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Thursday, June 25, 2015

Why your daily schedule just isn't working for you (and how to fix it)

IMAGE: GUSTAV DEJERT/IKON IMAGES/CORBIS

KAYLA MATTHEWS for The Muse

2 days ago

Is your Google Calendar overbooked with tons of microprojects? Does Trello take up hours of your day? Have you made so many lists that you can't even keep them straight anymore?

I have no doubt you're setting up your schedule with the best of intentions, but if it feels like your attempts to stay organized aren't paying off, chances are you're using the wrong kind of planning tool.

Most of today's popular scheduling tools serve one of three purposes. Make sure you're using the right one for the job you're trying to accomplish.

1. The basic to-do list

You know what a to-do list is. This kind of schedule is great for individual team members or for nonlinear projects where the order of tasks being completed isn't very important.

Tools like Wunderlist and Any.do are awesome for those seeking something more basic because they have a clean user interface and are accessible across multiple devices. Create and save your lists in the web applications, or manage them on the go from your phone.

Use it when your priority is completing unrelated goals

To-do lists are simple and straightforward, which means you can quickly plan and modify them without throwing off any other part of your day. If your daily tasks aren't dependent on one another, this will help you remember what you have to do without taking too much time for you to organize.

So, if you're looking ahead to the weekend, and you want to buy groceries, go for a run, meet up with friends, and send a few emails; your best bet is to record all of these unrelated items on your handy to-do list.

2. The Kanban schedule

Kanban tools focus on helping you organize tasks into buckets. Ideally, as a task moves from one bucket to the next, it gets closer to being completed. For example, these buckets could be stages of a process or subtasks within a larger task that you need to finish.

The Kanban schedule is what you see used by tools like Trello and Google Keep. They let you easily move items around, set deadlines and reminders, and share your timeline with others.

Use it when your priority is getting through many structured stages

The bucket system will help you visualize the stages in a process and track individual projects as they move through these stages. Not only can this help you manage your projects, but it might also help you spot inefficiencies in your process.

If you have a remote team of employees working on various aspects of the same project — and who are tracking progress by deliverables rather than a timetable — this is the way to go.

3. The Gantt schedule

Gantt schedules emphasize timeliness and deadlines. With this type, you can plan out how long each step of a process should take, and how each step relates to the steps that come before and after it.

People who work based on deadlines often prefer to use Google Calendar or Instagantt from Asana. Both of these tools allow you to color code your projects (which I find incredibly helpful). They also include drag and drop features so you can easily rearrange your tasks, should something unexpected come up.

Use it when your priority is deadlines

Gantt scheduling's focus on timeliness will help you break down the subtasks of your larger project and allocate the proper amount of time for each one. By breaking down the amount of time needed to finish the project, you'll be able to more efficiently plan each step of the process and avoid that approaching-deadline stress.

If you want to make sure that all members of your team are completing the subtasks of a long project on time, you'll want to use this.

Do yourself a favor and take a few minutes — today — to write down some of the most important aspects of your schedule. Don't think about the task management tool you currently use: Just write down what's important in your day-to-day work.

Then, take a look at your list and determine what kind of schedule would be best for you. Do you need a system that caters more to your deadlines, or do you need a simpler list that doesn't take an hour to plan out each week?

Just don't forget to schedule in time to tweet me and tell me how your new system is working out.

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This article originally published at The Muse here

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Why your daily schedule just isn't working for you (and how to fix it)

IMAGE: GUSTAV DEJERT/IKON IMAGES/CORBIS

KAYLA MATTHEWS for The Muse

1 day ago

Is your Google Calendar overbooked with tons of microprojects? Does Trello take up hours of your day? Have you made so many lists that you can't even keep them straight anymore?

Most of today's popular scheduling tools serve one of three purposes. Make sure you're using the right one for the job you're trying to accomplish.

1. The basic to-do list

You know what a to-do list is. This kind of schedule is great for individual team members or for nonlinear projects where the order of tasks being completed isn't very important.

Use it when your priority is completing unrelated goals

2. The Kanban schedule

The Kanban schedule is what you see used by tools like Trello and Google Keep. They let you easily move items around, set deadlines and reminders, and share your timeline with others.

Use it when your priority is getting through many structured stages

If you have a remote team of employees working on various aspects of the same project — and who are tracking progress by deliverables rather than a timetable — this is the way to go.

