This is the secret formula you need to understand to perform in the new economy
We live in a fast-moving world, a world where you all day are bombarded with minor interruptions. It started with email, but in recent time you can add business chat applications to the mix and applications like Teams, Slack and google chat. In other words, your day is rigged for constant interruptions.
The formula
Let’s jump right into the formula:
Output = Time spent x Intensity
Many people don’t include the fact that intensity plays a vital role inefficient output. Researchers show that the main difference between top-ranking students and the one that follows is the intensity they are applying to the time they spend learning. For many people, it’s not enough to spend time. You have to spend high quality or high intensive and highly focused time to achieve at a high level. When comparing that with how our day-to-day is setup, this is hard to achieve. It’s not only the constant interruptions from the work chat applications; I can also list items such as:
- Open office spaces
- Telephone calls
- Social media interruptions
- The constant checking on new emails
- And many more
Time is our most valued commodity. Your time is valuable, so adding more time to the calculation is not advisable. Instead, start focusing on the task that you are working on. It’s a bit hard in the beginning but start with the simple stuff.
What can you do with this problem
I think most leaders don’t acknowledge this fact, and they even make things worse by adding more problems, like booking status meeting with the entire team, forwarding emails with the word: “thoughts” or “FYI”. This is constant taking your attention away from what you should be doing.
I suggest starting with something simple.
Start turning off notifications on your email app, turning off sound on your mobile phone. Start cleaning up your workspace and start carving out time in your schedule for “work time”. Plan what you are going to work on during this reserved time in your calendar.
Find your time and place for some deep work. For me, I’m at my best early morning. My morning coffee, my laptop and me just working is a fantastic time. I usually get around two hours in the morning before the days start. Typically this time I spend on everything else than emails. I write blogposts, work on reports, research some new technology or anything else that needs my full attention.
