Productivity for How You’re Wired
Productivity Coaching, Time Management Consulting and Leadership Coaching for business and nonprofits - get your most important work done. Collaborating with leaders and their teams to become more strategic, focused and productive. Leadership and Board Coaching, Strategic Planning Facilitation, Productivity Coaching and Time Management Consulting, Professional Speaker.
Productivity Coach, Productivity Consultant, Leadership Coach, Time Management Coach, Business Consulting, personal productivity, time management, nonprofit, board coach, collaboration, strategic planning, facilitation, change management, leading productive teams, project planning, board development, volunteer engagement, association management, workplace productivity, executive director.
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Productivity for How You’re Wired

09 Sep

Posted at 16:40h in Envision Success, Planning Tools, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Stress Management, Tips for Easier Living

The last year of blog posts has shared excerpts from my new book, “Productivity For How You’re Wired.” Today’s post is the final entry in the series and serves as the conclusion to the book. It is relevant to any change you want to make. In a couple of weeks, I’ll share a post with you that isn’t from my book. I’ve been collecting blog ideas, and I’m excited to share new content with you. Remember, you can review the book highlights anytime at ellenfaye.com/blog.  I hope you enjoy this last “book” post.

Making Change Stick: I know you are eager to bring more order, peace, and control to your life. However, if you are serious about real change, you can’t rush the process. Quick fixes don’t deliver sustainable results.

I once heard a speaker say that when you change one thing at a time, you have a 90% chance of success. If you change two things at once, your chance of success declines to 63%. I haven’t been able to source this data, however, the concept makes sense. If you put your attention toward one thing, you end up with results. If you spread yourself too thin, you’re often left with nothing to show.

When I work with my clients, we start with one thing at a time. First, we consider the topic, then we study what has worked for them in the past in similar circumstances. We then strategize and come up with a plan. After that, my client will spend the time between our sessions to experiment and practice. They come back and we discuss what worked, what didn’t work, and where we need to tweak. We keep practicing and tweaking until it works and is integrated into their routines.

As you’re evaluating your own productivity and how you’re wired, keep in mind that focusing on one change at a time will drive results. Getting you from where you are to where you want to be is a process.

Integrate the change before adding something new — Keep your energy and focus on one new thing at a time. If you change too many variables at once you won’t know what made the difference. You are the experiment and you’re looking for your best solution. Observe and tweak. Work out the bugs and practice. When it feels comfortable, it is time to add another behavior change.

Understand the science — The brain learns through repetition. The 21-day habit theory has been disproven. The real science indicates the time it takes to create a new behavior is reflective of how often the neuropathways of that behavior are traveled in the brain. Think of a trail in the woods. If you take it occasionally, you’re fighting through new brush and undergrowth. But with frequent travel the path becomes clear and recognized. Brain scientists say nerve cells that fire together, wire together. The more you fire the cells and travel the path, the sooner the nerve cells will wire together and the sooner you will have integrated the new behavior.

Be kind to yourself — Set realistic goals and expectations. Backsliding (three steps forward, one step back) is completely normal. Keep yourself supported.

Be patient with yourself — Don’t undermine your success by rushing the process. It took years to create your habits. You’re not going to undo them in a week. Lasting change is a process. Give it the time and commitment you deserve.

This is from the conclusion of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

20 Aug

Posted at 09:23h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

Why Solid Leadership Skills are Critical for Team Productivity

If you lead a team of 1, 10, 100, or 1000 there are skills you need to drive your productivity. These aren’t productivity skills per se’, they are leadership skills. Looking at leadership from a productivity perspective will help you boost your effectiveness and the effectiveness of your team. Where are your opportunities for growth?

Collaboration

Collaboration is the coming together of individuals, with positive intention, to work toward a best solution. These solutions develop from the sharing of knowledge, perspective, and experience in a psychologically safe space.

