Harnesses Productivity in 2024

Stop using Eisenhower matrix for productivity. The world has changed.

When everything is urgent and important, how will you place in the 2X2? Instead do this.

Use a project dashboard in your FigJam. What you measure gets improved.

Let’s first define a project. A project has a definite start date and end date with a specific objective, output and outcome. No one will define this for you. You must define your projects and that is the beauty.

When your manager says, could you please finish xyz deck, it is not just a task, it is a project. The deck needs some thinking, collecting information, drafts, reviews, changes, articulation/narrative and finally showing up and presenting. Sometimes you make the deck for someone to present, in that case train them on your narrative, that is also a task. All of this takes time and it doesn’t happen in a day. Give yourself enough time to do the tasks else you will burn out. When you define a project, you think about the work breakdown, outputs and outcomes as well. I call it OOO framework.

On a home front, let’s say you need to change a faucet, it is not just a to-do, it is a project. Buying the right faucet with warranty, calling the plumber, making sure he shows up, fixing it, checking it, making a payment and testing it if works for a week. It is a project. Sometimes we do mega projects with a lot of tracking. Then you can add the spreadsheet to the post it. Easy peesy.

I realised that to-dos do not work. There is no one to-do. It is a series. I stopped using GTD and to-do list a decade ago. Go projects.

On a project dashboard, change colors to grey (not started), yellow(work in progress), green(done). Have a red dot near the post it if the project is time sensitive or comes from upper management at work. Have a frame for personal and work so that you track them separately. Add your reflections once a month. Review your dashboard weekly. If you spent money on the project, track that as well in one place. Daily review is a overkill.

Honestly, nothing much happens in a day unless until that is the only project you do in a day.

Slowly you will start understanding where your time is going. You will see what to delegate, what to drop, what to defer and what to just do. Every quarter have a new figjam. A project dashboard keeps you sane.

My simple rule is, if it is not in my dashboard I am not doing it. This forces me to add projects to my dashboard whether the project has started or not.

I like to do well all that I do, so I put in extra care to finish a project and put a bow on it with my Tripti index.

Harness your productivity. Feel better. It is not about accomplishments, it is about how you feel after doing everything. Most of us constantly live is not enough mode and that drains our energy. Tracking in one place boosts your morale even if your people tell you that you suck. You know it with data that you don’t 😉 Go for it 🫶