Meet Gene
Gene is a brilliant and charming middle manager at the director level, leading a specialist policy branch. People like working with Gene because he’s able to explain complex policy issues in accessible ways, and he’s always very generous with his time and expertise.
Even though he’s sought after for his expert advice, he’s a total nightmare for anyone waiting on his paperwork. He can solve a policy crisis in ten minutes but will put off actioning his travel acquittals for three months—at least.
He knows he’s supposed to do the admin stuff, but it’s not easy with all the people reaching out about the core technical work he loves discussing. His helpfulness, tendency to get distracted and go down research rabbit holes all get in his way.
He’s constantly working late to catch up, yet still being followed up on, arriving late for meetings and generally feeling behind. And his antics are in danger of impacting the division’s stats, so his boss’s patience is also wearing thin.
Gene would also like to carve out some time for a side gig he’s interested in. But where does he even start?
You can follow Gene’s journey in a novella I wrote recently.
In this short and (hopefully) funny story, I showcased four fictional leaders with different goals and challenges. It follows the journeys of Claire the Control Freak, Rob the Rebel, Quinn the Quiet Achiever and Gene the Chaotic Genius, who are all on their way to being more strategic (and less annoying to themselves and others).
The link to the novella is at the bottom of this article. It’s free, no download or email is required, and you can probably finish it in a couple of hours.
We’ll come back to Gene later in the article. Let’s first look at ways we can work more strategically, by building sustainable rhythms and routines. These should help us execute on the focus areas we identified as part of the strategic focus planning exercise described in the previous article.
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Building sustainable rhythms and routines
If you’re sick of generic productivity advice and are now rolling your eyes at me, I don’t blame you. I love thinking about and trying different productivity techniques—and I’ve written plenty of articles about them myself—but I know they don’t all work.
The only productivity systems that work are the ones you’ve trialled successfully and then actually stuck with. It’s annoyingly simple, but true.
I can really relate to Gene (though not to his level of charm and brilliance, of course). As you’ll read in the story, he’s tried various planners and systems; he gets excited about them, but doesn’t stick to them. So of course they don’t work.
As a fellow macro and systems thinker, I’m often more interested in designing the system than using it. Execution is the boring part—who needs it? It’s much more fun to dream up elaborate lists and schedules…though you probably won’t follow them.
Except, sadly, that’s not how things get done, so I’ve had to combine flexibility with a few constraints that keep me on top of things. I’ve had to work very intentionally around my daydreaming and chattiness—I mean, my strategic visioning and collaboration—to be able to juggle a personal life, a business and now a budding author career. This is what Gene learns in the story, too.
But you may not be as easily distracted and as easily bored as Gene and I. You may be much better at keeping promises to yourself. Either way, I’ve listed some sample strategies below for you to pick and choose from. The key to success is committing to a small number and trialling them.
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The performance cycle: Plan → Execute → Review
If you want to execute on your focus areas and like to think in frameworks, try setting yourself up for success through the lens of a simple performance cycle.
This helps you build and refine systems that you can actually stick to as they require advance thinking and self-awareness. Here’s a quick rundown of what each involves:
Plan: Set up systems that account for your actual strengths and weaknesses, not an ideal version of yourself.
Execute: Protect your time and resist the rabbit holes. A lot of the success here depends on what you’ve set up in the planning stage and what you tweak in the review stage.
Review: Check what's working, tweak the system and keep it sustainable.
This is the thinking part and the sample techniques below can help you with execution.
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Sample techniques
These are sample techniques to help you protect your time and manage your energy. I have plenty more, but here are four to get you started.
As I mentioned above, there’s no magic bullet, so pick what fits your working style:
Theme your days: Assign groups of similar tasks to particular days to reduce context switching and work more efficiently. For example, you could do your core technical work on Mondays and Tuesdays, action all of your admin on Wednesdays, and keep Thursdays and Fridays for additional projects.
Count your blocks: Think of your week as ten half-day blocks, before and after lunch. That's all you get, so plan your commitments accordingly. And you can overlap this with the first technique by assigning themes to these blocks. For example: deep work at your desk Monday to Thursday mornings (four blocks), meetings Monday to Thursday afternoons (four blocks), Friday as a buffer day to catch up or have strategic thinking time (two blocks).
Batch the boring stuff: Dedicate one time block to clear admin, then don't think about it until next week.
Build in accountability: Schedule external check-ins to keep you honest. For example, if you have an important but non-urgent project that keeps getting pushed aside by BAU work, meet with an accountability partner for coffee on the last Friday of the month and report back to them. Or tell your boss you’re working on it—that’ll get you moving.
But remember that the best system is the one you actually use.
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How does this apply to you?
If you’re like Gene and I—welcome. And high five!
My main tip for you is to start…very slowly…and very small.
I know you want to introduce thirty new habits at once, but try to resist it. And don’t make your set-up too rigid; although you thrive in structure, it can’t be overly complex either because you’ll soon despise how boring it is. In the novella, you can see how Gene tackled that problem, if you want to follow his example.
If you’re like Claire, your main issue is having an honest look at what you have on your plate, because it’s likely too much. You’re an achiever so you’re powering through anyway—but that’s not sustainable. Plus, if you read the third article in this series, you probably have a few new focus areas thrown into the mix.
As I mentioned in the first article, Claire needs to build support and delegate, accept a little bit of imperfection (I know that’s not easy) and prioritise her wellbeing. This is how she’ll create the space to think—and breathe.
If you’re like Quinn and stepping into discomfort for better long-term results, like going for a promotion or challenging yourself to build new skills, you just need to be kind to yourself. You’re probably very organised already and likely don’t have overcommitment issues; you’re the opposite—you commit slowly but then you’re all in.
My main tips for you, as you go through these transitions and build your confidence, are to look after your wellbeing, to surround yourself with supportive people and to forgive yourself when you mess up at your first go at something. And maybe like Quinn you’ll eventually find the funny side of ‘failure’, too.
If you’re a Rob-type, you probably don’t want people dishing out advice to you anyway. Fair enough—you’re already intentional and focused. Just make sure to carve out time for the relationship-building I suggested in the second article. That should make things easier for you.
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Want to see how this plays out in practice?
Follow Gene’s full story—alongside Claire’s, Rob’s and Quinn’s—across the twelve chapters of the novella.
On the novella page, you’ll find a couple of tools to help you figure out which of the four characters you’re most like and where you’re at with your strategic thinking. Don’t take these too seriously—and don’t take yourself too seriously either. Remember to have fun along the way.
I hope this is helpful.