Communication

Communication is a process in which information is exchanged. It provides a forum for understanding and agreement and it builds connections. Good communication is key to creating productive teams. 

Decision Making

A good decision is one in which the chosen course of action meets the objective with the least amount of risk and the greatest benefits. Leaders are expected to make decisions frequently and, often, quickly. Finding the balance between quickly and too quickly can be a challenge.  

Delegation, Follow Up and Accountability

No matter how well you may do things, there is only one of you. You can accept the limitations of not delegating, or you can learn to delegate. 

Delegation is the assignment of responsibility to another person for the purpose of carrying out a specific action. Delegating involves thought and planning, and, by nature, is proactive. Not delegating is reactive, allowing a situation to dictate actions.  

Effective Meeting Best Practices

People don’t hate meetings; they just hate meetings that waste their time. When meetings are good, they advance all that is good in an operation. When they are bad, they waste resources. 

Yes, meetings take time. They take you away from the work you’ve prioritized. However, when people come together collectively, share information constructively, and stay focused on the task at hand, meetings can result in solid decision-making with the ability to quickly move into action.

Productive meetings take planning before, during, and after. Additionally, having meeting agreements sets the stage for on–going meeting success.

Conflict

Conflict is a natural occurrence. An individual’s past experiences inform thought and result in different people holding different perspectives. When important decisions are on the table and there are differing opinions, conflict can arise. How leaders navigate conflict affects the team’s productivity.

Toxic Personalities

A safe work environment drives productivity. Yet toxic personalities are often revered in the workplace. 

While in the short term this may seem sustainable, perhaps even beneficial, the long-term cost to the team may be irreparable. Not only does tolerating the “bad apple” suggest that accepting mediocrity or rule-bending is acceptable, it can also undermine the productivity of the rest of the team.

All these leadership skills and concepts impact a team’s ability to get into flow, do innovative work and drive success. Without these skills leading a productive and effective team is next to impossible. 

This is the chapter highlights  from Chapter 15 (the last chapter!) of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

29 Jul

Posted at 09:07h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

productivity and leadership

In my last blog post I shared with you the concept that team productivity is impacted by the leadership effectiveness of the person leading the team.  Here’s why:

If doing one’s most effective work occurs when a person is in the flow state, then a team’s most effective work occurs when the team is in flow. We call that team flow. 

What does team flow look like? How does it feel? What could be possible?

  • The team has clearly defined priorities resulting in time, money, and energy being spent intentionally and proactively. Team members are not frustrated by constantly fixing problems.
  • Team members are clear about both the team’s goals and their own personal goals. They know what constitutes high-value work and do not waste time on things that don’t support desired outcomes.
  • Healthy relationships are based on open, honest communication. People feel safe to be their most authentic, best selves. Team members do not get sidetracked with drama, ego, and narcissistic behavior.

Productivity–focused leaders understand their role in creating a team that is in flow. 

To create a successful sustainable business, leaders must embrace the humanity of working with people. 

Motivation 

It’s not about the MONEY! Money does not inspire best performance. Money is an extrinsic motivator — an external force — and extrinsic motivators such as fear and reward have very short lifespans. They are quick fixes and easily forgotten once an acute situation passes. 

The motivation that matters, the one that drives productivity and results, is called intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes from inside oneself and it is this motivation that has staying power. Intrinsic motivation is what affects a team member’s productivity. It is the driver when someone chooses to go above and beyond in their work.

What the employees identified as the things that motivated them to work harder, go above and beyond, were appreciation and acknowledgement, sense of belonging and problem–solving support.

Successful Teams

How do you create such a culture? What makes a successful team?

Google spent two years delving into just this question. In a study dubbed “Project Aristotle,” Google studied 180 of their teams. Their hope was to find a pattern of team member characteristics that could be plugged into a “dream-team” algorithm. 

However, that didn’t happen. There was no tangible list of demographic consistencies in their most successful teams. “It was only when they began looking at group norms that the researchers found consistencies.”

