Productivity – Page 7 – mardihumphreys.com

Build a Bridge

The struggle is still real out here in the workforce. For example, the on-going post-pandemic pushback from workers being pressured to return to the office as well as employers being pressured by city governments worried about losing tax incentives. When there is a gap in employment expectations between managers and workforce, is it possible to communicate messages back and forth across that gap both clearly and kindly?

If you are an employer, you have many questions to consider. What message are you sending to your team? To your recruits? Is your message intentional? Are you in control of the narrative? Do you know what your reputation is in the community? Is it the reputation you want to have?

Both employers and employees require communication, empathy, and flexibility to effectively negotiate. Next week we’ll discuss the employee’s role. This week, let’s look at how employers can begin building a bridge across the working remotely gap.

Communication

Initiate a respectful and open conversation with your employee to understand their perspective and concerns. Create an environment where your direct report can freely express themselves without fear of reprisal. Actively listen to their reasons for wanting to work remotely. Do they have family responsibilities, health concerns, or transportation issues that working remotely would alleviate? Clearly articulate why you need them in the office. Are they a member of a spontaneously collaborative team? Is in-person communication the key to maintaining a cohesive company culture? If you reach a resolution, then document the agreed-upon terms and conditions and give the employee a copy to ensure you are both clear on the arrangement.

Empathy

Address any specific concerns the employee has regarding the office environment. For example, are pandemic-induced safety measures in place? Have they experienced microaggressions in the office? Are the resources they need to do their job available exclusively on site? Involve the employee in the decision-making process to give them a sense of ownership and an opportunity to demonstrate cooperation. Are there advantages to returning to the office for them? For example, do you offer a mentoring program and is it more meaningful in person? If they are on site, will they be more visible to the C-Suite? If you can’t reach an agreement, would they be comfortable with you bringing in someone from HR to help facilitate the discussion and find a compromise?

Flexibility

Consider an arrangement that allows a mix of working remotely and in-office work. For example, could the employee work flexible hours? What about days of the week? Would you be willing to designate specific days for in-person collaboration and meetings? Would you authorize a trial period during which you closely monitor the employee’s productivity, customer service, and well-being? This experiment can help both you and them evaluate the impact of the change and make an informed decision together. You can schedule regular check-ins to review how the new arrangement is working for you, your employee, and your company. Be open to making adjustments based on feedback and fluctuating circumstances.

How is working remotely affecting your organization? Please share in the comments.

Ritual Respite

It’s back-to-school season! One of my friends adjusted her entire family’s bedtimes by fifteen-minute increments to prepare everyone for getting the kids to school on time. She understands the vital role rest plays in productivity. It seems counterintuitive in a society that values busyness. Let’s talk about how rest helps you do more.

Recovery: Rest allows your mind and body to recover from fatigue. Prolonged work without breaks leads to mental exhaustion, reduced concentration, and diminished problem-solving abilities. Rest replenishes your energy levels to improve your mental clarity, focus, and creativity. It also promotes physical recovery, reducing the risk of injuries. Extended rest periods, such as sleep, enable your brain to consolidate and integrate information. This improves your memory retention and decision making. Grabbing a fifteen-minute nap during your daily 3:00pm slump will recharge you more effectively than grabbing coffee, cola, or chocolate. Getting adequate rest regulates your mood, promotes emotional stability, and supports the higher-level cognitive processes you need to be productive.

Performance: Working for extended periods without rest produces diminishing returns. Taking regular short breaks during work helps combat your decline in attention and focus. You can’t work on a project for hours, then collapse at the end of the day to make up for the skipped rest periods. You can’t work at full capacity for weeks on end, then make up the missed rest with a week’s vacation. (Don’t get me started on all the paid vacation time workers have at their disposal and do not take.) Regular rest periods during your work day help you recharge, reboot, and retain high-level performance.

Innovation: Rest encourages your mind to wander, fostering creative problem solving and innovative thinking. Moments of relaxation can generate unexpected insights, connections, and out-of-the-box solutions. When you don’t make time to stop and think, you make mistakes you could have avoided. Stepping away from work and engaging in different activities stimulates new perspectives and brainstorms, ultimately boosting productivity. For example, how many times have new ideas come to you while taking a walk?

