The Shipping Game 6 Ships in the harbor 1 crane per pier Each 1 crane offloads 1 ship in 6 days – Two cranes can offload in 3 days, 3 in 2, etc… Cranes can be moved at no cost now All captains want their ships offloaded now Be prepared to defend your strategy 5 Minutes

The Shipping Game All 1’s: = 36/6 = 6 days avg All 2’s: = 27/6 = 4.5 days avg All 3’s: = 24/6 = 4 days avg All 6’s: = 21/6 = 3.5 days avg

The Shipping Game You make $$$ when ships at sea If all 6 ships in port x 6 days = no money If one out/day, first 5 make money

What can we learn from The Shipping Game?

The Acceleration Trap Scott Grogan, DO, FAAFP Faculty Development Fellow

Objectives Witnessed benefits of resource concentration Defined problems w/ org multitasking Listed strategies to manage “The Trap” Explored our workplace Acceleration Trap Committed to Trap-avoiding strategy

Take Home Points Multitasking is killing your effectiveness Concentrate resources intensively Bury unnecessary projects (& celebrate!)

The Acceleration Trap Market/corporate pressure, organizations do more…and more…and more… Succeed initially, but furious pace = new normal = chronic overloading Leaders fight the symptoms, not the cause – Low motivation ≠ laziness

Multitasking Problems Student Syndrome Parkinson’s Law John Medina

The Student Syndrome

Task scheduled available start Task scheduled completion date

The Student Syndrome Delay starting because we have time – Other pressing priorities come first Murphy's law sets in A difficult project is due in 5 days? – “Can we negotiate for 10?” – Waste built-in safety

Parkinson’s Law “The demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of the resource.”

Parkinson’s Law “The amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task.”

Parkinson’s Law an organization “The amount of time which an organization has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task.”

Parkinson’s Law We will fill all available time – Will barely finish on time Why? – Judged on results – Future time and budget will be cut Pad estimation & budget

John Medina “Multitasking, when it comes to paying attention, is a myth.”

Multitasking Overestimation of required time Rarely have time for multiple projects Multiple projects = switching costs Bouncing between projects = switching costs Poor multitasking = project extensions

Multitasking is killing your effectiveness

Your Responses Is it hard to get the most important things done because too many other activities diffuse focus? Is there a tendency to continually drive the organization to the limits of its capacity? Is it impossible for employees to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Do employees talk a lot about how big their workload is? Is busyness valued? Are managers expected to act as role models by being involved in multiple projects? Is “no” a taboo word, even for people who have already taken on too many projects? In their free time, do employees keep their cell phones or messaging devices on because they feel they always need to be reachable? 85.7% 100% 50% 85.7% 71.4% 85.7%

How Can We Proceed? 10 Minutes

Getting Out Of The Trap Stop the action Be clear about strategy Decide how to make decisions Declare the turmoil over

Avoiding The Trap Institute spring cleaning Cap annual goals Filter new projects Introduce a “burying” culture

Change The Culture Focus on one thing for only limited time Institute time-outs Indulge in successes Slow down to speed up Model better behavior Use feedback systems

Now What? Concentrate…. Bury…

PROJECT

Concentrate & Bury As individuals What (org) initiatives are you working on? Prioritize your list We will list all responses 3 Minutes

Concentrate & Bury As small groups Prioritize the list We will hear each group 3 Minutes

Concentrate & Bury As a large group Prioritize the list We will list all responses 3 Minutes

How Can We Proceed? Getting out of the Trap Avoiding the Trap Change the culture

How can we concentrate our efforts? How can we change our culture? What can we commit to for the future?

Objectives Witnessed benefits of resource concentration Defined problems w/ org multitasking Listed strategies to manage “The Trap” Explored our workplace Acceleration Trap Discussed a project to bury

Take Home Points Multitasking is killing your effectiveness Concentrate resources intensively Bury unnecessary projects (& celebrate!)