Dear Reader,
I recently had at work a very powerful reminder of a belief I have held very dear for years. If I reflect on the quarter we are ending, one of the most powerful changes we have made was incredibly small and one would argue, almost invisible. Yet, it has been hands down one of the most impactful changes to metrics we have seen all year.
And that’s a powerful rule for our productivity as well. Small tweaks can often lead to disproportionate returns; often in the most surprising of ways.
Let me share with you three of my very own small tweaks that helped me tremendously, in the hopes it can help you as well.
1. Outsourcing “Gotta do this”
How often have you found yourself having dinner with family, or at the pub with friends, or simply doing something you enjoy and have that nagging voice in your head reminding you that you need to pay bill xyz, that you should reach out to so and so, or that you still haven’t bought a gift for that fast approaching birthday in your family?
Those thoughts are everywhere. But, can you do anything about them when you are at the barbecue with friends, or at a work meeting? Not really. So what do you do? You try your best to remember it because you don’t want to forget once more, as it’s rather important to tackle. That thought now lives rent-free in your head until you either a) tackle it or b) forget about it (again).
This approach not only is mentally draining but you are also bound to forget at least a few of those things. High cost, low return.
Here’s one simple tweak you can make.
Take your favourite messaging app (I use WhatsApp)
create a group with your significant other, best friend, or vague acquaintance from down the street
Kick them out of the group to have it just for yourself (preferably telling them what you are doing, don’t burn bridges over this)
Rename it “Gotta do this” or “GDT” (mine is in Portuguese but it roughly translates to this), and preferably pin it at the top of your conversations
Every time one of those thoughts pops into your mind. Text that group
Periodically check the group and tick things, when they are done, delete the message
That WhatsApp group will give you a big boost in productivity. I’ve now complemented it by transferring things into my productivity app TickTick, which allows me to create tasks without even opening the app on my phone with a cool widget, but the principle remains the same.
Doing that, you give yourself the license to forget the action, let the thought go, knowing it’s taken care of, and reclaim your mental bandwidth.
2. The “Waiting For” list
If you are anything like me, you have dependencies on other people, things that other people committed they would do to help you or to unblock your project, but you don’t keep track of those.
If it doesn’t get tracked, it doesn’t get managed, and you may take a lot longer to follow-up than you would otherwise want to. Recycle the approach above, but create a list/group purely for things you are waiting for from people. “John to do Omega task”, “Patricia to reach out to customer A”, “Wife to cook me my favourite dish”. You get the idea.
Twice a week, I review the list, tick those that are done, and ask myself if it is the right time to chase ask for an update. I also challenge myself on whether there is still a need for that person to do what they committed to.
This simple action allows me to keep track of what I am waiting for from people without needing to constantly remind myself of it. This leads to both faster execution (because other people also tend to forget stuff) and less mental burden for you.
3. Automate your life
On some occasions, it may not be straightforward, but I believe most of us (me included) could do more to automate recurring tasks. Are all your bills on standing order or direct debit, or do you physically carve out time to pay them every month?
Are there things you frequently check for at work that you could be warned about in a different way instead? For example, I set up a few automation at work. Every time a new bug is created for my team to review, I get an email with a link to it. I haven’t checked for new items in my backlog in months, because I know anything new will either be a bug, or I will be tagged in it otherwise. I don’t invest time checking, because I outsourced that to systems.
If a coaching client wants time with me, they have my Calendly link. No back and forth, no need to ask for permission, they just book themselves in. The meeting drops in my agenda and I made zero effort for that to happen.
What could you do to reduce manual chores for yourself? Those all seem relatively small, but, they add up rapidly, especially if you automate paying your bills.
Those are very simple examples of how to create value from tiny actions. I am sure there are more (and if you have any, please, do share, I am a big fan of disproportionate ROI!)