Duke Learning and Organization Development

In today’s fast-paced work environment, staying on top of our never-ending to-do list can be daunting and challenging. Fortunately, there are smart and efficient AI solutions that are readily available to help manage calendars, tasks, emails and conference calls.

Ways to Manage Your Day More Efficiently

AI for Calendar Assistance – Scheduling meetings, managing client obligations and blocking out time for focused work is a time-consuming endeavor. However, there are great AI tools and calendar agents that can help you manage this time efficiently. Try using tools like Clockwise to optimize your calendar, reduce conflicts and incorporate regular breaks for you. Train your AI assistant with your preferred meeting times and preferences for smoother scheduling.

AI for Task Management – AI can help prioritize your to-do list and keep you focused on what matters most. Try tools like MotionAI. It uses AI to automatically schedule your tasks based on priority and availability and frees up time for work that needs to be done. Use the AI’s suggestions, but don’t be afraid to override them when necessary. You know your work best, and the AI agent will learn it over time.

AI for Email Management – You can start managing your inbox with AI-powered email tools like SaneBox or Boomerang to sort your personal or work emails, help with follow-ups and schedule reminders. Regularly providing feedback to the AI agent will improve accuracy over time.

AI for Notetaking – AI-powered tools like Notion can help you organize and surface relevant information from your notes. Use AI-generated summaries as a starting point, but always review and adjust them to ensure accuracy and add your insights.

Incorporating AI tools into your daily routine can significantly boost your productivity and help you stay organized. From managing your calendar and tasks to streamlining your email and enhancing your virtual meetings, AI assistants and agents can take on the time-consuming way we do things.

The key to success with these tools is to view them as collaborators rather than replacements. Also, be mindful of Duke’s data privacy policies when using these tools, especially with sensitive information. The products mentioned are simply examples to help you get started with AI tools, but feel free to explore and find alternatives that suit your needs.

References:
Forbes (2024, October 4) Sol Rashidi: How to Use AI to Make You Faster and Better at Your Job

With modern communications tools, interruptions have become an unavoidable part of the workday. With notifications popping up on your computer or phone to simply feeling disengaged with your work, losing your focus can result from a wide range of factors. Perhaps you love multitasking. Or you pride yourself in your ability to plan. Or maybe, you just don’t feel like you’re in the right job and you’re constantly wondering what you could do instead.

Remaining present in your current job is crucial because it allows you to fully engage with your projects, make astute decisions, and build strong professional relationships. How can you strengthen your attention and stay on track? Here are some strategies to help you cut down on distractions and increase your focus.

Lay the groundwork. Prioritize sleep, hydration, and movement. Create focus rituals—signals that tell your brain it’s time to concentrate—like a dedicated workspace, a particular desk setup, or a consistent routine that primes you for deep work. And turn off notifications to reduce digital temptations.

Train your attention. Write down your tasks and keep them visible. Clear objectives help your brain stay anchored on what matters. Using task management apps like Trello or ToDoIst can help you work on one single task at a time and maintain a singular focus.

Interrupt autopilot. Cultivate self-awareness around your habits. When you catch yourself reaching for your phone, for example, pause and ask why. This shifts unconscious habits into conscious choices.

Tune into your energy. Track your energy patterns throughout the day to identify peak focus times. Tackle demanding tasks during these windows when you’re at your most productive. Understanding and adapting to your energy fluctuations helps you align your work schedule with your personal rhythm.

Replenish your attention. Take real breaks to refuel. Stretch, meditate, or simply look out the window for a few minutes. To truly reset, avoid screens.

By following these strategies, you can remain more present, feel a deeper connection to your work, and derive more fulfillment from your professional life.

References:
Harvard Business Review (2024, November 14) Rebecca Knight: 7 Habits to Stay Focused in a World Full of Distractions
Forbes (2023, August 28) Joseph Liu: Techniques for Staying Focused at Work

Every leader has had the experience of unveiling an organizational change and getting a less-than positive response from their team. While a significant amount of planning can go into managing the organizational changes that affect the financial, organizational and process structures of an organization, it is also important to manage the effect of the changes on people’s emotions. Sometimes the reaction is subtle: lowered eyes, tightened lips, silence. With a more confident or vocal team, you might get questions about whether the change is necessary, complaints about “yet another thing to do,” and lots of reasons why this just isn’t a good time for a big shift.

Humans are creatures of habit. They like their routine and feel uncomfortable or hesitant when that consistency is broken. As a leader, if you can understand that initial fear and hesitation around change are normal and support your people through the necessary mindset shift, you’ll be much better able to build a critical mass of people who will understand, accept, and adopt the change reasonably quickly. More important, you’ll be helping your people to become more change-capable overall: to create skills and habits of mind to approach change in a more neutral, open way, and therefore to be better able to navigate all the changes that will arise in this new era.

Let’s also not forget that leaders have to face their own challenges with the change while simultaneously supporting others, creating alignment with their team and supporting momentum when things get hard. Change is never easy, but here are a few tips to make it less painful.

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. In the absence of data, we make up stories. Clear communication of change must answer these three questions:
   • What is the change (in the simplest form)?
   • Why is the change happening?
   • What is expected post-change?
2. Invite employees to have a voice; create a listening circle. Have a group of people sit in a circle without tables. Create a safe environment and allow everyone to share their thoughts, concerns and frustrations. For the majority of the session, do not defend or explain the company policy or change. Just repeat back what they said with care. Empathize and then ask their permission to share your thoughts.
3. Give people time to adapt. Recognize what is being lost and give people time to adapt. Highlight and celebrate successes that come from working in a new way and create role models of the people working in the new way.
4. Understand deeply held values. By working together to make seen that which is below the surface, you are able to surface and leverage that which supports and/or undermines change.
5. Take small steps. Break down a goal into small steps. This helps your team focus on one step at a time, boosts confidence, and motivates people to stick with pursuing it.

Changes, big or small, can trigger the emotional rollercoaster that is the change curve. It’s only natural for people to wonder what is going to be different for them. What’s going to happen with my role, how others perceive me and how I work with others?

Leaders should anticipate what they need to do when change comes, and not just for big changes. Make sure to show empathy and appreciation of effort. Acknowledge your team and recognize how far they have come. Ask them what they need to get to the next step. Create alignment with your team, and support momentum when things get hard. Do the work to move through change together.

References:
Harvard Business Review (2022, April 7) Erika Andersen: Change is Hard. Here’s How to Make It Less Painful.
Forbes (2021, December 1) Jenn Lofgren: How to Lead Through Big (And Small) Changes
Forbes (2020, July 30) Forbes Coaches Council: 16 Coaching Techniques to Help Your Team Overcome Resistance to Change