Forcing Functions - My method of organizing for success

I am not naturally organized. In second grade, we had those desks where the top lifted up to reveal a nice bin for books, crayons, papers, etc. My lid didn’t close all the way and papers were sticking out on all sides. One day, my teacher stopped mid-lesson and demanded that I get out of my seat. She then dragged my desk into the hallway and dumped it onto its side, quite forcefully. My stuff scattered throughout the hallway. Kids in other classrooms were peeking into the hallway to see what all the ruckus was about. “Clean it up and I will be calling your parents about the missing work”.  This was the day before spring break. I spent most of that spring break in my bedroom completing a large pile of “seat work” that should have been done in class. 

I wish I could say that I learned my lesson and from that day forward, I  always met the due dates and kept an impeccably tidy Trapper Keeper. I’m just not wired that way – and so I’ve had to develop strategies and tricks over the years to keep myself on the right path and not kneeling on the linoleum floor dealing with the consequences of my true nature. 

One of my favorite tools for staying on track is the Forcing Function, a task, activity, or event that forces a person to take action and produce a result. I’ve been employing forcing functions since before I knew they had a name. In college, I commuted to school, so I made sure to stack my classes on the same 2 days of the week – I just needed to get to my first class and since I was already on campus, I was sure to get to the rest. Later, when I had a job and was making real money, I found that I was spending it all on dumb things like partying, gadgets, expensive dinners, etc. So, I bought a house. This forced me into a monthly payment to build equity with less money to waste. Today, I’m surrounded by an elaborate system of forcing functions. Even my house, a 100 yr old 2-story craftsman a mile from town, forces me to walk more, climb more stairs and I always have a project to tackle to keep my hands busy – yes, I believe picking this home was intentional.

The most common forcing function in people’s lives might just be W2 employment. Over 60% of the U.S. workforce are W2 employees. Taking a regular job is a forcing function for income – at least it always has been for me. Taking a job is a contract, I give the employer time and energy and the employer gives me money. For me, breaching a contract is just not an option (I always gave 2 weeks!) and so the job forced me to produce income, awesome!

What’s better than income? Yep, more income. To force this, I had to develop even more intricate forcing functions to serve in the context of my role at each company. Remember, I’m not an organized person – but to get ahead in the workplace, you can’t be a slouch. You can’t flake. Consistency and competence are key. Here are some things I did to compensate for my deficiency and to keep moving up.

• I got a gym buddy that I worked with. We carpooled to the gym in the morning, then to work. Healthy body, healthy brain and bonus, I was sure to get to work on time.
• “Three Things” - I would send a weekly email to my manager on Monday telling them the three things I did last week along with the three things I plan to do this week. It forced me to do those things since I made the commitment. It also forced my manager to see the contributions I was making. The key here was to keep the email short. Managers don’t want to read your long ass emails about every little thing.
• Plan it on the calendar - Put all monthly and quarterly planning meetings on the calendar before the year starts. For me, I put reminders that the meetings are upcoming as well so I had time to prepare.
• Notes Notes Notes! - I always have a pen and paper when talking to others. My notes are messy, but I don’t miss action items when I write them down.
• Demo Days - Scheduling time to demo functionality is a great forcing function for product teams. I have done this every sprint within teams and company-wide, for certain initiatives, every quarter.
• Hiring Consultants (yes, shameless plug!) - Important things become urgent when you are paying a consultant by the hour to help you solve problems. This forces your attention and progress onto whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of forcing functions I’ve used, it provides a good look into how we can all set up systems to force the outcomes we desire. What forcing functions do you use in your professional life? I’d love to hear them. Drop me a line on my contact form and let me know.