QuietSpacing

I’m a productivity guy.  It’s what I do.  As a result there are two cardinal rules in my world.  First, never be late.  It’s not only poor form, it displays a complete lack of command for the concept of time management!  I’ve often had clients joke that they couldn’t believe THEY were late for a meeting with the “time management guy,” but it’s not a reputation someone in my field can survive.

The second rule of thumb is to be responsive - highly responsive. I take it very seriously.  To me, responsiveness is the essence of good relationship management.  When my clients are confident that I will get back to them in a timely manner with information that assists them in their efforts, we have a strong relationship.  Not only is that good for my business, it makes working with my clients a pleasure.

When I talk about responsiveness (in conjunction with its siblings - efficiency and effectiveness), I often find that people confuse “responding” with “responsiveness.” Understanding this distinction is important to your individual productivity and success.  This article outlines some of the distinctions between each, and lists their relative advantages and disadvantages.  Some suggestions for improving both are also included.

Responding

Responding to someone is an acknowledgement.  It’s like nodding your head when someone is speaking to you; you’re acknowledging that they’re talking to you.  For example, a reply to an e-mail with “Will do!” is responding to the request in the original e-mail.  A return phone call with “I got your message and will take a look at the question, then get back to you.” is also a response. 

The primary advantage of responding to others is to assure them that you received the communique they transmitted.  This is generally a good thing, though somewhat contrary to good time/workflow management principles for the reasons stated below.  Nonetheless, a modicum of benefit is achieved if others feel better knowing that you received what they sent.

The primary disadvantage to responses is that they are unproductive.  There is activity but no corresponding productivity.  You did something – responded to the e-mail – but nothing got done in the process.  Consequently, that time is literally lost.  This is especially true in the world of e-mail.  We’ve all received a second e-mail from someone asking us if we’d received the e-mail they’d sent us 10 minutes earlier, right?  Now two people are wasting time!  Responding to phone calls with a brief acknowledgement of having received an earlier call is a similar example of this kind of activity with no productivity.

So the question is, How can we respond to others in a more efficient, yet still effective, way?  Looking at e-mail, there are two options.  First, we can setup an auto-responder that acknowledges that we’ve received their e-mail and will attend to it as soon as possible. Similarly, we can use our outbound voice mail recording to communicate the same message.  (Note, for voice mail recordings, it’s a good idea to give callers an alternative to just leaving a message, which further demonstrates a desire to “respond” to their needs.)

Second, if you are working with people collaboratively, you can suggest that they set their e-mail program, or even each individual e-mail, to send a “read receipt” that gets returned to them when the e-mail has been opened.  This puts the onus on them to determine when they need a “response” to a message they’ve sent.

Responsiveness

Being responsive is delivering a substantive communication.  I liken this to moving the ball down the field.  We didn’t just acknowledge that someone communicated with us, we actually provided them with information that advanced the effort.  An example of responsiveness is to reply to an e-mail with “I received your e-mail, took at look at the file and will have a definitive answer for you on Friday.”  In this case, you’ve set a specific time when the sender can expect to hear back from you.  The ball has moved slightly down the field.  (An even more responsive answer is, “I looked at the file and this is what I think we should do.  What are your thought?”)

The advantage of responsiveness is that it’s productive.  Things are getting done, expectations are being managed, and everyone is communicating with each other in a manner that builds strong relationships.  The key point here is that you are managing expectations, which is probably the single most important relationship management skill you can develop for a successful career.  The better you manage expectations, the better the results of every effort will be.

The only real disadvantage to being more responsive is that it usually takes longer to deliver a substantive communication than a simple acknowledgement.  So, the real challenge is learning to execute this skill in a timely “enough” manner.  Here are three ways you can increase your responsiveness right away, along with links to longer articles written on each subject:

• Regularly Surveying All You Command.  At least three times each day, stop and review what’s going on in our world.  This short interlude in our day can be used to re-prioritize what needs doing and gives us a list of things we can update others on in terms of progress made and any changes to deadlines.  More on this here http://wp.me/pvS1W-Bf.
• Batch Process Your E-mail.  New e-mail alerts have created in us a Pavlovianesque twitch whenever a new e-mail arrives in our Inboxes.  This fosters an almost-maniacal need to respond to each one immediately.  The reality is that e-mail is an asynchronous communication technology which means that the communication is not intended to occur in real time.  Thus, we should batch process our e-mails instead of sitting in our Inbox and respond to each one as it arrives.  Check the Inbox as frequently as necessary - every 15 to 30 minutes – but deal with e-mail in batches.  That allows us to be more productive and, consequently, more responsive, throughout the day.  More on that here http://wp.me/pvS1W-lG.
• Rhythms. A further refinement on the batch processing notion is the batching together of work that requires the same type of attention and energy.  There are three basic types of work behaviors we use each day – Rapid Fire, Short Burst, Extended Focus.  By doing like things together, we will be more productive and, again, more responsive.  More on the rhythms of work here http://wp.me/pvS1W-AW.

