Sweet Tea versus Sugared Tea

Have you noticed that iced tea that is sweetened when the tea is warm tastes way different than iced tea with the same amount of sugar added after it's cold?

One difference is that more sugar dissolves when the tea is warm. But there is more to it than this - the taste is still very different. Those of you who enjoy sweet tea from the south will agree with me on this.

Order matters.

Brew Tea
Add Sugar
Add ice or chill.
Serve

Brew Tea
Add ice or chill
Add sugar
Serve

Apples and oranges, really.

What if you made a few small modifications to the order of your management regimen? Would the outcomes be different? Absolutely they would.

When do you plan - morning, after lunch, or just before leaving (hint: never is not a good answer)?
When do you check in with staff?
When do you book meetings (hint: never is a better answer here)?
When do you set aside time for creative thinking?
When do you organize?
When do you read your emails (hint: constantly is not a good answer)?
When do you return calls?
When do you go to lunch?

Try changing your routine up a bit. Think about your natural energy cycles and the times of day that best facilitate getting things done. For example. I like taking 20 minutes right after lunch and planning for the rest of the day and next morning. I find that a second half day focus helps me get more of the right things done. Doing this only in the morning is OK, but then what if your day gets away from you? Having an after lunch check can help you recover the day.

Also, you might try having lunch at odd times. Often the noon hour is a great time to get things done because everyone else is focused on food and more people are out of the office. Use the hour from 12:00-1:00pm to plan for 20 minutes and do some creative thinking for 40 minutes. Then go to lunch at 1:00pm. Your day will feel more productive and you will push the usual 3:00pm crash to 4:00pm. Do your staff check ins at 4:00pm (or phone calls). Talking to people is energizing for many.

Order matters and you should experiment to find your sweet spot.

Here's to days filled with delicious sweet tea.

Comments

[Wally Bock]

Order definitely matters. One of the ways I re-enforce that in my life is using checklists for morning and evening. And I make sure to take a nap in the middle afternoon.

Lisa is also right-on about trying different things. I've been tracking my personal productivity for almost 40 years now and I'm still finding things that make a difference and most of them, as Lisa suggests, are not in doing new things they're either in stopping things or in doing things in a different order.

[Reg]

Two small "modifications" have made enormous impact on my life. I used to follow the Covey plan fanatically. Then two small modifications occurred about 18 months apart.
Mod 1 daughter Emily.
Mod 2 daughter Chloe.
Now my to do list is more like...
-wake up.
-be a dad.
-drink coffee
-be a dad
-drive to work while thinking about how to be a better dad
-write a blog post about how to be a better dad
-be a dad.
-obsess about being a dad
-screw up royally
-apologize
-be a dad
And you know what? When I do it right (or even get in the ballpark) the tea never tasted sweeter.

[Lisa Haneberg]

Reg - love your simple but compelling take on this, thanks!

[Megan]

Excellent and I heartily agree. I lost access to my emails for 26 days last year. No more constant checking of email was possible. Oh the freedom! And the Productivity!

[Lisa Haneberg]

Yes, so perhaps we should all leave our cell phones somewhere for a few days!