Tasks expand to the amount of time we give them, according to Parkinson’s Rule. What are the time windows you are placing around the tasks and projects you are working on? As we know, time spent does note equal results and/or productivity. In fact, corralling your time and putting a boundary around key tasks may help you.
What type of tasks might benefit from a boundary?

If you are an entrepreneur or solopreneur, consider:

• Time spent on social media
• Time creating new content
• Time doing research

If you are a remote worker, this might include:

• Time spent in meetings
• Time organizing your office or emails
• Time trying to find a certain piece of information

Many of these become big black holes where there may be a point of “diminishing returns”, or in other words, value in spending time on the activity only up to a certain point. With social media for example, what can I get done in 20 minutes that 45 minutes might not accomplish? Is the 45 minutes I spent doubly impactful, or just a little bit more?

Notice how you prefer to work and what’s useful.

The same can be applied around the time spent on personal activities:

• Cleaning the house
• Getting laundry done
• Trying to find one thing

What are the boundaries you want to create around your work? 

Kind wishes,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways!
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player!

“When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few, if any of us, can write one thought and think another at a time. Thus, a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.” – Michael LeBoeuf

How much are you keeping in your head? What is the cost of keeping too many ideas only up in the head and not captured somewhere? Many of us walk around all day trying to keep things in our head. What are the things you want to be capturing on paper or in an app?

Capture it before it flies away. How many times did you think of something great but didn’t capture it, and couldn’t remember it hour later?

We have limited capacity in terms of what we can carry in our brains, especially in short term memory. Have you heard of the 7 + or – 2 rule? That’s about how much our brains can remember at any given time, hence one of the reasons why phone numbers are only 7 digits in length.

It can be valuable to make our thoughts visible so you can keep it in focus and be reminded of it. In coaching, I usually encourage my clients to decide how they want to keep it visible. This might include a note on a whiteboard, a To Do list on their phone, a note in a journal or a file that on their computer.

Why write it down?
There are many reasons to write things down including the fact that:

• Once we have things written down, especially when it’s all in one place, we may be able to see new patterns and connections, sparking new ideas. 
• Get the little things out of your mind. Like cobwebs, this can start to muddle things up.
• Articulating issues, whether writing or speaking, helps us gain clarity and work through issues.
• Writing it out can help you see connections or clearly put language around something.

What are you going to capture on paper, or computer, today? How are you going to do that?

Enjoy your writing!
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways!
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player!

The third productivity key which PlanDoTrack is grounded in is that of momentum. Creating momentum where things seemingly take on a life of their own, where strengths and/or velocity is leveraged, is key for business results. Momentum can involve consistent action as well as experimental action. It often will involve more risk than normal so that frequency of action is faster. Momentum may also involve incorporating strategic thinking so that you are looking further down the horizon to estimate where your actions will take you. Thinking about what happens when you ski or boat – we are usually looking across to the horizon for a point at which we are aiming for, to set the course over the medium or longer term, rather than immediately looking to the short course.
​
So, what can we do to create momentum? Here are some of the ideas I shared over at the Teams365 blog (my daily blog around leadership and teamwork issues).
 
“Some ideas to keep in mind with creating momentum around anything - whether it's getting more exercise, having more one on one time with your staff or eating better - are:

• Clear the clutter so what's important has space - What clutter could you remove to help this stand out more? I'm always amazed at how clearing clutter really can bring in some new energy.
• Schedule it - As Peter Drunker used to say, "What doesn't get scheduled, doesn't get done."
• Create an accountability partner - Who can you partner with to do the task, cheer you on or hold your feet to the fire?
• Remember the "why" behind why this is important
• Get started! Getting started is half the battle with most things. Whether it's getting into a routine of writing or clearing in box, get started. It can help to set a time for 15 minutes and see how far you get. You may find that that creates all the start you need, or it may be that it just the start.”

What are the things that are going to help you move forward as a business or team?
Check out this additional article which may be of interest by Glen Llopis. 

Enjoy!
Jennifer

​​​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways!
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player!

What are you noticing about the things that are helping you keep moving? Having led thousands of conversations around productivity with leaders, business owners, groups and teams over the last fifteen years, I felt it was important to distill these down to more generic keys for productivity in my 2019 publication - PlanDoTrack.