Well-being: Rest prevents the chronic stress continuous work causes. Not taking breaks negatively impacts not only your productivity but also your overall health. Rest and relaxation techniques, such as meditation, box breathing, or engaging in hobbies, help reduce stress levels. By managing stress, you can maintain a positive mindset, improve overall well-being, and approach tasks with enthusiasm.

Sustainability: Rest is essential for maintaining capacity and delaying burnout. Pushing yourself to the limit without taking breaks not only exhausts you physically, it also reduces your motivation and decreases your overall productivity in the long run. Incorporating rest into your daily routine optimizes your productivity, helps you achieve your goals faster, and ensures sustainable and consistent work-life integration.

What triggers have you set to remind yourself to take breaks? Please share in the comments.

The Cure

Work standards seem to change daily. For example: Should we go fully remote? Hybrid? Every employee everywhere in the office all at once? But there is a constant; the pressure for perfection. Perfectionism is like a virus spreading through your organization. Let’s talk about how embracing curiosity can help you cure it.

Help Yourself

If you feel like you have to get work done right the first time, every time, then you don’t want to work. Turning projects down puts you on the fast track to unemployment. But adopting a curious mindset puts you on the fast track to continuous improvement. Accept the project. Ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen?” Then plan for it. Having a plan helps you build confidence and resilience.
It’s likely that the worst will not happen, but a lesser problem will. When it does, be proactive. Demonstrate you can recognize problems, reframe them as challenges and opportunities, and brainstorm ways to move forward.
Perfection is neither necessary nor constructive. If perfection is your goal, then setbacks will emotionally devastate you and eventually lead to burnout. Curiosity, however, helps you bounce back from setbacks by focusing on the learning process rather than the result. You become more adaptable and better equipped to navigate the inevitable challenges.
Curiosity drives you to explore new areas, learn from different disciplines, and consider diverse perspectives. When curiosity is a habit, you perpetually broaden your knowledge base and develop your reputation as a skilled risk taker. Perfectionists often avoid taking risks, because they are afraid they will fail and coworkers will judge them for it.
Curiosity empowers you to step out of your comfort zone and seize opportunities for professional growth. Whether it’s pursuing a new project, volunteering for a challenging task, or taking on a leadership role. This is the type of talent every organization wants.

Help Your Team

If perfection is the standard your organization expects, then your team routinely feels like they failed. Perfectionism stifles creativity and innovation. On the other hand, curiosity sparks new possibilities. When you experiment and question the status quo, you find unique solutions to problems.
You can reframe failure as a learning tool for your team. The next time a coworker is blamed for missing the target, support them. For example, at the next team meeting say to them in front of everyone, “This is great. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Since that piece did not turn out the way we wanted it to, what do you think we should keep and what do you think we should try next to get the outcome the client wants?” This turns the problem into a puzzle. It diffuses embarrassment and redirects thinking toward the next iteration.
A culture that promotes curiosity over perfection encourages open communication and collaboration. When team members are not afraid to ask questions and to seek help from colleagues, it fosters a supportive work environment where knowledge sharing and ideation thrive. In such a workplace, employees are more likely to feel engaged, valued, and motivated.

Focusing on curiosity over perfection is a powerful shift in mindset that can transform your approach to work. By embracing failure as part of the learning process, you build resilience, expand your skills, and create paths for advancement.

When a project at work does not meet expectations, how do you redirect your thinking toward curiosity? Please share in the comments.

Failure is Fuel

Have you heard phrases like fail forward, fail fast, or fail often? They are meant to redefine what we label as failure. You know setbacks are inevitable, so why do you feel like a failure when you don’t get the results you expected? This mindset makes you afraid to take risks or try anything new. Did you know the Wright brothers crashed eight planes before achieving flight? It isn’t really failure you fear; it’s the judgement of your manager and coworkers. How do you get over that?

