As DVELP grows there’ll be more tasks outside of the day to day project work that need to be done. We’d like every member of the team to be able to manage their own, whilst also respecting the time of their fellow team members. Here we’ll provide a few tips on how best to do this.
As a reminder, for standard projects, developers are expected to spend at least 80% of their time on the project and at most 20% of their time on other DVELP tasks.
When we multitask, our ability to do any of our tasks well drops, so where possible we should try to avoid multitasking. At DVELP we advise that you carve out specific time for non-project tasks during the week.
Each person is different so some may prefer to do this first thing in the morning, whilst others might prefer to do it at the end of the day. However please don’t dedicate a whole day to non-project task. We should be providing value to our clients every day.
Everyone should be reviewing their calendar at the beginning of each week. That way you can plan in time to prepare for any upcoming events.
We are a realistic company and don’t expect that you have all you you presentations done weeks in advance, however if you have agreed to do a presentation we expect you to find time to prepare it or give the rest of the team enough notice to find a replacement, which is at least four business days.
Meetings aren’t everyone’s favourite way to spend their time but they can be critical for smooth communication, especially in a remote business. However, we should all be respectful of each others' time, so here are a few tips for both those organising meetings and those invited.
Meeting Organisers
- Check people’s calendars before sending out invites
- Attach an agenda to your meeting invites
- Don’t have meetings for meetings' sake. Keep them short and sweet
For Attendees
- Review the agenda and work out if the meeting will be of use to you or if you’ll be of use in the meeting
- If the time doesn’t work for you, ask if it can be changed (this might not always be possible, but it’s always worth asking)
- Respond to meeting invites as soon as possible and truthfully, If you can’t attend a meeting let the organiser know sooner rather than later
Sometimes you just want to spend some time focusing on one particular task without any interruptions, which can be hard in the world of slack and email.
At DVELP we have introduced Monk Time, allowing team members to define time each week when they don’t want to be disturbed.
- Add Monk Time in your calendar
- Update your status if you are in Monk Time. You can also turn off notifications during that time
- Don’t be in Monk Time for longer than 3 hours (make sure there is time for other people to contact you during the day)
- If people are in Monk Time, do not disturb them unless absolutely necessary
Unfortunately, things happen and sometimes you’ll be asked to do something at the last minute. However, if you’re working on something else this might be a problem (see above on multitasking). Here are some pointers on how to decide on which of your tasks is a priority
- The only thing that should take time away from work you are doing on a client project is a P1 bug. Anything else should be handled in the time you define for non-project work
- If someone asks you to drop your current task for a last minute request, ask them why it is more important than what you’re currently working on
- Feel free to say no or escalate to Annise if the requester can’t provide a good reason
- Avoid multitasking by defining when you are working on project work
- Plan your time in advance
- Be respectful when organising or replying to meeting invites
- Use Monk Time to focus on tasks without interruption
- Make sure you understand the priority of any last minute requests before dropping your current tasks
- Ask Annise if you are unsure of how to manage your time
- Everyone is different, spend some time working out what works best for you