Seeking for a productivity boost? Mise-en-place your work life!
Planning is important, but stuffing your work day with tasks way beyond your capacity is as harmful as not planning at all. As a PM, I should know. Here at T2U we follow a motto: “Work smarter, not harder”. How do we do it? Well, it’s a bit like cooking a fancy meal, but not quite.
By Georgina Tofé
Senior Project Manager
gigi@talk2u.org
👉 Español
I´m the youngest of three, I was unexpected but welcomed with lots of love into a busy family. My parents always worked two jobs, but managed to be home when needed. Although I hated that my mum never picked me up from school, I did learn to be independent at a very young age and also to plan ahead. Not to get into astrology babble here, but something about having a virgo ascendent might have something to do with it. Organization, planning and autonomy were big things at home. And I took all that into my adult life as mantras.
I was a freelancer for five years before joining the T2U team. What kept me afloat all that time of delayed payments, long projects and demanding clients was, yes you guessed it, PLANNING. When I heard about the PM opening at T2U, I let myself dream, I could see myself as part of it. I was ready for a change and they were happy to have me. And my first and most important task here was, and still is, planning. I’m the guardian of deadlines.
I´m also a very creative person, I write poetry, read tarot cards and love cooking for friends and family. So planning is not my only skill, it is embedded by a variety of passions that make me more intricate. And that variety of interests made me a perfect fit. The T2U team is small but experienced, there’s lots to do so we have to be smart to make it all happen.
But implementing changes on an ongoing group of people is not always easy. One thing I’m not is patient, but I’m trying to cultivate it and lead by example. Trello was already in use, and also the Scrum Agile Methodology. But there was no follow up to any of the cards or real planning during each sprint.
Some people feel that planning makes them too structured, a killer for creativity. Well, it is not. Planning gives a path to follow and helps each team player to follow it to success. It’s also a way of measuring progress, improvement and doing it better each time. Smarter vs harder, remember?
Added benefit: planning can greatly reduce stress. You know what you have to do and the time it will take, it allows a realistic plan of action and prepares the ground to sort obstacles and find solutions to unexpected problems.
I´ve said I’m anxious and I procrastinate a lot, like any millennial does. Multitasking can be the enemy, that’s why we try to use it in our favour. How? By planning ;) One trick that works: I plan harder tasks on those moments I know I tend to be more fresh and productive, like early in the morning or by the end of the day.
If you want to start planning your own work or shed some light on your team’s ways, here goes some acquired knowledge on the subject, something we´re now implementing on every sprint.
A good planning recipe should have:
*BIG PICTURE: Visualize the whole movie, objectives and what you want to achieve.
*PLAN: Create deadlines in your calendar for everything that needs to be completed. Pick your non negotiables and time available to do it.
*PRIORITIES: Order is a must, some tasks can be delayed, others are essential. If a task involves other team members and delaying it will affect their job, let them know! Make priority lists, not to do lists.
*DISSECTED TASKS: Keep it simple, downsize tasks, big things into small achievable chunks, use tags.
*METHOD: Time blocking, Pomodoro method, Da Vinci Method. Choose one that works for you. Say NO to distractions unrelated to your commitments.
*TOOLS: Use technology in your favour, like reminders, apps, virtual organizers. Set boundaries, arm yourself with the right tools.
*ALLIES: confide in your teammates, ask for help, raise your hand before you drown. Ensure you don’t over-commit or forget things.
*CHECKPOINTS: Save time to stop, chat with the team, analyze how it’s going and reschedule if needed. 15 to 30 minutes bi daily meetings can be very helpful to get a sense of what’s going on and reschedule your priorities if necessary.
*COMPASSION: It didn’t go as planned? Well, accept it, learn from it, do it better next time. Something unexpected came up? Embrace it and make a new plan!
*FUN! Use stickers, different colors, add your own magic to your planner, even if it’s physical or a virtual one.
Always, always, ALWAYS make room for you. Snacks, breaks, morning meditation or stretching every two hours. Those things that are healthy for you, that you enjoy and need even when you don’t realize you do, help avoid the burnout syndrome.
Stay flexible, adapt. Bringing structure to your work week, scheduling your days, is like decluttering. Plans CAN change, but on solid grounds and sense of direction. The result is peace of mind, better use of the time, higher sense of achievement and more productivity.
And, as any good cook would do: Wash, rinse and repeat.
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Gigi is the guardian of deadlines at T2U. She plans, writes and makes sure everything is on track. She is as curious as she is anxious, and reads more than five books at the same time. She loves cheese but not cheddar.