Reframe

Instead of viewing failure as a negative outcome, regard it as valuable feedback. Think of every task as an experiment. Analyze your failed results as objectively as possible by asking: Where did the process go off track? What change needs to be made to get the desired outcome? Ask your team for their insights. Set ground rules for constructive evaluation and be open to their perspectives. Inclusion cultivates a supportive environment which is key for building the confidence necessary to take calculated risks. Growth requires stepping outside of your comfort zone. Life-long learners realize the need to reframe perceived failure as a learning tool. When you take on challenges that align with your organization’s goals you either succeed or learn. Think of either result as winning.

Reflect

You may not want to immediately ruminate on a project that spectacularly crashed and burned. So, take a beat then ask your team, what did you learn that you want to repeat? What do you want to eliminate? How can you integrate these changes into the process? Setbacks are building blocks for continuous improvement. Use this new knowledge sharing to adjust your strategies and improve your future performance. This process helps your team build resilience which is essential for bouncing back quickly from failures. Success feels good, but the lessons you learn when calculated risks fail stick with you longer.

Reconstruct

Instead of expecting something to work. Expect it not to. Build margin into your timeline for multiple tries, edits, or iterations. This takes some of the pressure off to get it right the first time. When a project doesn’t work out the way you wanted, take the opportunity to adjust your team’s mindset. It is not a reflection of anyone’s abilities or worth as a person. It is an opportunity to develop skills and perseverance. Begin by breaking the goal down into smaller tasks and tackle each one step by step. Celebrate each successfully completed step, document your progress, then move to the next. You will have a record of both your team’s achievement and history. This is a useful reminder that what you did before, you can do again.

Embracing failure as fuel for improvement is a gradual process. Be patient with yourself, stay persistent, and maintain a positive mindset. Successful people fail. A lot.

What strategy do you employ to learn from perceived failure? Please share in the comments.

Communication is Key

I love it when people ask me if I’m worried about robots taking my job. They think Artificial Intelligence will be faster, smarter, and cheaper at creating content than I am. They’re right. But instead of displacing me, AI has promoted me. I am now a Prompt Engineer. How can you protect yourself from being replaced by AI?

Embrace

We fear what we don’t know, so get to know at least one AI chatbot. Here are a few you can try for free. Use AI to help you speed up your process. It’s like washing your car. When you drive through an automatic carwash there are no humans with buckets, sponges, and hand-held vacuums employed to hand wash your vehicle. Technology changed the way you wash your car. Just like technology changes the way most work gets done. Take control and upskill yourself.

Engage

The more work AI can do, the more important the human touch becomes. Use communication to:

Build Trust – Is there a coworker you avoid because the only time they speak to you is when they want something? Don’t be that coworker. Up your interpersonal communication efforts. If you get into the habit of engaging your team in conversation every day, then they will be more open when you ask them for help.

Make it Easy – Use tools like Google Drive to keep KPIs, planning notes, task assignments, etc., in one place so it is easy for your team to check the status of your joint projects. Keep meetings to a minimum. If a meeting is the best way to communicate, then invite one representative per project and let them brief their teams.

Spread Positivity – Take every opportunity to be a cheerleader. Whether it’s your direct report, coworker, or manager, when someone does a good job let them know. Reference a specific action they took and sincerely tell them why you think they rocked it. When someone helps you, thank them in front of their manager, if possible. Even people who do not enjoy the spotlight appreciate praise in the presence of someone who impacts their career.

Enhance

AI does not eliminate customer service. It enables you to be better at it. A human still needs to communicate:

Empathy – Clients want to know that you hear them, understand their challenges, and have experience solving the problem they are facing. After actively listening, you achieve that through what you say and how you say it. Customer service is warm, soothing, and personal.

Subject Matter Expertise – Your clients trust you to give them the tools they need to grow their businesses. You are their guide. You cut through the noise surrounding them. Use AI to research and evaluate options, then present them with the best plans for spending their time, energy, attention, and money.

Emotional Intelligence – It takes a human to figure out how a client likes to communicate then tailor the message to the medium they are most comfortable with. Slack? Email? Phone call? Zoom? Clients want to know someone is taking care of them. Ask them what their business needs beyond what your company provides. When you find out, introduce them to someone in your network who can help.

