Guide to Workflow Management

and Empowered Productivity™

I. Harvard Business Review Article by Maura Nevel

Thomas: Until You Have Productivity Skills,
Productivity Tools Are Useless ….…………………………. 1-4

II. Article: Not As Productive As You Could Be?

Workflow Management is the Secret………………… 5-7

III. The Empowered Productivity™ System…………… 8-10

IV. How to Learn Empowered Productivity……………… 10

Until You Have Productivity Skills, Productivity Tools Are Useless 3/31/19, 6(55 AM

PRODUCTIVITY

Until You Have

Productivity Skills,
Productivity Tools Are
Useless
by Maura Thomas
AUGUST 01, 2016

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Until You Have Productivity Skills, Productivity Tools Are Useless 3/31/19, 6(55 AM

Back in the days of paper based planners, I depended on mine to help me stay on top of my to-do list and
commitments. Making the switch to electronic tools was difficult and disruptive, and initially I didn’t want to do
it. But once I had, I realized how much the software and gadgets helped me to kick my productivity into high
gear.

But the truth is, it wasn’t the tools alone, it was also the workflow management process—or methodology—I
applied to the tools. This is an important point that is often overlooked when people try new productivity tools,
and when organizations introduce new tools to employees.

A workflow management process keeps the focus on the big picture while offering a structure in which to
organize and manage the details.

So when people ask me for advice about choosing software to improve productivity for themselves or their
organizations, I ask them this question: “How will the software fit into the existing workflow management
process?” And often, we quickly uncover the real problem: there is no workflow management process.

To illustrate the problem, let’s use sports as an example. Have you ever heard of “Racquet lessons?” “Club
lessons?” How about “Stick lessons?” Probably not. But I’m sure you’ve heard of tennis, golf, and hockey
lessons. In all cases, learning to use the tool is a by-product. The real goal is to learn to play the game. I don’t
play golf, but I understand how to swing a club: I know that I am supposed to hold the grip end and swing the
flat end. But this doesn’t mean I’m a great golfer. Continuing the analogy, if Jason Day or Dustin Johnson were
forced to play his next tournament with a random used club he bought at a thrift store, he wouldn’t play up to
the standards of a PGA pro. What’s necessary is both the skill, and the right set of tools.

Productivity, similarly, is also a combination of skill and tools, for both organizations and individuals. Regardless
of the software, apps, and gadgets that a company invests in for its employees, those tools aren’t going to make
the employees more productive unless they are also taught a solid methodology with which to use those tools.

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Until You Have Productivity Skills, Productivity Tools Are Useless 3/31/19, 6(55 AM

Yet most companies roll out software with only technical training, intending for that software to improve
efficiency and ultimately, productivity. There’s instruction on the various menus, and where to click to achieve
certain tasks. This training only serves to make employees proficient in the software, but not necessarily more
productive. Thus the new software often isn’t used, or if it is, it doesn’t solve the problem.

The same is true for individuals who go in search of the latest and greatest app or the fancy new software,
hoping it will be the magic bullet to solve their time management challenges. My clients tell me they install the
program, test it out for a day or two, but then never open it again. I know this isn’t because the tool is bad, it’s
simply because they didn’t have the framework of a workflow methodology. They bought the clubs, but it didn’t
make them golfers.

A better approach is to focus first on the methodology before the tool itself. When you have the methodology,
the requirements for the tool become apparent.

If individuals and organizations as a whole have good workflow methodologies, often new software isn’t needed.
But either way, a process for getting the desired results will solve the problem using existing tools, or illuminate
the requirements for new software, or both. If you are considering purchasing new software or switching from
one to another in an effort to improve productivity—either for yourself, or for your organization, first ask the
following questions:

What specifically are the problems the software is expected to solve?

What is currently being done? For example, in the case of personal productivity, ask “How is the workload
being managed now?” If you think you might need a project management tool, ask “How do individuals
currently track tasks related to projects, and how do project leaders set timelines and track projects currently?”
If there is no discernable workflow management process, the software will not provide one, and that is the
first problem to be solved. If there is one, ask “How will this new tool support the existing process?”
If you’re a leader and you have employees who excel in the area where you perceive a problem, examine their
process, and ask what they need in a tool.

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Until You Have Productivity Skills, Productivity Tools Are Useless 3/31/19, 6(55 AM

There is no question that technology can improve knowledge worker productivity. But when investing your own
or your company resources into technology tools, remember that fancy clubs alone won’t turn users into PGA
pros.

Maura Thomas is an award-winning international speaker and trainer on individual and

corporate productivity, attention management, and work-life balance. She is a TEDx Speaker,
founder of RegainYourTime, and author of Personal Productivity Secrets and Work Without
Walls. She frequently appears in major business outlets, and was recently named one of the Top
Leadership Speakers of 2018 in Inc. Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @mnthomas, or sign up
here to be notified when a new article is published.

This article is about PRODUCTIVITY

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 Not As Productive As You Could Be?
Workflow Management is the Secret

By Maura Nevel Thomas Reading time: 3 minutes

If you’ve been trying increase your productivity (your ability to

achieve your significant results) but you can’t seem to make
progress, the secret weapon you’re missing might be a personal
workflow management system. This kind of system is at the heart
of what I teach and write about, because I know it gets results.
Here’s a quick overview.

What is a personal workflow management system?

