Turn off your notifications
When they went home, there was peace and quiet. (U.S. National Archives)
Students at The Little Middle School love to collaborate on projects. They particularly enjoy organizing events and activities.
One of the first things we have to teach them, however, is that collaborating on a project does not mean that they’ll be engaged in a continuous meeting for the duration of their planning and execution. We teach them to meet to discuss objectives, brainstorm ideas, and organize their ideas into a structure. Then they identify and assign roles. After that, everybody must split up to actually do the work.
Due to the coronavirus, a large number of people find themselves suddenly working from home. They’re using messaging tools like Slack and Zoom to keep them connected to each other. And if they’re not careful, they’re going to find their days becoming a continuous meeting, much like the ones my well-meaning middle schoolers attempt.
It is exhausting and anxiety-inducing to be pinged every several seconds in the name of “work,” or to spend long hours in meetings, whether face-to-face or via teleconference. For remote or distributed teams to function, they need to have uninterrupted stretches of time to get things done.
In fact, my team at The Little Middle School just went remote — teachers and students. We are already used to the communication tools we use, but now we were using these tools exclusively in the absence of physical meetings. So on day one, in the flurry of new information and instructions, everyone prioritized incoming notifications to the detriment of their work product. The workday was effectively a meeting — and everyone knows that nothing gets done in meetings.
But now that we understand our basic workflow, we can slow down and concentrate on executing it. The fact that we are making heavy use of electronic communication tools means that we have to be all the more intentional about using them.
Ironically, if we want to accomplish anything as remote workers, we need to turn off the very communication tools that allow us to work remotely.
Twenty-five minute work session, five-minute solitary stretch and “stare off into space” break (don’t read the news). Twenty-five minute work session, five-minute “catch up on messages” break. One hour down. Repeat and tweak as necessary.
This beats “Thirty-second work session, two minutes on Slack, four-minute work session, one minute on Slack, three-minute wo—never mind, it just dinged again…” You get the idea.
Not only will you get more done, you will be far, far calmer. And your well-being is to be guarded more intensely now than ever.
Of course, protecting our time and energy is important all the time. Turning off notifications is a great way to achieve that, even when society is functioning normally. It takes a little getting used to, for you and for those who are used to instant responses from you, but it is worth it. You get your life back.
If we build our teams and processes around a culture of preventing interruptions, we are forced to do better planning and documentation. We have to keep track of names and numbers and passwords instead of asking our colleagues for them when we forget. We must give people frameworks for making quick decisions and empower them to act, bypassing that one guy who would otherwise be the bottleneck. In short, our systems are better and our team functions better with fewer exchanges.
When we have everything we need to do our job and interruptions are at a minimum, the team can then foster communication that builds relationships. You have time and energy to throw a party instead of having a meeting. And because real, in-person parties are on hold right now, we have a unique opportunity to explore ways that we can still connect meaningfully in the absence of face-to-face experiences.
When you turn your notifications off, there’s a point where you intentionally, deliberately turn them back on. At that moment, you’re showing up with your full attention, energy, and care. And that’s worth more than an hour of fractured attention. In fact, it’s priceless.
Are you working remotely? Is your child? How do you handle notifications and communication with colleagues? Please share in the comments.