How has AI impacted your job so far? Please share in the comments.

Persist to Resist

The great philosopher, Rick Springfield, sings, “Nothing that matters comes easy. Nothing that comes easy ever really matters.” Goals that matter are not easy. Sometimes that is because of what you have to resist in order to achieve them.

William James work was instrumental in establishing psychology as a legitimate scientific discipline. In his book, The Principles of Psychology, he defines the ability to confidently and repeatedly resist temptation as conscientiousness. It’s a broad personality trait that includes carefulness and organization, but mostly restraint. Conscientious restraint is a clear indicator of health, contentment, and prosperity and it’s like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. What temptations are preventing you from reaching your goals at work?

Social Distractions

It takes time for your brain to shift focus. For example, you take a break to check Snapchat before a meeting. You get caught up in your friends’ stories. Before you know it, half an hour has gone by. Then, you have to shift your focus back to prepare for the meeting. You enter the meeting wondering why you don’t feel adequately prepared. Time spent on social media, personal texts, and in-person/DM interruptions add up to hours that sneak up on you. You can better focus your attention by pausing notifications from your email, direct messages, and texts and closing your office/home office door. When you resist social distractions, you get more done in less time. The moral of this story: Silence your phone and put it out of sight.

Multitasking

Multitasking is a myth. Humans do not multitask. Only computers multitask. Sure, maybe you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but those activities aren’t particularly taxing on your brain’s executive control processor. But sending an email during a videoconference is. When you do that you are not multitasking, you are task switching. Either your email will suffer or you won’t remember what the last speaker said. You may be able to do all the things and in quick succession, but you are still doing them one at a time. The more you slow down and do things deliberately, the faster you can accomplish each task. The moral of this story: Resist the temptation to multitask.

Setting Yourself Up to Fail

If you have the most brainpower in the morning, then why do you check email first thing instead of tackling your most difficult assignment of the day? If you know that you work on a project until it’s done before allowing yourself a break, then why are you surprised your result is full of mistakes? If you interrupt your work to handle random tasks that pop into your head, then why are you frustrated with the time it takes to shift your attention back to the task at hand? If these scenarios describe you, then start setting yourself up to succeed. Tackle your most difficult projects when you have the most brain power. Set a timer for 30 minutes and take a seven minute break when it goes off; preferably to hydrate and maybe step outside for some fresh air. Keep a scratch pad and pen on your desk so when a random chore enters your mind you can write it down to do later. The moral of this story: Know yourself and play to your strengths.

What temptations do you resist in order to get work done? Please share in the comments.

Don’t Let Me Down

I had to take a class in small group communication in college. It was there that I learned one of my all-time favorite jokes: I want the members of my small group to be the pall bearers at my funeral so they can let me down one last time.

The absence of collaboration on a team makes you feel let down. One challenging element of collaboration is group goal setting. In this, Part Two of our Before and After series, let’s think about the traditional approach to setting work goals as Before, and how that approach can be improved as After. The Before approach is a systematic and disciplined process for success, but your team can waste a lot of energy using it. It typically goes like this:

Define the Objective – Identify what you want to achieve. The objective should be clear, specific, measurable, and aligned with the company’s overall business goals, vision, and mission.

Break it Down – Divide the objective into small steps to create projects. Assign projects to team members.

Prioritize – Determine the order in which the projects need to be done. For example, if Jane needs data from Joe’s project to complete hers, then Joe’s project is due first. Set deadlines, figure out what resources each team member needs to complete their project, and brainstorm possible obstacles to completing projects on time.

Track Progress – Schedule regular meetings to track the team’s progress towards meeting the objective. Identify who is falling behind and why. Adjust their resources to stay on track.

Evaluate – After achieving the objective, gather feedback from the team. What worked well? What didn’t? What do they wish they’d done differently? Put these notes in a folder in a shared drive as a reference for the next objective.

