When you think about what it is that you do… when are you the most productive? After I watched this TED video by Jason Fried (of 37Signals) I couldn’t help but think about the question. Now many of you know that I am one of those work from my home employees, but the reality for me is that sometimes my day is filled with just as many interruptions and non-productive activities as those that work in an office. To complicate my situation I am one of those pesky managers… well a project manager actually.. and I find I constantly want to get updates from various individuals on various projects that I am working on. Some interesting tidbits from this video:
- People are trading in their work day for a series of work moments…
- People who are creative need long stretches of uninterrupted time…
- Why would we expect people to work well if they are constantly being interrupted…
- YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are modern day “smoke breaks”…
- Meetings are toxic, horrible, terrible things…
- If there are 10 people in a one hour meeting it is a 10 hour meeting…
So what did I get from the video? I am making a conscious effort to reduce meetings and to reduce interruptions I make on those that I work with. At the same time I am trying to carve out blocks of time where I put my phone into do not disturb mode and I turn off my email. (Every time I hear that “ding” I can’t help but look to see who wants my attention. Turn it off and I lose the temptation to look.)
How do you manage your workday? Do you have times of uninterrupted “work”?
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