Simple trick to increase productivity and increase your scarcity

Since my previous post on using the law of scarcity, I’ve been focused on making sure that I don’t come across as someone who’s always available and therefore is less valued. It is unfortunate that in this world, the quiet achiever is never valued. It is always the squeaky wheel that gets the attention. I’ve always been the reliable one in the office, the one you call upon when things are difficult. And since I never complain or make a song and dance of my achievements, I’d never get recognition for it. Over time, no matter how difficult the task was, it’s just assumed that I’d get it done. 

So since my post, I’ve been trying a few things to make sure that I’m not always available. Some of the things I’ve been doing may seem petty at first but I don’t doubt that from the reactions of some people, I’ve managed to start changing people’s perception of me. It’s takes just a little bit of balls for some of the tasks but they’re worth doing. In the process, I discovered one trick we can all do that no only reduces people’s perception of our availability but also surprisingly greatly increases our productivity. So here are the things we should all start doing today to change how we are perceived. 

First, stick to your calendar. You are a busy person and your time is no less valuable than your peers. If someone calls or emails to say they’ll be late then ask to reschedule completely. Catch ups should be done properly and as introverts, you need as much time as possible to get your thoughts together and make your point. If you’re in a rush, you’re less likely to think calmly and get what you want. Obviously, you don’t need to do this with a social catch-up with friends. But importantly, do this when you’re meeting someone more senior. You already have the pressure of hierarchy and introversion, why make things harder by adding time pressures? 

Why does this work? Not only do you remove the time pressure but you’ll be perceived as less available because you’re not changing your schedule to accommodate other people. You made the effort to arrange your diary so that you don’t inconvenience others, so others should do the same. Obviously, shit happens and not every calendar change is malicious. But then, you making yourself less available is not malicious either. You are just re-establishing the boundaries around your time. Want people to respect your time? Start by respecting your own calendar.  

Second, don’t always pick up the phone. If you’re in the middle of a conversation, report, or you are just on a roll with something, then keep with it until it’s finished. In the office, people never call you because they want to see how you’re doing? Even if that’s what they say is the reason for the call. Bullshit! They just want to act friendly and see what gossip or useful intel they can pick up from you. What happens when you pick up the phone? you lose your train of thought and you have to start all over again. Meanwhile, the person that’s called you got what they want and goes on their merry way. People who call you ultimately want your attention. You can only pay attention to one thing at a time, so you choose where you attention should be focused. Again, if your attention is too easy to get, then just like your time, you will be too available. 

Why is this important to you? Just like your time, you attention is valuable too. You already know this. When a train of thought is gone, it takes a lot of time to recover. Sometimes, it can take weeks. I know from this blog. If I get distracted when writing a blog, it can take a few hours to get back into the rhythm. Sometimes, I have to write a brand new blog because I just can’t get back into the groove, even after a few weeks. By then, I know that the train of thought has left the station and is never coming back. Another thing is, by not taking the call until you’re ready, you take away the pressure of having to respond on the spot. When you’re ready, you can see who called you and guess what they want and what position you should take before you call them back. Now the tables have turned and when you call them, they’re the one who has to be on the defensive. Your time and attention are both important. So treat them both with respect and you decide when and who they should be given to. 

Finally, there is one task you should do immediately that protects both your time and your attention. It's so easy, you should do it right now and you'll be surprised how such a simple thing can lead to such changes. So, here it is.

TURN OFF YOUR EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS! ON YOUR PHONE, AND ON YOUR DESKTOP. DO IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

Why do this? Again, I suspect you already know. You're typing away on your report, deep in thought. Then out of the corner of your eye, you see that little notification pop up. That tiny box that gives you just a few lines about who sent you an email and what the subject is about. Most of us are uncomfortable with uncertainty (just like how when there is silence in a conversation, we try hard to fill the empty space). Knowing an email has arrived means we just have to open it and see what it's about. We cannot stand the fact that an email has arrived and we don't know what it's about. Even if we try to ignore it, there's this constant distracting voice in our mind that says "What's the email about? If it's from XXXX, could it be about X?" Since you can't keep your train of thought going with that distracting voice in the background, you might as well go to your inbox and open it.

From that moment on, you can kiss productivity, time, and attention goodbye. More often than not, the email is either asking you for something, sending you information that requires your attention to figure what to do with it, or written in such a way (intentional or not) that triggers an emotional reaction. Like instant messaging, nuances and subtlety can be easily misunderstood. I have a friend who would always send me short emails in capital letters all the time. If you didn't know him, you'd think he was yelling at you. Like "YO. DO YOU WANT TO DO LUNCH TODAY." But I know why he does it. He's an architect and with their drawing software AutoCAD, the CAPS LOCK button is often used. Being lazy, he just couldn't be bothered turning it off when sending emails. Imagine if you didn't know this and he asked you to lunch. You probably wouldn't respond in kind, but I imagine you'd feel pretty angry inside at being summoned to go to lunch. I can't tell you the number of emails I've received where an emotion has been triggered because of the way an email was worded. Worse still, I know of a few office jerks who'd deliberately exploit this weakness in emails to annoy people for their own means.

So now that the email is open, you might as well respond to it. Just like you can't stand not knowing what the email is about, you can't help but address whatever the email wants. Believe me, I've tried. I've opened the email and said to myself that I won't send it until a few hours later. But my mind just keeps thinking about it until it's sent. I even ended up responding to emails while I'm in a meeting. How valuable is my time if people think they can get something from me the moment they ask for it. Not very valuable is the truth. Even if the email doesn't want anything, your attention is being used to digest its contents. And if the email was poorly worded, you'd feel pissed off. And I can guarantee that once this has happened, it'll take you hours to recover your train of thought. In essence, that tiny little annoying box that was well intentioned in its design, ends up causing you to break the law of scarcity and at the same time, divert your attention and disrupt your productivity. 

The solution is so simple. Turn off that notification and hide your mail application. Finish what you're doing first and then check your inbox. Or if you can't hold off for that long, then do this: hide you inbox and allocate 45 minutes to concentrate on productive work, allocate 10 minutes to check your inbox and return phone calls, and 5 minutes for your brain to relax before repeating the above process. Note, I said check your inbox during the 10 minute allocation, not respond to emails. If you struggle to delay your response then use the 10 minutes to check your email and missed calls, then the 45 minutes allocation in the next hour to figure out your position and respond. Remember, your time and attention are precious. You are in command of who you give it and when. So take charge. If you want other people to respect your time and attention, start by respecting them yourself first.

Blog Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash