"I have so many things to do, and there are so many tools to help me "collaborate" with my colleagues. The problem is that I end up collaborating and not getting anything done."
A familiar sentiment that affects all of us when we have E-mail, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Mobile Phones and colleagues to communicate with. We all feel the need to be accessible all of the time which means we get distracted and become less productive.
In this session I will share some best practices that could help you become more productive whilst not appearing to ignore your colleagues. All of the best practices are based on a combination of psychology and technology and even some common sense!
You will leave this session with ideas on how to use the technology effectively to allow you to balance your time between collaborating effectively and having times to focus and be more productive.
Automating Google Workspace (GWS) & more with Apps Script
Productivity in an age of collaboration sps london 2019
1. Modern Workplace | Modern Work Management
Microsoft 365 | Azure | Power Platform
Productivity in an age of
Collaboration
SharePoint Saturday London
Alan Eardley
1st June 2019
6. In the beginning Letters delivered by post
1838 Telegraph
1858 Transatlantic Telegraph
1876 Telephone
1896 Radio Communications
1920 Public Broadcast Radio
1929 Television
1969 Internet
1973 Mobile Phone
1979 Satellite Phone
1981 Email
1979 Usenet Groups
199120062003 World Wide Web
2001 Wikipedia
1998 Google
VOIP
2005 YouTube
Twitter
2003
Skype
Facebook
2010 Office 365
2017 Microsoft Teams
The last 180 years
8. Expectations
Communicate
• Answer emails immediately
• Be prepared for meetings
• Always be accessible
• Use multiple tools
• Respond straight away
Focus
• Be productive in short bursts
• Rise to challenges on the spot
• Solve complex problems
• Deliver high quality work
Warning!
These are mutually exclusive
9. Focus
What is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and
Everything?
Imagine how much longer it would
have taken with interruptions from e-
mail, Twitter, Facebook and
Microsoft Teams!
And that only took 7,500,000 years to work out
11. What for I do?
• E-mails
– Who do we work with?
– How fast do we need to
respond?
– Can that be changed?
• Meetings
– How useful are they?
• Tasks
– How are they allocated?
– How do you prioritise them?
• Focus
– What tasks require the most
Focus?
– How long do they take?
– How do you ensure you get
them done?
• Collaboration
– How do you work with
colleagues?
12. What tools do I use?
E-mail
Tasks
Team
meetings
1-2-1
meetings
Projects
Twitter
Facebook Microsoft
Teams
Skype for
Business
Jabber
Yammer
14. New features for MyAnalytics
Creation of personal focus plan
Maintain a focus routine
Make time for outstanding tasks
Work interrupted during focus time
16. Meetings
To maximise productivity
• Always have an agenda
• What preparation is expected
• What follow up is expected
• Keep to the agenda
To retain focus
• Share screens
• Use Whiteboards
• Use Video
• Keep meetings short
Would it be rude to not
accept meetings without
clear expectations being
set?
17. Expectations around E-mails
Set expectations
• Ensure people know how fast you
respond
• Out of office to set response time
• Advance notifications of absence
Respect other people
• TO for action – use @
• CC for info
• Only send in office hours
• Delay send
18. Prioritise E-mails
Prioritise
• Response time
– Takes < 5 minutes – Now
– Takes longer – Move to #1 - Action folder
– Flag to show up in To-Do
• Waiting for a response
– Move to #2 - Waiting folder
• Read
– Move to #3 – To Read folder
• Dealt with
– Move to #4 – To File folder
• Filed
– Move to Filed folder
24. Focus is like a Muscle
• We can only focus for a
finite time
• Switching focus takes
effort (and time)
• Practice focus to be
better
25. Remove Distractions
Laptop
Outlook
• Disable notifications/sounds
Windows
• Use Focus Assist
Teams
• Do not disturb
Phone
• Turn to silent
• Place out of sight
• Only access Social Media on your
phone
26. The Pomodoro Technique
• Timed periods to focus
on a task
• Time allocated to rest
between focus periods
• Longer breaks after a
number of focus
periods
• Apps to help
• Some integrate with
To-Do
27. A word on Music
Familiar music requires less attention
Words require more attention
New music surprises and changes focus (Distraction)
29. Putting it together
Focus
• Ignore
distractions
• Be productive
• Scheduled time
• Pomodoros to
increase
productivity
Break
• Review incoming
“noise”
• Use phone while
waiting for coffee
Create Tasks
• Filed e-mail
• Flagged e-mails
• Planner tasks
Allocate time
• Respond to
communications
• Focus on tasks
• Tidy inbox
32. Key Take-Aways
Plan your time
Focus or Collaborate
Reduce distractions
Manage expectations
Configure your tools to support your way of working
33. Sources of inspiration
• Smarter Faster Better – Charles Duhigg
• Deep Work – Cal Newport (http://www.calnewport.com/blog/)
• How to be a Productivity Ninja – Graham Allcott
• The Now Habit – Neil Fiore
• Harvard Business Review (https://hbr.org/topic/productivity)
Turn off when you’re
finished
36. Modern Workplace | Modern Work Management
Microsoft 365 | Azure | Power Platform
Thank-you
Twitter: @al_eardley
LinkedIn: Alan Eardley
Editor's Notes
Key is the interface
The UK has had an issue with productivity – it has been highlighted in the national media for years
Is there a co-incidence with the universal use of the web, e-mail, and the ever increasing types of communication?
Probably not, but there are certainly new factors that the workforce of today has not had to contend with in the past.
How we communicate has changed
Email
Sent - 269 Billion per day
Received – Average Office Worker – 121
https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/email-statistics/
How do we get to My Analytics
My Analytics used to require an E5 licence, now it is available to E3
Notice the hints on how to use time more effectively
Relaxation time is as important as focus and collaboration
Reference to Cal Newport’s Deep Work
Demo
Signature
@ someone
Delay
This is really easy to do on the phone – swipe to move, only 4 locations to choose from
E-mail
Demo
Planner
To-Do
Planner
To-Do
Neal Stephenson
No e-mail address on web-site
Carl Jung
Coffee Houses to stimulate thought
Practice to earn money
Isolation to create new theories
JK Rowling
Booking into a hotel to finish Harry Potter
Another writer
Booking a business class return to a far off location
Bill Gates
Scheduled retreats to read and think
Sienfeld
Write every day – record progress
See the chain of commitment increase
Don’t break the chain