The
Art of the Transition
Transitions, the flexible moments between
changes, simultaneously shape the clarity of an ending and the quality of the
next beginning. And although the “big” transitions at work naturally capture
our focus and attention (e.g., leaving one organization to start a new job at
another), we engage in numerous microtransitions every day. Examples include
switching from answering emails to writing a report; wrapping up a face-to-face
meeting and then dialing into a conference call; and getting up to grab coffee,
only to find yourself having an unplanned hallway conversation with a
colleague.
Collectively, these small, malleable moments
have the potential to accelerate our productivity or bog it down with
inefficiencies, distractions, and false starts. Being in conscious control of
your transitions allows you to navigate your day with greater efficiency.
Here are some strategies to help you master
the art of the transition.
Take
stock.
You
can’t do anything about a challenge you can’t see. To more effectively manage
your transitions, first take an inventory of them. Of course, no two days are
exactly alike, but even a ballpark estimate of how many transitions you move
through in a given day will help you see what’s at stake if you mishandle and
undervalue them.
This exercise is about developing more
awareness around the scope and impact of each transition. It can be an
eye-opening experience, as it was for one of my clients, a senior leader who
desperately wanted to get a handle on her unmanageable workload. “I’m working
on four different projects across three time zones, so I knew I was busy.
Still, there were more transitions than I imagined,” she told me. After taking
stock, she found that a typical day had anywhere from 75 to 100 discreet
transitions.
She continued: “My head is always on a
swivel. I pivot from planning and reflecting to executing a variety of tasks.
And because I’m working with different teams, I have to approach things
differently based on diverse expectations. Some people want an email, while others
want to hear my voice. Some people want minimal details, while others want a
complete rundown. From emails, to phone calls, to slide decks, to meetings —
the day is in constant motion. And because all of my stakeholders think their
projects are the top priority, I’m forced to continuously shift among them to
keep everyone happy.”
Most illuminating for this leader was the
connection between the volume of daily transitions and the quality of her work
on the days when her transitions were rough — when every transition felt like a
firefighting exercise, the results of her efforts were inconsistent and
suboptimal. Each haphazard shift from one task to another often created
collateral damage — errors, false starts, etc. — that made those days
feel longer and much less productive.
Take a few moments right now to consider the
scope and nature of the transitions you make to address your daily
responsibilities. Look at your calendar to take stock of the categories
(including scheduled calls, meetings, and working sessions) and consider the
white space on your calendar where unbudgeted time is invested in unexpected
asks, impromptu tasks, and unnecessary distractions. After a first pass, dig
even deeper to assess the before and after phases of the items on your list to
spot all of the microtransitions you make.
Cut
back.
Although
there are some external circumstances that dictate the volume and pace of your
transitions, you have more control over them than you may realize. Every
transition requires some investment of attention and focus, so think of them as
a cost — or recurring expenditure — that should be wisely budgeted.
For
example, a lapse in your attention that results in a 10-minute plunge into your
phone is not a reason to transition; it’s just an unnecessary switch that you
made. However, despite the seemingly innocuous nature of it, you still must pay
the price in your efficiency and productivity. Research behind the fallacies of
multitasking are instructive here. Or, more to the point, the liabilities of multitasking are worth reviewing.
But it
goes beyond that. Transitions are about both efficiency and effectiveness. As
the late management thinker Peter Drucker is famous for saying: “Efficiency is doing things
right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” To make sure your transitions
are both efficient and effective, reduce the unnecessary ones and then get the
timing right for the ones you need.
Recognize
potential.
Once
you have a better handle on your transitions, you can begin to not only notice
their pitfalls, but the opportunities they present in the ways that they help
you navigate your obligations.
Take this transition, for example: After
finishing a 30-minute email sprint to clear your inbox, you quickly grab your
bag and head out to a face-to-face meeting. Now imagine that your last email
was hastily written in a rush to get out the door. This breakdown could signal
a disordered and inefficient transition; indeed, after the meeting starts, you
realize that a key point was poorly communicated in the email or left out
altogether. Or maybe somebody was supposed to be copied, but he or she was
inadvertently left off the thread. This thought has already stolen your focus
from the meeting. And if you have to pull out your phone to resend the email,
it will distract you from the present moment while taking more unbudgeted time
to make the situation right.
The excuses we make for sloppy transitions
are often misleading. “Sorry, I had to check out of the meeting for a few
minutes; there was an urgent email I needed to send!” A more candid and
accurate description is: “Sorry, I rushed the transition between my email
sprint and this meeting, which resulted in a mistake. So I had to correct my
oversight and repeat the transition all over again! What did I miss?”
Microtransitions often go unnoticed, but if
you give them focused attention and manage them well, you’ll avoid the
frustrating and unnecessary duplication of your efforts while getting more of
the right things done. However, if the potential of your transitions to keep
you efficient and effective is squandered throughout the day, the cumulative
drain on your productivity is palpable.
Even if you have administrative support or a
subscription to the greatest efficiency app on the market, you can’t outsource
your transitions. But strategies such as these can turn you into a student of
your own behavior and help you discover what the data of your daily experience
can teach you. With this increased self-awareness, you can practice the art of
the transition in a way that reveals important truths about your mental focus,
perspective on priorities, and engagement levels throughout the day. By taking
stock, cutting back, and recognizing the potential of your transitions, you can
make every nuanced pivot point a successful ending of one task and a promising
start to the next.
Jesse Sostrin https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/The-Art-of-the-Transition?gko=855b3&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=20180426&utm_campaign=resp
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