http://www.allaboutagile.com/do-less/ Quick Quiz: If you are over capacity, which of the following should you do?
- A) Keep going at your current pace. Eventually, things have to start slowing down, right?
- B) Speed up your pace, and do more. You are in a hole and the only way to not be buried alive is to shovel faster than the dirt is falling in.
- C) Do less.
C.
Does that make any sense? I think it does.
The 6 Hours of Work Rule
This idea is a cousin of the ideas I shared in March and April about cultivating your sources of strength, especially the concept of sharpening your saw.
Let's think through this together and let's use your standard 8-hour paid job as an example.
Imagine that you have 10 hours of work to do in your 8 hour day. How should you schedule your day; 8 hour of work in 8 hours, 9 or 10 hours of work in 8 hours (work faster), or 5 or 6 hours of work in 8 hours? I say schedule no more than 6 hours. Here's why.
If a set of tasks actually takes 8 hours of work to complete that means that you need to be working on those tasks, without interruption, for all 8 hours. No exceptions. If you stop for a bite to eat, a bathroom break or to even stand up and stretch, you won't get your 8 hours of tasks done.
What if you work faster? Speed may equal life in some cases, but that assumes the quality of what you are doing is "good enough". If 8 hours of work produces "good enough" it is not likely that doing 10 hours of work in 8 hours will produce "good enough" results. Something has to give. You are rushing, and rushing means you are less likely to do things as well. If you don't do something "good enough" then you'll need to redo it, which will make your capacity issues even worse.
So, only schedule 6 hours of work or less. In fact, schedule a lot less if things you need to complete require you to interact with other people. Not only do you need time for basic human functions but remember Murphy's Law is always in effect when you are over capacity. Here are some examples you may relate to:
This may seem like common sense, but most folks don't approach their life like this. Common practice usually gets in the way of common sense.
Take A Real Vacation
When over capacity should you skip that vacation? No! Take it?
Why?
Like I pointed out earlier, being over capacity is a profound source of stress. Stress reduces productivity and increases the chance that Murphy's Law will mess you up big time. Also, as a human (I assume you are a human), your ability to deal with stress well reduces the longer we are continuously are exposed to it. Dealing with stress is like a muscle.
I don't know of a better way to rest that muscle than by taking a real, no baloney, off-the-grid vacation. Things get a lot clearer and you are so much more effective after a true vacation. So take that summer vacation today - and leave your email and cell phone at home
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
P.S. - I will be taking a short one of these off-the-grid vacations. I probably need it. That means that I won't be sharing anything here next Sunday. If you are interested in sharing a story or an idea in my place, please shoot me an email at sterlinglynk@att.net. It doesn't have to be epic, just useful or interesting and I would need it by Wednesday. I and this community would really appreciate you stepping in.
Does that make any sense? I think it does.
The 6 Hours of Work Rule
This idea is a cousin of the ideas I shared in March and April about cultivating your sources of strength, especially the concept of sharpening your saw.
Let's think through this together and let's use your standard 8-hour paid job as an example.
Imagine that you have 10 hours of work to do in your 8 hour day. How should you schedule your day; 8 hour of work in 8 hours, 9 or 10 hours of work in 8 hours (work faster), or 5 or 6 hours of work in 8 hours? I say schedule no more than 6 hours. Here's why.
If a set of tasks actually takes 8 hours of work to complete that means that you need to be working on those tasks, without interruption, for all 8 hours. No exceptions. If you stop for a bite to eat, a bathroom break or to even stand up and stretch, you won't get your 8 hours of tasks done.
What if you work faster? Speed may equal life in some cases, but that assumes the quality of what you are doing is "good enough". If 8 hours of work produces "good enough" it is not likely that doing 10 hours of work in 8 hours will produce "good enough" results. Something has to give. You are rushing, and rushing means you are less likely to do things as well. If you don't do something "good enough" then you'll need to redo it, which will make your capacity issues even worse.
So, only schedule 6 hours of work or less. In fact, schedule a lot less if things you need to complete require you to interact with other people. Not only do you need time for basic human functions but remember Murphy's Law is always in effect when you are over capacity. Here are some examples you may relate to:
- A key tool or piece of technology may break, or;
- That person who you need to deliver doesn't (they have their own capacity issues); or,
- That person you need to connect with is on vacation or otherwise is not available; or,
- That person is just being a pain and hard to work with; or,
- Maybe you get sick or injured, after all being over capacity comes with a lot of stress and stress makes you more vulnerable to injury and illness; or,
- Maybe in your distraction you poorly estimated how long a task will take.
This may seem like common sense, but most folks don't approach their life like this. Common practice usually gets in the way of common sense.
Take A Real Vacation
When over capacity should you skip that vacation? No! Take it?
Why?
Like I pointed out earlier, being over capacity is a profound source of stress. Stress reduces productivity and increases the chance that Murphy's Law will mess you up big time. Also, as a human (I assume you are a human), your ability to deal with stress well reduces the longer we are continuously are exposed to it. Dealing with stress is like a muscle.
I don't know of a better way to rest that muscle than by taking a real, no baloney, off-the-grid vacation. Things get a lot clearer and you are so much more effective after a true vacation. So take that summer vacation today - and leave your email and cell phone at home
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
P.S. - I will be taking a short one of these off-the-grid vacations. I probably need it. That means that I won't be sharing anything here next Sunday. If you are interested in sharing a story or an idea in my place, please shoot me an email at sterlinglynk@att.net. It doesn't have to be epic, just useful or interesting and I would need it by Wednesday. I and this community would really appreciate you stepping in.
[Image: www.allaboutagile.com]