My 10 tips cover three important dimensions: Technology settings and strategies, our developing calendaring etiquette and norms, and broader organizational practices.

Technology settings and strategies

1. Set up appointment slots. Many systems (I’m most familar with Tungle.me and Google Calendar) let you choose the times others can book you.
2. Make your wishes known. Many systems let you add comments on the page where people would schedule you, so use those comments to share your preferences for scheduling meetings. On my scheduling page I ask that people request at least three options, across multiple days.
3. Set your default meeting time to a smaller increment. This great tip comes from Thursday Bram. I just changed my default meeting time to 15 minutes. She also challenges us to:
4. Schedule your own time so you can get some work done. My own technique is to schedule my required events (with prep, travel, and assimilation time added on), block time for work, and then negotiate the shared aspect of my calendar. You may not have that kind of control, but as you’ll see in the the organizational practices category of tips, you won’t have this kind of control unless you ask.
5. Check the other person’s schedule first. Before asking someone if you can book some time (see next tip below), search the system for times that might work. You’ll get an better idea of the how busy the person is and be ready to book using their technology of choice.

Etiquette and norms

6. Get an OK before you set the meeting. Don’t book someone else without prior correspondence, unless it is standard operating practice, or the person’s scheduling page says you can.
7. Offer multiple options. If your calendar system allows it, suggest a few different meeting times, spread across multiple days — you never know where the person will be and whether or not they’ll have access to a computer, good wifi, or whatever else the event might need.
8. Don’t schedule back-to-back events. The person will be more likely to be on time and have your agenda in mind if you give them some breathing room. Try and schedule for an “odd” time so others are less likely to schedule immediately before or after your meeting.

Organizational practices

9. Talk about calendering and meeting ideals. Come to agreement around norms for booking each other, how personal time can be blocked, and assumptions about meetings. Agree on when it’s ok to say no to a meeting.
10. Enlist IT’s help. See if your information technology gurus can adjust the calendaring system to defaults of 15, 25, or 55 minutes, to help shorten meetings (or at least allow 5 minutes’ breathing room between them). If this isn’t a standard setting, see if IT can ask the vendor to implement it as a new feature.

Certainly, we’ve had shared calendars inside organizations for years. That doesn’t mean we’ve done calendaring well or that we’re prepared for public calendar sharing.

Would be great to know how these tips have worked out for you. Please share other tips you’ve found to be valuable.

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Gantt Charts

Since the Gantt chart is one of the more popular project schedule formats, most people are familiar with how it looks. A horizontal axis represents time, while a vertical axis lists tasks/activities. Bars are used to illustrate the duration of each activity. These bars can be color-coded according to your needs. For example, using the same color for different bars can show task dependencies, who is assigned to the task, or what resources are used. You can also add lines and markers to specify milestones, notes, and other information.

When they’re useful: Gantt charts are effective for showing the big picture. Because smaller tasks are shown adjacent to each other in relation to the project as a whole, everyone in the team can see how their work will affect everyone else’s. This is especially useful for teams with remote workers. Gantt charts can also provide a useful template for projects with scopes and schedules that rarely change.

When they’re not: Since you need detailed breakdowns of project activities in order to develop Gantt charts, they may be difficult to implement in projects requiring many changes, such as in agile software development. The slightest change in dependencies, milestones, or tasks may force you to start a new chart from scratch. There are still ways to use a Gantt chart in these cases, but it’s not always the best choice.

The graphical representation in Gantt charts may also be unnecessary for projects that look more like the linear process of an assembly line, or for projects with only one or two participants.

Tools: If you want to try out Gantt charts, here are some apps you can start with:

• Tom’s Planner
• Gantter
• Gantto (currently in private beta).

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) Charts

The PERT chart illustrates a project by focusing on the relationships between activities. The structure of a PERT chart is similar to a flowchart or mind map. An important characteristic of PERT charts is accurate time estimates. Examples and instructions can be found at NetMBA and Edraw Soft.

When they’re useful: The layout of a PERT chart makes the relationships between activities easier to see than with Gantt charts. Thus, PERT charts can be effective for projects that include many activities occurring sequentially and in parallel. PERT charts are also more flexible; you need to make three different time estimates per task, which allows for mid-process changes.

When they’re not: Some people don’t like the math involved in computing the “expected time”, which is the average time it may take to complete a task if it were repeated. Here is a concise explanation of the formula, which may make it seem less intimidating. Another disadvantage of PERT charts is that they can be difficult to understand and follow, if the project has many complex dependencies and simultaneous activities.

Tools: Since PERT charts resemble mind maps or flowcharts, most mind mapping tools can help you create a PERT chart quickly. You can start with:

• Gliffy
• Mindmeister
• Other tools we’ve reviewed

Task Calendars

Task calendars show the activities you need to accomplish each day, week, or month. Task calendars can be as simple as paper desk calendars or planners that are date or time based and have room for a to-do list each day.

