Lists.

• Quick to write
• Easy to read
• Fun to cross out

It is one of the easiest things we all do that helps us accomplish tasks day to day. I usually have a small list of items that I prioritize for the day. I try to write at least 3 things that I want to attempt to accomplish, and then 1 or 2 items that are more stretch goals.

You might think writing a todo list is such a small thing, but the trick is to write it at the end of the day. In a previous post I mentioned a productivity tip of creating a schedule to break down your day to stay focused. At the end of the schedule I left some time to wrap up and write a list of items essentially for tomorrow or re-arrange your schedule for the week. It is easier to start the day with a clear list of what you need to work on without having to spend too much time trying to remember where you left off yesterday or 3 days ago.

This small habit to capture what you need to accomplish the next day is a huge productivity boost for your day.

TL;DR

• Work off a todo list for the day with at least 1-3 items you want to accomplish
• Have 1-2 items that are stretch goals
• At the end of the day recap your todo list and write your next day's todo list

Just one more video ... then another 15 or 30 minutes passes. This happens to all of us, whether it's a video, meme, facebook, reddit, tiktok, clubhouse or whatever is the current trend that demands our attention.

The time suck.

Many of us have been thrusted into working from home during the pandemic and it's created a new set of challenges for those that have not been telecommuting or have no experience of remote work. In this "new normal" it is even easier to reach for that cell phone and have that type of distraction.

Technology is a wonderful thing that has helped our lives be more efficient and be more connected with people. It can also be an addiction. That feeling of needing to check if there is a new notification or pull down to refresh to see the latest content to not miss a thing. This repeated action throughout the work day adds up to be a significant amount of time in the aggregate.

One of the trends I want to capture on this blog is being intentional with our time. Time spent on these various social media platforms,  a mobile game or a youtube video is time I cannot get back. I am not against taking a break or downtime. I want to be more explicit when that happens and manage when I engage in these types of activities.

I have been working remotely for the last 5 years and coming into work about once or twice a week pre pandemic. I have had various levels of success with  different types of strategies to remain productive. In this series of posts I want to help share some of those strategies that continue to help me today.

Define Schedule

The first tip on being productive while working from home is to create a schedule. This is to really break down your day in 30min or hourly increments from time you wake until the end of your day. You could cap it at the end of your work day. That is up to you. The important part is that you scoping out the day.

It really should be explicit on what is happening during these times to help create focus. Some tasks require cognitive skills and that requires uninterrupted time. This is when the learning and breakthroughs can happen. Having a schedule gives you the time to be able to focus on those types of task.

The goal is to make it your "ideal" schedule.

Post the Schedule

I post my schedule on the whiteboard next to my workspace. The key is to keep that schedule visible to you every day. This helps me focus and defer those distractions to the parts of the day I allot.

Interruptions

It is bound to happen. A meeting is scheduled or someone drops into your "office".

This is OK. It does not mean you have to change your schedule around, it's just something that happens try to not let it break the momentum of the rest of the day.

Meetings

If you are a manager or in a profession that demands a lot of meetings, this can be hard since you have to be somewhat available for meetings.

What I find helpful is to block out entire days that I can keep to my schedule. The other 1 or 2 days I leave open to scheduling meetings. I find it hard to actually be a technician or someone that has to produce something and be in meetings every single day. The daily scrum (aka status update) meeting can part of your schedule. I am speaking mostly when you have to engage in collaboration or be part of informational meetings. These can be the real time killer.

If you find yourself in that situation it might be time to talk to your manager or try to work with the people scheduling the meeting to a different day. There is nothing more than a productivity killer than having multiple meetings a day that are spaced out just enough to not really get anything done but prepare for that meeting.

Adjustments

Not everyday is going to be the same. Remember it was to put down the "ideal" day. I also tend to write alternatives in some slots to keep in line with the variations. Sometimes it may go workout or I swap that for study/work time.

Remember to iterate on it and adjust. It's taken me a few stabs to find the right mix of day to be ultra productive. I am sure it will be changed again the next time you read this.

TLDR

How to be productive WFH:

1. Create a schedule (like when you were in school?, yup)
2. Post a schedule visible all the time
3. Adjust when needed

Describe a time you had to  ...

The inevitable behavior questions during interviews.

In my career in the tech industry I have been mostly tied to one company. That is not the norm with people in our industry. It is not uncommon to see people move from company to company with only a few years under their belt. The interview process becomes second nature to these type of people.

Since I have been out of the interview game for so long, one of the many shocks to the system was the amount of behavioral style questions. In the past I would brush off or not focus too heavily on the HR style or situational questions and focus on the functional or technical questions. I have come to realize that is short sighted thinking and there is a great importance on being able to communicate and answer these questions to a high degree. There is a lot you can learn from a candidate in their ability to formulate a response.

Yes or no answer is not going to cut it. You have to understand their motivation on asking these types of questions. When you provide short answers it does not help them understand how you may tackle these situations when they come up in the role you are looking to fill. It also gives more insight on how you communicate and what your personality is like.

During my research on helpful interview skills, the STAR technique came up frequently as a way to help interviewees prepare answering these behavioral style questions. It breaks down as the following:

The Method

• Situation: Give context to story. This allows everyone to reset your situation
• Task: What was the goal or challenges? Be clear on what you were trying to achieve and your role.
• Action: What were the steps taken by you? These are actions done by yourself and not someone else on the team or your manager. Make sure to use "I".
• Results: What were the outcomes and results? Explain the impact try to quantify with a metric if applicable.

I recognize this is not a new method and mentioned in other publications and blogs, but I just wanted to share the love as I found the method simple and effective. I have used it during my interviews and have found great success with it. It really helps keep the interviewee calm in answering questions that may be difficult to recall from past experience, but once you have it and can run it through this formula, it helps answer the question.

Examples

These are some example questions that come up often during the interview process. So tell me a time when you had  ...

• Greatest accomplishment, positive impact, work simpler
• Challenge
• Conflicts
• Enjoyed
• Leadership
• What would you do differently
• Weakness
• Persuade
• Say No

The weakness question may trip people up sometimes. Just try to be honest and what you types of checks you put in place to mitigate the weakness. For example sometimes I tend to dive deep on technologies, more than necessary, and can spend several days researching without producing anything. In order to mitigate this, I try to create a shared document that I intend to share with colleagues my findings or time-box the research period and have a prototype at the end.

These questions can be obvious at times or be obfuscated with a specific situation at work but can be reduced to a core behavioral question. The important factor is to be able to come prepared with situations you can recall and recognize when you are being asked these types of questions.

Be ready to tell a story and use the STAR method to help frame it.

References

• https://www.rightattitudes.com/2008/07/15/star-technique-answer-interview-questions/
• https://www.themuse.com/advice/star-interview-method