Done!

Do you tend to do many things at once, even though you know that it would be better to focus on ”that one, most important thing”? Done! No. 549 is about a simple, yet effective, trick for multitasking less and increasing focus on important tasks.  Here is Szumowska's and Kruglanski's study. Do you do something similar to what I have described here? Perhaps you are one of those people who, in the late afternoon, choose the three most important tasks for tomorrow. Write to me and tell me how you do it because I'm always curious to hear what tricks work well for others. Get rid of your "to-be-sorted"-pile now. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

In Done! episode No. 548: How to feel less stressed and focus better, despite having many meetings in a day. In the episode, I mention this blog post (or, video, rather) on how to add time buffers between meetings automatically: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/how-to-add-time-buffers-between-meetings-automatically Do you have any additional tricks for getting air and breaks between your meetings? Tell me how you do it. This issue interests me right now, so I am all ears. Here is how to send tasks from OneNote to Microsoft To-Do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFjPQ1GfzPk These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

It is a clever move to create at to-do task from an email that means that you need to do something that you do not do immediately. But, did you know that you also can create a task from a chat message in Microsoft Teams? In this episode, the 547th, I share how it is done. Do you use another app for chats? How do you create to-do tasks from a chat message there? Please tell me. Few things bring me as much joy as simplifications like this and I want to keep learning about clever ways to structure our everyday lives, so I'm curious to hear what you have come up with. And, yes, time management works and it makes you happier, according to an interesting meta study. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

Your work consists of plenty of tasks with varying characteristics. This 546th episode is about a planning concept from Y Combinator's Paul Graham that can help you create the optimal conditions for getting your different types of tasks done. Have you come across Paul Graham's concepts before and used them for your own planning? How? Tell me, because I always want to learn more tricks and methods that help me and those I help in turn to have smoother weekdays.  Here is what you can do when there are too many flags and everything is prioritized. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

Sure, you want to communicate with your colleagues in the chat and be available for them there, but sometimes you really need to work with full focus on other things. In this episode, the 545th, I share how to optimize your chat availability. What useful strategy do you have for when to have the chat open and when to keep it closed? Write to me and tell me. Understandably, this is a hot topic for many people, so I'm curious to hear your take on it. A talk about structure - is that any fun? These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Have you been working from home partly or fully the last 2-3 years, as some of us have? In this episode, the 544, I share a way to build on your experience from the pandemic to better balance where you do your work. In the episode, I mention a study about working remotely. What tasks have worked well from home and would you like to continue working remotely in the future? What have you liked about this year's changes and new ways of working? Write to me and tell me. I'm curious to hear what your experience has been like and what combination of working at the office and from home you have settled into now. I also found a study about a more effective way to say no. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

For some of us, short tasks tend to be prioritized first, before we choose to focus on the more extensive tasks. As a consequence, important tasks may be put off longer than we would wish they were. In this episode, the 543rd, I share how to get important tasks done well in advance. Do you have some other trick you apply to help yourself prioritize things you are reluctant to do? Perhaps you resort to the classic method of breaking the task down into smaller steps to make it easier to get through. Or, something completely different? Write to me and let me know. I'm curious to know what works for you.  Do you want my help with enhancing structure? Book a personal structure training with me now. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

If you feel overwhelmed from time to time by the sheer amount of emails received in your inbox, this week's edition is for you. In this 542nd episode of Done!, I share a trick that helps you get through your inbox quicker. What are your tricks for dealing more quickly with all the emails you receive? Drop me an email and let me know. Although more and more communication is moving to chat, many people continue to receive an abundance of emails on a daily basis (myself included) so your tip will be much appreciated. Recently, I learned a method for practicing better impulse control. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

The purpose of time management, is it to just get more things done in shorter time and get increasingly efficient? No, of course not. In this episode, the 541:st, I share findings from an interesting study that points to other, even more valuable, benefits from managing your time well.  What will you choose to refine in the near future? Please tell me, because I may want to make an effort in that area myself after being reminded of it by you, and I might even be able to contribute to your initiative with tricks, tools, and tips that I have accumulated over the years. Feel free to write to me! Wondering about what the counter question that makes your meetings more efficient is, that I mention in the beginning of the episode? I'll tell you. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

To recover and get the well deserved rest when you are free, you need to mentally disconnect from work, according to a study by Bennett and Field. In this last episode for 2022, the 540th, I share four practical ways to do just that. What are your tricks for disconnecting from work easily when you are off? Let me know. Write to me, because I want more tips on just that (as well as on many other things). I may well share it with others who would also benefit from hearing them - with your permission, of course. Right now on the Structure Blog: Solve tomorrow’s problems with structure today These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

