead, develop your daily task list from your well-managed backlog. I cover properties of a backlog and it's toolset, along with workflows that help you keep it under control. It'll help harness the Squirrel.

This is one of a set of posts on common misconceptions about productivity and work. I call them Lies About Productivity. I'll address some 'lie' and suggest a new mindset that is helpful toward being effective, not exhausted - Do Busy Right. The Lie: You should equate working hard to being productive. Or that work should be hard in order to be valuable. At a minimum, we need to redefine the word ‘hard’ in this context. 'Hard' is too vague to be useful and to negative to be helpful. The problem of not thinking beyond 'hard': I don’t think ‘hard’ is necessary and it’s clearly not good for us Value proposition to the world (no source, sorry) Value proposition to the world General value proposition Adding, believing, or relying on: I’m a hard worker Cultural norms around hard work (legend: both forward and backward) Historical notion of ‘hard work’ – based on physical labor Even religious notions of ‘hard work’ – protestant work ethic Self-talk and ‘hard’ – why pick ‘hard’ it’s too vague to be helpful and too negative to be encouraging Taking aim at the legend and the lore around ‘hard’ work Think about things that ‘hard’ is not – we can pull them out of our definition 'Hard' (‘many hours’, thinking thoroughly, facing frustrations, etc.) ‘lots to do’ (Attention Compass) 'Hard' more valuable - flow state is effortless 'Hard' probability of failure (Made shot vs. missed shot) 'Hard' ‘expert level’ - Experts don’t find their work ‘hard’ My bass example of expertise - chunking In fact, some things get so well-ingrained that I do them too often Excel example – more blocks, chunks Symptoms Symptom: the trap of increasing hours Trap Corollary – harvest part of the value of your own growth MBA example of value sharing Symptom: we don’t define our availability and response levels Symptom: over-producing quality Symptom: vague value proposition Symptom: mediocre performance Symptom: imposter syndrome Symptom: everything becomes hard New mindset The new mindset – work should be a joy – creating beauty or good The new mindset – we develop greater patience with ourselves Bass example – creating beauty or good The Gap and the Gain Focus on the gap during PRACTICE and the gain during PERFORMANCE Hard work is not a moral imperative We’re not doing physical labor – we’re not doing brain surgery Results Result one – redefine the value proposition Result two – sense of craftsmanship, of expertise Crawford and craftsmanship – physicality vs. visibility Craftsmanship gets lost if it’s hard Tools Tool one – value proposition is a tool, make sure it includes some things that you enjoy Tool two – practice your skills, so you see yourself getting better (or easier) Tool three – grow your confidence Not the weak, abstract confidence, but specific and concrete Tool four – use your words more precisely We hear over and over again that hard work is the key to success. I just don't think that is useful advice. It's not nearly precise enough, thoughtful enough.  I'm not saying that the key to success is sitting, doing nothing; I believe in diligence and engagement. Nor am I saying that work is easy (although it can and should normally be calm, meaningful, and joyful); that's no more helpful or precise than 'hard'.  I'm saying to understand what is challenging about your specific work task: too routine/boring, frustrating, many things to consider, needs deep focus, etc. Name that thing and acknowledge it. This will lead to effectively dealing with the specific challenge. It will also help avoid the trap of 'hard' work as our value proposition to the world.

The lie here is that outputs divided by inputs is the right way to measure our productivity.   I believe that we're thinking about productivity in the wrong ways. Particularly when it comes to knowledge workers, we use similar thoughts and equations for knowledge worker productivity that we use for factory productivity or efficiency. I want to dive into some of the differences that may indicate that we're thinking about this whole thing the wrong way.   A clear problem statement is, we seem to be attacking the productivity problem the same way we attacked, and frankly, solved the efficiency problem in factories. We see productivity equations for knowledge workers that are the same as productivity equations for factories: productivity or efficiency is defined as outputs divided by inputs.   Well, there are a few problems with that, based on differences between knowledge work, and the product of knowledge work, versus factory production, and the product of factories. So the argument is, efficiency, which is some ratio of output to input, is not the right way to think of knowledge worker productivity.   Factory models probably don’t apply to knowledge work repetition process design and engineering in factories process is an outgrowth of multiple iterations of solving the same problem - medicine knowledge workers really don’t do repetition (more later) measurability factory inputs are measurable because they’re physical quality is directly measurable A clue: knowledge work is the hardest input to measure in factories Factories don’t really use time anyway time is an outcome, not an input factories can buy more ‘time’ – its expandable Fundamental differences in work, but we use the same productivity equations   Compare knowledge work knowledge work inputs are less tangible – experience, learning, creativity knowledge work is not ‘manufactured’; problem solving as exemplary knowledge work we don’t know much about the problem-solving process any solution is potentially a good result medicine as an example of problem solving medical diagnosis as applied experience – reasoning by analogy primary knowledge work difference - Never solve the same problem twice portability of knowledge work solutions Challenges to using time as the input knowledge work outputs are not manufactured ideas and solutions are the result of trial-and-error billing for time as a knowledge worker – an accommodation formerly knowledge workers got paid by controlling the medium of delivery of information writers don’t bill for their time modern erosion of media as transmission information consumption is largely free Billing for results the Henry Ford story/legend knowledge workers should be able to bill for results more often lawyers bill for solutions, but people get upset authors do it this way Productivity has a lot to do with avoiding waste waste one – task switching waste two – over-producing quality, knowledge workers need to control quality waste three - Re-finding previous solutions Symptoms of not having good productivity measures, of not understanding productivity Multitasking Working too many hours moving tasks along Symptom: no clear priority deadline-driven The other mindset - focus is the number one input result one – break habits associated with symptoms result two of other mindset – protect our focus result three – grow our focus Wrap up results Tools to support the new mindset timer more mindfulness (reading is a good start) more thinking -> greater mindfulness -> greater focus backlog of tasks psychological tool - confidence A primary takeaway is to be careful to not overuse time as an input in measuring your productivity. Time is only useful as a container for focused effort. Work on your focus and your time might just take care of itself.