The Same But Different

Though derivatives of the same concept, “responding” to a request and being “responsive” to one are very different things.  Each adds value to working relationships, but responsiveness adds more value. 

We must seek ways to quell the immediate-response needs of co-workers, clients and colleagues by using the technology at our disposal so we can focus on being more productive and, ultimately, more responsive to them.  The result will be stronger relationahips, which is always a good environment in which to work.

Tweet This Post

Today’s working environments are riddled with interruptions and distractions. Just when we get focused on one task, a new e-mail arrives, the phone rings, or someone stops by and off we go on a new tangent. Later, when we return to the original task, we need to get back up to speed before we can make any progress. The net result is lost time and greater anxiety.

Unfortunately, interruptions or distractions are a part of the workplace. Consequently, we must understand the nature of each to better manage them.

Dissecting Time Bandits

Productivity saboteurs originate from one of three sources – You, Them, and It. Let’s examine the role of each source in diminishing our productivity.

You. The most insidious time bandit is yourself. We each allow, even create, distractions that reduce our productivity and cause our workloads to pile up even higher. A classic example of this is flitting from task to task or place to place during the day. The act of just “touching” your work is a distraction you create rather than actually doing anything substantive on any one task. For example, does this sound familiar?  You’ve got to get a task completed, but you find yourself incessantly checking your e-mail Inbox, your Twitter account or your Facebook updates. Nothing is getting done, but there’s a whole bunch of activity going on! The most productive way to manage this type of self-inflicted distraction is to sit quietly in front of the work you need to do. Yes, just sit there.  Quietly … maybe with a blank screen or pen and paper in front of you. Let your mind settle down and allow yourself to think just about what it is you need to get done. Resist the urge to dart off to some other perceived exigency. As your brain settles down and begins to focus on the task at hand, you’ll discover the path to completion for this project.

Them. Everyone in your workplace is a potential time bandit. Without warning, these folks can pounce on you, delivering up huge interruptions. Some of these interruptions are substantive – they actually require your assistance. However, many of them are unnecessary and do nothing but cause you to veer away from your well-intended and productive efforts. Moreover, keeping an “open door” and managing by “walking around” are highly lauded management practices that must be considered when seeking to manage unnecessary interruptions for fear of communicating an unwanted message – leave me alone! The best tact is to divide your time physically between periods when interruptions are “acceptable” and periods when they’re not. Thus, during “acceptable” periods, make yourself available via the open door, etc. When the interruption occurs, quickly determine its priority and manage accordingly – deal with it right now, schedule time with the interrupter (in the future) to deal with the issue, or stand up (to indicate closure) and accept any physical manifestation of the interruption and place it in the Inbox for future consideration. Conversely, during “unacceptable” periods, make yourself unavailable via a closed door (with or without a note on the door asking not be disturbed) or simply by leaving – go to a place where you’re unlikely to be found such as a conference room or empty office.

It. The “it” to which I refer is most often technology. We are bombarded by various interruptions and easy-to-access distractions via modern technology. For example, take new message alerts! “You’ve got mail” became the banner of the Internet age. Today, busy workers deal with tens, if not hundreds, of e-mails every day, with a corresponding “Ping” and screen flash every time a new one arrives. What’s the point of knowing every time “You’ve got mail”!? If it’s so darn important, why aren’t you calling me or coming to see me? You get my point. The same goes with the onslaught of social media – updates to Twitter and Facebook and their progeny are bombarding us with largely unexamined and generally unimportant information. The best way to handle this particular productivity saboteur is to take command of the technology and drive it, instead of being driven by it. Specifically, turn off all new message/update alerts and visit each technology source as often as necessary to remain in control of the information being delivered via that channel. Thus, you can turn off your new e-mail alert and check it every 20 to 30 minutes to make sure you’re remaining responsive. With social media, check it on your breaks – they’re “social” by definition, so treat them as such!

Doing What You Can With What You Have

In short, interruptions and distractions can never be eliminated from our days. In fact, some matters are truly urgent and require an interruption. However, if you realize that these emergencies are in the great minority of events and construct mechanisms to efficiently attend to the rest of the productivity saboteurs that come at you during the day, you’ll find that your focus goes up and, along with it, your productivity and sense of accomplishment!

Tweet This Post