Lesson 3: What is the best structure for your work?

When you hear “structure”, what comes to mind?

Most people think that they need “structure” to be productive and effective. And by “structure” we usually means schedules, plans, time limits, etc.

However, what we often forget (me too, at times!) is that the structure depends on the nature of the task. One size does not fit all. And using the wrong structure to organize your work can lead to stress, overwhelm and frustration.

What do I mean by this?

For instance, the most productive way to complete known or discrete tasks quickly and efficiently is very different from the most productive way to interact with other people or do creative work.

  • “Discrete” tasks are those that have a clear beginning and ending. And you know exactly how to do them.

    For example, your daily “to do” list consists of these kinds of tasks. Do laundry on Saturday afternoon. Email person XYZ the final report on Monday morning. Upgrade software on Thursday between 5:00 - 7:00pm.

    So the best structure to complete these kinds of tasks quickly and efficiently is to schedule a block of time in your calendar, and do them when that time comes.

  • Interacting with people, or engaging in creative work, on the other hand, requires a very different structure.

    You cannot schedule a finite block of time to write an article or design your marketing campaign. Or expect to discuss and resolve a complex issue in a one-hour meeting. (Well, you can but it doesn’t often work so well!)

    These processes can’t be forced into blocks of time. You need a very different structure to be productive and effective in these
    domains.

    For creative work, you need time and space for ideas to coalesce, and the work to evolve. Similarly, people need time and space to absorb and integrate new information and concepts.

    You can still complete it by a deadline, but you must approach it differently.

No matter what you do, your work most likely has a combination of both types of tasks.

For example, if you’re designing a marketing campaign or product, you need structure that give you the time and space to research, reflect, design, reflect and research some more, and so on, to be most productive and effective.

(Rushing this process can be counter-productive because it often ends up in “re-work” or less than ideal results.)

And when you’re ready to implement your marketing campaign, the structure changes. Once your campaign design is complete, you know all the tasks that need to be done and in what order.

So you can schedule these in your calendar and get going.

The structure that supports you and your work the best depends on the nature of your work, as well as your environment.

In other words, what else is going on in your life? Who are the people you have to interact or coordinate with? (And as you know, we each have our own work and our own pace!).

ACTION STEP

Here is an easy yet very effective way to find out the best way to approach your work, in order to get the most out of your time and energy.

Each day, for a whole week, make a note of the following situations as you go through your normal day (and don’t limit it to just your “work day”):

  1. What is the nature of the work or task that you’re trying to complete? Is it known or discrete (like chores, stuff you’ve done before), or unknown and creative (like designing something new, or engaging in a type of work for the first time)?

  2. What is the structure you’ve setup for yourself, to do this work? How did you choose this structure?

  3. Does this work involve other people? Or can you do entirely by yourself?

  4. How do you feel as you do this work (e.g. focused, engaged, frustrated, distracted, etc.)?

As before, these are questions to keep in mind as you go about your normal day. Write down what you observe at the end of each day.

At the end of the week, review your notes and answer this question: Are you using the right “structure” given the nature of your work? Why or why not?