Long before I started to work with my co-founder Tamra on FlexTeam, I was a productivity hack junkie. Determined to “make the most and work the least” (one of favorite mottos!), I read books, surveyed friends, and tried all sorts of tools and apps related to maximizing my efficiency. After an initial burst of motivation, without fail, I would end up with stacks of ghosted To-Do lists on Wunderlist, Evernote, emails to myself, paper notebooks, and Post-It notes. As work and life picked up speed, I’d find myself thinking there must be a better way to “do less and make more.” I’d convince myself that this time would be different than all of the previous failed attempts and dig up and transfer the latest list onto a “clean” page or tool to start again. Rinse and repeat.
The problem got worse when I began working on our startup. My To-Do lists were longer than ever, and now I also had to manage a growing list of ideas and thoughts to explore for our company. Ideas popped up throughout the day, especially during the most inopportune times like when I was showering or driving alone. I couldn’t figure out a good (and safe) way to capture the ideas before they disappeared.
A natural solution eventually arose. Because I was so excited about my latest game-changing idea (usually it wasn’t), I texted, emailed, or Slack messaged Tamra right away, without collecting my thoughts or thinking through any details. “Remind me to tell you about…” “OMG, I had this thought in the shower…” “Dude, we need to look into…” Tamra’s response was always the same — “Do you want to talk about it now or later?” Nine times out of ten, my answer was a dripping wet or 65 mph “Later.”
If I were left to my own devices, the idea would maybe make it into a notebook or app and then forgotten until I had the idea again.
But I had Tamra, world’s greatest work wife, who never failed to ask me a week later, “Remember that idea you had? Do you want to talk about it? If it’s interesting, we can have a FlexTeam member explore it for x hours max.” Yes, please! With Tamra as my sounding board, we worked quickly together to tease out the idea and identify outstanding questions that need to be answered. Then, allowing me to forget about it again, Tamra took the ideas worth further research and, leveraging our own FlexTeam, launched research projects to get our questions answered. Within a week or so, she knew if the idea had any merit, and if so, recommendations for next steps.
I was amazed the first time I experienced this process. I always had a hard time delegating work that I could do myself because I thought I could do it faster and cheaper. But neither was really true. Tamra and FlexTeam made it so easy, quick, and fruitful. It did not feel like pure delegation. It was support from ideation to recommendation.
Knowing how invaluable it was for me to “buy” this time, space, and support to be more creative, we decided to build product features for our customers to experience this full “productivity hack” (which will be launching Q1). But even without FlexTeam, here are the steps (in addition to finding yourself an awesome work spouse/partner!) you can take today to increase your productivity and boost your creativity.
Step 1: Declutter your brain.
Similar to first step in David Allen’s GTD method, get ideas out of your brain and onto “paper” right away. Use whatever To-Do list or note-taking tools/apps are most comfortable to you, such as Wunderlist, Any.do, Evernote, Asana, a Moleskine notebook, Post-Its, your palm, etc., or do as I do and email, text, or Slack message your team or us at FlexTeam.
Step 2: Talk to someone.
There is something magical, especially in any ideation phase, about having someone with whom you can bounce ideas off of. Personally, I find that having to verbalize and explain my thoughts to another person is the quickest way to hone in on what really needs to be done (or not done). To get the most from this step, make sure your sounding board is someone of your “caliber” and someone you trust.
Step 3: Set aside dedicated time to prioritize.
Most ideas you have will not warrant a discussion session right away. Set aside a regular check-in time (like a weekly 1:1) with your “someone” to go over your ideas and thoughts. It will help flesh out and prioritize your ideas. More importantly, it will hold you accountable to do what you were supposed to do now that you have to actually talk to someone. For me, there is also comfort in knowing that it is not all on me to get everything figured out.
Step 4: Delegate and only do what you uniquely can do.
Tim Ferriss, in “Four Hour Work Week,” talks about importance of delegation. I couldn’t agree more. Although I have had a hard time delegating in the past, it is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself. Identify what your time is worth so, at the very least, you can the delegate tasks that are below your rate. Assess your lists and identify the items that only you can uniquely do, then try to outsource everything else. The more you delegate and the more free time you “buy” yourself, the more breathing room you give yourself to be creative and visionary.
For 2017, I hope you can all find a work spouse as awesome as Tamra to help you be more productive, more creative, and generally happier. If not, FlexTeam is here for you to act as one! Reach out to us and we will help you “work” the least and “make” the most. Happy New Year, everyone!
About FlexTeam
FlexTeam delivers high-end, on-demand project management, research, and analysis to executives, founders/CEOs and financial firms (VC, PE). Customers simply chat with a dedicated FlexTeam project manager and then later get back quality work product done by a team of 100+ MIT alumni women who are choosing flexible freelance work to balance family but still want to be in the game and on team with other strong women. We differentiate through our “full stack” approach, which takes the burden of freelancer selection and management off of our customers. We are @ Twitter | Facebook | Email. #newplayingfield
