When work means back-to-back meetings, emails, chats, and calls
Hi!
I’ve been reviewing the English translation of GRIP, which is nearing its completion! We’ve added a number of lessons learned and other changes to the manuscript. I hope to unveil more details on availability soon.
Meanwhile, I’ve got another fantastic blurb for English edition to share with you. This one’s from Tony Crabbe, who wrote the awesome book BUSY. Here’s his take: “For anyone grappling with persistent busyness, and struggling to cope, this book’s for you. It’s filled with hundreds of great ideas that simply work, pulled together in a coherent toolkit for our times. This easy but compelling read is something you’ll want to keep referring back to again and again. In a time when we all face so many demands, expectations, and uncertainties, GRIP will help you take back control of your week and your life.”
Humbled. And getting more and more anxious to get the book out there. That will require more work though and a lot of communication. And that’s also the topic of this week’s issue.
Perhaps where you live you can go in to the office on occasion. Or maybe you’re working 100% remotely these days. Whatever the case, it seems that work now means more calls, more chats, more communication.
All kinds of new tools are required, and you may be having more meetings than ever before.
When the team’s working in different places, developing a culture of asynchronous work can be key to enjoying your job. Working asynchronously means it doesn’t matter when during the day you do some or all of your work.
Of course not all jobs lend themselves to asynchronous work. Teachers have fixed times for online instruction, for instance. But other jobs have been largely asynchronous for years now, like freelance writers. And many jobs have some asynchronous components.
It takes some getting used to, because working on your own time comes with a fundamentally different approach to work. A good transition from traditional work hours to asynchronous work is important if you don’t want to burn out – pandemic or no pandemic.
Today: Tips for moving toward more asynchronous work. Don’t worry, this is something you can do one step at a time.
(Asynchronous work does have one big downside: Without fixed working hours, work can end up permeating your entire day. We can all too easily spend all our “free” time working. More on that next week.)
Optimize your meetings for asynchronous work
A couple weeks ago, I shared some pointers for meetings. But perhaps your days are still filled with more meetings than ever before. Makes sense, of course, since all those things we’d clear up in casual conversation still have to be coordinated somehow.
Here’s what helps me:
Reserve your best times for yourself. Get back into using your calendar again. Make sure you save the best moments of your day and week for your own work. Block that time in your calendar and stick to it. Turn down meetings at those times. That gets easier when you can say why you’re not available and then suggest a new time straightaway.
Agree when the team can hold meetings (with 3 or more people). Suggest limiting the time spent in meetings each day, and take the first step to respecting those limits, which will then inspire alternatives. You could suggest, for instance, planning all meetings between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. The idea? See to it that matters are pointedly discussed and coordinated. For direct communication between two team members, only those two people need be present.
Share decisions proactively. Asynchronous work relies on clear written communication. Don’t erect some new system; just use the platform most people are already on. Get in the habit of finishing off any one-on-one messages with: Could you share this in Slack? Or should I do that. If you forget to ask, no problem. Just go ahead and share the decisions made: “Derek and I just decided to change the text on the app’s start screen back to the previous version. I’ll take care of that today.” That ensures everyone is aware of the latest developments and gives people the chance to weigh in.
Ask folks to elaborate in writing. Encourage people to write down their proposals and suggestions before a meeting. Preferably in a form where it’s easy to add questions or remarks or suggest improvements. Take the time to go through the proposals carefully. You’ll see that your meetings get to the point faster. And you can wrap up sooner.
Ending a meeting early is a win. We tend to fill the time we’ve set aside for meetings. Planning shorter meeting blocks helps, but also: Stay focused on the purpose of the meeting and let out as soon as that goal is met. I think we’ve now covered the key questions and we all know what we need to do. Right? Okay, let’s wrap things up then. And let everyone get on with their day.
Slack, Teams, WhatsApp. What to do when it’s all a bit much
The number of ways we can communicate with coworkers has exploded. It could well be that you speak with the same people on a single day using WhatsApp, email, Slack, and comments in Google Docs. Not to mention phone conversations and video calls and meetings.
Two key insights for me: Don’t think you have to keep up with everything that’s going on all day long. But if you use these channels wisely, it can cut out the need for a bunch of emails or meetings.
Here are my suggestions for taking charge of all those messages:
Eliminate distractions. Turn off notifications and all those red dots on your cell and computer. Then check apps at a time of your own choosing. Mute groups with lots of chatter.
Set aside time for talking. If communication is important for your work (and I assure you it is), then it deserves your full attention. Set aside time in your calendar for messaging of all kinds. Then close off your email, etc. in between. Check this newsletter for tips on making time for email.
Use the status function in chat apps. In Slack and Microsoft Teams, you can indicate what you’re doing using your status. Let people know when you’ve taken the afternoon off, or when you’re otherwise available or not available to chat. You can even sync your status with your calendar, so people will automatically see when you’re “in a meeting”.
Resist turning the chat into another to-do list. Questions from team members can pile up, and you may start marking them as unread so you won’t forget. That’s tricky: Neglect to mark a message once, and you can easily lose track of it. Instead, get into the habit of moving questions straight to your to-do list as they come in. Zapier has some handy ways to automate that step.
Have a good week!
Rick
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