Author: fwadmin_chron

Like most people, do you share the challenge of keeping track of your to-dos, especially during the holiday season? You may think it has something to do with your personality, but…surprise: it doesn’t. Here’s why.

We human beings have a flaw. When we make future commitments, we find them hard to track, manage, and trigger at the right instant. Consequently, quite often, we simply forget to do what we intend.

In fact, the further away in the future a tricky activity must be performed, the more likely it is to fall through the cracks. In those moments, we blame our memory, or psychology. We suspect it reflects a lack of personal motivation.

But the most effective professionals have found a way to recall tasks later, every time. But their performance has nothing to do with their mental ability or willpower. What can you do to be more like them?: flawless.

1. Forget About Using Memory

Some believe that the right answer is to cut down your commitments, but that isn’t a real solution for people of even average ambition. Don’t surrender. Instead, craft task management techniques which match your aspirations.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. First, you’ll have to undo mistakes you are making and untruths you were taught.

One mistake is to continue using your memory to track tasks. Why? Unless you have relaxed into a simple retirement, you are already committing to more tasks than you can recall. This is the direct outcome of being an engaged employee.

Unfortunately, your brain is no longer 11 years old. It cannot track tasks the way it once did, without help. Inside of a complex life, it doesn’t keep up.

Instead, give your memory the sack. Take away the job of tracking tasks and hire an external tool. You’ll stop complaining about the onset of early dementia, and, like the most accomplished professionals, your focus will shift.

When these exceptional individuals fail to manage their tasks, they talk about systemic issues instead of personality weaknesses. They know they use a system comprised of a range of paper and digital tools, and they are willing to upgrade it as needed to stay on top of a growing task volume.

As such, when there’s a failure, they change their system, rather than feeling guilty, or stupid.

Thus, they reverse a pernicious untruth. In school, we were shown that smart kids who did well on tests could remember everything; hence, their high marks. The irony is that, as an adult, the wise move is to do the opposite and stop using what’s called “prospective memory” for to-dos.

It’s fine to use “retrospective memory” to recall facts and figures. If you’re in the horse racing industry, don’t forget the number of yards in a furlong. You need this kind of memory to perform your job.

But when it comes to prospective memory, the best practice is to overturn what you were taught.

2. The Replacements

Once you make the commitment to unlearn the use of memory, don’t delay. Most start with a task or to-do list, usually written on paper. But nowadays, some of your younger colleagues are skipping over paper, going straight to a simple task app on their smartphones. So can you.

That should work for a while until you take on more tasks. Then, you should upgrade to a more powerful task management app. After that, with more growth, you will need to switch to using a calendar or even an auto-scheduler.

But these aren’t just matters of taste.

You should follow the described sequence in order to augment your capacity. To illustrate, think of a spoon as a device to transfer some soil. But if you want to move more earth, you should probably switch to a hand-trowel, shovel, wheelbarrow or tractor. Notice that each tool has greater capacity. But the “right” solution is the one that fits the job at hand.

The same applies to your choice of paper task list, simple task app, complex task app, digital calendar, auto-scheduler or trained administrative assistant. Once again, pick the right one from the lineup for your current circumstances. Then, keep an eye on early warning signs, which indicate it’s time to switch.

These aren’t common lessons taught in school. However, as quality task management becomes a hallmark of high professionalism, they are becoming widely accepted.

It’s ironic – the best memory for all your adult to-dos isn’t actually memory at all – not if you want perfection. Use a system that matches the depth of your commitments. In these tumultuous times, this is a terrific aspiration to create for 2022.

P.S. Registration is now open for the Task Management & Time Blocking Virtual Summit coming up on March 3-5, 2022.

In the past few years, what opportunities has the shift to online business created for local companies? Your firm may be automating its processes, but is it also converting the data being collected into competitive advantage?

In 2003, I started a virtual organization: CaribHRForum. With less than 10 people at the start, it drew together HR practitioners I met in the Caribbean on various trips. New digital technologies were just emerging, and I believed they could be used to close the distance. Consequently, we adopted a centralized online mailing list to initiate a region-wide discussion.

The small group grew to add a website and a podcast – CaribHR.Radio. But the rapid growth outgrew the tools we were using and became overwhelming.

Thankfully, newer technology emerged in 2019 in the form of virtual community software – Mighty Networks. For the first time, an affordable, private internet platform could bring together thousands in the same space.

That same year, by coincidence, I apprenticed behind the scenes of a virtual conference. While I had been a speaker at prior events, now I learned how to host a summit or big event. It was a thrill, and I vowed to make it available to the members of CaribHRForum.

Then COVID-19 hit, and interest in online networks grew. It hasn’t stopped – CaribHRForum recently concluded its second virtual conference, one of the biggest in the region. With free registration, thousands are able to connect with HR experts, consultants and colleagues for the very first time.

But this is only the public side of the story. Hidden away from view, an important inner transformation based on data is also underway.

1) Industry Data Using Linkedin

What are the drivers of customer behaviour in your industry? You may want to have more than anecdotes to make decisions, but don’t have access to anything concrete.

We had the same problem, but the platforms we use have obliged by developing better data and analytic capabilities.

For example, on Linkedin we have learned that there are 23,000 HR professionals in the region, spread across 21 territories and countries.

By offering multiple Linkedin events on a range of topics, the platform tells us what this cohort is interested in learning. Our webinars and conferences advertised on the social network have served as a continuous pipeline. Each one adds new potential members. The cost? Just our time, as the network doesn’t charge for this service.

Furthermore, we have run paid Linkedin advertisements. While these are not cheap, they allow us to target each country’s HR Professionals with great precision. As such, we have steadily “trained” our Linkedin account to recognize people in our audience. Now, it’s a valuable tool: an analytic partner that outstrips our use of Instagram, Facebook and Google.

But the point is that they all offer data which gives us powerful insights into our efforts, and their results. They also track a storm of information on audience behaviour: views, clicks, and conversions which are impossible to gain from other face-to-face methods. Together, we can paint a picture that becomes clearer as they add new features.

2.) Community Behaviour Using Mighty Networks

While social networks have become great assets, our community platform on Mighty Networks has also improved its analytics. Now, we can track the overall behavior of our members as they transition from being newbies to more mature contributors.

From this data, we are able to predict which new topics are trending. From there, we can tweak the members’ journey and make timely improvements. As a result, we can better meet their overall purpose: to become better professionals. The data indicates which events and training we should offer.

3) The End Result: a New Organization

What else do all these data-driven insights allow for? Apart from the obvious internal benefits to us as hosts, they also enable more pluses for potential sponsors. As we uncover deeper interpretations, we offer sponsors more than exposure. Today, we can give them a better understanding of the audience and its unique behaviour.

In other words, the availability of analytics has transformed CaribHRForum. Scaling up from our small example, you may see how any organization can transform itself using data. The mere existence of this new information could be disruptive to an industry.

Perhaps your company is similar. You probably don’t intend for it to become a data-driven organization, but as you conduct more online business, consider this outcome. In fact, you may not have a choice.

The availability of fresh, easy-to-collect data in your industry could become a way for your company, or a competitor, to gain a permanent advantage. Don’t hesitate to include this likely scenario in your strategic planning.

Francis Wade is the author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity, a keynote speaker and a management consultant. To search prior columns on productivity, strategy, engagement and business processes, send email to columns@fwconsulting.com.