{"id":759,"date":"2020-10-02T23:12:41","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T23:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/2020\/10\/02\/workflows-101-the-hidden-concept-to-get-more-work-done\/"},"modified":"2020-10-02T23:12:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T23:12:41","slug":"workflows-101-the-hidden-concept-to-get-more-work-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/affiliate-marketing\/2020\/10\/02\/workflows-101-the-hidden-concept-to-get-more-work-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Workflows 101: The Hidden Concept to Get More Work Done"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/span> 4.5\/5<\/span> (11) <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone is approaching productivity wrong. Tactics such as Pomodoros and blocking distractions only scratch the surface. A more effective approach is to improve your workflows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My career exploded starting in 2009.<\/p>\n

The money was great, but my soul was taking a beating. I couldn\u2019t keep up with the countless emails. I thought employees were the answer, but managing them took time away from me actually making money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d work seven days a week for several months. Inevitably, I\u2019d burn out and head to the Caribbean for a week to recover.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t sustainable, but I didn\u2019t know what else to do.<\/p>\n

One day, I was walking my dog and overhead my neighbors chatting about weeds in their yards.<\/p>\n

Neighbor #1: <\/strong>I\u2019m tired of these weeds. I just ordered a weed whacker to help me kill them faster.<\/p>\n

Neighbor #2: <\/strong>A weed whacker? They\u2019re just going to grow back no matter how fast you kill them. Buy\u00a0<\/strong>yourself some Roundup, and you\u2019ll kill the weeds forever. Do you wanna spend every Saturday cutting weeds?<\/p>\n

Something clicked in my brain.<\/p>\n

I had an efficiency approach<\/em>\u00a0to conquering the endless amount of work. That meant I kept trying to find new techniques to do the work faster and faster.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d keep trying out new productivity apps trying to find that \u201cmagic bullet.\u201d But I never took the time to zoom out and analyze my systems for accomplishing work.<\/p>\n

My research led me to discover a far more effective approach called Workflows<\/strong><\/a>. (Credit goes to Cal Newport<\/a> for this phrase<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Workflows ask WHAT<\/strong>\u00a0you should be working on, and HOW<\/strong>\u00a0you decide to do them. It\u2019s about analyzing problems and creating systems that get rid of certain work permanently.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to share some examples of optimizing workflows and some ideas on how to approach your problems.<\/p>\n

These upfront investments in workflows will pay dividends.<\/p>\n


<\/a>
Photo by\u00a0Startup Stock Photos<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Optimizing Customer Service Emails Through Workflows<\/h2>\n

A pain point for e-commerce stores is dealing with customer emails.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re getting 100 customer service emails a day.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using the efficiency approach, you\u2019ll be asking, \u201cHow can I answer those 100 emails a day faster?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Some solutions are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Every day at 2 p.m., you\u2019re going to block out one hour to answer C.S. emails.<\/li>\n
  2. You hire a new customer service representative to help out.<\/li>\n
  3. You create different templates to respond faster.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The results?<\/p>\n

    You\u2019re able to cut down the customer service response time from three days down to two.<\/p>\n

    This is a win for most people, but is it the best solution?<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s tackle the same problem from a workflow <\/strong>perspective.<\/p>\n

    Remember, workflows tackle the WHAT<\/strong>\u00a0and the HOW<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    The first WHAT <\/strong>is\u2026 \u201cWhat do the customers want?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

    Do the customers want faster responses to their emails? Sure. But they\u2019d be happier if they never had problems in the first place, or never had to contact you.<\/p>\n

    Next, get clarity on where you are right now. Categorize all the emails you get over the span of a week. Create some graphs to help you visually analyze the most common problems.<\/p>\n

    Remember, you want to take an 80 \/ 20 approach and focus on the most common problems.<\/p>\n

    Most Common Email #1: People Keep Asking Where Their Order Is<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This is one of those problems that can be automated with the right software.<\/p>\n

    You do some research and install the AfterShip<\/a>\u00a0Order Tracking system into your store.<\/p>\n

    People automatically get updates through email or text on where their order is. There\u2019s now a huge tracking link on your navigation bar.<\/p>\n

    Most Common Email #2: Instructions for Using the Product Aren\u2019t Clear<\/strong><\/p>\n

    People receive your widget, but they have no idea how to use it.<\/p>\n

    You can create an instructional booklet and put it in the packaging.<\/p>\n

    Your team creates a detailed video on how to use the widget. The video is emailed a few days after the person makes a purchase.<\/p>\n

    For other common questions, you build a Frequently Asked Questions page. People have to scroll through the FAQ before they reach the Contact Us form on your website.<\/p>\n

    I remember one example from The 4 Hour Work Week<\/em>. Tim Ferris was frustrated with the number of questions his customer service reps would ask him on what to do.<\/p>\n

    He created a rule. The customer service reps could spend up $100 to make the customers happy. This one rule eliminated so many back and forth questions from his staff.<\/p>\n

    Taking an Efficiency approach means you\u2019re still<\/strong>\u00a0going to have 100 emails a day. You\u2019ll be able to answer them within two days instead of three.<\/p>\n

    Taking a Workflow approach means you\u2019ve put an infrastructure in place to cut down on the work. Instead of getting 100 emails a day, now you\u2019re getting 25 emails. The customers are happier, and you free up resources to focus on bigger issues.<\/p>\n

    Other Workflow Examples<\/h2>\n

    Here are some other examples of workflows I\u2019ve implemented in my life.<\/p>\n

