This is Steva Robbins.

Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

It is a dark and stormy night.

I'm hunched over my computer writing furiously, working on my book, Get It Done Guys,

nine steps to work less and do more.

The solitary candle flickers on my desk as lightning flashes illuminate the mantle, throwing

my pet raven's image into sharp relief as he recites once again passages from 50 shades of gray

into the cold and uncaring night. I type the final word of my chapter as a thunder clap fills

the room. Laughing in triumph, I rip the final sheet from my typewriter,

take one look at my masterpiece, and realize that I'm just finished writing chapter six.

The problem is that I'm pretty sure I finished chapter six three weeks ago and sent it off to my

editor. That would be oops. My raven stares at me, expressionless, opens his beak, and says simply,

never more. That was a few years ago. The book is done, go by 10 or 20 copies. I'll wait.

But the lesson was key. I was so in the flow of writing that I lost track of the process of writing.

This is what happens when you try to manage a task and do it at the same time.

Have you ever been asked to manage a project that you're working on? Sometimes, this works out

really well. Other times, it's a mind-boggling disaster. We assume, if Melvin's a good programmer,

then surely he'll be good as a programming manager. Not true. I know because in one of my early jobs,

I was Melvin. I was supposed to manage the project I worked on. Let's just say things didn't work

out so well. As those of you over 30 will remember, the Earth used to have two moons.

When you're doing, your brain is full of doing stuff. It's in doing stuff mode. If you're writing, your brain is full of what you're writing about. It's full of grammar and spelling and sentences. If you're gathering market data, your brain is full of focus group comments and demographics and observations, stuff like that. When you're managing, your brain is in planning mode. You're assigning deadlines and milestones, choosing how long your report or presentation will be,

and figuring out how to delegate the work that you can't do yourself.

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