Focus Time That Actually Lets You Focus
Clearing the Path for Change | Part 4
It is ironic that the only way I have managed to start writing this article on Focus Time, was to wake up at 5am on a Saturday. It has been on my To Do list for weeks, but somehow there was always something more pressing that bumped it down the line. Does this sound familiar to you? Too often the environment that we are living and working in does not leave enough uninterrupted space to focus on the things that matter most.
Just the other day I was working with a client who was trying to figure out where to start with their adoption project. They have these new tools and technology that could help with so many different things, but what they kept coming back to, was focus time. They needed more of it. We have too many meetings, too many emails, too many applications and interruptions pulling us in 10 different directions. This is surely not the first company I've worked with that has this problem and it won't be the last.
What is interesting is that we all know it's a problem. We talk about it. We complain about it. Yet we also continue working the same way and are surprised when it never changes.
About 4 years ago, I decided to try something new and I turned off all notifications on my phone. I do not get alerts when someone texts me or emails me. I don't see any numbers over my email icon telling me how much is waiting for me. I even go through big spans of my day where my phone is on silent. I don't have any of that because in my previous role as a Director managing a department, 15 employees and about 100 volunteers - it never ended. My entire life was one big reaction to the world around me and it was killing me. The best parts of myself went to whatever was the loudest and the most important people and projects in my life got the scraps.
This reactive response to life is something that has emerged with technology and endless research tells us how it is draining our productivity. The different methods I write about below are all things I have stumbled across in my career and used at one time or another. When I successfully plan ahead and implement them, not only does my work output increase but my stress goes down and my enjoyment goes up.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not flawless. This week, I scheduled focus time, but life came at me hard and it didn't happen. But that doesn't mean I won't try again on Monday. Every week we are walking down a path, but sometimes we need a tunnel and it's up to us to build it.
Get your team on the same page with the Sterile Cockpit approach
WHAT do you do
Block off chunks of "quiet hours" across your entire team. This is time when you establish a norm of not responding to messages, not scheduling meetings, and not reaching out to each other for help.
WHY should you do it
Most airline accidents occur during takeoff and landing. For that reason, most airlines have adjusted their environment, so the cockpit has zero disruptions. No one may enter or leave, and all conversation that occurs is only about the task at hand. These airlines don't do this so the Pilot can land the plane faster, they do it because when we are multitasking not only does it take longer to get back to what's the most important, but our IQ actually lowers.
If you lead a team, there will most likely always be things that are crucial to accomplishing your work. Maybe you need time every week to write code for your software. Or maybe the DevOps team has turned into an operations team because they are constantly reacting and never have time to develop. Maybe you want to carve out time for projects you're working on, but the emails and chat messages never stop coming and it is the company norm to respond right away.
If we don't create an environment for our team that discourages multitasking and allows for solid focus time, we will continue to take more time to produce lower quality work.
HOW to make it successful
The key that makes this work is that everyone knows about it, everyone understands why it's important, and everyone can easily support it. The Pilot doesn't have to fight for a quiet atmosphere. They do not need to ask the flight attendant to leave so they can get some work done. When the norm is established and adopted at a higher level it is easy for the team to follow suit.
Get off the grid with Untouchable Days
WHAT do you do
Plan ahead and mark an entire day on your calendar as Untouchable. No meetings. No lunches with friends. No checking your phone. Just you, your ideas, and your work.
WHY you should do it
In almost every knowledge worker's role we not only need to be productive, but we also need to be creative. When we use approaches like The Sterile Cockpit that block off chunks of time, we are putting up boundaries that help productivity. However, creativity needs more freedom. Untouchable days create the best of both worlds. It has the boundaries and structure to eliminate distractions, with the flexibility and time to let your ideas flow.
HOW to make it successful
Neil Pasricha, author of Why You Need an Untouchable Day Every Week, has the most success when he schedules his days about 16 weeks ahead of time. Personally, my calendar is not quite as busy as Neil's, so I doubt at this time in my life I would need a 4-month lead time, but the key factor is planning ahead. You know life is going to happen and things are going to come up, but that's why you're doing this in the first place. If you are in a creative field or leadership role where you need quiet space to think, create a vision, and build a plan, then you may want as many as one a week. If you're not quite there yet or don't have the space in your work or life to accommodate that, then I would aim for once a month. You will be amazed at what your mind can do when it has some quiet space.
Chunk your time with The Pomodoro Technique
WHAT you should do
Set a timer and work on one task for 25 minutes then take a 5-minute break before moving on to the next.
WHY you should do it
Every day doesn't need to be an untouchable day, nor does it need to be quiet hours for an entire team, but all of the truths that we have learned about multitasking and distractions are still there. We also have the classic problem of procrastination and a never-ending task list. The Pomodoro Technique helps combat all of these problems by helping you break up your larger projects into smaller, more management chunks of time. It also prevents you from falling victim to Parkinson's Law and working on one task far longer than you should.
HOW to make it successful
Take advantage of the technology you have available to you. I'm a big fan of Outlook Calendar's Daily Task View that links with the Microsoft To Do application. This allows me to add tasks via the To Do App and flag emails that have action items attached. When I open up my Calendar, click View, I can view my Work Week and change the layout to Daily Task List Normal. Every item from my task list that is due this week I can now drag and drop onto my calendar to block off time. Typically, I do this on Friday afternoons for the following week (or earlier if I see my schedule start to fill up with meetings). This allows my colleagues that plan ahead to schedule meetings with me while still allowing me focus time during the week. It also takes away the Decision Paralysis that tends to come with a long To Do list and not knowing where to begin.
When I start my day I always know that I am going to sit at my desk, I'm going to go to Tomato-timer.com, I'll set my 25 minute timer, and then I'm going to start on the first task of my calendar (which is usually 30 minutes blocked off for email, Teams messages, and adjusting the rest of my day as needed). The magic of the tomato timer happens when the timer goes off. Instead of continuing with email for another few hours, I stand up, stretch, grab another cup of coffee and then I'm off to the next task on my calendar.
Sources & Further Reading:
Sterile Cockpit Approach: Switch, Chip and Dan Heath
A few articles on Context Switching:
Untouchable Days: Harvard Business Review, Neil Pasricha
The Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique – Why It Works & How To Do It
Check out other related posts
Clearing the Path for Change | Part 4
It is ironic that the only way I have managed to start writing this article on Focus Time, was to wake up at 5am on a Saturday. It has been on my To Do list for weeks, but somehow there was always something more pressing that bumped it down the line. Does this sound familiar to you? Too often the environment that we are living and working in does not leave enough uninterrupted space to focus on the things that matter most.