I RECENTLY MOVED from my sign company office to another newly built-out office in our building. It was exciting, as I had the chance to fully design the new space to meet my needs and desires! But I was immediately daunted by the idea of moving everything in my office, including dusting it off, tossing things out and moving into a new desk and office arrangement.
The assessment of my office contents, and relocation of all of them, turned out to be very illuminating. They gave me a chance to really consider the day-to-day work I’m doing, the work I want to be doing and probably most importantly, what I want to stop doing day-to-day.
All of that sorting, cleaning and tossing got my mind focused on four really great questions that helped me envision my future role as CEO.
The good news is you don’t have to move offices to really assess the “contents” of your actual work — you can walk through the same questions anytime you are ready to examine how you might change your work effort and results!
What should I do more of? Ask yourself what is working well. What do you love to do? What roles are you playing that are working well and moving the needle in the right direction? How could you design your work to give you more time and energy to focus on what draws you in? Consider calendar redesign, delegation or even hiring fractional help where needed.
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What should I do less of? Look for things you do less of, or look for things you seem to always put at the bottom of your ‘to do’ list every time. For me, writing estimates was something I had to commit to do less of, as it ended up sucking me into the maelstrom of project management when I really was supposed to be leading the entire organization. What things can you let go of and stop doing? Be honest with yourself here. Maybe you do certain things because you don’t trust others to do them. Have a deeper conversation with yourself and your team if you don’t trust others to do work they really should be doing!
What should I stop doing? This is different from doing less of something. Maybe it’s an activity like volunteer work. Maybe it’s hunkering down in your office and not getting out to see your team. Maybe it’s working late or on weekends rather than figuring out effective solutions to your overburdened to-do list. Whatever bad habits or activities you have that you really know you shouldn’t do, consider a hard stop and free yourself.
What should I start doing? There’s almost always something in my work I’ve been avoiding or not doing when I should. Things like getting to the gym, doing performance appraisals or long term business planning work — there are things we know we should do, that we just don’t. Invite yourself to make the effort (maybe again?) to do the things that you know will improve the health of your business or even yourself.
I’m still getting settled in my new office and desk. It’s a work in progress, but the feeling of a fresh start, a new way and new results have me motivated to keep working at it!
- What should I do more of?
- What should I do less of?
- What should I stop doing?
- What should I start doing?
These questions can help you, your coworkers, your team or even your family develop new ways of thinking, planning and working!
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