Smarter Egg

Many of us who have spent long periods working on our PCs would agree that it can be easier to perform certain functions when you have a larger display. Some enlightened organisations and individuals have understood this for years and have invested in the most appropriately sized monitors for each workstation. Some use one very large screen, others combine pairs of medium-sized monitors.

GTD Times have highlighted a benchmarking study that has compared the relative performance of a 17-inch and a 30-inch monitor. This study, compiled by Pfeiffer Consulting, measures a range of typical computing tasks, some of which are readily applicable to most users. The example highlighted below is typical of the findings; the time taken to perform something as routine as moving files between folders is seemingly halved by the move from 17-inch to 30-inch.

Given the ongoing reductions in price for larger monitors, it seems there has never been a better time to make an investment. However, it may be difficult to convince those who control the spending in less progressive corporations to splash out. If you live in that world, at least now you have some data to back your argument!

(Note this blog post was compiled, relatively slowly, on a little 15-inch MacBook Pro.) 

If you asked business owners & employers if they would be interested in introducing some minor behavioural changes amongst their employees that had been demonstrated (by studies from NASA and Harvard) to significantly boost productivity, wouldn’t you expect them to be eager to know more? Just watch their demeanours change when you inform them that this breakthrough idea is, in fact, allowing people to take a nap when they need it.

This fantastic piece on the joy of napping was published recently on Boston.com (and flagged to me by the ever-alert Merlin Mann). I’m sure many of you are already fully convinced of the merits of a well-timed power nap - I know I certainly am!

It’s important that we don’t forget that what is most critical is the quality of our output, not necessarily the means of how it gets done. Unfortunately, too many employers would balk at allowing their valued staff an opportunity for a snooze, even with a promise of improved quality of work. One organisation who often receives public criticism for its inefficiency and resistance to change is leading the way in this regard - the German Civil Service.

Feeling a bit tired & weary? Finding yourself making mental errors? Go on - find yourself an alarm and a comfortable location and do the right thing.

There are many factors that influence how productive we can be at a given point in time, including energy, focus, clarity of purpose, a structured approach and our capability to fight distraction and procrastination. One critical factor that is often overlooked is the environment in which we do our work.

Jeffrey Phillips has written an excellent piece on how many workplaces are inherently unsuitable for knowledge work. What is most concerning is that many organisations do not seem to consider the productivity of their people when designing their workspace. Of course, there are exceptions such as the uber-innovator Google (if you haven’t seen this BBC report yet, enjoy!). 

I believe the key point here is that individuals need to be aware of how their environment is impacting their productivity and then take proactive steps to do what they can to change that environment to their own benefit. 

Many people have asked me about the name “Smarter Egg”. Typical questions have been “What does it mean?” or “Where did you get that from?” or “Why Egg?!”.

The origins of the name Smarter Egg came from a brainstorming process, that ebbed and flowed over many months. Ultimately, finding a unique brand name that equally had a unique web presence proved the most significant factor and from this, Smarter Egg was found.

I am not a smarter egg than you. The offerings that Smarter Egg Training & Consulting will provide are intended to help us all become smarter eggs; smarter about what we do, how we do it and how to get the most from what we do.

As for the question, “why egg?!”, one of my favourite phrases to describe someone has always been “he’s a good old egg”. Not sure why we sometimes call people eggs, but we do!

And finally, to answer the title of the post, this article landed in my inbox as I was writing the first post for this blog. If ever there was a sign that I was on the right track, this was it!

The BBC’s Money Programme recently spotlighted the ever-increasing workload associated with managing e-mail. When e-mail emerged as the primary means of business communication over a decade ago, only the most negative of pessimists could have forecast some of the alarming statistics quoted in this show:

• We can spend up to half our working day going through our inbox
• One-third of office workers suffer from e-mail stress
• We spend 52 hours a year just dealing with our junk mail
• Approximately 3 billion messages are sent in the UK each day (using my amateur mathematics, that’s approximately 50 per person!)

Cynics may suggest this is sufficient reason to revert to a telephone and what has now become known as ’snail mail’. However, for the vast majority of the population, it will be impossible to force the genie back into the bottle. The challenge for the rest of us is to develop the key skills that will allow us to manage e-mail effectively.The advice offered in the BBC programme was broken down into five steps.

1. Invest in a spam filter.
2. Target your e-mail
3. Write more carefully.
4. Reduce interruptions.
5. Get training.

The first step is essential. The unpleasant reality at this point in the evolution of the internet is that spam is ubiquitous and multiplying. Once your e-mail address gets targeted, you can’t really afford not to take action.

Steps 2 & 3 could be categorised as ‘good practice’ i.e. behaviours that, if employed by us all, would make our use of e-mail much more productive. This is the electronic age equivalent of holding the door open for fellow citizens. Politeness always has its place.

Step 4 gets to the heart of the core issue with e-mail management: ensure that you are managing e-mail for your own personal benefit and that you do not allow the constant flow of e-mail to manage/distract/disrupt you. This is a topic that we will continue to explore in future blog postings and ultimately, in Smarter Egg training and consulting offerings.

As for the final point, no matter how good or bad we feel we are at managing e-mail, there are always new techniques and practices emerging that can help us be more productive. Never assume that you know everything that needs to be known.

Welcome to the blog of Smarter Egg Training & Consulting! As the entity that is Smarter Egg evolves over time, the hope is that this blog will help map that course, providing personal reflections on the journey as well as contributing both original and referred content on a number of different themes.

This blog will have regular posts, at least a couple every week and should become a “must subscribe” for those Smarter Eggs out there who like to use blog-readers (or even e-mail) to keep up with the latest thoughts in the blogosphere!

As the Blogroll (a list of other favourite blogs) is built out, it will become clear where my main sources of inspiration come from but you can expect to see a lot of content on themes such as personal productivity, personal organisation & structure, the management of time, actions & energy, overcoming resistance & procrastination and a whole host of crucial behaviours that make significant difference to the success of knowledge workers everywhere.

So, you’re very welcome to come in, pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy! All comments, constructive and otherwise, are welcome.