At Google, successful teams were collaborative and engaged. Google’s Project Aristotle lead researcher Julia Rozovsky identified two characteristics of these teams: 

  1. There was equality in conversation turn-taking; everyone on the team talked roughly the same amount of time. If one person on the team, or even a small group took over, collective intelligence declined. 
  2. Team members exhibited a higher-than-average social sensitivity, intuiting how others felt based on tone of voice, expression, and non-verbal cues. 

Additional key characteristics of successful teams were identified:

  1. Psychological Safety — a work culture that supports risk taking, respect, and openness.
  2. Dependability — the ability to count on colleagues for work to be done on time and to proper standards.
  3. Structure and Clarity — a mutual understanding of goals, expectations, responsibilities, and how work is to be executed.
  4. Meaning — work that is personally significant. 
  5. Impact — work that makes a positive difference.

From a productivity perspective, it’s not surprising that dependability, structure, and clarity would be included. And from an intrinsic motivational perspective, meaning and impact make total sense. However, the concept of psychological safety is the most interesting.  

In her study Rozovsky stated “Psychological safety was far and away the most important of the five dynamics we found – it’s the underpinning of the other four.”  

Many leaders today still think of fear as a great motivator. It makes sense people will work hard to avoid unpleasant consequences; however, this doesn’t encourage intrinsic motivation and it doesn’t result in sustainable productivity. 

Fear diverts resources from the brain. Fear affects working memory, reasoning, processing, and creativity. Psychological safety mitigates fear.

Work life is often fraught with conflict. The effective productive leaders works to create conditions that mitigate conflict and fear and instead support the characteristics that allow for maximum intrinsic motivation. 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

08 Jul

Posted at 15:29h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

empowering leadership drives team productivity

Leadership is a behavior, not a title. 

It doesn’t matter what someone’s title is, how much they are paid, or how much authority they have. If they don’t influence change, drive progress, or inspire others, they are not a true leader. 

A true leader creates an environment in which those they lead are inspired and motivated to give their all towards the achievement of a desired outcome.

  • A leader creates a culture in which their team members are self-motivated to do great work.
  • A leader ensures their followers’ efforts matter and positively influence outcomes.
  • Some of the most effective leaders do not have titles or authority. They achieve success through the actions they inspire. 

Real leaders work for the greater good. Some managers, owners, or figureheads don’t. Just because someone is in charge doesn’t automatically mean they are going to make decisions that best serve the entity they have influence over, nor does it mean they’re a leader.

  • Real leaders continually monitor their behavior. They are aware of how their actions affect their team. 
  • Real leaders lead team members who work hard and are empowered to support the team’s success. 
  • Real leaders deliberately work to create a culture in which individual efforts result in a win for the system as a whole.

Successful productive leaders know the importance of understanding, considering, and integrating all aspects of their operation. It’s not just big picture, it’s whole picture. They consider the effects of their decisions and anticipate how change affects outcomes throughout the entire system.

Being the kind of leader team members are inspired to work hard for produces great long-term results. It is perhaps the most important quality for boosting overall team productivity.

It takes commitment to be a productive leader. 

  • Productive leaders create a culture based in safety, trust, and relationships.
  • Productive leaders have systems in place so people know what is expected and can effectively do the work that matters most. 
  • Productive leaders communicate, share, and are transparent so people feel secure and confident in the normal progression of work.

Focusing on productivity alone isn’t enough. Focusing on culture alone is not enough. Focusing on profits and growth is never enough. Each part, on its own, gets you only so far, like a bike without tires, or tires without a frame. Successful productive leaders ensure all parts support the whole.

It’s time to think about the productivity of your team differently. 

 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

19 Jun

Posted at 17:04h in Envision Success, Planning Tools, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Time Management, Tips for Easier Living

Regardless of if you work full-time remote or hybrid there is naturally less structure when you’re not in the office. When working independently it’s important to anticipate diversions and plan for them. Here are some ideas to help you improve your productivity when working remotely or hybrid…and while on vacation or at the beach/shore/coast.

