5 Tips For Focusing Your Energy In 2021
by Lisa Bodell for ForbesWomen
The past year has upended many assumptions about work in America. As it turns out, video-conferencing and remote work can stand in for a physical office. Teams are entirely capable of collaborating virtually and delivering on schedule. As we reflect on the learning lessons — as well as the chaos — of 2020, I believe there’s value in establishing personal goals around how we want to spend the year ahead.
As CEO of an accelerated learning company with a focus on simplifying, I’ve helped people around the world streamline their work lives for better productivity. Among the techniques that my teams have tested and perfected with Novartis, Google, Accenture and more are a set of simplification questions and tactics. While these populate the better part of a chapter in my simplification book, the five below are particularly relevant to our current WFH reality.
1. What task or work habit should I stop doing in 2021? Do you contribute an hour or more to a pointless report every month? Attend remote stand-ups with dozens of attendees and no agenda? Do you struggle to keep up with replies to internal emails with tons of recipients? Each of these areas can provide immediate opportunities to save time, so if you’re empowered to step away from any of these low-value tasks, do it today. If you need buy-in from someone higher up, then make your case to them and frame your ask around wanting to demonstrate better daily ROI.