Many of us have more work than there are hours in the day. Possibly our solution is to work and work more in order to get the tasks done, whilst our pile of work steadily increases. If this is your case you might feel a certain resistance to what I will propose.
But I assure you that it will help you be more productive. Because you will manage to dedicate your energy and time to actions aligned with your priorities and goals.
Leave the hamster wheel
Well, the trick to improve our productivity is to introduce into our routine moments for review and planning. This means, first reviewing our achievements and priorities. Then deciding on which objectives we want to work, be it ongoing goals or new objectives, and plan the next steps.
You might think you do not have time for it. However, it turns out that coming to a halt in our business, in order to reflect, will help us check our course and correct it if necessary. That is deciding consciously and sensibly what is the priority and, accordingly, the next step.
If we want to be productive and effective at work and progress with our projects, it is helpful to have certain moments in our routine to review situation, goals and next steps. That means determining whether what we have been doing is aligned with our priorities; if it helps us progress with our goals and whether we need to adjust our plans.
Also, there might be certain priorities or objectives that are not as important anymore and on the other hand there may be new goals we have put our mind to.
All this will allow us to focus our energy on the most productive tasks.
Types of review and planning
Let us see which moments of review I suggest you include into your routine.
Daily review
This is a brief review, of five to ten minutes, of the tasks done during the day which we have not ticked off our list yet. Then checking which are pending and we should take over to the next day.
Reassess your priorities and think if you need to take all undone tasks to the next day or if you can or should distribute them over several days. There even could be tasks that have become irrelevant. If this is the case, have no qualms about crossing them off your task list. Remember that your time is limited and it is better to dedicate it to important and useful things.
Based on your priorities and goals as well as your agenda, decide on the most important task or tasks for the next day. That way you will clear your mind at the end of the day and disconnect better from work.
Weekly review
At the end of each week it is recommendable to take a look back on everything achieved, learned and what has happened. Congratulate yourself for your attainments in order to pin in your memory the good things obtained.
With our priorities and goals in mind and agenda in sight, the next step is to plan the following week, taking into account previously acquired commitments and meetings scheduled. Think which is your main personal goal and which is your main professional goal for the next week. Then decide the steps, that is tasks and activities, that will bring you closer to them.
For the weekly review, you should reserve at least half an hour. The mental review of the previous week will help you motivate yourself. Planning thereafter your following week will allow you to be more productive.
Monthly or quarterly review
Every month or three months it can be helpful to review how we are doing with our objectives and if they continue to be in accordance with our priorities. What is more, it is good to reflect on whether our priorities might have varied somehow.
Both in view of our priorities and the progress made with our goals, we can then determine whether we should make any adjustment. That is whether we ought to adapt or modify any goal set.
Doing this more general review several times a year will allow us to follow up on what we had put our mind to and correct our course if necessary.
The frequency of this type of review will depend on the number of goals and how much follow-up they require. Deadline, dates of completion and frequency of actions will have an influence. There might be objectives on which we only work at certain times of the year, others requiring one action per month for example and others with more recurrent tasks or actions.
Yearly review
At the end of the current year or at the beginning of the next one will be a good time to take a while for a yearly review.
Firstly, it consists in taking a look back to reflect on everything that has happened along the year. Think about the goals you set yourself. Which have you achieved? Which not and why? Also think whether your priorities have varied throughout the year or continue the same.
Congratulate yourself and appreciate everything you have achieved, all the good experiences and what you have learned. As well, remember the difficulties you might have encountered and how you faced them. Did you have a hard time overcoming them or were you resilient?
To remember the achievements and learnings will make you feel proud and motivated to continue working on your objectives and setting new goals.
The next step will be thinking about the year awaiting you. Which good intentions do you have? Which will you turn into goals to achieve? Many of us start a new year with good resolutions. But only if we turn them into to real objectives can we make them a reality.
Recap
It is not easy to include and maintain these reviews in our routine. However, I guarantee from my own experience, that I am more motivated and my days are more productive when I take the time for review and planning.
Do you usually do any of the suggested reviews? Does it help you be more focussed and productive? Or, on the contrary, do you find it hard to take time for it?
4 responses
Funny as it is, Dorit, the more useful a task is, the more we put it off, or let it drown under a mountain or other less important things.
I totally agree with you that stop and reviewing should be on autopilot if we want to be effective, non-stressed out workers or entrepreneurs. Stopping two or three times a day to check how’re we performing up to then, and recalibrating our decisions and actions is essential, but we simply don’t have time for that.
It’s not that we are a bunch of disorganized procrastinators, though. I think it’s “the bicycle syndrome”: if you’re not constantly moving your legs, you fall off the thing and other bikers will dart past you, leaving you there looking like a sore loser.
I, too, find it difficult to stop and reflect, but I’m getting better at it. I plan my day while I drink my morning tea, and plan my week on Sunday evening. I’ll try the monthly check up you recommend and see where it takes me.
Thank you for your comment, María. I wouldn’t say that reviewing should be on autopilot. It is actually to get you out of it and consciously decide what you are doing and if it is what you should be doing. If the other bikers cyvle past it might be because they actually planned better beforehand. That is they thought about where they wanted to go, checked how to get there and are aware of their energy levels in order to put them to use most effectively. Review and planning makes you more productive and effective. Instead of just cycling like crazy in order to get somewhere exhausted, it will be more beneficial to have a strategy and a plan.
Great article, Dorit! I do (mostly) take the time for regular reviews, and it definitely helps things to go more smoothly. I tend to do it at or before 9pm when I plan the next day. (I have a “no screens after 9pm” rule). As a freelancer, working from home (or wherever I lay my hat!), I sometimes find it hard to separate my work life, my home life and my creative projects, so my reviews include all of this. I like to do a Life Wheel every few months to keep myself on track in all areas that are important to me (health, fun, family, work, social life, personal growth, finances, etc.) When work gets busy (like most Septembers, after a long lazy summer!), my life ends up being “all work and no play”, which is no fun. I’m doing way better than I used to, and my life is a lot more balanced now, but I’ve just set myself a new goal – to make it to the Legends meeting in September 2018! That’ll be a sign of me being truly in balance. Let’s see if I can do it!
Thanks you for your comment, Louisa. It is a good idea to include all your life aspects in your reviews because they are related and influence each other. I like your idea of checking your Life Wheel a couple of times a year. Hope to see you before September 2018 though 😉