    Dealing with Co-Workers: <\/strong>You get your best work done when you\u2019re not being interrupted. I have a 15-minute meeting every day at 12 p.m. called the Daily Huddle.<\/p>\n

    It asks what we\u2019re working on and what bottlenecks we\u2019re facing. If anyone has any questions for me, they can ask me then. Any other issues can be left as a comment in our Project Management software.<\/p>\n

    This gives me several hours a day to do \u201cdeep work<\/a>\u201d instead of getting interrupted with Slack messages.<\/p>\n

    Booking a Flight: <\/strong>I started working with Executive Assistants several years ago. One of the most common tasks was booking flights. The biggest issue was that they\u2019d keep asking me for different information.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s when we worked on creating a Standard Operating Procedure just for travel.<\/p>\n

    \"pasted<\/p>\n

    There was an upfront time investment in creating this document, but it has saved us endless hours of back and forth.<\/p>\n

    Three Ideas to Help You Create Workflows<\/p>\n

    1. Ask the 5 Whys<\/h3>\n

    Most people focus on the symptoms, but it\u2019s far more effective to figure out the root cause.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re experiencing headaches every day. You could take an Advil every day, but that\u2019s not great for your long-term health.<\/p>\n

    You do some research on the potential causes, and you see that poor posture is one. You realize that you\u2019re hunched over your desk to use your laptop.<\/p>\n

    You decide to invest in a proper ergonomic work setup. Your headaches magically go away!<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s not easy to figure out what the root causes are. I use a tool called the 5 Whys:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Because I keep oversleeping. Why?<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n
    2. Because I keep hitting snooze on the alarm clock. Why?<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Because I\u2019m not getting enough sleep. Why?<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n
    4. Because I\u2019m staying up late watching Netflix. Why?<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n
    5. Because I hate my life and watching Netflix at night is the only thing that makes me happy.\u00a0Why?<\/strong>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The root cause of oversleeping for this person is depression. That\u2019s the lead domino that will fix all other issues.<\/p>\n

      2. What would things look like if they were easy?<\/h3>\n

      People tend to overcomplicate success.<\/p>\n

      I like to ask myself, \u201cWhat would this look like if it were easy?\u201d<\/p>\n

      In 2016, I wanted to gain muscle. It was a pain in the ass for me to keep up with my macros and workout programs. So, I asked myself what would it look like if it were easy?<\/p>\n

      1. I\u2019d have a personal trainer. He\u2019d monitor my metrics and design workouts for me every day.<\/p>\n

      2. I\u2019d used a meal planning service. Every day, I\u2019d get my daily meals delivered in the morning. Those 3 meals + 2 Scoops of protein would hit my macros easily.<\/p>\n

      Think about how much mental space <\/strong>I freed up by not thinking about this anymore. It wasn\u2019t cheap to create this setup.<\/p>\n

      Good health is a force multiplier, and I\u2019m sure I made back my money through better focus and energy.<\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n

      Photo by\u00a0Christina Morillo<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      3. Touch it as Few Times as Possible<\/h3>\n

      It\u2019s mentally draining to keep revisiting the same tasks.<\/p>\n

      The less you revisit a task, the better.<\/p>\n

      If you delegate work and there\u2019s a ton of back and forth, often it\u2019s because you didn\u2019t explain it well enough.<\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s go back to the example of booking a flight.<\/p>\n

      In the early days, I would delegate it, such as:<\/p>\n

      \u201cCan you book me a flight?<\/p>\n

      Depart: from ATL to SLC October 10th Morning<\/p>\n

      Return: SLC to ATL October 14th Afternoon\u201d<\/p>\n

      Slack:<\/strong>\u00a0Is this a business or personal trip? Which credit card should I use?<\/p>\n

      WhatsApp:<\/strong>\u00a0Hey, I found the flight on Delta. Do you have a SkyMiles number?<\/p>\n

      Email:<\/strong>\u00a0The flights are typically $300, but I see right now it\u2019s $500\u2019ish. Did you still want to book it?<\/p>\n

      Do you see how much time is wasted?<\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s use the touch it once mentality. How can I delegate this as best as possible, so I don\u2019t have to keep dealing with it?<\/p>\n

      I use a framework called Vision \/ Resources \/ Definition of Done.<\/p>\n

      Vision: <\/strong><\/p>\n

      I\u2019m going on a business trip with my friend. I need you to book a flight.<\/p>\n

      Depart: from ATL to SLC October 10th Morning<\/p>\n

      Return: SLC to ATL October 14th Afternoon<\/p>\n

      Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      You can find all the information you need in the Travel SOP<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      Definition of Done:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I want the flight booked as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

      We\u2019ll figure out the accommodations and research things to do later.<\/p>\n

      Once booked, please make sure it\u2019s in both TripIt and my Google Calendar.<\/p>\n

      If you have any questions, please ping me in the comments section of this task.<\/p>\n

      By investing all this upfront time in delegating, there are fewer questions. Fewer questions mean that I\u2019m not interrupted when I\u2019m trying to do more valuable work.<\/p>\n

      Where to Go From Here<\/h2>\n

      It\u2019s not easy to create these Workflows. There\u2019s an upfront investment in both time and thinking capacity.<\/p>\n

      Yet, focusing on building these workflows can increase your outputs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      I want you to develop a workflow approach to any problems that you encounter. Having a workflow approach will lead to you working on bigger problems<\/p>\n

      Photo by Startup Stock Photos<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n

      Please rate this article – it helps me know what to write!<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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