- 52 Fridays rocks!Have you started 2022 with a long To Do list and you're already falling behind or feeling overwhelmed?
52 Fridays rocks is the antidote to long To Do lists that never get done.Working to a weekly beat with quarterly check points is a proven way to smooth out the bumps in the road to achieving more, hence the name 52 Fridays rocks!
2022 had 52 Fridays to go. Not any longer!
52 Fridays rocks is a completely free resource to help you succeed.
Each week a new tip and tool will be added with the aim of increasing your productivity and effectiveness. You choose which to use.
Use the form below to let us know how you got on this week or ask us a question, or join the 52 Fridays rocks tribe to request tools on a specific topic and to receive exclusive member-only tools.
- 52 Fridays Tips!One tip a week for you to try. Do let us know whether it works for you, or any builds you have to help someone else. Thanks!
February's tips - starting a new job
Your job is consequential, so have impact.
For everyone:
Contribute to profit by increasing volume. Leaders focus their attention and that of colleagues on a volume goal and deliver.
Increase quality, add services, assist sales.
Report on results that matter to your boss.
Keep your purpose in sight. Learn from failure
For people managers:
Contribute to profit by reducing cost. Less cost can increase sales with reduced prices.
Invest now to reduce future spend per unit.
Align your goals with those of your boss.
How will you help your team to achieve?
If you sense something awry, ask about it.
For bosses:
Contribute to profit by raising profitability. Discover and act on unprofitable business.
Do you have a strategy and strategic goal?
Be sure you are working for the company's good, then be accountable, while holding people responsible, for achieving the goal.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Use insight to help influence for your idea.
For everyone:
Pick a change that will help your colleagues, benefit a customer and be judged a success.
One that you will lead or contribute to but can credit others for contributing to. Exceed expectations in, and garner attention for, delivering it. Establish a ritual for winning.
For people managers:
Lift rocks and look for current problems. Seek to anticipate problems across the value chain and focus on generating optimal solutions.
Involve your team in crafting a customer-centric action program that maintains your competitive advantage; think servant-leader.
For bosses:
Make decisions for the good of the company based on modelling to aid rapid adjustment. Form a complementary team to yourself and influence to set the goal and get resources.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Gather information and convert it to insight.
For everyone:
Be natural and curious. Listen and enquire.
Think people, processes and technology used.
What will you be doing for your organisation?
Is it valued? How do colleagues feel about it?
Work out your job needs, your gaps and how to close. Work out why your boss is successful.
For people managers:
Look inward, around, outward and upward. Talk to your direct reports individually. Ask questions. Think attitude and competence.
Balance your style and assertiveness needed.
Work out your customers - needs and mood.Communicate by action aligned with purpose
For bosses:
Focus on your market, key drivers and levers. Think relationship-building. Position to receive understanding and moral support ahead of seeking what you need for change.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Aim to win for your team and organization.
For everyone:
Have a game plan: Remember the interview? What do you want to achieve - your purpose?
Research: your new company, its competitive advantage etc. What are the likely obstacles?
Get quietly confident: reset from your old job, organize your private life, think key strengths.
For people managers:
Identify your allies – your boss, peers, staff, customers, and any new hire opportunities.
Decide your first act to advance your purpose.
Get started on behaving as the role requires.
For bosses:
Find out about your team and other leaders.
Consider your leadership style v the culture.
How much change to the business is needed?Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
January's tips - being weekwise
Did you come back to work to a full Inbox? Again?
Be brave - add a new folder to your email. Title it "Archive to [insert today's xx/xx/xx]", and pull all your Inbox emails into it. They're not gone, just moved. Go back to your Inbox.
How does looking at an empty Inbox feel?
Like when you started your job originally?
How cool is that :)
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
To make your email handling more effective:
1a) Use your low energy time for email admin.
1b) For each email either deal with it now, turn it into a diary action, delete it, or move it to one of these new folders Do/Follow/Read only if you must reply to/forward it (do), or watch someone else do (follow), or read-do (read).
2) Set higher energy times to do/follow/read.
3) Keep Email closed outside these times :)
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
When planning your most important work, first, be clear what outcome's good enough, then, optimistically estimate the time needed.
When preparing your most important work, first, set out everything you need ready to go, then, visualize yourself performing the work.
