Four Things to Stop Doing at Work in 2019
A fresh new year offers an opportunity to evaluate what’s working for us — and what’s not. While there are a number of frameworks that serve this purpose, I like applying a concept called Start, Stop, Continue.
Originally designed as a retrospective framework for agile teams, the Start, Stop, Continue exercise asks you to identify concrete actions to start doing, stop doing, and continue doing.
Personally, I find that the Stop category yields the most interesting ideas.
This is the stuff that’s ineffective, not having the desired results, and making it harder to achieve your goals.
Ask yourself:
What didn’t work for me in 2018 when it comes to my professional life?
What drained my time and energy? What held me back?
What are the things I can leave behind to become more productive and fulfilled?
You may have a number of things that come to mind right away.
But, in case you don’t, here are four ideas.
- Stop having bad meetings. Organizations hold more than three billion meetings per year. If you attend a lot of meetings, it might not surprise you to know that many (if not most) of those meetings are unproductive and ineffective. In 2019, resolve to have better meetings. Throw out the rulebook that says meetings have to look and feel a certain way, and learn how to create meaningful, memorable experiences. Apply the principles of design thinking to keep attendees engaged. At the very least, make sure the meetings you organize and attend have a clear purpose and agenda (more on that in David Grady’s TED talk).
- Stop letting distractions highjack your productivity. We are more distracted at work than ever. In fact, most of us can’t get 30 minutes of uninterrupted work time, making it all but impossible to focus. In 2019, ditch the distractions and reclaim your precious time. Hack your Slack with Do Not Disturb mode. Learn about the power of deep work and how to pursue it. Apply mindfulness techniques to improve your attention and create healthy emotional boundaries; find some great tips here.
- Stop postponing your own growth and development. With the litany of unproductive meetings and distractions that disrupt our days, it can be hard to make time for even our most critical tasks. We relegate personal and professional development activities to the “when I have time” category — a category that (if you’re like me), you never actually seem to have time for. In 2019, start treating your own growth as a necessity, not a luxury. Take steps to maximize your professional development. Play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots. Get clear on your career ambitions and create a plan to pursue them. And, perhaps most fundamentally, recognize your ability to change and evolve how you think about things.
- Stop overlooking the importance of allyship at work. If you think being a nice person who “doesn’t discriminate” is enough, it may be time to reconsider. A new year offers a great opportunity to commit yourself to learning about privilege and power, and how race, gender, sexuality, and more intersect and contribute to oppression in the workplace. Make 2019 the year you invest yourself in the continual work of solidarity — also known as allyship and show up in meaningful ways for your colleagues who are people of color, women, LGBTQ, or members of other marginalized groups. Seriously — it’s time.
So, what do you plan to stop doing in 2019?
