The Wrong Side of the Coin

Over-prepared yet caught-short

Know what side your bread is buttered on. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. If they told you to jump off a bridge, would you?

I grew up hearing these sayings, and now with just as much grey as black hair on my head, I occasionally hear them slip out of my own mouth.

But, I've been reflecting on another old saying: being on the wrong side of the coin.  I've been thinking about this in terms of how we work. Reflecting on the various workshops and programs I ran over the past twelve months this theme has risen above all others. The cascade people experience may look like this:

A. I've got a hundred problems and one big fat deliverable to deliver (maybe two or three others too)

B. I've got tools - email, my calendar, my task management system, and maybe some kind of data base/marketing software (CRM)

C. I've got meetings, agendas, lists, more lists, meetings, documents, a few more lists, presentations, and more meetings to activate or utilise

D. I go to work and hit the urgent stuff first and attend to the rest when I can

E. A problem pops up, my boss asked me to do something or introduces another deadline/urgent piece of work, or I get asked a curly question and...

I'm not ready. I don't have it to hand. I'm not prepared. SH#T! F@$K! S%IT!

I'm left asking: 'how the hell did that happen?' I've been putting in the hours and I still feel like I'm not across what I need to be across.

The result is we feel we are denting our reputation and feeding feelings of imposter syndrome. It can mean the quality of work and decision making along the journey becomes compromised. And, it tends to generally feel miserable.

Work does not need to be endured like this. One of the biggest problems is the feeling of Sunday Dread (page 20, The Rhythm Effect), or more specifically The Zeigarnik Effect (Explainer Video - Close Open Loops! How the Zeigarnik Effect is Depleting your Willpower, The Warrior Habit). This is a phenomenon describing how unfinished work is more memorable than finished work. It is compounded when there is no plan for finishing the unfinished work - insert the all too familiar panic/stress/rumination/drain on will power and energy.

As we set up for the new year I wonder about the systematic ways we can get onto the right side of the coin - where we are putting in less hours and feeling more prepared for the questions/surprises/objections/obstacles we know are around every corner.

the only inexcusable thing for a commander to say was, “I did not think that could happen.” 

-Fabius, Ancient Rome Stateman

Systematic Planning

A good place to start is to zoom out. Look at the yearly calendar and plot 'the knowns'. I like to start with birthdays, holidays, key dates, peak/slow times, and reporting dates. Then adhoc tasks/deadlines/can be input (Timeline Management). Then weekly and monthly cycles of work. It sounds mundane, but I like to do it as a collective and drip feed the content over a few weeks. This alleviates the weightiness of the task itself and it tends to develop and form into a powerful map for the year ahead.

Systematic Frameworks

There are many planning tools. I have curated a selection that work well for my clients. But, you can choose any you like. The power comes from using a small number of tools, used for specific purposes, practiced often. This always beats the use of many tools used occasionally. Keep it simple and use daily.

Systematic Commitment

The elephant in the room. The 800-pound gorilla if you will...

The act of taking planning seriously is critical to avoid the Zeigarnik Effect on a daily basis. Knowing you are prepped up and that your decisions are well considered and deeply understood is a foundational principle of leadership and professional life. I like the way Fabius, a statesman from ancient Rome put it; the only inexcusable thing for a commander to say was, “I did not think that could happen.”  If it is true that CEO's spend 21% of their time on Strategy and another 4% on Operational Plans (For the first time ever, a study finds out what CEOs actually do, The Big Think) doesn't it make sense everyone does the same? I wonder what our workplaces would look like if we all spent 25% of our time planning and strategising. I have no doubts more calm, confidence and cool would be experienced. 

Developing a way to analyse and build your plans to put yourself into the drivers seat is a clever way to approach our professions. Other than jam packing as many cliched expressions into our vernacular, its a great intention for kicking off a new year. 

Banner Image Source: Josh Hinton