When performing your most important work, first, start when you have the most willpower,
then, maximize the effort in the time allotted.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Note: Plan, prepare, perform has a wrapper:
START Take 5 mins and start each new task to work out what it needs - whether it's Box 1 to go in your personal plan-prepare-perform factory that produces completed Box 1 tasks.
STOP When you work to a weekly beat, make stopping each day just a 15 minute activity:1st 5) Update your Box 1 based on how events unfolded. Put the rest of the new work-related items on a Post-it® to deal with in your low energy admin time along with your emails.
2nd 5) Lay out everything you need for the next Box 1 task and visualize performing it in the time allotted to check you’re prepared.
3rd 5) Write a paper 'Life List' of the things you intend to do from now until your next work time. Close down, and leave your work space holding your life list; it accelerates that day's transition in your integrated work-life.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Another tip next week
Remember: plan and work to a weekly beat.
52 Fridays rocks!
- 52 Fridays Toolkit!Each tool is a .doc, .ppt, .xls, picture or video download from the buttons below.Warning: they're made straightforward but in the right hands they've been proven to have superpowers!
February's tools - starting a new job
08 IMPACTFUL CHANGE
If you've followed the four steps covered in our Tips this month, this week's tool helps you organize your insights to provide influential information to your stakeholders for a decision on making an impactful change.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
07 STAKEHOLDERS
This week's tool has two parts:
i) stakeholder analysis - specifically of those people who have impact in the organization and are supporting you at this early stage. In categorizing them consider what you need from them and what they want from you;
ii) learning to master influencing - gaining insight from information is only part of it.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
06 TRANSITION
Be proactive from the outset by offering this tool to your boss and colleagues if needed to help you all conduct an effective handover to you of the role or tasks from the incumbent. It both helps to set real boundaries to your role and gives you an opportunity to consider potential improvements that you can suggest proactively in goal-setting discussions.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
05 1ST THINGS 1ST
This tool, 1st things 1st, is a mind map for you to complete ahead of your new job's start date with everything you know so far. The criterion for an item’s inclusion: you expect to cover it within the first five days, either closing it or adding clarity, relevance and richness to it and carrying it forward.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
January's tools - being weekwise
01 WEEK PLANNER
This planner is the key to working your week, so we're sharing it first.
You own Box 1. It's for the important and urgent matters that help you succeed;
Box 2 is for your less urgent stuff.
Aim to delegate or divest the 'not important'.
Type in, or print and write in or use Post-it®s if you wish - it's sized so the small ones fit.
Give it a go and
do let us know how you get on!
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
02 BOX 1 THINKING
Box 1 of the planner is for the important and urgent matters that help you succeed. How do you work out what they are for this week?
First, be clear about the time and effort you can give this week, then how challenging an objective you can set. Next, write in Box 1 only what you must do first to achieve the objective, then what you must do next, and next until the objective is achieved. Adapt for events in order to keep achievement on track.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
03 "I CAN" HOME/LOCK SCREEN
This tool is a background picture for your phone home screen to help you focus with:
Intention: getting what you must do today in Box 1 done makes your day effective.
Cognition: think about what are you doing in this moment. If it's Box 1 or 2, keep going.
Attention: to get in the zone for uninterrupted effort may involve raising your metabolism or energy, or having clear means, motive and opportunity, or parking other thoughts by writing them down. Make what works a habit.
No interruption: emergencies only. 80% of achievement is from 20% of time and effort, so train yourself to keep compact time doing.The space at the top of the home screen picture can hold up to 12 apps. Organize!
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
04 LIFE LIST
This tool helps you keep on top of your integrated work-life. Use this in conjunction with TIP 04. It's for all the things you intend to do from the end of one work time until the next work time. It has four parts about:
SPIRIT - what to do to pursue your purpose
MIND - what you need to learn/mind next
BODY - what will keep you healthy longer
SOCIAL - family, friends, community to-dos
It helps you maintain both your productive capacity and your pursuit of your life goal. Two to a page, have a stack of them at hand, write a date on and keep hold of them, then look through from time to time to check your achievement and plan.
Have a great week from 52 Fridays rocks!
Another tool next week
Remember: plan and work to a weekly beat.
52 Fridays rocks!
