Personal personnel development
It’s occurred to me lately that we as individuals need to look at our work habits and address our own issues. I know that employees normally count on the boss for feedback and direction, but doesn’t it really make more sense to work on our own short-comings. If I’m honest with my self, then I know where I fall short and what I could change to do a better job. If I think about it creatively, there are also better ways to do my job that I could try out that will make a difference for the company, and ultimately for me.
So in the interest of some personal “personnel” development…
- Personal Organization: It’s easy to drop a detail when things are going 100 miles an hour during a typical day. I have been a big fan of the GTD movement (Getting Things Done) started by David Allen and so I’ve tried all sorts of organizers. Over the last 9 months I’ve been using Nozbe on both my iPhone and my desk top. When I’m faithful in using it, I really do get more done, and I don’t lose track of the little things either.
- Workload Management: There is no harm in working hard, but at some point, the workload becomes more than one person can productively handle. On the flip side, too little work makes the day drag and the job a bore. I try to practice workload management and if things are slow, I either dig into a mini-project that I’ve always thought would be useful, or I grab the phone and call up some old clients just to touch base. If things get too rough, I’ll call in some informal reserves by asking some of the support folks in our offices to help me out with a status report or in following up on a delivery. I find that taking a few 15 minute jobs off of my plate lets me maintain focus and get through the bigger jobs more quickly.
- Ongoing Training: With budgets tight in today’s economy, it’s not likely that I’ll be seeing a lot of training dollars this year, so I try to spend at least one lunch a week at my desk reading or watching an online presentation. I try to choose something that I think will give me some professional advantage. Since I do it an hour at a time it’s easy to watch a webinar about a new product, or watch the video of someone’s recent session at some conference or other. For bigger things, I may spend a few weeks reading on a topic or technique and saving lots of resources to read later using Instapaper which also has an iPhone version.
- Downtime: This is one area where I consistantly fall short, but studies show that workers need regular downtime to be at their most productive. This summer, I’m going to take a few long weekends, or maybe just take Wednesday off one week. Even a short break can clear your head and help you perform better when you’re in the office, so I’m setting a goal in this area.
- Relationships: With the advent of linkedin, twitter and facebook (and the 1000 others out there), people are opting for more superficial relationsips many times. Of course this is not a new trend – it’s been slowly happening for 20+ years – we’re just better at it now. I am consciously working to expanding my relationships by actually talking to old acquaintences again (I know, talking is sooooo 1985) and trying to meet new people at church and in the neighborhood as well as professionally. In addition, I’m talking time to find a little bit more about the people I work with. Inter-personal relationships are necessary to keep a company running smoothly, and outside relationships can help grow your professional prospects, so I know I need to spend some time on that too.
- Balance: With so much focus on the office, it’s easy to forget that there is a family waiting at home for me. Balance is crucial, just like downtime, since balanced people are more reliable in the office. Maintaining the work / life balance is an important thing to work on.
If you noticed, half of my list is about specific work practices and half is about personal habits and issues. I think that’s a good ratio for my personnel development. I challenge you to assess your work performance and engage in a little personal personnel development.
