Mastering
Workflow
Time Management
Jennifer Pecor
Advocate Experience Coach
The big problem is that
your mind keeps reminding you
of things when you can’t do
anything about them.
“Multi tasking when it comes to paying
attention, is a myth.”
- Dr. John Medina
People who are interrupted:
 Take 50% longer to complete a task.
 Make 50% more errors.
The 5 Steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Collect
Process
Organize
Review
Do
Step 1: Collecting
 Gathering 100% of the incomplete “stuff.”
 Gather representations for each of these
items; whatever captures input for you
best.
 As soon as you attach a “should,” “need
to,” or “ought to,” it becomes an
incomplete.
 Collecting involves both physical gathering
and mental gathering.
 The mental gathering, or “mind sweep,”
involves writing down each thought, idea,
project or thing that has your attention on
a separate sheet of paper.
Exercise
 Take out your lists – including the one
from this morning.
 Take out your calendar.
 Spend 10 minutes gathering all of your
incomplete work “stuff:”
– I “should be working on…”
– I “need to…”
– I “am going to…
Step 2: Process
 Processing does not mean “spend time on
it.”
 Processing means ”decide what the next
thing is and what action is required, and
then dispatch it accordingly.”
Rules for Processing
 Process the top item first.
 Process one item at a time.
 Never put anything back into “in.”
The Key Processing Question
What’s the next action?
 If there is no next action required, there
are 3 possibilities:
– Trash/delete
– Someday/maybe
– Reference
The Key Processing Question
What’s the next action?
 The next action is the next physical, visible
activity that needs to be engaged in, in
order to move the current reality towards
completion.
 Do it, delegate it, or defer it.
Exercise
 In pairs, select five items from your
“collection” list and decide:
1. What is it?
2. Is it actionable?
3. If yes – decide the very next physical
action required.
Step 3: Organize
4 Key Action Categories




Projects
Calendar
Next Actions
Waiting For
Review
 Daily Review: Calendar and Next Actions
list.
 Weekly Review: Projects, Next Actions,
Waiting For and Someday/Maybe.
Do
 “Every decision to act is an intuitive one.
The challenge is to migrate from hoping
it’s the right choice to trusting it’s the right
choice.”
Do
The four criteria model for choosing action in
the moment:
 Context
 Time available
 Energy available
 Priority
Delegation
Delegation is primarily about…
“Assigning a task that you currently have in
your activity list (for which you are
ultimately responsible) and assigning it to
other person with confidence that he/she
will complete with minimal or no
involvement from you.”
Delegation or Work Assignment?
Assigning Work
- Supervisor tells employee what
the assignment is
- Supervisor tells employee what
the completed assignment
should look like
- Supervisor tells employee how
to do the assignment
- Supervisor offers support and
help in carrying out the
assignment
- Supervisor follows up to check
on progress of assignment
Delegating
- Supervisor tells employee what
results are required
- Employee determines what
completed assign should look
like
- Employee decides how to do
the assignment
- Supervisor offers support in
planning assignment and
achieving results
- Supervisor follows up on
planning and progress
Delegation Roadblocks
- I can do it better myself
- I can’t trust my workers
- I don’t have time to involve others
- I can’t delegate something I don’t know how to do myself
- I can’t bring myself to delegating busy work
- I can’t delegate to my friends
- Everyone is already busy
LOSS OF CONTROL
Resistance to Delegation
- They don’t know how to do the task
- They have a fear of criticism for
mistakes
- They lack confidence in their ability
- They don’t understand what is
wanted
- They don’t have the time
- They don’t like doing it.
When to Delegate
- When somebody else is more
skilled in the task than you
- When an individual has
approached you with willingness
to help on a specific project
- When someone can develop
himself or herself by taking on a
challenging task
- When you don’t have the time to
handle your other
responsibilities effectively
- When planning takes more time
than implementing
When Not to Delegate
- When the person has a negative attitude
about the task
- When the person is too busy to complete the
task
- When the person cannot handle the
responsibility
- When you will have to change the person’s
attitudes or behaviors
Why Delegation?
•
•
•
•
•
Development of Personnel
Helps in Time Management
Increasing Total Power of manager/leader and
organization
Demonstrates professionalism and
effectiveness
Creates a win-win situation
Develops a sense of accomplishment, trust,
opportunity to grow and gain recognition.
Steps of Successful Delegation
1
9
Feedback on results
8
7
Agree to deadlines
6
5
Consider resources required
State required results
4
3
Support and communicate
Explain the reasons
Assess ability and training needs
2
1
Select the individual or team
Define the task