When approaching tasks that we aren’t looking forward to doing, it’s often easy to think of so many things to do first (i.e. to procrastinate).

The next time you find yourself doing this, consider whether the activity that would delay you from starting something can be turned into an incentive to complete it (i.e. a prize).

Here’s a simple example: it’s 0800hrs and I’m working from home. Overnight emails mostly dealt with, it’s time to get my teeth into my top priority tasks for the day.

I want a cup of coffee, and am tempted to immediately go and make one. Instead, I turn it into a prize for completing an hour’s work, setting a reminder on my computer to “go and make coffee” at 0900hrs.

This may or may not work for you. Unless you’re immune to procrastination, I would encourage you to give it a try.

In a utopian workplace, I believe that collaboration between colleagues would be founded upon a shared desire to serve. The question “How can I make this easy for you?” would be foundational.

Here are three examples of making things easy:

1) A colleague with several food allergies was due to spend a two-month stint in DR Congo, supporting Medair’s communications and project implementation.

Before finalising her visit itinerary, she checked with us (the in-country team) about the availability of certain foods, and stocked up before coming so that she could be somewhat self-sufficient. Because of this, we were much better positioned to accommodate her allergies than if she had notified us on arrival and been wholly dependent on us to provide for her needs.

She had asked herself the question: “how can I make it easy for them?”

2) My colleagues in senior leadership regularly receive policy documents and calls for proposals. For each one, they need to take decisions about ensuring compliance or choosing whether to pursue funding.

I am often asked to summarise these documents and to identify key information or make recommendations on what decisions to take. In doing so, I’m able to reduce the time and brain power that my colleagues expend in the process of making the decision.

I genuinely feel privileged to provide this kind of service. I’m making things easy.

3) Part of my work in humanitarian communications involves reviewing articles written for Medair’s website.

I pay particular attention to figures presented, trying to ensure that they are from a credible source, up-to-date, and presented accurately and fairly. I really appreciate it when the figures that my colleagues have included are properly referenced, with a web link provided. This makes the review process so much more efficient than the times when I need to conduct my own online searches to check and verify.

We’re back to that fundamental question: “how can I make it easy for you?”

Answering the question requires each of us to be mindful and to develop perspective, but it’s worth the time invested.

Posing the question also tells a story. How much do you care to make things easy for your colleagues?

Phone usage. It’s a hot topic!

You’re probably aware of the articles about the correlation between smartphone use and worsening concentration and mental health.

You have probably been irritated when a friend or family member devotes more attention to their phone rather than to you …despite the fact that you’re physically in front of one another.

You have probably already considered whether or not you use your phone too much, and then decided to either continue as normal or to try to cut down.

This article is for people looking to cut down.

Unfortunately, my work necessitates that I keep my phone to-hand and at least on vibrate at all times. When security crises arise, I need to be available to immediately participate if the person responding wishes to form a crisis management team. This means being on-call 24/7.

When cycling or running, I protect my smartphone from sweat and rain by putting it in a Ziploc® bag. In recent weeks, I’ve developed a habit of leaving my phone in the bag when not running or cycling.

This creates a barrier to using it, whether it’s on my desk or in my pocket. When I instinctively reach for my phone, the bag prompts the question: are you sure you want to check your phone now?

Often, the answer is “no” and I’ll return to what I was doing.

So, if you’re looking to cut down on your phone usage, considering bagging it.

Hot tip: avoid bags that enable use of the touchscreen through the bag!

My journey in developing empathy is only just beginning. It’s a shame, because empathy is so key to one’s relationships: whether with family, friends, or colleagues. I wish I had started earlier.

The moment that got the ball rolling for me came when I was 19. I planned to volunteer in a remote part of Burundi for 10 weeks, as part of a government-sponsored programme called the “International Citizen Service.” The programme assigns British 18-25s to support projects in developing countries, working alongside national volunteers.

Alongside other prospective volunteers, I participated in a preparatory weekend ahead of the placement. We were briefed on the projects we would support, and completed some exercises intended to help us to foster good team dynamics. The most useful by far was taking the Myers-Briggs test and discussing our results.

In case the concept is new to you: the Myers-Briggs test seeks to describe how different people perceive the world and make decisions, by placing people on four spectra. Placement is done through a questionnaire.