Weekly Planning 

When doing your weekly planning, identify the best times and places to do your work. Block out specific tasks for the place where they are most effectively performed. 

  • Project work, quantitative work, and focused work is best performed where you won’t be interrupted.  
  • Meetings, group work, problem solving and planning is great to do in person when possible.  

Plan Today’s Work 

Organizing your tasks by priority provides additional structure. Knowing what must be done this week and what must be done by the end of the workday keeps the focus on the right tasks.

When working hybrid, some find it beneficial to adjust their task list by changing CRITICAL and HOT to HOME and OFFICE, or add in subsections.

  • Be deliberate and identify what’s possible to do for the day depending on other commitments and amount of time the identified tasks will take. 
  • Add structure by identifying task start times and estimating duration on your “Today’s Work” list. This helps fight the “work expanding to the time available” challenge.

Delineate Work from Non-Work Screen Time

Be ruthless with your online reading time and social media time. Be selective about what you are choosing to spend your time reading and watching.

  • Set specific hours for online reading — that means articles, blog posts, texts, videos, and messages from well-meaning friends. If you stop for a quick read of everything that is sent to you, it will be hard to get enough work done. Experiment with blocking out time at the very beginning of your day, at lunch, or at the end of your day for personal reading.
  • Ask yourself, “what is reading this now keeping me from doing?” This extra nudge is helpful to keep you focused on the work you want to do.
  • Reframe and read without guilt! Build in a system to stop “reading on the ping.” Move what you want to read to a category or flag/label it for later. Then when you get back to it, you can enjoy reading without guilt.

Make and Use a Personal Dashboard  

Creating a tool to manage your own accountability is often helpful. You are doing this for yourself. There is no one to show this to, no one to judge you, and no one to applaud you. At the end of the day, it’s your life and your productivity. 

  • A personal dashboard is a simple tool that will help you monitor patterns for success. Additionally, it cues you to do your important work, builds habits, and helps you achieve your flow conditions.
  • This is especially helpful during times of change (Illness, babies, moves, new responsibilities). Once you’ve integrated the processes into your routine, the dashboard will have served its purpose and you may not need it any more.

Create a Workspace Conducive for Good Work

Most of what is written about working from home is about getting dressed first. I know plenty of effective people who work in their pajamas or exercise clothing all day. For most, what they wear doesn’t affect productivity. The bigger obstacle is not being physically set up for success. Having a workspace that supports good work is key.

Find a Quiet Space — Are you able to have a work conversation without interruption? While it’s great to have your kids close by, sometimes you need to be able to close the door and focus. If you are working in a “public” space, find a backup location designated for times you need quiet.

Create a Video Chat Friendly Zone — Of course, you want a quiet space where you can meet without interruption. And yes, good lighting and background are nice. However, you also want a space conducive to productive meetings. Do you have a supportive chair, enough space on your screen to open the chat and still see colleagues’ faces, room for your coffee or water, and space to take notes?

Have Supplies in Reach — Have pens, pencils, markers, sticky notes, letter pads, files, and your priority task list in reach. While your “office” may be your kitchen island, your dining room table, your back porch, or a comfy chair in your family room, designate a space (a drawer or cabinet close by) for the supplies that help you get your work done.

Set Up Your Technology — Many people say “I’ll do that later” and never get to it. Taking the time (or hiring someone) to get your tech set up makes a huge difference. Working from home shouldn’t be looked upon as temporary. Even if you only work from home one day a week, that’s 20% of your work week. You need it to be effective. 

    • Purchase the best internet connection possible. There is no time like the present to make this investment in your productivity. 
    • Get a printer. Is it connected to your devices? Sometimes nothing beats having a piece of paper to lay out in front of you or to read away from your desk. 
    • Create a real workstation with a mouse, keyboard, and second monitor. Buy a connector so you can easily hook your laptop in and out. A second monitor increases productivity exponentially. 
    • Designate a handy place to charge your mouse, headphones, tablet, etc. 