A system corrals everything you need or want to do in one place,
from that email you just got to your long-term goals. Most of us
keep this running to-do list in our heads. But we can only truly
manage what we can see. And that means getting our goals and
responsibilities recorded, centralized and prioritized outside of our
heads. A system makes all your choices during the day part of a
comprehensive process, minimizing the decisions you need to
make, which helps you to avoid procrastination. It shows you the
best use of your time at any given moment.
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Why is a workflow system so powerful?
Our lives are full of distractions and demands for our attention.
Without a personal workflow management system, it’s too easy to
get stuck in reactive mode. In other words, you might spend the
whole day dealing with emails, calls and conversations as they
come up. Meanwhile, your most important work and most
treasured goals keep getting pushed to the back burner. A system
puts you back in control—you’re making the decisions instead of
letting things happen to you. A system can absorb changes and new
priorities, but it keeps you in the driver’s seat.

Do I have to use the whole system, or can I pick and choose parts
that work for me?
A system delivers better results than implementing random
productivity tips here and there because its parts work together. In
my Empowered Productivity™ System, for example, your calendar
and your task list have distinct roles that complement each other.
You can customize your system somewhat. But, as I’ve written
before, there’s no amount of “customization” that lets you hold onto
bad habits while still getting the results you want. A system
requires openness to thinking and acting differently, so if you’re
looking to make more progress on your plans and goals, then
something needs to change.

What are the benefits of a personal workflow management

system?

When you do commit to a system, your life gets easier in many

ways.
• A system organizes all the details of your life in a logical way so
that you can access them and act on them easily. (No more
wondering where you wrote down or filed something!)
• You’ll lower your stress by becoming more proactive rather
than constantly reactive.

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 • A system helps you quantify your world and steers you toward
the daily actions that will move your important tasks, projects
and goals forward.
• You’ll stop feeling that “What else should I be doing right
now?” anxiety because you’ll have a clearer sense of everything
that’s on your plate.
• If you tend to procrastinate, a personal workflow management
system will help you stop putting things off.
• You’ll always be able to see what you aren’t doing now, so you
can handle it or stop stressing about it.
• You’ll feel in control instead of overwhelmed.

Personal Productivity Secrets: Do what you never thought possible

with your time and attention … and regain control of your life can
guide you in implementing the Empowered Productivity™ System.
It’s available in paperback, e-book, and audio formats.

If you’re a leader, it’s important to assess whether the people on

your team have a workflow management system. It’s the only way
to accurately determine deadlines, allocate human resources
efficiently, ensure realistic workloads for appropriate work-life
balance, and so much more. If this is a skill you think your team
doesn’t have, you might be interested in training for your team,
which will also incorporate whatever tools (Microsoft Outlook,
Mac, or web-based) you might be using, or help you choose if you
don’t have one.

Another article you might enjoy:

• The value of workflow management

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Empowered Productivity™
Control Your Attention, Control Your Life.
Empower, verb: make (someone) stronger and more
confident, especially in controlling their life.
Productive, adj: achieving significant results.
Empowered Productivity puts you back in the driver’s seat
of your life and work.
Attention Management is the new path to get you there.
What is Empowered Productivity?

If you or members of your team are like

millions of Americans who are stressed
by constant distractions, endless to do lists,
and an overflowing inbox, then you must
learn about attention management and The
Empowered Productivity™ System.

Empowered Productivity™ offers a more relevant

approach than traditional time management. It’s
foundational principle is that attention management is
the new path to productivity.

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It is a critical business skill that is not taught in school. The
Empowered Productivity System offers a workflow methodology
that is based in continuous improvement principles, which teaches
how to regain control over the details of life and work, and how to
apply this same methodology to productivity software and tools in
order to achieve greater results.

Components of Empowered Productivity

Attention management: addressing distraction, multitasking, and
the secrets to being more proactive than reactive.
Action Management: addressing tasks, projects, commitments,
responsibilities, and priorities.
Communication and Information Management: covering physical
and electronic clutter, email management, and effective/
productive communication.
Meeting Management: addressing effective planning and
execution, getting results, and holding people accountable,
including managing “up” and across teams.
Behavior Change Management: recognizing that any type of
behavior change is hard and addressing how to achieve lasting
results.
Culture Management: ensuring that training participants do not
return to an environment that undermines their ability to
provide high-quality knowledge work

What Does it Mean for You and Your Team to

be Empowered Over Your Productivity?
You understand the benefits of “attention management” over
“time management.”
You spend as little time as possible being reactive, and as much
time as possible being proactive.
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 You can efficiently handle all manner of commitments,
communication, and information.
You know the best use of your time at any moment, and are
therefore able to take immediate and appropriate action.
You have bridged the gap between behavior and technology, so
that you can make the best use of the software and electronic
tools you have available.
You make consistent progress on your significant results,
whether they are goals for today, this month, this year, or this
lifetime.

Maura Thomas created the Empowered™ Productivity System by

taking proven productivity techniques and combining these with
emerging ideas and research related to attention, distraction,
neuroscience, technology development, and behavior change, and
assembling it all into a comprehensive, methodical approach to
solving the problems facing knowledge workers today, including:
Competing and ever-changing priorities
Fast-paced, multitasking environments
Increasing stress and burnout
Important work getting squeezed out
Lives out of balance, with little time for family, health, hobbies,
and other aspects necessary for wellness, happiness, and peak
productivity.

Learn Empowered Productivity…

By reading or listening to Personal Productivity Secrets Do what
you never thought possible with your time and attention, and
regain control of your life!
Through online training for individuals:
[Link]
Through custom, on-site programs for organizations, groups,
and teams.
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