How to work smarter

ISBTV Dermot Crowley

In this week’s episode of ISBTV Dermot Crowley, productivity thought leader, talks to us about how we can work smarter by being proactive and focusing on outcomes rather than inputs.

Dermot, author of bestselling business “manual” Work Smart, explains that the email inbox has become the dominant tool in the modern workplace, and that the majority of us haven’t yet worked out how to manage it effectively, making us reactive and, therefore, ultimately less productive. Working out what is genuinely urgent, and what can wait.

Building a productivity system that is relevant in today’s workplace, Dermot illustrates, involves integrating three elements: actions – everything we need to do in our working day; inputs – how those actions originate, such as emails and meetings; and outcomes – what we need to achieve.

He turns conventional wisdom on its head by saying that a “to not do” list is more valuable than a “to do” list, in so doing helping us understand how to remove much of the clutter of the working day that prevents us from doing what is really important and that will produce the most beneficial outcomes.

If you have insights you’d like to share with small-business owners and would like to contribute a video for ISB TV please email [email protected].