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I pay my respects and acknowledge all Traditional Custodians of Country and on whose land I live and work. I recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
Always was, always will be.

Hey reader

as I wrote in my previous useletter on change and struggle, I'm trying a few new things. Including the useletter. I'm changing things up, a little, not a lot.

(Feedback welcome as always)

Some background... When things aren't going according to plan, the temptation sometimes is to try to change everything all at once. The problem with that is that it's impossible to know exactly what new approaches or strategies made it better. The trick is to do a little at a time, that way we can identify what is having the impact. It's why Sir James Dyson made 5127 prototypes of his vacuum cleaner - he changed just one thing every single prototype. It either got better, or failed to improve.

I'm a big advocate of experiments like that. Change just one thing. Try just one thing a week. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but every week try one experiment. Small improvements over time. After 5127 experiments who knows where you might end up.

To be meta here, as one of my experiments, I'm announcing My Weekly Experiment as a story on Instagram every Monday (this week on Tuesday.) I thought I might then use the useletter (when useful) to share what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. This week I'm trying to work more effectively rather than simply finding hacks for being more productive. Finding more ways to be more productive is often a way to burning out, rather than focusing on doing the work you love and doing it effectively.

Let's try an experiment to become more effective in the work we all do.

I got you

Michael

effective over productive

How might you have a more effective week of work?

Start with the end in mind.

Call them goals, ambitions or must do's. Identify what will make the week a success when you get to Friday evening.

Identify your 3 must do's for the week. They need to be substantial and productive things - not just calling your mum. Write them down - all this needs to be written (or typed if that's your preference). Rank them 1 to 3, then cross out #3.

What makes your top two tasks so important? What is the win? What is the desired result it creates? Write down these answers too. That's your motivation.

What does “done” look like? Write this down for both. Identify the steps required to get to "done".

Note down any concerns you feel and what you can do to combat them. Once your excuses are exposed, you can work out how to eliminate them.

Re-evaluate your priorities. Once you identify the prep steps and break down your big tasks into their individual components, consider whether your priorities are still achievable in a week. Adjust your plan and expectations if necessary. Big goals can always be broken down into smaller goals.

Doing this re-evaluation helps you plan your days more effectively as you won’t overfill the hours you have. And you give yourself a better chance of delivering.

NB: For anyone that uses Notion I'm happy to share the weekly planning template I've set up and now use. Please feel free to drop me a line and I'll send you the link.

Keep going.

You and I got this.

PS: This methodology is stolen - if slightly modified. I'd normally give credit but to my shame I've lost the reference. If anyone knows where this framework comes from please let me know. I'll happily acknowledge in a future useletter.

PPS: A technique I also use to help me to work more effectively and focus on the task at hand is the Pomodoro Technique. Worth a try too. (Note to self: use more often!)