Posts Tagged ‘productivity’
Posted By Aly Juma / 22nd April 2011
I recently read Do The Work by Steven Pressfield, the latest book from Seth Godin’s Domino Project. The e-book is free for download on Kindle, so you should definitely get a copy. Anyways, there was one concept he touched on in the book that resonated with me and that I have noticed about myself lately.
I love to learn, increasing my personal knowledge, discovering new concepts, ideas, and truths. Doesn’t sound so bad does it? Well my problem is, I get into this routine where all I do is spend my time learning: reading books, exploring my RSS feeds, watching TED Talks, so on and so forth. As much as I’d like to think of this as productive, it really isn’t, its just another form of busy work or procrastination.
In Do The Work, Pressfield talks about how research (or learning) can essentially be a form of the ‘resistance’ or a force that prevents you from getting work done. I completely understand what he means. What’s important in all this is striking the balance between learning and creating, and more importantly, accepting that learning is great, but creating is better.
I’m sure I’m not alone in getting caught up in this web of knowledge, especially when so much information is readily available to us, but hopefully understanding that these kinds of things are just another distraction, will be the first step to being more aware of how we spend our time.
I enjoyed reading Do The Work, but it’s Pressfield’s other book, The War of Art, that is a must read.
Posted By Aly Juma / 3rd October 2010
A proposal from President Obama pushing for an extended school year. I definitely agree with this one.
Mark Arrington throws in his two cents about the value of school and a rebuttal.
A great new service that notifies you when your table at a restaurant is ready without you needing to be there.
Mashable gives some advice on working from home, the office, the coffee shop and more.
A new service that allows you to create your own interactive digital magazine.
Posted By Aly Juma / 1st February 2010
I’ve been working in an office environment for the past 6 months, and under the stringent schedule of working hours, namely 9 AM to 5 PM, although it’s usually till 6ish. Although this is a standard in the business world, I must say I’m not a fan.
Taking Breaks
Working from 9 to 5 straight with just a break for lunch in the middle, is just not a realistic proposition for anyone and I know I certainly don’t adhere to this rule. I’m here from 9 to 5, but I have to take breaks, do other things throughout the day to keep my energy up and stay productive. I take breaks where I go through my Google Reader, update my social media, read the news, and so on, and these sessions of personal time are just as important as my time devoted to work and of course I still manage to get my work done.
Its pivotal t to allow your employees these privileges as well, because in the end it gives your brain a break from the constant grind of a working environment. Think of the alternative, you would see employees zoning out, not paying attention to their work, and just waiting for it to be 5 PM so that they can leave, not exactly the mindset you want employees to be adhering to.
The Open Office
Furthermore, this formula of arriving to work at X and leaving at Y kills our creativity and spontaniety. Everyone gets inspired to do their work at some point during the day, and why force it to be during set hours that the company determines? I feel that as long as the work that is assigned gets done by the deadline, then there’s nothing else we can ask for.
To clarify, I’m not saying to get rid of the office by any means, but allow it to be an open office, a resource that is utilized when necessary, and always an option. A few things would be needed to ensure this works: consistent reports/updates with deliverables that show progress in assigned task, a clear understanding of the employee on what is expected, a method to assess quality of work and time spent, and of course weekly meetings or discussions to stay on track. All of this is really just to keep your employees motivated and not slack on their work.
Now if we can ensure deadlines are met, employees are not procrastinating, and communication is open (not an easy task, but feasible), then what is to stop us from implementing this open office environment?
Posted By Aly Juma / 21st January 2010
Being at a startup I feel that it kind of just happens where you find yourself involved in every department of your business, from sales to marketing, business relations to research and development, you’re there and adding value and learning as you go. Doing this, I began to think of the value of such practice for all employees… now is there benefit to this practice, being involved in more that one area of your business?
And the answer is…
YES, from my perspective it is a useful practice, but needs to have some boundaries to optimize the benefit. When I say boundaries I mean it should probably be limited to only 2 areas of focus initially. Now the question is why. First of all, when we’re doing the same things over and over again, every single day of the week, we get tired of it, and very quickly. Now one way to circumvent such repetitive and mindless situations is to have somewhere to turn when you’re getting to this limit. This allows you to diversify your work load and when one aspect of your work isn’t holding your focus, switching gears to something that feels fresh can recharge your batteries and keep your productivity high.
Furthermore, your employees also get to expand their horizons, as you’re building their capacity in something that’s most likely not their specialty, but holds some interest to them. From this perspective their benefiting not only from the exposure, but also learning more about the internal workings of the business, which hopefully leads to a more efficient work place.
Being more creative
Finally, its a great way to inspire innovation in the company for two reasons. First you get a fresh perspective from someone who is not continuously focused on the task at hand, and we all know that a fresh perspective is all thats needed at times for progress and great ideas. Second you’re creating an environment for the intersection of thought processes between the two areas. This in itself is one of the best ways to innovate, and if you’re interested in this method you should definitely check out The Medici Effect by Fran Johannson.
In the office
In terms of how it would work, you would assign an employee a primary job to focus on, and then a secondary one that they can lend time to during the week, with a point of contact in that department. Just two areas, as I feel thats more then enough to reap the benefits and not be overwhelming at the same time. Also, the point of contact is important to keep you up to date and not require you to play catch up continuously. I know I’m already doing it here, with not only more than two areas, but two jobs! Now there are definitely flaws with such a practice that could lead to insufficiencies and such, but if implemented clearly there is a real benefit to the employer and the company. What do you think??
