Workplace
information you want to learn to go to the wrong part of the brain. No wonder we feel like we’re falling behind. What are the best strategies to manage
all of your to-dos, stay productive and avoid burnout? Read on to learn key tips and find out how highly productive professionals stay on top of their game.
Break up your day Levitin writes that even Superman chunks out his day to ensure he can complete his tasks: 1. capture Lex Luthor; 2. dispose of Kryptonite safely; 3. hurl ticking bomb into outer space; 4. pick up clean cape from dry cleaner. Sistilli finds he works better on duties in the morning, so he schedules aſternoon meetings. Whitmore also blocks his day, allocating the majority of his time to deal with clients and people and a small amount of time for dealing with communications and internal issues.
Don’t jump around It takes less energy to focus on one duty than it does to switch between projects, but we face two challenges: we are bombarded by alerts and notifications, and the region in the brain that we need to stay on task is easily hijacked by novelty. When we respond to shiny new things, we can be drawn into an addictive loop of short-term rewards and lose out on the opportunity to focus for longer- term rewards. Wendy Woods, a consul- tant specializing in resiliency, leadership and productivity in Toronto, says, “The challenge with alerts, whether on your smartphone or computer, is that the part of the brain responsible for resisting us from looking at them is weak and gets weaker every time it’s used.” Remove the temptation by turning off notifications and phones during blocks of time when you need to focus and then check in a few times a day to triage priorities as required. Sistilli says, “Managing email is the biggest challenge, the most misused productivity tool.” He
18 | CPA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2015
A large body of neuroscience finds that when we multitask, we accomplish less. We also feel exhausted and stressed
needs to be reachable for urgent issues, so he stays signed in and glances at previews. His team knows to indicate “urgent” in the subject line if his immediate attention is required; otherwise he reviews emails just twice a day.
Make technology work for you Highly productive people are ninjas when it comes to using technology to offload and organize information, freeing up brain capacity to focus on immediate work. Sistilli is already using a tablet for to-do lists, but says he is almost ready to dump his briefcase altogether and use his tablet for all productivity needs. In anticipation of Deloitte’s move to an agile environment in its new headquarters later this year — which includes a workplace without offices or assigned seating — Whitmore leverages technology to stay efficient. He has given up his office already and moves around to different workspaces, depending on the nature of the task, by signing in to a cubicle for reviewing documents or taking calls, or to a larger space for meetings. “I have moved to an all-digital, paperless workflow and use a single email address, a single calendar
and take calls through my computer with a headset,” says Whitmore.
Take a pause It turns out that daydreaming isn’t actually synonymous with slacking off. In fact, it’s beneficial because it gives the brain a break from the task-positive mode. An added bonus: daydreaming and taking a few quiet minutes at your desk are great for boosting creativity. Breaks don’t have to be long to provide
benefits. Patricia Katz, a Saskatoon-based productivity and balance strategist who gives talks and offers training seminars, recommends adding a few minutes to step away from your work whenever you can throughout the day, whether that means micropauses for 20 seconds to stand, stretch and look out the window, or longer pauses such as taking a lunch hour away from your screen. “People feel a sense of relief when they learn they actually have permission to pause. When we see the benefits of stepping back to regroup, renew and refresh, it becomes a legitimate use of time and shiſts the nature of our internal conversation as well as workplace culture,” she says. Woods recommends rating your attention on a scale of one to 10, where one represents that your mind is elsewhere and 10 is fully present, so you can be aware of how focused you are and make adjust- ments, if necessary. If your score is not at a seven or higher, you can employ strategies such as simple belly breathing for two minutes to stimulate the parasym- pathetic nervous system — the system that reduces stress — as an effective way to restore focus to keep productive. You’ll find you can get more accom- plished and concentrate better if you don’t overload your plate with too many things to do at the same time. Even jugglers don’t really multitask — they throw some pins into the air so they can focus on one at a time during the critical catch-toss phase, where the actual work happens. — Jane Langille
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