It was a grey Tuesday evening, somewhere in 2016 when I was travelling back home after a long and exhausting day at the office. Somewhere in the midst of a cold winter, I was working as a Proposition/Innovation Manager, responsible for the long-term roadmap of our tv propositions and Monday’s and Tuesday’s were always extremely busy. Frustrated about my working condition – I was exhausted– I began checking my calendar of that day, comparing it to other days in the office. In hindsight, this probably was my Aha-erlebenis, because when I reached home, I immediately began to read the notes that I had made after reading some books on Psychology.
David Allen: Do it now, Delegate it, File it or Plan it
My Monday’s and Tuesday’s were not only filled with back to back meetings, but most of these were also anchored by me. As a result, I had to prepare every meeting’s agenda and also be focussed during every minute of the meeting. At that time, I had already implemented David Allen’s approach on dealing with things that could cross one’s path during the day: do it immediately if you can do it in a couple of minutes, delegate it, file it or plan it (when it’s a task that will cost you more than a couple of minutes). This method is brilliant, and it helps you to deal with everyday situations. However, there is something more fundamental: Focus Management.
Daniel Kahenman: System-2 activities, all about focus.
It was Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli American Pulitzer prize winning Psychologist and Economist, who wrote the well rewarded book ‘Thinking fast and slow’. Amongst many other things about the human brain, this masterpiece lays out the theory of the ‘System-1’ and ‘System-2’ brain. Most of the time, we’re doing things with our System-1 brain: we’re not really focussed when we’re cycling, walking, driving a car on an empty road or reading a text on a billboard sign. System-2 however, is a more logical and slow state of mind. This is normally used to park one’s car into a small parking space or to determine the validity of a complex logical reasoning. Thus, if one is in a System-2 state of mind, it’s all about focussing.
Getting distracted and getting back to work: much harder during focussed work.
And here’s the thing: it’s easier to move back to System-1 activities after we’ve been distracted by an incoming phone call or whilst reading an email. On the contrary, it’s very exhausting to get back to System-2 activities once we are distracted. This has to do with ‘switching’ from activities, which is significantly more exhausting if one wants restart back to a System-2 activity or task.
System-2 activities matter more
Reading this blog most probably means you’re a Professional, Leader or a Manager. Whatever your role, the prospect of dealing with a lot of distractions must feel very familiar to you. And what about the System-1 vs System-2 activities, can you recognize the differences? Let me ask you a question here: which of these activities matter more? It’s probably very rewarding and easier to finish a lot of System-1 activities such as answering a couple of simple emails or joining some meetings with a large number of people and no specific preparation. But are you really adding value during these activities or are these just ‘fillers’ of the day? Most probably, System-2 activities matter more. These tasks are unique and will actually make the difference in your organisation. Moreover: only you can do them. Nobody else in the organisation can actually do them in the way would be doing these, because it requires your knowledge, personality and commitment.
My new rule: plan your day, but leave enough space for ‘focussed work’
After I realised how exhausting my Mondays and Tuesdays were, I began redefining my approach. I started by looking at my calendar and pushing of some work to other days of the week. Moreover: I was able to accomplish a lot more. I’ve also been able to come up with a more relaxed approach about work. While traditional time management philosophies are prescribing you to finish all tasks during a particular day or timeframe, I don’t like to be stringent on this. Daniel Levitin, a Cognitive Psychologist, tells a very inspiring story in his book ‘The organised mind’: Neil Young, the singer and songwriter, has a bold approach towards creativity. Wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, if he has an idea for a new song he will then ‘check out’. Thus, he really cherishes the mindset of System-2 work. This beautiful insight has taught me something fundamental: leave enough space during the day for ‘focussed work’.
Conclusion: make time for the real work; focussed work
I can talk for hours on how I’m organising and planning my work. I’m not using only technology a to do platform – Todoist – but I’ve also come up with some principles about how I should deal with tasks and work. As I’ve mentioned earlier: I stopped being a fundamentalist about time management and the things I needed to finish today. Yes, I try to finish all the committed work, however I don’t mind postponing some of the tasks to make space for the real work: focussed work.
