Simplify Your Workday Like a Boss

by Lisa Bodell for Advancing WomenWhether you’re a senior leader or a junior exec, your workday most likely revolves around meetings, emails, and reports. These activities were designed to increase efficiency, but today, they devour more than three-quarters of our workplace time. So how do we carve out space to do work that actually matters?As the author of a simplification book and CEO of the innovation firm futurethink, I’ve interviewed thousands of employees about the time-sucks that get in the way of doing their job. What I’ve discovered is that we can combat workplace complexity by making simple changes to our personal habits around emails, reports, and meetings.1. Take the “two-day” approachFocus your mind by starting each workday with intention around two things you want to get done today. This practice is shown to help us make smarter choices, avoid distraction and control our impulses.2. Kill pointless meetings like Sprint didUpon review of every meeting held in one year—from standing and weekly status meetings to events, off sites, and team gatherings—Sprint eliminated 30% of them. Think objectively about the meetings you attend or preside over. Are attendees engaged and participating? Does real work happen in these sessions, or is everyone pretending to take notes while replying to emails? Conduct your own meeting audit and do away with meetings that don’t add value or have outlived their original objective.Read More →