The traditional method dictates that you set a goal, reach it, then begin to identify another one. Sounds logical, right? But, in the quickly evolving world of work, Before methods of goal-setting are no longer working. This happens for several reasons, all having to do with a lack of something:

Flexibility – Traditional goal-setting methods often involve setting long-term goals and sticking to them, but that ignores the pace at which the work environment moves.

Employee Input – In the world of Before, your manager hands an objective to the team leader who doles out assignments. Lack of employee input produces both a lack of buy-in and a lack of motivation to achieve the objective. Employees are more engaged and motivated when we understand the broader purpose and meaning behind our work.

Learning – Traditional goal-setting methods tend to focus solely on achieving specific outcomes and not on the value of experimentation. In today’s knowledge-based economy, failing fast supports figuring out the best ways not to do something. These learnings are evergreen and the processes of elimination can be applied to achieving future goals.

The changing nature of both work and the workforce means that Before goal-setting methods may be ineffective in achieving your objectives. Instead, organizations should consider adopting the After approach. It relies on flexibility and employee-driven input to goal setting. This prioritizes learning, development, purpose, and adaptability.

How can you integrate the After approach to goal setting into your workforce retention plan?

Atomic Habits Stacking

Before and After is a recurring category on the game show, Jeopardy! For example, one of the clues was, “C.S. Lewis’ Narnia book that showed off a little too much skin at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.” The correct response was, “What is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe malfunction?”

The Before and After category has me thinking about goals because I have a theory for goal setting inspired by the Before and After category. I call it Atomic Habits Stacking. It combines two systems: Atomic Habits and Habit Stacking.

We talked a bit about the book, Atomic Habits, back in November. A major takeaway from the book is author James Clear’s statement, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Clear suggests creating a system to initiate and integrate a new habit by making it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. For example, let’s say your company adopted new project management software. To adjust to using it, you could begin the workday by logging in to your account, seeing what you accomplished the day before, what work has come in since you last checked it, save urgent tasks to your favorites, and give yourself an Atta Baby! for taking another step to try something new.

What’s Next

Add Habit Stacking to Atomic Habits and you exponentially increase your ability to reach your goals. Building on the example above, after completing those steps, if you choose one of those projects you flagged urgent and begin working on it, then you are Habit Stacking. With Atomic Habits Stacking, you get incrementally closer to reaching multiple goals everyday.

Identify New Goals

A side effect of this process is the identification of future goals. For example, let’s pretend the project you flagged as urgent is data collection for a quarterly report. The future goal that may occur to you is creating a PowerPoint slide for visualizing that data while you have it in front of you. It does not take long to start evaluating new assignments through the filter of, “How can I make this project obvious, attractive, easy, satisfying, and link it to another project?”

Team Atomic Habits Stacking

Your team can implement Atomic Habits Stacking. Continuing our example, when you finish data analysis and create a slide, then tag the person who is writing the report. They Atomic Habits Stack by also writing a rough draft of the Executive Summary. Then they notify the person who has to present. That team member updates what information is gathered and what still needs done. Then their Atomic Habits Stack is sending everyone a Slack message with an updated agenda for the next check-in meeting. It can get complicated so make sure everyone knows what the completion of their event means for triggering the next person. With practice, cooperation, and trust your team will find many cases for Atomic Habits Stacking.

What work habits can you combine to increase your productivity?

The Eye of the Beholder

Photo by Elizaveta Dushechkina from Pexels

I frequently hear various versions of this story from my networks: “Operations told me they assigned a different analyst to our project team because they think we will get along better. I thought we got along just fine, but apparently I offended the last one. I have no idea what I did.” Honestly, efficiently, and politely asking for what you need from coworkers is tricky. The key is authenticity.

Authenticity in the workplace requires consistent and transparent communication, positive nonverbal cues, building trust, and seeking feedback. Here are five examples of what both authenticity and inauthenticity look like at work.

Consistency

You are perceived as authentic when you consistently behave in a way that matches your stated values and beliefs. For example, let’s say you are a project manager who preaches the importance of teamwork. When you are praised for the successful completion of a project, you habitually respond by insisting it was a team effort and list your team’s contributions. On the other hand, if you frequently take credit for your team’s work, then that inconsistency makes you inauthentic.

