Below is a listing of principles collected and developed while determining the best methods for low-stress, impactful work over the last 18 years. This is the first revision of my Calm Critical Work Manifesto. I will revise it over time as it develops.
- There will always be new tools implemented at work that are supposed to improve work. Don’t let the new tools steal your attention (like a new type of messenger).
- Use real due dates for priority, “Hot item” priority systems are not based on the true status of all of the work to be completed.
- Limit the sources of tasks to determine your work. One dashboard is better than 5 reports and emails.
- Communication based on a subject should not be in email. It should be a visible thread to focus on the subject, include all of the participants, and include all of the relevant info (kid of like a message board).
- Turn off communication tools most of the time to complete critical work
- Messaging should be rare. You should not be pinged at any thought someone has.
- Short emails. If it has to be long then it should be a discussion.
- Limit email back and forth, if more than two volleys then it should be a discussion
- Reduce distraction. You do not need to be notified every time you receive an email.
- Define processes to accomplish the work more efficiently, working faster and harder is not an option
- Subject Matter Experts should have office hours to limit distractions
- Not all things are urgent, many things will solve themselves. Many tasks are like ideas, they are not good and should be done.
- Tasks should not be created at the stream of thought and then emailed out.
- Frantic is bad
- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
- Some friction is needed in processes to force deliberate thought around the creation of tasks
- More planning
- Save communications for when you will talk to someone. Don’t shoot off an email each time you think need to say something to someone.
- Email is not your to-do list or your information storage
- Work processes are not natural and require constant energy input because they are a higher energy state of work compared to the natural state of work (emailing or messaging whenever you get an idea)
- They require ongoing maintenance due to change
- They are meant to be efficient, not necessarily convenient because they go against our natural state of communication. (it is more convenient for you to send out an email for a task rather than go in and fill out a standardized form for that activity.
- Build trust that you will get shit done and things don’t fall through the cracks
- Meetings with clearly stated goals and an agenda are more efficient
- You are a bottleneck, not an air traffic controller, remove yourself as a stopping point in the process whenever you can
- When you increase the number of people interactions (nodes) you increase variability and errors in a process. Such as when an organization is growing.
- When a company is growing, spend time considering what processes need to be updated. Don’t default to email to handle work processes that are no longer working.
- Be careful of creating electronic lists, they don’t have the limits that physical lists do increasing the tendency to put too much on the list.
- It is hard to plan knowledge work so we try and wedge more tasks into people’s time until we find the limit based on overwhelm, then we decide to hire more people. This burns people out and fractures their ability to efficiently complete critical work.
- Work will fill the time allotted
- Work on one thing at a time and get it as close to completion as possible.
- Batch similar tasks (multitasking does not work)
- Experiment with work processes and remember experiments are to also tell you when things do not work
- Focus
- Reduce distraction
- Turn off email and messenger most of the time
- Stop interruptions
- Fast responsiveness trains others that you owe them fast responses
- Push problems to a head, don’t let them linger
- Your value is not in how fast you can respond, it is in what meaningful work you can accomplish (stop trying to be an amazing firefighter)
- Block out time in your calendar to work on important things. Don’t save the important work for slivers of time.
- Email is everybody’s priority for your time
- The time to process the tasks and the time to do the work should be separate.
- The goal of a recurring meeting needs to be stated and if the goal in not being met then the meeting needs to be adjusted
- Part of your job is to improve your job
- Automate dumb tasks
Maybe you can use some of these principles in your own work to add a little calm to your work.