Managing Leadership^®

We’ve been looking at a range of devices and applications designed to help us plan and organize our daily work. The main way these programs really do this, though, isn’t just in ordering important information and making it accessible and subject to easy manipulation.

That’s pretty good, but it’s not enough. You want to not only be able to organize your time, but to use it with focus and clarity when you turn to each new task.

And this, as it happens, is a key point around which David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done,” revolves (see review here). It’s all about that: not just prying open time of your own, but also creating the clarity of mind that allows you to use it undistracted by peripheral concerns. That’s the real aim of any effective productivity or time management program.

And that’s what the devices and programs I use help me do. When I turn to a particular task, I know that it is the right thing for me to be doing at that time, and that whatever I’m not currently doing has been organized and prioritized – or, just as importantly, has been thoroughly scrubbed and justified for elimination. Alternatively, when unexpected free time arises, I can quickly determine how best to make use of it according to where I am and what assets are at hand; and the growing flexibility and capability of even the least of these has greatly increased the possibilities in that regard.

I know that any ideas or to-do items that have sprung to mind recently have been captured and integrated into my work flow – nothing has been missed. Moreover, any that pop up while on the current job will be caught as well, allowing me to close that concern and return with a clear mind to the task at hand.

Whatever work I’m doing on one device will soon be synced with and appear in identical form on the others, so there will be no question as to which device holds the copy of record. Moreover, there will be current mirror images and standard backups of everything available on external drives to permit rapid recovery from any catastrophic failures (a hard-earned lesson). Additionally, the use of synced principal and satellite laptops reinforces, smoothes, and accelerates that process, should it be necessary. And all of this is done over secure networks, with encryption for confidential files. Not only that, the system as a whole is simple, unobtrusive, and easily maintained.

So, again, when I turn to a particular task, there are no nagging concerns – however immediate or remote – intruding consciously or unconsciously on my concentration. The system has not merely helped organize matters so that time can be used more productively – it has done so in a way that allows that time to be used with clean, undistracted attention.

Or, at least, that’s the theory. But as noted at the beginning of this discussion, we all still have to make decisions and act on them. The gadgets don’t relieve us of those core duties. What they can do, however, is help clear the field so that we can identify and address them more effectively.

That’s how I approach this problem. How about you? How do you not only clear your schedule for productive work, but clear your mind to do it productively?

—

Today’s tip: Speaking of making decisions and acting on them, were you aware that the NUMMI automobile manufacturing plant in California, made famous when Toyota brought its management techniques there in a collaboration with the original owner, GM, is now being abandoned by both partners?

—

Thanks for stopping by, today. If you enjoyed your visit, please take a moment to subscribe, so you can visit again in the future from the convenience of your email client or RSS reader.

Technorati Tags: device, application, plan, organize, work, program, information, task, David Allen, productivity, management, network, encryption, concentration, attention, decision, schedule, NUMMI, manufacturing, Toyota, collaboration, GM