Some calendars have blank spaces for a to-do list for items that don’t have to be assigned to a specific day. Some of them have indicators for task priorities, work-life balance, and task progress. David Seah has a number of different varieties of task calendars available from his blog,

When they’re useful: Task calendars are time-based, making them useful for those who are working on multiple projects at the same time. You can see the tasks you need to accomplish each day, week, or month, even if they’re attached to different projects. Breaking down tasks this way also makes them seem more manageable. Task calendars are also ideal for projects with simple, straightforward processes, since you don’t have to think about simultaneous activities or thorough time estimates.

When they’re not: Unlike Gantt or PERT charts, it’s not easy to see the connections, dependencies, and costs of your projects on a task calendar. Some calendar apps do give you the option to view only the tasks associated with a specific project, allowing you to check your progress for each project. Also, as the number of project participants increases, the daily task lists will become bulkier. This makes task calendars difficult to use for large teams, unless individual calendars are created for each participant. Because of these limitations, task calendars may be more effective when used in tandem with PERT or Gantt charts.

Tools: Most calendar apps allow you to create task lists or an agenda for the day, including:

• Google Calendar
• iCal
• MS Outlook
• Rainlendar

There are also a few to-do list apps that have a calendar view. Todoist is one of them, though you have to type in a search query to get custom calendar views. I also recommend Worktrek, especially since it tells you whether you’ve had an efficient day or not.

While these three models aren’t the only ways to schedule your projects, they can provide a good starting point when figuring out your approach. Will you benefit from the big-picture thinking inherent in creating a Gantt chart? Or will a PERT model serve you better, since you’ll make several changes along the way? Is having a daily to-do list of deliverables enough? You can even use these different models together, if necessary. After all, no matter how you dress them up these models all aim to do one thing: help you get that project finished.

Have you tried any of these project scheduling formats? What are the benefits and limitations you’ve encountered?

Photo by stock.xchng user jnatiuk

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So what do we do if we can’t afford to fall into an unproductive day? In this case, prevention is better than cure. We need to develop systems that will prevent unproductive days, weeks, or moments take over our working lives. We may not be productive 100 percent of the time, but there are some things we can do to develop better work habits:

Regular time boxing. I recently finished Neil Fiore’s “The Now Habit”, where he recommends trying 30 minutes of uninterrupted work as a way to beat procrastination. After those 30 minutes, you should take a break or reward yourself before punching in another 30 minutes of uninterrupted work.

Perhaps “uninterrupted” is the key word here, since it’s easy to get distracted when you’re working online. If you’re a random web surfing junkie or if you find yourself compulsively clicking that “Stumble!” button, then this especially applies to you.

When trying time boxing, I suggest that you select a timer that will work with your needs. I sometimes use a kitchen timer, which works well since I don’t bill by the hour and I can use it if I’m working away from the computer. OS X users might appreciate 3-2-1, a simple yet handy timer they can place on their dashboards. For those who use a time-based billing system, you can take advantage of FreshBooks’ time tracking feature.

If you’re looking for more time tracking solutions, a previous post by Mike Gunderloy lists different ways you can do this. (Be sure to skim the comments as well, as there are some great  suggestions from WWD readers, too.)

Make your schedule support your working style, and not the other way around. Some teleworkers say that they like starting work at 9am and finishing at 5 pm like a regular office employee. That might work for some, but just because it’s the model that traditional businesses use, it doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.

Since teleworkers generally have control over their schedule, then why not follow a schedule that is best suited to your working style? The first step is to know your peak working hours, the hours of the day when you’re most productive. Make sure your working schedule includes those hours.

You also have to consider your ideal way of working. Do you work best in long, uninterrupted stretches, or do you find yourself easily distracted after half an hour of work?  By creating a schedule that is tailored to your needs, you won’t feel too forced or pressured to follow a cookie-cutter schedule that doesn’t fit. Instead, you can spend most of your energy on the tasks at hand.

Take advantage of being in “The Zone”. Even when I’m not working during my peak hours, there are times where I may be doing some gardening or making some coffee and suddenly I get a very, very strong urge to work. I call this “The Zone”, as it puts me in a mental zone where I am so productive and excited to work that I can accomplish so much in a small amount of time. When I’m in this zone, I know that I have to stop what I’m doing and start working.

Why is it important to take advantage of this unexpected urge to work? Well, it’s going to make up for the time when you feel less than inspired to do it.  These “low inspiration” times make work more challenging, so you’re likely to be slower and less passionate about what you’re doing in that moment. If you take advantage of being in “The Zone”, whenever and wherever it happens, then these low inspiration times won’t be as detrimental to your productivity.

Reward yourself. If you become too productive and spend most of your time working, it’s easier to fall off the wagon and revert to time-wasting habits. Trust me, I’ve been there. Now if you’re rewarding yourself after a time boxing session, or after completing a project milestone, then you subconsciously associate the reward with the satisfaction of getting things done.

Use whatever reward makes sense to you. It could be some time off to watch a DVD, an hour working on your favorite hobbies, or even time for a nap. Whatever reward you choose, it has to be something you’re looking forward to doing after work.

The best way to be truly productive is to make it a habit. By implementing these four techniques, we can set up systems that will work with our individual needs, as well as take advantage of unexpected bursts of creativity.

What do you do to prevent unproductive behavior from throwing you off schedule?

Image by H. Berends from sxc.hu

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