Transparency

When you communicate honestly and directly, you are often viewed as more authentic than someone who evades tough conversations. For example, if you claim to be a DEIB advocate, then you have a conversation with a colleague who keeps asking you to recruit employees with more diverse life experiences to your department. Open and transparent communication helps you to be perceived as authentic. On the other hand, if you keep avoiding a dialogue with that colleague, then you may be perceived as inauthentic.

Nonverbal Cues

Eye contact, tone of voice, and body language influence your perceived authenticity. For example, if you display positive nonverbal cues in meetings like looking the speaker in the eye, opening your body stance, and taking notes, then you seem authentic. On the other hand, if you look at your phone more than the speaker, cross your arms and legs, or interrupt their report, then you appear inauthentic.

Trust

This may be the most critical component of authenticity. People have to both know and like you before they learn to trust you. It takes time to prove your reliability and credibility. For example, if you routinely complete assignments by their deadlines, then you are perceived as authentic. On the other hand, if you routinely fail to meet deadlines, then your unreliability makes you seem inauthentic.

Feedback

Feedback is a useful tool for gauging your perceived authenticity. For example, at the end of your next 1:1, tell your manager you are working on being authentic. Say that you’d like to send them an email with three questions regarding their perception of your authenticity. Ask if you can discuss their answers at your next 1:1. Part of a manager’s job is to encourage their direct reports to continuously improve. On the other hand, if you do not ask your manager for specific feedback on how you are perceived, then you may never know. We concentrate on getting work done and not on honing the tools, like authenticity, that make getting work done easier.

Sometimes coworkers have legitimate reasons for their behavior or communication style. For example, maybe your relationship has changed. More on that next week in part two of this series.

How do you demonstrate authenticity at work? Please share in the comments.

Uses Time Wisely

In Kindergarten, we weren’t graded on subjects like math or English and we did not receive letter grades on our report cards. Instead, we had a list of goals to meet. The teacher put a check mark next to the goal if it was reached or an X if it wasn’t. I received an X next to “Uses Time Wisely.” It’s haunted me ever since.

How do you determine your level of productivity at work? You compare yourself to your coworkers. You worry that everyone is using their time more wisely than you are, especially if you’re remote or hybrid. By the beginning of Q4 2020, I stopped saying that I work from home and started saying that I home from work. Technology allows us to work when and where we want so we work all the time. This phenomenon is the autonomy paradox. For example, how many times have you replied to work emails on your phone while waiting in line at the grocery? (Asking for a friend.)

Asynchronous work makes you very susceptible to what Brigid Schulte, Director of the Better Life Lab at New America, calls time confetti. These are the minutes scattered throughout your week spent on unproductive multitasking. Alone, the spent time is insignificant, but it adds up pretty quick. For example, would that PowerPoint presentation you’re working on be done right now if you had closed your direct message app for a couple of hours?

Even if your app is minimized, hearing the notifications breaks your concentration and now you know that someone is waiting for you to do something. Your brain is distracted by wondering what it is and figuring out how, when, and where to get everything done. It takes time to mentally shift from one task to another and back again. Before you know it, your time has shredded into confetti. How can you prevent being buried in it?

Protect – When you have a project that requires deep focus, schedule it on your calendar, close your door and put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on it, and turn off direct message and email alerts. Notice how quickly you get it done.

Train -You not only have to set boundaries, you have to show people where they are and hold them when people try to cross them. For example, those who contact me between 7:30pm and 8:00pm EST Monday – Saturday do not reach me. Jeopardy! is my boundary. I do not answer calls, emails, or texts during that time. I have communicated and held that boundary so many times that our daughter bought me a T-shirt.

Forgive – Don’t berate yourself for failing to complete every task on your to-do list every day. We treat time like it’s something we can control, and, to a certain extent, we can and should. However, days have varying rhythms. Stuff happens and we have to roll with it. Think about how many fire drills you have in a week. Checking off every task on your to-do list is not using your time wisely. Giving your best effort is.

What do you do to minimize time confetti? Please share in the comments.