Five of the core themes which PlanDoTrack is built upon are the mantras of:

• Focus
• Experimentation
• Momentum
• Reflective Pauses
• Celebration

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn. We’ll be taking a deeper dive into each of these in the coming weeks here at the PlanDoTrack Blog. For more on these, also be sure to check out the associated questions embedded in Section 4 of PlanDoTrack.

Today’s post explores the topic of FOCUS.

In today’s VUCA context, being able to focus while also keeping an eye to the horizon of possible opportunities and threats, is key.

Focus is paramount as a remote professional on multiple levels including:

• Project work: Focusing in on the right projects at the right time. Consider that what might be important for you, might not be important for others on the team. What are the “right projects” for “right now”?
• Focus and workflow: A challenge for many remote workers today is being able to focus on core tasks without getting disturbed. If your work requires critical thinking, when is that happening? If your work involves creating new ideas for projects, products or services, when are you finding time to do that?
• Managing interruptions – With the average worker getting interrupted multiple times an hour, especially through the “digital interruptions” of pings, emails and instant messages, what are you noticing about the interruptions you are facing on a regular basis? What are you doing to manage these? Note that it’s not just the interruption itself, but also getting back on task. Dr. Gloria Marks has noted it can take upwards of 22 minutes to get back on task post-interruption.

 
Activity:

• Note what focus means for you right now – which of these areas needs attention?
• What are the things you want to do more of to amplify your focus?
• What do you need to change or say NO to?
• Who do you want to be accountable to around focus?

For more on this topic, check out an earlier 2020 blog post here.

Wishing you the best, 
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways!
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player!

Do you have a running task list? Perhaps? On multiple post-its or lists or walls or boards?

What would it be like to have them consolidated in one place?

Having all your tasks under one umbrella can help you as you go to ensure that all the tasks were followed.

Figure out the level of the plan (annual, monthly, weekly, daily, other).

Planning takes place on multiple levels – annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily and sometimes on a project basis. What levels are you planning at? How are you keeping the tasks in focus so that they can move forward?

In the PlanDoTrack planner, you will find that every month has its own Monthly To Dos page. You will find that you will want to shift the To Dos forward into your weekly planners and daily planners. I find this is an invaluable way to keep tasks in mind. Without it, I may forget some of the smaller tasks that need to get done – i.e. reporting.

Many use the running task list idea on a weekly basis. For other ideas on how to use a running task list, check out these articles:

• The Petite Planners – How to Do a Running Task List in Your Bullet Journal
• Take a look at this Weekly Running Task List 

What’s important for you in terms of carrying things forward?
 
What are the levels you are planning at?
Annually – Budgets, vision, meta-goals
Quarterly – Achievements, trends, major projects
Monthly – Breaking down projects, to tasks and activities.
Weekly – activities and tasks required to focus on this.

All the best,
​Jennifer

Ten minutes of planning can save upwards of 60 minutes of unfocused efforts, according to an old project management adage.

It’s alluring to write something down or put it in the system without taking a few minutes each day to look ahead and think about how our planning works, or to look to the wider picture and to think about what’s important.
​
At what levels are you planning? Planning doesn’t always have to be undertaken in a daily focus. Many times, the traction comes from looking to the wider landscape. In fact, PlanDoTrack isn’t a daily planner. It’s about focusing on monthly, quarterly and annual planning.

When we shift our attention to the higher level of planning, it can serve as an anchor for us, through the ups and downs.

Don’t forget to explore planning at these levels:
​
Annual planning – While we spend a lot of time focusing on these at the start and end of the year, when was the last time you reviewed your annual plan? When you achieve these items, what are you doing to celebrate?

Quarterly planning – What are the things you are aspiring to on a tri-monthly basis? For many of us there is seasonality in our work. What are the core goals you want to engage in throughout the year?

Weekly planning – What are the key goals you have this week? What are the things which are getting carried over week to week? This may be a signal that they need to be dropped, delegated or deleted. What do you want to do about those tasks?

Enjoy your planning!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019),  Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon
Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326
Check out the 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at  your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course.
Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram

Are you a remote professional? Join us at the Remote Pathways podcast as we explore the people, places and pathways to remote work. It's a new podcast I co-host with Michelle Mullins.

