Smash Your Work With 5 Ps of Productivity

Ever feel overwhelmed after being given a bunch of tasks, then a new one comes in and you feel like the list is getting on top of you, instead of the other way around?

That's OK - it's normal. 

Being given stuff to do is a sign that you're good at your job, that you can deliver, and it's important to learn how to handle those moments when the list feels too long - so that you can manage expectations of others, and yourself.

Here at JAC we use a technique for this we call the "five Ps of productivity". 

1. Pause

Recognise that you're not sure of what comes next in your list, and that you've tended to just work on "whatever seems right" instead of being deliberate in your next step. 

This is a sign of unmanaged overwhelm. 

If you don't start getting deliberate, you run a high risk of becoming habitually reactive instead of proactive, which means you won't identify the fastest and most beneficial pathways towards getting results. 

It will slow you down and make you less effective. 

When you start to feel you're at-risk of going into "just tell me what to do" reactive mode as a result of your list getting too long, this is the moment to Pause, and set aside an hour to get back on top. 

If you feel like this constantly, then that's a sign you need to look after your rest, diet and exercise - the best athletes spend as much effort on their recovery as they do on their performance! 

Take a quick walk, don't skip meals, watch some YouTube to relax, pat the dog, check-in with yourself. 

Don't ignore the signs of stress - a little is good, and occasional moments of peak stress when you deal with a new or unexpected situation, that just means you're alive! 

But too much stress without rest hurts judgement. 

Address it quickly and effectively, and if you need help, ask for it - there are great EAPs around, and lots of skilled peers who can help us up when we stumble.

2. Prioritise 

Look through your list and use your best judgement, thinking about the short and long term, to decide what to do first and next and so on. 

It's easiest to break it into broad buckets. 

Decide what is an "A", "B" and "C" priority. 

An "A" needs to be done to yield a high benefit, and is time-sensitive (should be done first!), a "B" is either time sensitive or yields a high benefit, but isn't both, and a "C" is something that's worth doing, but in the worst case, it can wait without much impact. 

To be able to do this effectively means being organised and keeping a list, your own list(s), and/or the team list like Asana or Jira (it's pretty normal to use both, you have your own list as a staging area of new tasks received that day and not yet prioritised, tasks you've chosen to do for that day, and then the shared list with the team).

3. Plan

Open your calendar, look at your week plan, and decide when you're going to do each task (at least for the week ahead). 

"As" happen on-time, "Bs" happen at least this week, and "Cs" should happen but it's cool if they don't. 

If you can see "As" which need to happen but you don't have capacity for, escalate quickly! 

You can get this work moved around and redelegated. We get stuff done together, teamwork makes the dream work!

4. Promise

Tell people when they'll expect things they're waiting for, based on your plan (eg. tomorrow, Friday, next week, or "it might be a couple of weeks, we need to look at this").

This should line up with your calendar.

At the end of a work block in your calendar, communicate the progress made, and if you see a time being likely missed, communicate early.

You might get pushback from a manager or client at first - that's human nature sometimes to reject new & disappointing information, but remember the best way to communicate something potentially disappointing is "Here is what I've already tried...". 

By doing the steps above, you can quickly show someone you're on top of it, that you're in it together, and they'll quickly get over their initial emotional reaction to a change-of-plans and they'll get constructive with you.

5. Pomodoro

Now, it's time to get back to it and get stuff done. 

The best way to do this is with focus. 

Remember, you can only focus on one thing at a time! 

That's why pausing, prioritising and planning is important, it helps you remember that you've taken time to consider the best path, and that it's OK to immerse and focus on one task at a time. 

When you're working on a task, if you get an idea about another one, jot it down and then continue with the current task that you took the time to plan. 

Put your notifications on mute for an hour, and only check email/Slack each hour for a max of 10 minutes, send any quick replies if they need it, then re-mute and back to the work at hand! 

New tasks which don't look urgent get added to your quick list of "stuff I haven't planned yet" and then get processed into your plan when the time is right. 

For nonurgent replies, take 15 minutes at the end of the day when you're communicating progress, to also reply to emails.

Wrapping Up

Most of us at JAC tend to do the above every couple of days, and review the calendar in the morning each day to make small adjustments. 

Depending on your current workload and task type, you might want to do it daily or weekly.

Doing this little 5 Ps exercise doesn’t take long and will make your days a lot more productive.