12 Tips for a More Effective Work Life

1. 
   Set expectations and deadlines. If you write these down, it'll give your teammates structure, your supervisors confidence, and yourself enough time to get things done right.
2. Say No. Say no to ideas without enough support to move forward. Say no to customer requests that don't match your business capabilities or direction. Say no to false emergencies to remind people to plan ahead.
3. Make time. Your week should be divided into three sections: learning, teaching and doing. Make time throughout your week to exercise all three.
4. Delegate appropriately. Don't be afraid to give work back to a colleague or to request support from another department. As a team, you work best if everyone is doing their best at what they do best.
5. Under promise. No one but you knows how long something is really going to take. Don't promise everything as quickly as you know it can be done, give yourself plenty of flexibility.
6. Review each night- Take time to reflect on the day and refocus on what's really important.
7. Engage with groups- Not people in your organization, but people with a completely different focus/market. They will use tools in ways you haven't seen before and connect lots of dots for you.
8. Find mentors- Look for super mentors. People well beyond what you have and want with the experience to help you get there.
9. Read- Like mentors and groups, these can connect new ideas to old ones to make something beautiful
10. Put pride aside- Don't worry about who gets credit for ideas and work. If your sights are on a new level, those things won't matter.
11. Ask what’s really important- Number of people asking and authority of people asking can make the task seem more important than it is. Ideas tend to recycle themselves within groups. Don't let that derail you from the high-importance items.
12. Plan ahead- Real fire drills do happen, but more often than not, they are a result of procrastination and near-sightedness on behalf of management or ourselves. Don't let them become your day-to-day.