"Take up less than you can handle."
👆This is what I tell my team at the start of our weekly sprint.
When planning your week's work, most of us tend to overestimate how much progress we can make in a week.
This leads to unimportant projects getting completed, but important projects (that keep us on track) getting delayed.
Those important projects then get moved to the subsequent weeks and now you have a project that could've been completed in 1-2 weeks taking more than a month to complete.
BUT if you take up less, you can focus on what really matters and move those important projects forward faster.
Here’s how it helps my team:
- We *commit* to completing our projects since we've taken less than we can handle.
- We ruthlessly prioritize the projects that keep us on track.
- We’re more productive without spending long hours at work.
Don't do everything. Don't plan for 40 hour work weeks. Plan for 25 hour work weeks instead.
The next time you plan your weekly sprints with the team, instead of asking “What are you planning to work on this week?”, ask this question:
“What are three things that you can commit to completing this week?”
