“Psychology before technology”
www.thinkproductive.ca
I found myself one day sitting in at my desk with my laptop up and running, my cup of coffee within comfortable reach, my cell phone on the other side positioned strategically so I could see the notification blinking, my tablet on the refurbished antique credenza behind me with twitter on and waiting, and a TV on mute showing BNN to stay up to the minute informed. It should have been a cockpit of productivity but I found myself sitting there spinning my proverbial wheels.
I had all the latest and greatest technology that touted it could make my life easy, on track, organized, and up to the minute. However, as I sat in my “cockpit of productivity” I found myself stressed out that I was missing something. That something, I wasn’t sure what, was falling through the cracks. I am very familiar with technology and felt I should have had the confidence that it was working for me but I felt it was working against me. I was distracted easily by the blinking notifications, the email pings etc. I wasn’t making the best use of my time. I wasn’t doing the task that was most appropriate for that moment in time. Heck, I couldn’t tell you what the most appropriate task to work on was! There are so many.
The philosophy of psychology before technology at Think Productive changed my approach to how I manage my workflow. I had to get a second brain! A Productivity Ninja has two modes of working. Boss mode and worker mode.
Boss mode is when I collect, organize and make decisions on. These collection points come in many forms. For example Emails, phone calls, my notepad, Twitter, LinkedIn, meetings etc. When in boss mode I will organize all this information into projects and tasks. I have a system of entering and flagging using technology. I use Outlook; however, there are many applications one could use. Outlook is my second brain!
Worker mode is when I DO stuff. Not only do I execute the tasks the boss mode collected, I do them in context. In context to what I need, who I’m with, or where I am. For example, I found myself sitting in the doctor’s office one day and rather than pick up the out of date magazine to read I brought up a list of tasks on my smart phone with the context @calls. You see @calls is a task I could do right there while waiting to be called in. The @calls tasks did not require me to be at my office. I was making very productive use of the moment.
To introduce myself as a productivity ninja does make me grin every time. Who didn’t want to be a ninja when they grew up? Check out thinkproductive.ca or pick up Graham Allcott’s book “How to Be a Productivity Ninja; Worry Less, Achieve More, Love What You Do” at a bookstore near you.
Rachel Murray
Productivity Ninja
Look forward to hearing Rachel’s presentation in person on March 4th in Edmonton at the Rosslyn Inn & Suites, Edmonton.
RSVP: info@mpbenefits.com by February 25th 2015.
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