When questions, problems, ideas, suggestions, errors, and the like arise, they need to be dealt with by the right person. But who to ask?  In this episode, the 539th, I share a tool that helps you more easily delegate an issue to the right colleague. How have you made it easy to know who to pass the ball to when you receive things or issues that don't concern your area of responsibility? Write to me and let me know. I'm always curious to hear how others solved hassles my clients (and I myself!) encountered, so I would love to receive an email from you.  I have found three things you can do to come better prepared to your meetings. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Microsoft OneNote is an excellent tool for writing and keeping notes, if you ask me. But, I do not think you should use it for your to-do list.  In this episode, the 538th, I share why - and I give you two suggestions for tools you could try out instead. Don't agree with me that OneNote is not a good place for to-do lists? Have you found features that solve the hassle that I haven't? Let me know! I want to learn more about this, so I would love for you to tell or show me. Book a talk on structure at work by me and set the tone immediately among your colleagues for an even more well structured 2023! These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

When setting up a folder structure for your digital documents you need to find an order that suits you and your organization. In this episode, the 537th, I share what to consider when choosing what order to implement. How have you achieved a folder structure that works well? Write to me and tell me. This aspect of structure is something many people struggle with and I am curious about what you have done to succeed well, so I am all ears. Here is how to sift out at the source. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

When you work at the office, you might have agreed with your colleagues that you use the chat app's status indicator to show each other whether you are available or not. But, how do you signal to your family members while working from home that you need to work uninterrupted at the moment?  There is now an app for that - and I will tell you about it in this 536th episode. Did you try the app and how did it suit you? If you came up with a different signal, what was it? Write to me and tell me, because I collect clever tricks, as you know. However, I don't just keep them for myself, but love sharing them freely with those who are interested since the more of us who work in a structured way, the easier and better all our lives will be. Here are five ways to sort your digital folders: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/video-five-ways-to-sort-things These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Sometimes and some days, you do not find the time for completing all the tasks on today's list. Then, some tasks have to go.  In this episode, the 535th, let us talk about what tasks you can skip on stressful days.  Have you done something else to prioritize fairly quickly in stressful situations? Write to me and let me know. Anything that makes our working lives easier is of great interest to me. That's why I'm curious to hear what you'd like to share.  I mentioned the word "Spuddle" in the beginning of the episode. Do you have a productivity related favorite word? Tell me! These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

How quickly do you have to respond to emails, chat messages and other communication? Well, it depends. In this episode, the 534th, I share what you can do to make your workdays less fragmented.  What "channel frequencies" did you agree on? Write to me and let me know. This question interests me right now, so I'm curious to hear what you and your colleagues came up with.  Here is how to escape regretting a "yes!": https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/video-escape-regretting-a-yes These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

We cannot be available everywhere all the time. Sometimes, we all need to work focused without interruptions. This will paradoxically be more easily done if you make yourself reachable - not through all channels, but one specific.  In this episode, the 533rd, I share what you gain by choosing what channel you use for emergencies. Do you have any other way to resolve the conflict between being unavailable and needing to be semi-reachable? Write to me and let me know. As the influx and inflow of messages increase in number, more of us are feeling the challenge of maintaining calm in our increasingly stressful work lives. That's why I'm curious to hear about your best trick.  Sometimes at work, you need to say no. It can be hard - at least in the moment. But, it will be easier if you create templates for doing so. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.  

When your workday consists of meetings back to back, the tasks you manage to get done in between might only be the quick things that not necessarily have the highest priority. Then, the really important tasks will have to wait until later. In this episode, the 532th, though, I help you make better use of the brief moments you have between meetings. Do you have other tricks for making the most of the short time between meetings? Write to me and let me know. I am certainly one of those who want to make the most of my working time, so I am curious to see what you would like to share. And, as I mentioned in the beginning of the episode, I wrote about thirteen ways to clean up when you are short of time. These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Have you ever put up a sticky note where you see it in order to not miss something, but end up seeing it so much that you after a while do not see it (and still miss the thing that was written on the note)? This is similar to what happens when you work continously on a task without taking breaks. In this episode, the 531st, I share why you should refrain from that and what you can do instead. How often does it suit you to take a short break if you do not get one automatically? Write to me and let me know. I am one of those who find it easy to get lost in a task for a long time, so I am curious to hear what works for you. And, here's how to search better in Outlook: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/how-to-search-better-in-outlook These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.

Some people tend to mark an email as unread after they have read it a first time, since they want to remember to get back to it and do something later. The 530th episode of Done! is about why that is something to avoid. How have you managed to keep your to-do list complete - despite new things coming in through many different channels? Write to me and tell me. I am curious to hear what you will share. Here is how I view structure in relation to creativity: https://www.stiernholm.com/en/blog/structure-and-creativity-are-they-friends-or-foes These episodes are also available as a weekly newsletter to your email. If you rather read than listen (or both!), sign up for a free subscription.