3. The Gantt schedule

Gantt schedules emphasize timeliness and deadlines. With this type, you can plan out how long each step of a process should take, and how each step relates to the steps that come before and after it.

Use it when your priority is deadlines

If you want to make sure that all members of your team are completing the subtasks of a long project on time, you'll want to use this.

Just don't forget to schedule in time to tweet me and tell me how your new system is working out.

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This article originally published at The Muse here

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

When playing dumb at work can actually advance your career

IMAGE: LAUGHING STOCK/CORBIS

SARA MCCORD for The Muse

4 days ago

I know what you're thinking: This sounds like a terrible idea. In a setting where your goal is to show how capable you are, why would you ever want to downplay your brilliance?

Because it can help you navigate challenging situations — and actually preserve your shiningreputation. If you're looking to push back against the status quo, build inroads with an angry client or co-worker, diplomatically disagree with someone, or stay out of office politics, playing dumb (OK, confused) is the way to go. Read on to learn how it works.

1. If you see an area for improvement

I've written before on the power of "I'm new here." As a newbie, your first couple of weeks on the job are the perfect time to mention that something brand new — and (coincidentally, wink) inefficient — doesn't quite make sense to you. Your unfamiliarity is an in to discuss other ways you've seen similar tasks accomplished, as well as parts of the process that seem counterintuitive.

While you can't play that card once you've been somewhere for months or years, you can always ask for more information. In other words, if your boss doesn't usually take too kindly to, "Let's change this," skip that approach. Instead try, "In our next meeting, could you walk me through the thinking behind [a certain process]? It would help me [sell our product/work collaboratively/train someone new] if I had a better understanding of the [context/details]."

You've tied learning more to doing your job better, so it's likely your boss will oblige. Then, when you are discussing the particulars of how a certain process works, ask the occasional, "Have we considered [this innovation]?"

Another possible outcome: Once your boss walks you through the details, maybe you'll understand the why and no longer see the need to make improvements.

2. If you're dealing with a difficult person

Feigning naiveté is also a great way to approach difficult personalities. Let's say you're told that a certain colleague or stakeholder is known for being abrasive. You could go into your first meeting with this person planning to be especially patronizing (or confrontational), or you could pretend that you had never heard he was difficult. When a co-worker says, "Oh, well you know George is the worst," you respond, "Really? I hadn't heard that." Then you enter the meeting truly acting like you've never heard that before.

Now, who do think is more likely to build inroads with George?

This approach is good for other common workplace annoyances. With the co-worker who takes credit for your work, you can try, "I had no idea we were on the exact same page about X. Great minds think alike!" With the manager who always assigns you projects on Friday at 4 PM, you can try, "I looked back through my project list and couldn't find this anywhere. Did I miss something during our check-in?"

These responses allow you to address the situation without being confrontational. Ironically, the subtext of these lines is, "I know exactly what's going on here," and that can make the difference in how these people treat you in the future.

3. If you disagree

Picture this: A teammate — or worse, your boss — suggests the worst idea you've ever heard. "That's a terrible idea" isn't going to win you any congeniality awards, and it will probably make the other person defensive.

If there are red flags jumping out at you, odds are they may be in your colleague's blind spot (or, the overwhelming benefits aren't yet clear to you). So, before you launch into a counter-attack, ask for clarification.

Try: "I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying. Could you explain it differently?" Asking someone to explain her point in a new way should bring additional information to light. Of course, she'll be more likely to walk through her thinking if you choose the non-confrontational, "I'm not sure I get it..." over the arrogant: "I'm not sure I understand how this would work, given these five things I've already considered as well as their possible repercussions."

4. If you're trying to avoid office politics

Repeat after me: "I must've missed that." Now, imagine a co-worker stops by your cubicle to ask your opinion on nasty words exchanged in a meeting, someone being passed over for a project, or some other salacious news.

Maybe you're the sort of person who can craft a diplomatic response on the spot (in which case, rock on!). But for the rest of us, the best bet is often not to get involved. And if you go with "no comment" or "I'd rather not that discuss that," you may be seen as stiff or judgmental. With, "I must have missed that," you manage to remove yourself without taking sides.

Some people think the office is the place to be all power, all brilliance, all the time. And while you should strive to make a powerful and brilliant impression, an occasional question or clarification won't discount your abilities — but it may help you squeeze through a tricky situation with your reputation intact.

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This article originally published at The Muse here