Skip to main content Link Menu Expand (external link) Document Search Copy Copied
Treefrog Handbook

Productivity Flags

Productivity Rhythms are like Sleep

One of Treefrog’s theories is that productivity during the day is similar to getting a good night’s sleep. Sure, if you go to bed for 8 hours, you should theoretically be rested and perky the next day. However, merely lying in bed does not equal sleep. If you wake up every 15 minutes throughout the night, you can be in bed for 12 hours and still be exhausted the next day. On the other hand, sometimes 6 hours of pure, unbothered sleep is enough to make you feel magnificent. The human body needs several sets of both 3-hour deep sleep sessions and some smaller reps as well to fully realize rest. It is the natural rhythm and flow of life.

Productivity is the same. You can sit in your chair, bothered all day long by the Time Cuisinart™ of the open office plan, and you will accomplish nothing. All of you have had that feeling where you have been at work all day and at the end of the day your to-do list is not any shorter than when you had started. It is deeply unsatisfactory and unproductive to be bothered all day. You cannot, however, control this. You have no system for protecting your or other Frogs’ productivity.

We need blocks of 3 hours of productivity, or more, to accomplish major tasks well.

There is additionally the double-edged sword in that we have a very open and transparent culture and a sardine-tin-like desk environment. There are no cubicles here. Cubicles forcibly enhance productivity while simultaneously crushing your soul and creativity. We naturally bug one another all day and want to stay open for one another as a team, while, at the same time, also wanting to accomplish great work.

We also have a whole whack of methods by which we can disturb others:

  • Physically (tapping one’s shoulder)
  • Phone (Demanding your attention NOW!)
  • Email (The every-few-minutes oxytocin rush from the positive thrill of a new email)
  • Slack (A nice way to time-warp questions directly - still an intrusion)
  • Open office discussion (Not wanting to miss ANYTHING!)

In order to be a successful, strong team, productivity skills are critical. It is not enough to have mutual skill sets that enable us to complete larger works as a group. It is not enough to have one another’s backs. We also need to protect one another’s ability to do work uninterrupted.

Productivity Flags

There are three colours:

  1. Green: “I am available to chat if you need me”. (Open mode)

  2. Yellow: “I am busy, but if necessary, you can bug me”. (Head-down mode)

  3. Red: “If you bother me, you are going to prevent me from doing my job properly. I will be grumpy and point at the flag. Someone had better be bleeding the same color as the damn flag because you are bugging me during a critical time.” (Red mode)

When Red disturbing might be appropriate:

  • Emergency (Fire, Bleeding, Nuclear Fallout, etc.)
  • Some job is completely at a standstill, and it is mission-critical to complete it.
  • Your own productivity is significantly compromised or at a standstill.

Some other ideas:

  • Red flags should be used sparingly. Yellow flags should be respected. Red flags are only for critical times.
  • If you are not at work, take your flag down.
  • If you are in the building or out to lunch, turn the flag to 45 degrees representing that you are in the boardroom; that is, not gone for the day.
  • There are not enough Red flags to go around because, of course, we have to support clients. Pod leaders should be making sure that his or her whole pod does not shut off to client requests because that would not be the Frog way.
  • If you see red or yellow flags waving, keep the local noise down - for example, leave the room to have a discussion.
  • Be sensitive that others may need you to be “green flagged” sometimes. We will not set rules around minimum “green-flagginess” if people respect the flag.
  • It is OK if the flag touches the ground. You do not need to burn it.
  • If you go networking, take a green flag with you for picture ops.
  • If you go on holiday, take a red flag with you for picture ops.

More ideas are welcome!

Other suggestions for productivity:

  • Try to set aside at least two 3-hour blocks a week to be in head-down (yellow) mode. Maybe even one a day. Make these times consistent so people know not to bug you.
  • Set a natural rhythm for your own productivity, and let the world know. For example, check your email three times daily and try to be consistent about it. Get away from chronic email checking.
  • If you need regular input from another Frog, schedule it consistently. For example, meet once a week at the same time. Do not bug the individual about your issue unless it absolutely cannot wait.
  • Set agendas for your meetings and stick to accomplishing the goal of the agenda.
  • Eat The Frog First. Do the thing you are dreading to do first. Get it off your list. Then, the rest of your time will be easier to deal with.

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” - Mark Twain

More suggestions are welcome!

Hopefully, with some good ole fashioned Treefrog creativity, these flags will radically help us improve as a team, minimize frustration, and maximize job satisfaction and productivity.