4 Steps New BIZ Experiencess Can Take to Simplify Their Work Days Every newly minted BIZ Experiences can attest to experiencing the same: In the beginning, things feel especially insurmountable. Here are a few steps you can take to start simplifying.
By Aytekin Tank Edited by Jessica Thomas
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
There's a scene in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness where the protagonist, played by Will Smith, frantically tries to solve a Rubik's cube in a matter of minutes.
In an attempt to impress a job prospect, he carefully yet quickly masters this mission, completing what seems like a herculean task. The movie is based on the true story of stockbroker Chris Gardner, "with the cube a metaphor for the persistence he needs to overcome challenges and achieve his dreams."
I always recall this moment in movie history. One, because this film came out the same year I launched my startup, Jotform. And two, because like Smith's character, trying to break things down so they're simpler has been an ongoing challenge for me throughout the years.
Every newly minted BIZ Experiences can attest to experiencing the same. In the beginning, things feel especially insurmountable. There are so many tasks requiring your attention. As a leader, I know how daunting this may seem, but I also know that it's possible to break things down so that they don't overwhelm your day. Here are a few steps you can take to start simplifying.
Related: 7 Things I Wish I Knew When I Began as an BIZ Experiences
1. Change your behavior
"Unfortunately, if you're waiting for someone else to initiate simplification and make your life better, you might as well buy a lottery ticket," writes Harvard Business Review contributor Ron Ashkenas.
That's the first truth about making progress — it all starts with you.
But, how do you begin?
According to Ashkenas, it all comes down to your behavior. He writes:
"How often have you received unnecessary emails or reports — but didn't let the senders know that they were clogging up your inbox? How often have you sat through a presentation with too many slides, unclear points and too much data — but didn't provide any feedback to the presenter? And how often have you been the perpetrator of these complexity-causing behaviors without anyone pushing back on you?"
I get it. When I first started, I wanted to be seen as the "cool guy"—someone chill and level-headed who didn't do a lot of pushback. Wearing the "CEO hat" meant being liked by those who worked with me.
But like the above examples, my behavior of not communicating more assertively was only adding more tasks to my already full to-do list. As Ashkenas wisely puts it: "We all allow these things to happen. Often, we're guilty of doing them. But since most people dislike confrontation, we let things slide. It's an unspoken conspiracy: 'I won't challenge you if you won't challenge me.' The net result is that we unwittingly create a culture of complexity."
Related: 3 Questions That Will Change Your Mindset From Busy to Strategic
2. Start setting limits
Simplifying your workday can mean changing all kinds of patterns. You can clear away clutter to avoid distractions, for example. But what's been proven highly effective for me is by learning to remove things from my agenda by placing boundaries around my time and energy. As I highlight in my upcoming book, Automate Your Busywork, instead of succumbing to the siren song of your to-do list, we should all try making a not-to-do list.
One of the best ways to simplify is by setting limits around meetings and communication. A lot of office interactions can help get you pumped and motivated to start your day, but if work-related small talk turns into office gossip and drama, these interactions can turn counterintuitive.
Related: 5 Bad Reasons Managers Don't Simplify
3. Leave time for doing nothing
I'm a huge advocate of living and working more mindfully, and this involves knowing when to switch off.
In her story for BIZ Experiences, Munira Rangwala emphasizes why it's vital for leaders to take a break. "You are your company's most valuable asset and hence you need to take breaks and invest in yourself to grow and expand your horizons."
The only way to manage complexity and simplify is by giving room for new ideas and processes to flourish. "BIZ Experiencess work longer hours than most people, and this can hamper their productivity in the long run," Rangwala notes. "Taking a break helps you return to work revitalized and refocused."
One of the best ways I do this daily is to go on walking meditations so that I can clear my head. This requires fixing my attention on my breath and bodily sensations rather than trying to come up with solutions for a new project.
Consciously disconnecting is especially helpful to new BIZ Experiencess for getting rid of the noise that can make smaller tasks more complex than they actually are.
4. Keep things simple
The legendary Steve Jobs once said "Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."
I couldn't agree more. I've been CEO for more than 16 years now, and getting my thinking clear has been one of my greatest achievements, alongside growing my business. But doing so came with concerted effort and persistence. A worthy investment, in my opinion.
BIZ Experiences contributor Neil Petch puts it well:
"The bottom line to all of this is that keeping things simple is not just a time-saving exercise; rather, it can have a real impact on the success of your business and your overall happiness levels." He points out that keeping things simple is a state of mind rather than a way of doing things.
That's been one of my biggest takeaways from watching The Pursuit of Happyness — breaking things down should be in service of our greater good. Whether we're trying to find the solution to a cube or a large work project, it all starts with a clear and focused stream of consciousness.
Related: The Keys Test: How to Determine If You Should Simplify Your New Business