Intentionally structuring your time and space supports good work.

This is an excerpt from Chapter 13 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

21 May

Posted at 08:56h in Planning Tools, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Tips for Easier Living

With summer upon us many of us will be changing where we’re working from.  The following are things to consider regardless of where you’re working from.

Working Remotely

Working from home is not new. Many entrepreneurs have been doing it for years. Remote work has been knocking at the door of corporate America for some time. However, COVID brought it mainstream. The global pandemic and the high proportion of workers working out of the office have forced us to rethink how and where we work. 

Moving into the future, one thing we can be sure about is working away from the office, at least part of the time, will be routine. Knowing how to work effectively, regardless of location, is central to the success of today’s workers.

The biggest challenge about working remotely is lack of structure. When we no longer have to wake up at a specific time, commute, attend in–person meetings, network in person, and “go to work,” our time foundation shifts. Personal time and work time blend together. Many people are in work-mode all the time. 

When we leave home and “go to work,” natural guardrails form. By simple proximity, we are not doing home related duties or having personal conversations when we are at “work.”  Yes, we may take a call from a family member or spend a few minutes on a personal task, but we aren’t walking the dog, doing laundry, or letting the repair person in. 

When working from home we spend more time on “home” tasks than anticipated and that means it takes longer to get our work done. To avoid that work/life confusion, consider how to structure your time so there is separation between work and personal tasks.

Working Hybrid – Remote, From Home, and At Work

Productivity in the hybrid work environment focuses on mobility and flexibility. The goal is to work effectively regardless of location. Your office is often in your work bag.  

You already face the challenges of structuring your work time when you’re in the office. Hybrid work brings more complexities because now you also have to consider where you work and when. Building systems to support your productivity is helpful.

Going to work is helpful too. Humans are social animals and we are much healthier with human interaction. While not everyone looks to their work to fill their need for belonging, many do, at least to some degree. 

If we can structure our work and our time effectively, the hybrid model, working remotely or from home for Focus Work time AND going to the office to collaborate and connect, is the best of both worlds. But how do we manage our productivity on the move?

Remote and At Home

You now have much more control over your time. While your meetings are scheduled, everything else is fluid. No one sees your true start times or end times. There is no peer pressure about lunch breaks or coffee breaks. And no one is watching when you are actually producing.

  • You’ve gained time by not commuting. Does this allow you to exercise before you start working or sleep later if that’s what your body needs?
  • You have flexibility when you do your Focus Work. Quiet without interruption is ideal. Is it best to wake early and get a couple of hours in before family activities or regular work interruptions start or better to work in the evening when meetings and emails subside?
  • Can you walk the dog (or just take a walk) at midday for some fresh air and to reenergize?
  • Do you need to tag team with your partner, one working early and the other working late, to be sure there is coverage for the kids?
  • Do you need to plan start times and end times so you have enough structure to get results and know when to stop?

Hybrid

A hybrid situation, where you spend part of your time in the office and part of your time at home, has advantages as well. All the above holds true for your time working out of the office. When we add in a day, or two, or three in the office each week, good things can happen.

  • Time in the office can be energizing. Take advantage of the lift you get when you’re with others, understanding that effectiveness improves with a change of environment and social interaction (even for most introverts). 
  • Child care and family obligations shift. Going to work can provide a much-needed break. The flexibility enables you to be better in each situation.
  • Self-care continues to be important. Taking time for a walking meeting helps with your steps goal. Leaders are on the lookout for ideas to support the new normal. Tell them what you need.
  • Planning start and stop times in the office is helpful to creating routine. These time anchors provide benchmarks to keep you on task and effective.

With proper planning and consideration your summer work can be successfully executed regardless of where you’re working from. 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 13 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.