How to get more done in less time…

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We’re all looking for ways to boost our productivity. The good news is that it’s an achievable goal. Here are a few proven strategies to help you get more done in less time:

  1. Plan out tomorrow’s schedule tonight. When we write down what we intend to do, we’re far more likely to actually do it.
  2. Plan your work around your internal clock. This means aligning the tasks that require the most brain power with your energy peaks throughout the day.
  3. Avoid being 100% booked. If your calendar looks full, deliberately schedule a time to do nothing. You can use this time as a buffer between meetings to tackle unexpected tasks that crop up during the day.
  4. Develop rituals for different kinds of work. This may mean doing a certain task in a particular workspace or at a particular time of the day.

Try at least one of these strategies and notice any differences in your productivity.

How to get the best out of your team…

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As a manager, you need to have confidence in your team’s engagement, effort, and performance. How to get the best out of your team? Start by asking yourself these six questions.

Have I been clear about expectations? Without this cue, your team won’t feel a sense of purpose—or be able to strategically organize their time, energy, and resources.

Are those expectations reasonable? If the current goals are unrealistic, you may need to seek out more resources or recalibrate your expectations. You may also need to provide more guidance to help your team achieve its goals.

Could something else be going on? If you notice a dip in someone’s performance, have a direct and kind conversation to find out the cause. Be patient: There may be personal events at play, such as an ailing family member, a breakup, or additional caregiving responsibilities.

Am I in the way? Grant your team the autonomy to realize your vision. Don’t micromanage.

Am I holding everyone to the same standard? Beware unconscious bias. If you’re unsure whether you’re being fair to everyone, talk with a trusted colleague to get their perspective on the situation.

Am I providing good and timely feedback? Reach out and set up a candid conversation as soon as a potential misalignment appears. It’s much better to catch it early, and not let issues fester.

How to coach your team…

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Being a great manager isn’t just about helping individuals reach their full potential—it’s also about leading your team as a unit. Here are the three main coaching approaches that can help your team develop together and achieve collective goals.

No-blame coaching. Treating both success and failure as opportunities to learn will allow your team to become more willing to challenge assumptions, admit when something isn’t working, and pivot from mistakes—which, in turn, enables faster and cheaper failures, and bigger breakthroughs.

Discussion-based coaching. Take a Socratic approach to team discussions, asking great questions and giving your team the space to problem-solve and brainstorm in their own way. With this approach, you’ll gain insight into how well team members understand the work and where additional support may be required.

Problem-based coaching. Treat problems and challenges as opportunities for team development. Rather than stepping in and taking over when a problem arises, encourage your team to work together to solve it—with your availability and support. This approach will lead to accelerated learning, boosted confidence, and collective investment in the work.

Don’t make decisions…

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Waiting too long to make decisions can slow us down both personally and professionally. Also leads to frustration and lead to missed opportunities. But it can be hard to know whether you should just go ahead and choose or gather more data first. 

In these situations, consider two factors:

First, how important is the decision? When it’s of little consequence, pick something and move on. When it’s truly important, reflecting more or gathering additional information is probably a good idea. 

Second, how often will that particular decision be made? If it will happen often – maybe it’s about personal choices, the right career option(s), or people related – it may be worth developing a systematic approach. Doing so will take time now, but you’ll save time when the decision comes up again. And if you’re still struggling, give yourself a deadline, which can be a helpful way to constrain your process. (You may not have time to gather more data, for example.) 

Once you’ve made the decision, analyze the process you used so that you can improve it next time.

Don’t Be Too Rehearsed Before a Critical Talk…

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Before a critical presentation, the best thing you can do is rehearse – a lot. That doesn’t mean you need to memorize every line (which will make you sound too rehearsed). Your goal should be to feel confident in what you’re saying while leaving room for spontaneity. 

The trick is to spend extra time practicing the beginning and the end of your talk, including your first and last slides. The introduction sets the stage for your message and gives your audience a reason to care. Your conclusion determines which ideas people will walk away with. If you nail these two sections of the talk, you’ll probably do well no matter what happens. 

You should also repeatedly practice any sections that have complex or technical content. While you rehearse, consider recording yourself on your phone; play it back to watch for distracting habits (fidgeting, avoiding eye contact) and areas where you seem unsure of yourself. Rehearse those sections a few more times.

Start with the solutions you have…

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A lot of time we get stuck with problems in our minds.

What should we do now?

How to do it?

Who will help me with this?

Can I do it or not?

Will this work out or not?

We have all these questions and doubts that keep interfering.

So why not flip it and ask ourselves:

What is working for us now and look at the solution space:

I am doing good in my job in these areas.

I am able to scale users and traffic. 

I am able to build teams and enable technology.

I am able to do these things better than others.

And by doing things that we do bests and keep trying to do better, we can scale to the next level both personally and professionally.

With this exercise, we can get ourselves unstuck with life’s problems, look for more positive things working for us, and be successful.

What will you give for surety in life?

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Nothing in life is sure, things will change suddenly for good or bad. We don’t even know if the change that looks good now, may be bad for the future or vice versa. 

So what we will give to have surety in life, for something that does not change, to lean on something permanent.

That surety comes from your loved ones, your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, etc. Whoever loves you and you love them back.

So care for this surety, as it’s rare and will give you the best support you can have in life. 

Failure is a teacher embrace it…

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Failure teaches us these core things:

1. Importance of what you have, sometimes when we fail it shows us what we have is sufficient, and maybe we should be content with it.

2. Where are you against your peers, someone who has succeeded while you fail means you need to work harder, improve yourself and try again.

What is more important?

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A job with constant money – A path others choose for you but with a promise of growth. In the end, making decent money.

Own startup or business – You decide the path, but no promise of money, risking a lot in life but doing what you want to do. In the end, may or may not make money.

How to decide?

Look at the impact you can create, look at the problem you can solve, and look at the number of lives you can touch. 

Money is one important aspect but so are other factors, weigh your options wisely and decide.