Month: February 2018

These days we are overflod with information all the time. Social media, news agencies, work etc. and it is difficult to always be cool about ones priorities.

It is easy to fall into the pit of switching focus whenever something new pops up, and that can cause alot if stress and lack of focus.

Scientists have proven, that human beings are not good at multitasking. That is a fact. That being said, there are lots of arguments for and against doing multiple tasks at the same time, and the discussion about whether this is gender specific and so on. We can however conclude that our brain will perform more optimally when only having to focus on one task at the time. Giving that task full attention will improve the quality and most likely also the speed of completion.

So where does Social media, family life, work etc. come into play here?

Well..

• When at work, plan your day if possible. Always try to plan the most important stuff first. Take breaks during the day and use those to recharge, surf the net, socialize or whatever comes to mind.
• When with family and friends, keep focus on the people you are together, nothing else matters in that specific moment. Park your phone or other distractions meanwhile.
• When having own time, do whatever you like and let your mind wander freely.

I work in a Software Company as a Software Architect. We deliver quality software to our clients who deliver quality services to their customers. Part of my job is to find a balance between keeping everybody satisfied at any given time.

Clients

Managers

Developers

My biggest fear, i must admit, throughout the last many years has been “Am I doing good enough”. This is not an unreasonable question to ask yourself. The difficult part has been finding the right way to measure the response to that question.

The very first thing to learn here, and this goes for anybody. There is no I in Team. You cannot measure how you are doing without measuring how your Team is doing first.

By taking some steps back, you can learn to forecast the weather situation, to use some kind of metaphor.

When working in a Team in an organisation you have several parties which rely on you. You do not have full control over the situation all the time, but what you can look for are signs like:

• Does your manager seem to be satisfied with what you do? A bad manager might not hold you accountable or might not even notice how you are performing, but that might reflect in missing or poor feedback. The key is regular dialog, make sure that your priorities fit to your managers.
• Do your direct reports or mentees seem to have the needed information and knowledge to perform their tasks. Do you feel you can trust them to do their part.
• Are your Clients satisfied with the work your Team is delivering. Are they happy about the price of the projects, the quality of the delivery. Does your Team deliver on time and does the delivery fit to the requirements. There are alot of small elements involved, and you will not and cannot always nail it.

At the end of the day it is a matter of finding the right balance.