Use The Three R's
Times have changed. When I was young, education was much simpler than it is today. Today there is nothing abnormal about seeing a grade two student proficiently clicking her way through web pages in Internet Explorer, formatting the layout of an attractive Word document , and performing reasonably complex calculations in Excel. Yep. Times have definitely changed.
But some things haven't changed. When I was in school, teachers used to summarize the disciplines we would need in life, telling us to learn the three R's: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Sure it's cute, but it made it easy to remember what we were shooting for. And approaching the complex business world of today, we still need to apply the three R's, if we hope to achieve Technology Fit in our work lives.
Reading
The first discipline you need to build into your business life is the principle of reading. Technology and business change so quickly that if you are going to remain Technology Fit, you have to make sure to take time out from your frantic schedule to read.
You need to read in two areas. First you need to read professionally. Whatever career you've chosen for yourself, there are specifics in that area that are shifting as the business world shifts. Almost every career has trade journals and email newsletters associated with it. Sign up for them and then make it part of your daily routine to keep up on the latest. You don't need to read every detail, but catch the headlines, and then dig in where it makes sense to.
Then there is technology itself. You need to read about the tools available to make your work more efficient. How can you best use the tools at your disposal? How are other people using technology? Here too there are lots of online resources to tap, specifically aimed at business users.
Mark Twain said: "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Take some time each day to read. Even if you only pick up one new idea a month, it can truly enhance your overall work proficiency.
Writing
The next discipline to maintain is a constant communication stream. In the information age, information is king. You need to stay in touch with the key players that make your business engine hum. This means tackling that mountain of email. It won't become quite the mountain if you set a period aside each day, to deal with critical correspondence.
Another key communication piece is phone calls. This one is tougher because the phone demands your attention when it rings. Each time you answer, you've allowed the caller to rewrite your work schedule. The best way to overcome this insistence is to use call display to filter calls, and use voice mail to divert response time for non-critical inquiries. This lets you process calls all at once, just like you handle your email.
One tip about both email and voicemail. If you don't reply in a reasonable time, no one will trust these ways of getting in touch, and you will just appear inaccessible. Be sure to respond promptly and consistently to all valid communications, so people will know they can use these methods reliably.
Arithmetic
So what part of your work life is the math? Actually, it's everything else. It's all the parts that add the income, and multiply the returns. It's all the ways you divide up what you do, and how you learn to subtract from your day the things that aren't important. It's the rest of the things you have to do, to keep the whole thing running.
This is the part you probably have no problem making time for. It’s this "everything else" part that usually pushes out the Reading and Writing parts. Somehow it's not hard to respond to the demands of day to day work. What's hard is stopping the work, long enough to maintain the disciplines that support it. This is why you need to learn to schedule all three of the R's into your work life. Otherwise only Arithmetic will happen.
Keeping The Three R's Balanced
So how do you maintain the balance that will assure you achieve Technology Fit? The answer is both simple and hard. The simple part is, you grab that scheduler of yours each week, and you write in at least a one hour appointment each day for Reading and another hour appointment for Writing. Then you schedule the rest of the Arithmetic around those times. What could be easier, right?
The hard part is doing it. It is pretty easy for the Arithmetic to push the other two R's out the door each day. The Arithmetic is so demanding, so apparently critical to be dealt with now. And who can spare two hours a day for things that can wait? Even if you schedule those times, it's hard to get the Arithmetic off your mind, so you can focus on the other two R's.
That's why the three R's are called disciplines. It's hard work, not to work non-stop. It's hard work, slowing down to focus and read and think. But you just have to do it, and stick with it until it becomes habit. If you do, you'll find yourself achieving a higher level of Technology Fit in your overall work life, and find the Arithmetic moving to a higher quality of achievement.
Kel Good
MCT, MCITP, MCPD, MCSD for Microsoft.NET
Kel Good is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Developer who specializes in consulting with business decision makers and managers regarding the
Technology Fit of their organizations.
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