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September 09, 2008
A day with no new input
Let's pretend that today is a day where you will get no new input. No email will arrive. No one will try to chat online with you. No newspapers will land on your doorstep. No colleagues will want to meet or talk to you. Your phones will not ring and there will be no blogs to read. Yes, you still have a job, family and a life--but the floodgates of new input have stopped--at least temporarily. Now, consider:
* What is the most impactful thing you can choose to do right now?
* What in your heart of hearts have you been hoping to have more time for?
* What does your staff want you to be looking at and giving attention to?
* What's the best use of your time right now for the company goals?
* What would your family want you to choose?
Will you have many days when new input stops coming in? Not likely. But I think it's an interesting exercise to take yourself out of latest and loudest to get some new perspective.
It's amazing to me how many people keep themselves chained to their Inboxes at the expense of what their gut tells them they really should/could be working on instead. Who knows why:
* Fear of missing out?
* Hope something more interesting might show up?
* What if I'm not good at the thing I think I should be doing?
* Chance something easier to work on will arrive?
* The company culture rewards speed over quality?
* Makes us feel busy and important to have so many people needing us?
I'm not saying latest and loudest (or email for that matter) is a bad thing or not a key part of your job. Sometimes though, it becomes a busy trap and holds us back from doing something that has far greater results.
Posted by Kelly at September 9, 2008 11:14 AM
Comments
Great thought provoking post Kelly. Losing perspective is so easy to do, even for those of us who are aware it can happen. When I feel this way, often the only way to re-gain perspective, and ultimately control, is to remove myself from that physical environment for a short break. I head off to a noisy coffee shop where I CAN hold the world back and recalibrate.
Posted by: Simon Hill at September 9, 2008 12:28 PM
Hi,
I do it every morning, disconect and make an important task, no email, no phone...
So I agree with you. Shut up the email when working!
Open it one or two times a day and them close it.
"It is only a few seconds" but how many times?
Regards.
Oscar
Posted by: Oscar at September 10, 2008 10:45 AM
Thanks for an interesting article. One of your readers drew my attention to it.
You might be interested to know that the concept of the closed day is at the heart of my book "Do It Tomorrow". Essentially the idea is to put a 24-hour buffer between work coming in and your actioning it.
Of course if you really have to do an item of work the same day then you should - but only if you really have to.
Posted by: Mark Forster at September 11, 2008 12:49 AM
I can't even imagine that day - but it would be grand! If we could have one day a week where no one reprioritized our tasks it would be so lovely. Time to think, to plan, to analyze ...
Posted by: juliemarg at September 14, 2008 10:18 AM
I have been using a similar set of questions prior to setting up GTD for a few years whenever I have trouble focusing to make my to do list:
1) What one thing can you do that would have the biggest impact on your long term goals?
2) What one thing have you been putting off? (this will help lower stress)
3) What one thing would your boss/significant other most like to see you do?
4) What one thing would you like to do?
Posted by: Kent Ostby at September 24, 2008 06:54 AM
