Stop procrastinating with the 5 minute rule

Many of us procrastinate.  We leave tasks we don’t want to do. And work on simpler tasks that we enjoy - or at least tolerate.

If this sounds like you, then read on.

The five-minute rule is a cognitive-behavioural technique that tricks the brain into starting something it has been trying to avoid. The rule  is that you must commit just five minutes to the task, knowing that when the five minutes are up, you can stop, and move on to something else, if you want to.

The chances are that simply starting the task has allowed you to overcome the biggest hurdle to completion and, in many cases,  you will be able to complete the rest of your task more easily - and straight away. 

However, for the five-minute rule to work, you must give those first five minutes your undivided, total attention.

Try it! What have you got to lose?

Where is the new start?

 The UK has a new monarch and a new Prime minister- one avowedly committed to economic growth as the way to climb out off the abyss we are in.

But, as yet, apart from the long-espoused commitment to tax cuts, we have seen little evidence of what will create that growth.

Where is the infrastructure strategy?

Where is the skills strategy?

These are key responsibilities of government for a high performing, high productivity nation.This is what you beed to create the potential you can realise in your business.

As yet, we have heard a few platitudes, but no plans.

I am available for an advisory role!

Do you need so many meetings?

 We know that meetings suck time snd energy out of an organisation - so why do we have so many. Especially these days when there are so many other ways of communicating without dragging  everyone to a central point which requires some of them to leave their offices and travel to that central point, further taking up their precious time.

One way that some organisations have found to find out what meetings  are essential is to establish a code of voluntary, rather than mandatory, attendance.

Relevant people are informed that a particular meeting is to be held and are given the agenda.  They then decide whether they need to, or want to, attend.

It helps, of course, to have some means of measuring the outcomes and the effectiveness of meetings so that a comparison of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ cultures can be made …. but, in the absence of formal measures, managers will’ know’ whether the new regime is working.

Equally, of courses it helps if those at the top also establish an effective communication process to ensure important messages are cascaded throughout the organisation.

Those meetings that have few attendees should be considered for review and possible removal.  Look at the agendas and the potential length of the meetings.  People often complain about the length and frequency of meetings as much as the fact that it exists in the first place.

So, empower your employees to choose which meetings they attend - and mean it.  Fill any communication  gaps.  After, say, 6 months, survey staff and find out their reactions - which meetings may be removed from the schedule … and whether any new, perhaps informal, meetings have been established to fill any gaps.

Then establish a new schedule of fewer, more efficient meetings.

Its not quite a simple as it sounds…. but it is a way of moving to a new low-meeting culture which still works effectively and releases time for other activities.

What Should Staff Do in Their Breaks?

Simple question asked here. Can your staff  do anything in their break times to help their work performance?

Well, of course, they can.

Drink water - and keep hydrated.

Take a walk.  Humans are made to move - not sit still. 

Breathe.  Make positive attempts to breathe deeply and soundly.

If they are going to snack, encourage them to snack healthily.

Avoid using their phones.  They’ve probably spent the last hour or so looking at a screen. Get them to give their eyes and brain a rest.

These are all simple things - but they can make a difference to their performance.

Get them to give it a try - and see if they feel better and/or perform better.

Behaving Like children

Bullying does take place in many workplaces.

Bullying gets a lot of attention in schools ands colleges - and there are strategies to deal with it and the consequences of it.

This rarely happens in the workplace.  Most firms don’t know whether bullying happens in their organisation - and, where it might, they usually chose to ignore it, assuming it will sort itself out. 

The problem, and the difference between bullying in schools, is that in workplaces it is often those in authority that are the perpetrators - intimidating, offending or humiliating those that report to them.

The result can be short term performance loss, but, if not checked, it can result in longer-term mental health issues. Often, the only recourse for the victim is to leave their job.

All of this can have a major impact on productivity and be very expensive. 

The culture of the organisation can be changed  - with far-reaching effect.

Companies need to find ways of making themselves aware of incidents or patterns of bullying. One clear way is a form of ’whistleblowing’ reporting system which guarantees anonymity for the whistleblowers - at least in the initial stages.

The company then needs to make sure the bullying is addressed - without causing further harm to the victim.  The victim must be supported and the bully must be punished  but, more importantly, have his/her behaviour changed.

There is clearly a role for training and development but there is also a need to clarify values and management policies and practices which are deemed acceptable.

The result can be an improvement in organisational culture, in staff well-being and morale - and in productivity.

Any costs should easily pay for themselves.  

If you have bullying, you need to change culture and management practice.  This can be costly - but nowhere near as costly as a poor culture and a bullied workforce! 

Coaching success

This summer, in the UK, has been glorious and packed with sport - Wimbledon, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, It got me thinking about how athletes and sports people prepare for a season in which they want to, or need to, peak several times.

Sports coaches and sports scientists seems to have developed this ability within elite athletes.

In business, some types of activity have a similar requirement - event-related companies, for example, need to. be at peak performance for each event.

How many managers of such companies have been to talk to, or read about, sports coaches to see what they can learn about continually raising the organisation to peak performance?  Very few, I suspect. Yet, learning from others in different contexts but with similar issues is an important attribute.

Manage the Small Projects as well

When we think about project management, many people naturally think of large-scale projects - building a new motorway, a new rail line or a new power station are obvious examples.

Small projects, however, need project managing in the same way.  The principles and practises are the same. 

You break the project down into manageable tasks, schedule these tasks so as to create the shortest project duration, make sure you have enough resources, and then you manage the project - probably on a daily basis - to make sure the project goes according to plan.

if it doesn’t, you hav e to adjust resources or adjust sequencing - if all fails you have a longer project than you wanted - and in some cases that can be expensive, embarrassing or both.

So, forget the size of the project, Manage it as if it were a new motorway,