Week 2: Deconstruction
KEY POINTS:
1. If you don’t identify clear metrics to track at the beginning of the project, you cannot track your progress to determine whether improvements are being made.
2. Therefore, Week 2 is about Deconstruction. Do a complete audit of how everything is currently running.
3. Any way you can measure what you are doing before and after beginning the program and implementing changes will help you see how performance can increase in an environment with fewer distractions.
“Your typical business just measures the metrics that have to do with the profitability of the business one way or another. But you can have metrics that measure employee happiness and the morale.”
At this point, it’s time to deconstruct what you’re currently doing and build a better plan. By deconstruction we mean taking a step back and examining what you’re currently doing. Break your day down into smaller parts so that you can rebuild a better day. Identify what the causes are of distraction, overworking, and inefficiency.
Here are examples of questions you can ask. Choose those that are relevant to YOU:
How are you spending your time?
How much are you working?
What are the hours that you’re currently putting in?
How effective are these current hours?
How productive are those around you?
What are your stress levels?
What is your health like?
What is your work performance like?
What metrics can you track to determine if the change is effective?
As previously mentioned, it can help to track metrics such as time spent on email before and after changes are implemented so that you can see the dramatic difference more focused work time can make. By tracking metrics that are relevant to you, you can evaluate the effectiveness of any changes you make to your work life.
Also be sure to measure satisfaction! We recommend keeping a personal journal detailing any changes in health, whether it be weight loss, improved sleep, or a general sense of feeling better and more engaged.
Deconstruct as much as possible to determine where you are starting. This will later help you measure the effectiveness of the program.
This week’s exercise is about deconstructing your week, day-by-day, to get a more accurate picture of what your practices look like. See pages 19 - 20 in The Focus Effect Workbook or click Here to download the exercise. First you’ll be auditing your work place (be it at actual work or other), before identifying metrics that you’d like to track progress in. Lastly, after completing the program, re-visit those metrics and see whether things improved, worsened, or stayed the same.
Check out this podcast episode with John Foley, a high-performance & leadership expert
The information and advice provided in this program is intended to assist you with improving your performance, as well as your general health. It is not intended and should not be used in place of advice from your own physician or for treatment or diagnosis of any specific health issue. By participating in this program you acknowledge that undertaking any new health, diet and/or exercise regime involves certain inherent risks, that you assume such risks, and that you release Wells Performance Inc. from any responsibility or claim relating to such participation.