INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS TO MASTER OFFICE LIFE

@kevinduncan

MODERN OFFICE LIFE

INFORMATION INUNDATION

Average professional gets 300 emails a week

People check their phones 150 times a day

They spend 28 hours a week on emailExecutives interrupted every 8

minutes, losing over 2 hours a day It takes 15 minutes to get back to what

you were originally doing

Sources: Atlassian, Internet trends, University of California, Basex, Microsoft

WORK EMAIL HABITS

“I often or sometimes check my email... On weekends 63% On holiday 58% Immediately when I wake up 49% In bed 34%Before 7am 66% Before I go to bed 54% During commute 33-61%

Source: APSIS, YouGov

ATTITUDES TO TECHNOLOGY

48% of executives “cannot live without email.”

26% of men “could not live without their laptop.”

11% of men “could not live without their BlackBerry.”

Source: Reed

WHAT SCIENCE SAYS

Average attention span in 2000: 12 seconds. 2015: 8 secs.

We can handle 3-4 cognitively demanding thoughts at once.

When you think you’re multitasking you’re actually switching back and forth between different tasks.

There’s a switch cost. It takes the brain 15-25 minutes to get back.

Digital devices have a negative effect on prolonged focus.

The only way to be productive is to switch off devices.

Take a break of 3-5 minutes every hour.Source: MIT, The Times, Microsoft

OUT OF HOURS WORKING

93% of employees continue working when they have left the office

…for a total of over 3 and a half hours a week

…or 15 hours a month…or 183 hours a year…or 23 extra working days a year Source: YouGov

THE WORST ASPECTS OF OFFICE LIFE

@kevinduncan

EXCUSES AND WAFFLE

The excuse culture

DON’T MAKE EXCUSES

Get things doneDon’t be vague or evasiveDon’t use jargon (unless with specialists who know the lingo)Don’t use bullshitKeep politics to a minimum

Spotting waffle

HATE WAFFLE

Waffle is the enemy of a clear decision Take the time to think first Think straight then talk straight Don’t do spontaneous word dumps Ask for five minutes of their time When’s convenient for you to talk?

PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION

  PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION

Perfectionist bosses demoralise staff by consistently redoing their work Perfectionists in a team take too long agonizing, putting pressure on colleagues Go for highest standards & finish the job

 Quantitative v Qualitative tasks

DO IT FAST OR DO IT PROPERLY

Quantitative tasks can neither be done well nor badly Get them done fast with minimum fuss Qualitative tasks need time and thought By having clear set times for the quant, we can think harder about the qual. Mornings for creative, deeper thinking work Am I just doing it, or am I doing it well?

Just doing it, or doing it well?

TAMING TECHNOLOGY

The one-touch approach

A NEW EMAIL ETIQUETTE

Never touch an email more than once

Read it, then action it, file it, or delete it

Use a different medium if you can Don’t be an email thief and steal

time

A NEW MEETING ETIQUETTE

Only call meetings when really necessary

Make them short Turn up, prepare properly, stay on

theme Shut up and listen

Make it work for you, not the other way around

BREVITY AND DELAY

Do the worst first

Brevity equals intelligence

SHARPER, SMARTER, FASTER

Brevity equals intelligence The shorter the better Edit first before wasting others’ time Tasks do not improve if they are delayed So do the worst first Free up time for important stuff Concentrate on qualitative tasks

PERFECT LIST WRITING

Personal priority

Emotional importance

Reason for doing

Financial value to you

Everyone else’s priorities

Chronological sift

Time shifts

Try them out and create your own style

TOWARDS

A MANIFEST

O FOR A

BETTER WAY OF

WORKING

NO EXCUSES

PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION

MEETING & EMAIL ETIQUETTESHARPER SMARTER FASTER

HATE WAFFLE

DO IT FAST, DO IT PROPERLY

Kevin Duncanwww.expertadviceonline.com

Twitter: @kevinduncan07979 808770

Tripwires and fail-safes