The spectra are as follows:
1) Introversion/Extroversion
2) Sensing/Intuition
3) Thinking/Feeling
4) Judging/Perceiving

A total of 16 combinations are possible, represented by letters. My results are consistently ENTJ.

Completing the test, aged 19, felt like a breakthrough moment for me. Suddenly, there was an explanation for why people might receive the same information as me but make different decisions, or feel hurt by something I say despite there being no ill intent on my part.

Additionally, I felt equipped to provide people with a head start on understanding my own personality, facilitating effective communication and mitigating against misunderstandings.

In the years since I first took the Myers-Briggs test, I have regularly returned to it either out of curiosity or for more practical reasons. I have cajoled colleagues into taking it, and included it in the orientations of my two team members.

While the Myers-Briggs test has by no means been a silver bullet for effective communications between my colleagues and I, it has helped to facilitate a more open conversation about the different ways in which we process information and make decisions. The test results provide a platform for a discussion about personality that might otherwise be quite difficult to start.

I would encourage you to take the test, along with your colleagues. While taking the test and guessing one another’s results are fun, the real value lies in discussing the results together.

Here’s a website that offers a quick, free test. You will not be forced to hand over your email address in exchange for your results.

Unless you can receive or create a task and then immediately complete it, you will need a task management system.

This could be as simple as writing down tasks on post-it notes or as complex as recording the task in a system such as Todoist or Trello and utilising the full range of available features.

No matter the system you use, consistency is key to making it work.

If I receive tasks and write some down, create Trello cards for others, and make a mental note of (i.e. risk forgetting) others, then I’m bound to lose things.

If tasks emerged only through one source – email, for example – then it could be feasible to go back and review periodically to ensure that nothing has been missed. But tasks typically emerge from myriad sources, making the process of reviewing the sources later ungainly at best and unfeasible at worst.

Thus, consistency is key.

I would advise you to pick your system, and stick with it.

For many an officer worker, receiving delayed responses to requests is a common frustration. The silence can seem interminable, and our minds can easily slide into making negative assumptions: “he doesn’t care about collaborating” or “she’s deliberately holding up the process.”

But there are ways to mitigate this. The bottom line: 1) create reciprocity by being responsive, 2) try to make requests that your colleagues can respond to quickly and easily.

Caveat: this post applies to communications between colleagues where text is exchanged. Of course, there will be times when simply wandering over to your colleague’s desk or giving them a call would be the better option.

Back to textual communications:

When I receive a request at work, whether by email, Slack, Skype, Trello, or Teams (yes, too many tools), I quickly review it and place it in one of two categories: 1) “I’ll do this now” or 2) “I’ll do this later.”

There are several factors that play into the review:
1) how important and/or urgent is the request?
2) will I hold up a process if I sit on this for a while?
3) who is the request sender?
4) how long will it take to complete?

As request senders, we can only make a small impact on the first two, so I would advise focusing on the third and fourth.

On factor 3: If you are responsive to requests, seek to help your colleagues out, and express gratitude to them, this will create reciprocity. In other words: showing a spirit of collaboration and gratitude will pay dividends when you need others to do the same. I’m much more willing to accept quick turnarounds or to work late into the night for colleagues whom I know would do the same for me.

On factor 4: Tasks that take time need to be noted in some way – flagged to return to later, jotted down, or copied and pasted into a task management system. If the time taken to respond to your request is equal to or less than the time it would take to note the request, then your colleague is likely to respond immediately.

Tips for minimising the perceived size of your requests:

• phrase questions in a way that allows a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.
• favour short, regular, and specific contact over collecting diverse questions and requests into burdensome heaps.
• employ tools that cut formalities: large or important tasks may merit the time invested in adhering to letter or email etiquette. Your quick question and your colleague’s rapid response do not.
• start your ask with the words “quick question:”
• use surveys and polls that ask specific questions or to give concrete options. Instead of asking ‘please could you share your thoughts and suggestions on the training,’ create a short survey that will prompt pertinent responses, then ask ‘please could you take 3-5 minutes to fill in this four-question survey about the training?’

Allez! Get those answers!

Identify the purpose of the meeting, and ask specific questions that will enable the meeting to achieve its purpose.