In this episode, I answer a question from a listener named Adrian. She’s got a great new job with a somewhat smaller company and feeling some symptoms of a less-structured position. So, I'll be talking primarily to folks that are in the same position as Adrienne or folks who want to be in that position. What do we do about promotions? What do we do when we grow into better knowledge workers? What happens when we embrace the gig economy? I love your questions. Reach me at [email protected] or connect on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/larrytribble. I'll try to answer and let you know when I publish 'your' episode. Back to Adrian’s question... Anyone who’s growing will have Adrian’s problem. Adrian is more self-directed in the new role. Promotions require growth – Marshall Goldsmith’s “What got you here Won't Get You There. “ Career growth naturally causes this situation - bosses cannot manage you in the same detailed ways. Thus, you probably feel a management 'vacuum'. The three forces that typically cause a vacuum: A promotion often causes a management vacuum. Knowledge work: Over-management makes knowledge workers dumber. So knowledge work is changing ‘traditional management practice’. “Enlightened” management is trying to recover here, leaving a vacuum. The gig economy: The office used to provide services and assets that we couldn’t (or didn’t want to) replicate for ourselves. Now those constraints don’t apply any more. So, the gig economy has people ‘firing’ their companies and going out on their own. This causes a management vacuum. These forces push us into self-management Problem: we’re not taught how to manage self or others (normally). This results in some of the ‘symptoms’ Adrian mentions: -    … that balance of giving myself grace and feeling accomplished for the day -    … depend[ing] on positive feedback or praise from superiors -    … how to retrain my brain… to find… healthy and productive work days What Adrian is actually talking about is her growing need for self-management. Learn self-management Bosses help employees with task management, defining the employee’s role, and career management. But the three forces limit bosses’ ability to help employees in these areas. So these things form the notion of self-management. Self-management's two questions First question: What is a management mindset? The ‘vacuum’ decreases our bosses’ ability to help us here. Self-management practices help us create the feedback, praise, and confidence that we had been getting from our boss. Second question: How do I do task management? The ‘vacuum’ decreases our bosses’ ability to help us here, as well. Self-management practices include the development of good task and attention management practices. Task management system. Here are features that our task management system needs: Need to capture everything – emails, links, documents - everything One online space Organize multiple lists Track both the decision to do something and the decision to postpone  something. Use lots of reminders Don’t use your calendar, its too limiting  Attention compass is designed for this exact situation  Recap: Due to the three forces of career growth, the rise of knowledge work, and the gig economy, we’re losing our bosses and the help they give us. So we need more self-management mindset and more task and attention management tools to replace that help.

The lie: if you get busier, you have to work more hours   There are options when more work suddenly hits your desk, overtime is just one of them. Sometimes, it's the best response. But maybe not as often as we think. In this episode, I define the problem clearly and suggests strategies for clarifying priority and tactics for those times when 'it just needs to get done'. Work habits and time management. Just working more hours without a thoughtful plan is a bad, but perhaps typical, default response to busyness. Concerns about automatically expanding work time to accommodate additional tasks. Work habits and expectations. Saying yes to everything can be problematic and leads to burnout, suggesting alternative strategies for managing work and personal expectations. The importance of mental shifts and scripts to help individuals say no more effectively and maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life. Self-management and setting boundaries as a self-employed individual. Self-management is key to evaluating commensurate rewards for effort in a business context. The importance of self-management in workplace expectations. Setting boundaries and saying no to avoid burnout. Work-life balance and employment contracts. Setting expectations and reevaluating work-life balance contracts regularly. Employees are pushing back against unclear employment contracts, seeking better work-life balance. Prioritizing work tasks and managing new assignments. Prioritize tasks on a list to manage new work requests. Prioritizing tasks based on absolute values is unhelpful and leads to chaos. Replanning work, using a prioritized list. Prioritizing tasks with a boss. A structured list to prioritize tasks and understand the impact of new priorities on the entire list. Comparing the new priority to the existing list to determine its placement on the list. New work items always show up, despite the existing list of tasks to complete. Estimate how long the new task will take and decide which tasks to remove from the list to make room for it. Prioritizing tasks and managing workload. A conversation with a 'boss' about priorities and workload, showing a willingness to communicate and problem-solve. The importance of the list in prioritizing tasks and managing competing demands to have productive conversations. Examining rewards and sacrifices to achieve work-life balance. Managing workload and quality in a fast-paced work environment. Speaker 1 advises reassessing expectations for work items and managing time effectively to avoid burnout. Speaker argues that quality is an illusion in knowledge work and must be strategically managed during crunch time. Managing workload and prioritizing tasks. Reassess assumptions and renegotiating commitments to stakeholders when facing overtime work. Avoid defaulting to sacrificing personal relationships to prioritize work, instead broaden options and negotiate with stakeholders to find solutions. Consider all work and time commitments when negotiating, including skipping staff meetings, working from home, or reassigning tasks to others. Managing trade-offs and time horizon in problem-solving. Timeboxing as a productivity tool. Attitude is important Timeboxing for challenging yourself to focus tightly and deliver work. A primary takeaway is the value of an ongoing prioritized list of commitments and tasks. After listening, you may be more interested in how to develop and maintain such a list. Attention Compass is a process that will help you create and maintain a useful list through sound backlog management.