By: Kamal Hylton
In Part 1 of this LD Hacks series on meeting workplace deadlines, we focused on the importance of creating rituals. Thinking about it in the context of building a house, rituals would be considered the foundation. Now with a solid base to work from, it’s time to begin building on that ritual by adding action to automation. When you hear the word automation, your mind likely thinks about how to incorporate technology to make things easier.
While we will get into that more in the third and final part to this series, looking at apps and scheduling techniques; the type of automation this speaks to is taking active steps within our newly established work ritual to deal with tasks more efficiently. These steps are: Creating a Framework for Repetitive Tasks, Writing To-Do Lists from Easy to Most Difficult and Breaking up Bigger Tasks into Smaller Chunks.
Let’s look at these in more detail:
Creating a Framework for Repetitive Tasks
Even after you’ve created a ritual for how you work, it is typical for the more mundane tasks to still try and steal valuable time and break concentration. These tasks are best suited for a framework, which is a set way of efficiently performing tasks no matter who is taking care of them.
Constructing good frameworks takes time, especially when it comes to checking detail and testing outcomes, making sure there are no holes or misinterpretations in the process. However, if done correctly, this method has been proven to save companies (and their employees) tons of time. There is also the added benefit of delegating tasks in such a way as to match the effort with the person who is most proficient. The goal is to create a seamless process that allows people to do tasks that they are good at first; with the intent that they will be accomplished more quickly, adding to the overall efficiency of the operation.
An example of this would be answering customer or client emails HYPERLINK “https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-setup-email-templates-in-gmail-2531693” with a customizable template, one prepared in advance and altered uniquely to the person receiving it. Converting this into a saved email or auto-populated email signature can reduce this to a couple of clicks, putting the importance back on your to-do list.
Writing a To-Do List From Easy to Most Difficult
Speaking of to-do lists, although the concept isn’t something new, just doing a quick Google search brings up many different approaches on best practices and how to prioritize the tasks themselves. For someone with learning differences, the best approach to organizing and completing tasks is from easy to most difficult. Also referred to as the “quick win” strategy, this is a way of building momentum towards larger scale tasks while at the same time gaining confidence through the feeling of accomplishment.
The quick win strategy was broken down well in an Inc.com article from February 2018. Entitled Don’t Make This Fatal Mistake When Shooting for Quick Wins, it outlines the useful four-part formula of Aim High, Start Small, Celebrate and Keep Going.
To begin, aim high by visualizing the big picture. Then start small and attack tasks that are considered low hanging fruit. Next, be sure to celebrate these mini successes by recognizing the progress being made. Finally and most importantly, keep going by staying committed and pressing forward even in the face of difficult times.
Breaking up Bigger Tasks into Smaller Chunks
Once momentum has been built up, you may have so much confidence that you feel you can take on the world. While this is good energy to have, this eagerness could also end up costing you valuable time and money without an intentional plan.
One of the best and most simplified resources on this the business playbook Rework written by tech entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. They make the case that people stick to big decisions out of pride or ego. They will go one step further and double down on the misguided or disastrous ones if there is even the smallest chance of a big payoff and they can be viewed as a hero. The better way to go is by making tiny decisions, creating only minimal damage that can be viewed as temporary through quick and easy changes.
To borrow a great quote from Bishop Desmond Tutu “There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time”. Meaning no matter how big the task at hand seems, it can be overcome through gradual progress.