Let's keep the momentum going of the new year! As the tagline for PlanDoTrack goes - Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum. What are you keeping a FOcus on this year?

I've just sent out the January PlanDoTrack newsletter which included a number of key goodies you will likely be interested in. You can read it here.

If you are looking to set some focus and get momentum going I hope you'll Save the date - Monday January 6th from 11 - 11:30 am Eastern -  and oin me in zoom room 270-302-0415 for the 1st PlanDoTrack Community call of the year. The topic is Kicking off 2020 - Focus, Productivity and Creating Your Annual Plan. It will be part tips and part working session so bring your planner and a pen!

If you are a business owner, check out the 1BizStepADay series of daily prompts for January 2020 which I posted over at the Coaching Business Builder blog earlier this week. Be sure to download these daily prompts which are geared to support you into 15 minutes of focused action.
Looking for more support than that and you are a coach? Consider joining me for the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator. Registration is open to January 15th. We'll be taking daily action on our business to March 15th. The program includes on-demand content, two weekly group calls, and 9 individual 15 minute calls with me each week for the program. It's geared to get you into action!

The PlanDoTrack 52 Weeks series wrapped up last week - be sure to get your downloads before they disappear. 

I'll be back next week with a new 52 weeks series for remote workers over at the Remote Pathways blog. Hope you'll join us there for this new series.

As a final reminder, Winter 2020 programming begins next week. Programs include:
Coaching Biz Growth Lab - An annual group for coaches wanting support around their coaching business development. Meeting Friday January 10th from 3- 4 pm ET. Our first of 24 bi-weekly calls this year.

Group Coaching Essentials - 8.75 CCEs for coaches wanting to develop and lead their own group coaching programs. Starts Friday JAn 10th at 1015 am ET (3 spots open)

Virtual Facilitation Essentials - for professionals wanting to jazz up their virtual calls and meetings. Join us for learning and practice in the virtual space! Monday January 13th from 1:30 -245 pm ET for  5 weeks. 8.5 CCEs

Mentor Coaching Groups - for coaches working towards their ACC or PCC, or renewing for ACC. 3 months from January 10 - April 18 (calls usually 2nd and 4th Friday from 9 - 10 am ET)

That's it for today - Enjoy your first weekend of 2020!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019),  Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon
Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326
Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram

This week’s Weekly Planning Hack is all about taking consistent action, starting out in 15-minute bursts. The tagline for my Workbook Planners, PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder, is that business success in today’s disruptive environment is about taking consistent action on a daily basis, in order to generate the momentum needed around projects.

A key challenge of today’s VUCA and ever-changing context is that things are occurring so fast many times we are abandoning long term projects in trade-off of short-term creation.

We still need to get our big projects done. For leaders, these are the strategic issues that are going to move the business forward. For business owners, these are the big projects - like writing a book or creating something else – that is going to keep the business moving.

The challenge is finding the space to work on projects. As Thoreau wrote “I love a broad margin to my life”. I have been enamored of his writing on Walden Pond since my early 20s when I was a grad student in Environmental Studies. As many of you know, each summer I retreat and work remote out of my cottage in the solitude of nature. Even with that, the margins of my life are compressed most of the time – as a business owner, author, mom and primary support to my aging parents. Finding huge swaths of time for creative projects is always a challenge. Two years ago, after my return to the city, I didn’t return to watching TV or Netflix. I still have ample screen time in my line of work, but it created a bit more margin for creative and strategic thinking.

Even with this, I started finding that some projects really could only have 15-30 minutes dedicated to it at any given time. Great examples of this are this series – the Weekly Journaling Prompts which have been created in 15 – 30-minute windows of writing, posting and recording throughout the year, as well as a lot of my writing on the Teams365 blog.

You might not think 15 minutes a day adds up, but it does. Take a look at the volume of content generated over at the Teams365 blog which has now shaped not only one, but three of my books.

What are the key strategic and long-term goals you want to work towards? How might 15 minutes a day of focused effort, and consistent action on a daily (or regular) basis help you?

Experiment with it. See what happens. AND – Let us know!

Best, 
​Jennifer