Reflecting on the real purpose of the meeting will a) help you to identify the questions to ask, or b) allow you to realise that the meeting could be cancelled or replaced by another form of communication.

Specific questions help to cut through the politics, the power plays, and the dreary routines that sadly characterise so many meetings.

Here’s a working example:

Every Monday I meet with 7-10 colleagues for about one hour. Most of the participants are members of Medair’s programmes team – a team responsible for overseeing quality implementation of Medair’s humanitarian interventions in DR Congo, monitoring and reporting on these, and designing new projects.

The typical format involves each person giving an update on what they achieved last week, and what their priorities are for the coming week.

>> Let’s pause to identify the purpose(s) of the meeting:

In my view, the meeting exists to facilitate improved collaboration and mutual support between participants.

Unfortunately, listing achievements and priorities does little to achieve this.

So what questions should be asking the participants?

• Is there anything you’re working on that involves other team members? If so, what involvement do you expect them to have, and when?
• Is there anything you’re struggling with, that you would appreciate support from other team members? Explain what support would be helpful, from whom.

These questions a) help to focus the information each participant shares, b) ensure that the information exchanged serves a practical purpose, and c) create an environment that promotes vulnerability and mutual support, bonding the team and ensuring that challenges are addressed rather than neglected.

So try it, whether for routine meetings or one-offs: identify the purpose of the meeting, and ask specific questions that will enable the meeting to achieve its purpose.

Every day, millions of workers sell themselves and their employers short by not maximising their potential at work. In particular, the work that we done on one’s own. Remote work has transitioned from vogue to necessity, giving individuals like you and me more power than ever to increase our productivity by identifying and recreating our ideal work conditions. Here’s a story about my journey with this:

In my final year of high school, I developed a bad habit that ultimately taught me much more than most of my formal classes. I would leave homework until the night before it was due, then set my alarm for an hour or two earlier than normal, sleep, then speed through the work before breakfast.

I found that waking up very early, working in silence, and eliminating distractions enabled me to consistently find flow with tasks. Ideas would crystallise quickly and clearly, enabling me to write essays at high speed, without compromising on quality. I developed confidence in this method, and came to rely on it as the year progressed towards final exams.

Learning what work conditions enable me to produce the goods was a hugely valuable lesson… but one that I forgot about for the following two years.

At university, I developed a sprawling range of commitments that typically kept me out of the house until late on most evenings. Thankfully, the pace of work meant that I could afford to sleep in and still fit in enough reading to participate well in seminars, write essays of acceptable quality, and gear up for exams.

In my third (and final) year of university, my studies presented a greater challenge, and I could no longer afford to continue working in the same way. The stakes were higher – credits counting double, compared to second year – and I was motivated to put in the work in order to graduate with honours.

Thankfully I could easily describe my ideal work conditions, based on lessons learned in my final year of high school. Replicating them wasn’t so easy. I cut down on evening commitments by around 80%, in order to get enough sleep and head to the quiet room of the library for focused work each morning. It worked. While my grades weren’t spectacular, they were more than satisfactory.

Since starting work in the humanitarian sector, I have consistently tried to develop work routines that recreate my ideal conditions – at least for a portion of the day. Over the course of several months of Ebola Response work in Liberia, I worked 0630-1330hrs, napped and ate lunch, then worked 1430-2130hrs. Now, my typical day involves working from 0515-0715hrs at home, eating breakfast and driving to the office, then working 0800-1700hrs (with a lunch break …ideal conditions certainly involve staying well-nourished).

Sometimes, I find myself listening to music or trying to work late in the evening. I seem to be prone to believing an optimistic inner voice that says it will be fine. Almost invariably, it’s tough to make progress.

While silence and early mornings are key for me, they may not be for you. Curiously, my younger brother describes late nights and changes of scene as being key to working productively.

To conclude, I would encourage you identify and consistently recreate your ideal working conditions. While trying out some of the more extreme routines modelled by famous folks may help with the identification process, it’s important to come to a conclusion that’s specific to you. The real you, not the superhero narrative that persuades you to try waking up at 0400hrs or the naïvely hopeful narrative that says working while eating toast and watching TV will go well.

Allez! Try it.