Delete your email inbox, and breathe again!

 

 

I will start with a small disclaimer: There are no turtles involved.

 

The lead Ninja, Hayley Watts from Think Productive, inspired the attendees at the Brighton Chamber Bite-sized training session to delete their email in-boxes, and breath again! 

 

 

There was fair amount of email related stress present, which reduced the possibility of the first  Ninja, Zen-like-calm, becoming a reality. The other Ninjas are designed to help us get to that point. 

 

To take back being in charge of our work life, via managing our own and others’ expectations, requires managing life differently. Hayley suggested we need to deploy the Ruthlessness (with cuddles) Ninja. Without this we can become stressed. I related to the sense of being a Boss/Worker, with two types of thinking going on at the same time. I made a decision to separate the two out, spend specified time in office work, and timetable other activities I need to be doing. It can, Hayley told us, take over 15 minutes to get refocused after an interruption at work. I believe this is very true, frustrating, and time wasting as well. Say ‘No’, and protect your attention. Avoid procrastination (social media, cluttered email inboxes) and put up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign - and mean it! 

 

The next Ninja is Weapon-savvy. If we look at our needs from a psychological perspective first, we can better understand how to manage our working life, separate from the rest of our life. We can choose how to interact, with who, when, and when not to. Hayley said a Ninja needs a second brain! This means choosing what works by way of a diary, email server, personal organiser, and a system to store other stuff away from our first brain. There are apps, our mobile phone has an off switch, emails can be prioritised, and deleted! We agreed as a collective that emails are overused, and can control your life. Clearing the inbox to zero, is to experience freedom!

 

I particularly enjoy the concept of the Stealth and Camouflage Ninja, or tactical hiding. Create space to concentrate with ‘a meeting for one’ in the diary. 

 

The Unorthodoxy Ninja is about starting work place conversations around the possibilities for change (shock and horror!). Using metaphors, unlikely characters, such a Spiderman, or Gandhi, ask “How would…..do this” and get a different perspective. It might change the dynamic really effectively. Do, and complete, one task at a time. There also the ‘Eat that frog’ challenge - if there are two frogs, eat the ugliest one first! Oh yes! Good bye procrastination.

 

Agility Ninja changes the way we are around others. Stop fire fighting and being dictated by others. Are we always there for the team, or not, being kind, or not. Shake it up! Work in short bursts, then have a break, and the 2 Minute Rule: if a task takes 2 minute, do it. If not, don’t do it. “Context is King!” With this in mind, label things in the second brain - a filing system simplifies the ease of access later. We were told to do the things that make the most impact first. Do the Boss things, ensuing the business is growing, heading in the directing we want.

 

A favourite (no more) of mine, is multitasking. This equals flitting about according to Hayley! I now agree. I can become a sequential monotasker, which, lets be honest, sounds very cool.

 

The Mindfulness Ninja is about knowing yourself, keeping the fear level low. I need to fix bad habits. Healthy exercise, eating, rest, family, and so forth need attending to.

 

Preparedness Ninja is key to being prepared. Proactive, not reactive. Looking at achievements, rather than things incomplete or hanging about. I enjoyed the concept of setting up scaffolding, having weekly, monthly, and quarterly structure. Really useful when there are regular tasks to complete. 

 

Being a human, not superhero Ninja is a must. We are flesh and blood, not machines. We can have a ‘Done List’, do something each day to recharge ourselves at work. A lunch time stroll, yoga, swim, a break away from the desk. Turn off the computer and mobile phone when going home. Shut it down!

 

 

Thank you Hayley and the Think Productive team for leading the Bite-sized training session. I shall be taking a great deal of Ninja behaviour into my work at Back2Balance, the Chiropractic clinic in Hove. We all have to be tip top Ninjas from a variety of perspectives in this setting. Very enjoyable session, and very usable.

 

The event was sponsored by the University of Brighton Training and Development, my alumni university, and presented at The Nightingale Room at The Grand Central. Thanks Pat and your team. And thank you to the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce team, you are all Ninjas, I just know it.