THIS is why you’re getting absolutely NOTHING done at work

So the clock just rang 5:02pm, and you’re looking at your to-do list, calendar and inbox, only to notice one glaring, obvious message across the screen of your professional conscience (or at least what is left of it): YOU GOT NOTHING DONE TODAY…AGAIN!

Sure, you scheduled a bunch of meetings, answered a whole lot of emails about scheduling those same meetings, piled a ton of paperwork on top of your desk. End result: you did look busy, but really, at the end of the day (week, month, or whatever time period you can still remember), NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL GOT DONE!

In his book “Deep Work”, author and professor Cal Newport discusses the importance of prioritizing the “ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.”

What is “deep work”, you may ask. Here are 3 signs, according to Fast Company, that you’re involved in intense, results-producing work:

You’re working on a problem beyond your skill level
You start feeling and being absorbed in a flow
Your mind starts experiencing a state of “strain”

Translation for the rest of us cube and office dwellers: Stop messing around with unimportant emails and boring meetings! Instead, concentrate on work that will fulfill you, make you better, and actually produce tangible results (other than filling up your already busy calendar).

Really, how many hours have you spent organizing meetings during which only the first 10 minutes were productive, and the rest was spent theorizing, checking your smartphone, or thinking about the next meeting? How much time spent looking for an available conference room (aaargh), a convenient time for everyone (because everyone else is also busy organizing their own inefficient meetings), and a nice meeting header?

And let’s not even start with the unending email chains that turn one simple “Yes or No” question about a whole avalanche of considerations around the sustainability of the entire enterprise in an ever-changing business world? What were we talking about already….

“But what if all this busy, unproductive, and headache-inducing work is imposed on me by my manager? What if I don’t have a choice in the matter?”

If you feel you don’t have a choice in the matter, it may be time to schedule some time to talk with your manager. Here are three questions/observations to ask/make to your manager when it comes to truly doing fulfilling and “deep work” :

What non-essential activities can I limit to produce more results?
What type of results would take my performance to the next level?
Would you support me as I focus on “deeper” work?

Having a results-focused conversation with your manager can really make the difference between being a victim to “busy” work and actually taking charge of the type of work that is best for you, your career and your organization.

The second step would be to actually put this into action. This is where the proverbial to-do list has to be ditched, and your favorite scheduling tool promoted to CEO of your Calendar:

Schedule real work first. You know, the type of work that actually makes you use those brain cells you’d otherwise waste snooping on your in-laws’ last vacation in Punta Cana;
Schedule buffer time. Yes, that’s right, time to do nothing. That is, nothing but let your mind wander and strategize. This is where you start thinking about what your career will look like in 3 years, where you see yourself in the next decade, and what priorities you are setting in your life.
Avoid email as much as possible. Restrict email time to specific chunks of your schedule, and refrain from dabbling with it the rest of the time.
Use the power of outsourcing. There are entire businesses and organizations in the business of making your life easier by outsourcing most basic tasks, like scheduling or email.
Spend some time alone. Here’s one you may not get very often at work. However, finding some time to be alone, whether early in the morning, or even when you are at work, is crucial to increase your idea generation potential. So much so that many have started meditating right at work.