Back in 2016 I started experimenting with the notion of sprints in terms of accelerating my work cycles. Sprints usually consist of setting a more condensive work boundary around a project, task or activity. Those working in the tech and design sector have been leveraging the power of sprints for a while.
​
Sprints are based on the idea that I could get just as much done in shorter windows of time, particularly as it related to new ideas and programming.

What it can look like:
In the short-term, sprints might involve dedicating a 60-minute window to the initial part of design of a program, rather than giving it a whole day. While we might not complete everything in one sitting, it’s likely that it will move the needle forward.

On the longer-term, some teams are moving to a process where they dedicate a week or two to a project, to build it and get feedback on it.

There are multiple benefits to sprints including:

• Compressed, focused time around an activity, usually at 100% productivity.
• Immersion – Being able to focus only on one thing for a fixed period of time to design, and pilot, the activity.
• The ability to dedicate all resources to that activity.
• Getting the important things DONE and usually at a stage where they will become embedded, rather than when projects get started but aren’t really far enough along to stand on their own

​Questions to consider:

• What are the areas you want to be involved in creating or designing?
• What’s important to take action on, and get traction around, this quarter?
• What could you do to leverage the power of a sprint?

Let us know about your experience with sprints!

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!

Clean it out to create some space! This week’s Weekly Planning Hack gets you to think about what needs a clean out to create more space, focus and/or speed.

Sometimes taking 15 minutes to clean something out can be of great value. For example, if your technology is starting to slow down, maybe it’s time to ensure a back-up can clear some of the video files that are piling up. Or perhaps, emails need to be archived.

Cleaning things out may also help to find things that have been “lost” or simply buried.

What are the things that could benefit from getting a clean out? Consider all these areas:

• Email files
• Filing cabinet that hasn’t been touched
• Desk drawer
• The closet in your office which doesn’t get touched
• The file drawer
• The fridge (yes, you might be surprized with what you find)
• The pile of papers on your desk (or buried away)
• Your briefcase or bag
• Your electronic files --- even a quick scan may unearth some documents you don’t remember having

Be aware of how long things need to be kept. For example, in some jurisdictions business records may need to be kept for seven years or longer.
What are the things that can benefit from a clean out? What have you let pile up and really could benefit from a few minutes spent organizing? Look around with clean eyes.

Take 15 minutes today, or over the course of the next several days to clean something out. Let us know what you chose and what you found!

Have fun cleaning!
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!

“One of the best pieces of advice I heard from a mentor was to consider the MUST do’s versus the NICE to do’s when prioritizing. It’s made a huge difference.” – Jennifer Britton

With a gazillion things on your task list, what’s a “MUST do” versus a “NICE to do”? Discernment is a key topic of recent Weekly Planning Hacks here. Questions to ask yourself as you consider what is important:

1. Which activities, if not completed, will have significant long term (or medium term) impact?
2. What tasks are dependent on one another?
3. What needs to be completed before something else?
4. What runs the risk of expiring if it does not get done?
5. What might create a gap if it’s not completed?
6. What would have a negative implication if not done?
7. Who needs/is waiting for the product to the completed?
8. What is contingent on it?

Activity:
Take time to note all of your tasks. What are the MUST TO DO’s vs the NICE TO DO’s?
With those items on the NICE to do list, do these get DEFERRED? DUMPED? DELEGATED? Decide what you are going to do with them, and if they are to be delegated, make sure you check out this post on delegation, one of the tasks that many professionals find challenging.

For more on delegation, check out these past two PlanDoTrack blog posts:

• Week 43 of the 52 Weeks of PlanDoTrack – Delegation
• Weekly Planning Hack 31 – Delegation 

If you are on LinkedIn, let’s connect and check out this older article I wrote on delegation.

​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!

Just like a cup of coffee or a stew, creative ideas often benefit from some percolation time. Perhaps you are working on a big project, or a creative task. Taking time to step away can be of benefit to let our brains still work on it. In fact, our brains still work on projects, even when we step away from it.

A great strategy for tasks which might not be flowing yet, is to start it and then let it percolate. Perhaps go for a walk or a swim or have a discussion with some one.

This marination, percolation time can be necessary.

Check out these articles:

• Minda Zetlin’s article at Inc on: Your Brain Has Two Ways of Solving Problems, Which One Is Better
• Redbooth.com’s blog post from Diana Ecker on “Letting Ideas Percolate and How to Do It” 

​Enjoy your reflections!
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!

In the remote workspace working ahead (a little bit) can be an important practice, especially if disruption is more the norm than the blip in your work style.

While some things will change if we undertake them too early, there are several things that you might benefit from working ahead around. Consider these items:

• Reporting
• Administrative tasks
• Presentations
• Small tasks which add up

Over the course of a day, we can pull off tangent many, many times. That may be the reason that several schools of thought in time management assert to get the most important, and often the most difficult thing done first.

I see this happen in my work on a regular basis, especially when I work around proposals, and presentations. I need a certain amount of creative and deep thinking when doing these two things, and if I can, I’ll find very early times of the day to at least get started, and sometimes finish, these tasks. Usually I am thankful given that inevitably urgent pressing matters pop up, requiring, my time, focus and brain power.

If you were to invest in starting 30 minutes a day earlier, or getting a head start on thinking on a train ride, what would you want to work ahead around? 

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!

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!

​Do you suffer from post-it note syndrome – have put lots of ideas down but can’t locate it as they are all scattered?

Today’s post gets you thinking about how you organize your ideas all in one place so you can quickly find them.

This may involve a change in systems or habits for many, including:

• Moving from a physical system to one where things go straight onto the computer/phone in a To Do List or a Trello board.
• Getting in the habit of putting everything in one location – i.e. a book
• Getting in the habit of doing it and deleting it
• Making a list of all the tasks, plus information on annual To Do's and quarterly To Do's

While the development of a new habit can take time, it may also involve starting to focus on getting into the practice of the new habit. What are you doing to become more streamlined with your goals and tasks?

Best 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!

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