Three Indispensable Work Habits
I love to study why some people are more successful and effective than others. Over the years, I’ve noticed three specific habits commonly employed by effective people, and tried to integrate them into my own work life:
1) Weekly Status Reports. Every Friday send your boss a one page report summarizing your activities over the past week. This is as much for you as it is for your boss. It protects you from being over-assigned (they can see how busy you already are). It prevents the, ‘you did not tell me about this’ situation. It reminds them of everything you do and how valuable you are (esp. useful during downturns). And it ensures that you are staying on top of your tasks and not forgetting anything. I don’t actually do this every week, but I should, and I’m trying to become more consistent.
2) Follow up every day. At 4:30pm every day, a reminder automatically pops up on my screen: “Follow up! Tie up all the loose ends!” I stop what I’m doing and spend the last 30 minutes of the day doing exactly that. Reviewing what I did and did not accomplish today. Notifying others as to the state of those tasks. Updating calendars and todo lists with anything that came up.
3) Over-prepare –Don’t waste people’s time. Before you meet with someone (in a professional capacity), spend a few minutes asking some simple questions: What does this person want to accomplish? What questions could they conceivably ask me? Do they have sufficient control and visibility to feel comfortable and make wise decisions? Send out an agenda beforehand (and ask for comments). Take meeting notes and send them out immediately afterward to detect any misunderstandings. This habit is especially important when meeting or working with people over your pay grade.
It’s amazing how far these three little practices go towards making you more competent, organized, and reliable. I recommend them to everyone.
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