I truly believe that useful habits can be learnt. For example, it is very
important to realize the difference between personal time and work time.
Actually, this is one of the most important lessons I learned, when it comes to
self-discipline, and which unfortunately is not on the
important-things-to-learn list.
One doesn’t have to reach burn-out status to start taking the necessary
measures. To my mind, a healthy organization is one that regularly performs a
due diligence check and makes sure that it has among its staff responsible
managers, who are oriented not only towards results but also towards their
people and who understand that they must not ruin the emotional stability and
personal time of employees.
I know of companies that have dedicated internal teams to tackle ethics and
professional complaints received from employees, but I must confess that they
seem to rather put up a facade. They clean here and there but they never seem
to get to the core of the problem. It is this approach that made me sick about joining
the never-ending workshops about the values of an organization. When those presenting
the values are the same as those that like to make a spectacle of the way they
dribble the rules and principles in their favor because they are managers, what
trust can a simple employee have in the fact that an organization really
respects and understands its values?
In a nutshell, a company cannot expect honesty from its people if it shows
them falsity.
Is there a connection between a company’s principles or values and
discipline? Yes, there is. And when procedures are clear or updated constantly
to reflect the work methods, employees will have a different employee
experience, a better one, and they would be less stressed concerning the
surprise element that can disturb an entire project.
It’s true, I was lucky to be guided by people who taught me the importance
of self-discipline. Dad, for example, is the one that taught me how important
it is to put an item back to its place, so that when one searches for it, one
doesn’t turn the house upside down searching for it, and one can go with one’s
eyes closed and reach it.
Recently, while talking about meetings, I realized that I have developed my way of being straight to the point and
concise while I was part of a wonderful marketing team, a while back. When I
learnt that a new regular weekly meeting with the extended team was to be
scheduled to have a clearer perspective of all projects, I rolled my eyes in
despair. This was also because I had just come out of a meeting that took place
once every two weeks, and which instead of 40 minutes lasted two hours and a
half. But the new meeting was not at all a waste of time and rarely did we
exceed the given time, and if that happened it was only for five or ten
minutes. Every participant was encouraged to give their updates in a concise
manner and then we would go to the next one; and if someone needed help, they
would receive at least some indications.
What Is to Be Done
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of discipline is
clarity. If things are not clear, one cannot organize oneself. Below, I have gathered
all items I believe must be considered in order to improve self-discipline.
Cleaning
A
first step in becoming more disciplined is to make the necessary cleaning – to
find out about priorities and get a clear idea about what the goal is. Nevertheless,
cleaning your desk or desktop could change your perspective, too.
Ask
questions
I
was mistaken to believe that my role as an executant would be just to deliver,
and not to waste the manager’s time with too many questions. But more often
than not, one gains more from asking the necessary questions. What seems like
lost time for clarifying work tasks could become priceless during or at the
delivery of the project. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Managers
that are responsible and that wish for the project to go as planned (I learnt
from my experience that there are some who do not want for the project to
continue, but they do not share that information and instead they ask you to continuously
rework the project, to remake PPT slides, change the colors of visuals,
change the colors of the cells of Excel files, etc… because imagination has no
limits when some are determined to waste your time) understand that things must
be clarified in order for the task to be correctly delivered, but also that you
are dedicated and want to understand all important aspects.
Experience
can help one become proactive and have one prepare questions beforehand.
Stay
focused
When
asking questions, make sure you remain focused on the information you need to
receive. Some, unintentionally, cannot help but divagate when asked something. Yet
others are aware of it and are willingly doing it because they do not know the
answer and are trying to buy time. One must always remain focused on the
purpose of one’s question and insist on receiving the answer. Responsible
managers will admit when they do not know the answer and will come back with it
as soon as they receive the information because they understand that that
information is crucial for you to deliver the task/ the project.
Learn
from mistakes
Immediately
after delivering a task, try to analyze it and find errors, omissions, or maybe
information that you did not have or persons that you did not include
(sometimes, it is hard to ask for help but fortunately for all of us there are
people who will gladly support you and on which you can rely on – long may you
live, helpers! You know very well who you are.).
Make
a plan
It
does not have to be an elaborate plan, but one that contains the main actions
(so that it’s easier for you to know the status, and if delays happen you can
work on rearranging priorities) will help you very much.
Anticipate
Whether
we talk about things or people (from which we need to receive information) that
can ruin the delivery of your project, it’s good to always check your plan and
anticipate where issues may happen.
Document
I
make use of two types of documenting. The first one is about the present, and
the second one is about the future.
About
the present
If
delays or changes appear regarding the initial elements, take notes of the
actual situation, together with the new date when you should deliver something
(here are some indications on how to be more organized).
For
the future
If
things turned out as planned, take notes for the future so that you know the
steps you followed (especially, if it’s a recurrent project). If something went
wrong, do take notes regardless of whether you are going to work again on that
project or a similar one; it can happen that this information could be helpful
for another type of project – in a nutshell, this is where you learn from your
mistakes.
Like any habit, discipline
cannot be learned in a heartbeat. Take things one step at a time, preferably
the ones I presented above, and following constant efforts you will notice the
advantages.