7 Quick Ways to Transform your Life with the Agile Method
Before I started my organizing business, I worked for a company for over 13 years in various marketing roles. The last role I had was a Product Owner for a mobile app and in this role I was introduced to a project management philosophy called Agile methodology. As I learned more about Agile, I was in love & was thinking- “this is how to live life! not just run our software projects!”. I wanted to share some ways you can use the agile method to accomplish your goals & reduce stress in your daily life.
But first, what is the Agile Method?
Agile is a way of working that embodies the core principles of frequent iteration, having a mindset of continuous learning & improvement, and a focus on quality over quantity. It focuses on empowering teams to be autonomous, open & honest, and creating environments that foster trust. It stresses the importance of delivering a working solution to a problem versus documentation-for example instead of a big launch that is a year in the making before it goes live- using the Agile method would deliver work in small increments so that a team can respond quickly to change & feedback.
How does the Agile Methodology apply to your personal life?
If the description above makes you yawn, hang in there with me! A lot of these agile principles can be applied directly to your personal & family life. This way of thinking has personally helped me let go of a lot of perfectionistic tendencies & has made me less stressed and more fulfilled in my personal & professional life. Here are some ways you can start to incorporate agile into your personal life:
Don't hesitate. “Done & Good Enough” is better than nothing at all
Set goals and get to work. Start before you have all the answers. Sitting and dreaming won’t get you any closer to your dreams & goals. Get started & make progress, even if it is small progress. Agile is all about getting a “MVP” out the door (the most viable product- the basics needed for something to be “done” or functional) in order to get feedback & learn. That website you are working on? Launch it with the basic things you need for someone to buy your product or book an appointment with you. Then work to continuously improve it.
Break down your goal into the most important components
When setting your goal, write down all the CRITICAL/”MUST DOs” in the smallest detail that need to happen to achieve that goal. i.e.- this goal would be considered “done” if it has these three components in it. The non-critical/nice to have’s can go in your “backlog” and you can pull from it & adjust once your “goal” is out in the world. In Agile it is all about focusing on the work that will add the most value to the customer- and you could say that about life goals to. What are the things that will really move the needle in your work/life etc.
Make tasks detailed & schedule the work
To build on above, ensure all the steps to goal completion are at a level of detail that is meaningful, actionable, & time bound. Rank tasks in order of importance. Then set time to schedule out your tasks over the next few months. There are great tools I’ve talked about previously like Trello or the Things app in this blog post that can help with planning/scheduling. Having blocked/distraction free time to work on your goals will help you make progress.
Work consistently toward your goal in “sprints”
Utilizing the SCRUM method (a framework of Agile), plan your work in one or two week “sprints” or iterations on a tool like Trello. Read my blog post here where I talk more about this. Set realistic goals for what tasks you can accomplish in that timeframe. Ensuring your iterations are short & consistent will help move you closer to goals. Here it is all about small consistent steps towards whatever you want in your life & having an intentional plan to get there.
Adapt frequently
With Agile, it isn’t about delivering a result/outcome and moving on. You are constantly taking in new feedback, experimenting with new ideas, being flexible to adjust your plan based on results. It is all about adapting to changes in life without derailing everything you have already built or accomplished. It is about having a test & learn mindset to make small changes versus never adjusting to change or vice versa blowing up everything you have done and starting from scratch.
Empower your team
As I mentioned earlier, agile is all about empowering teams to be autonomous & collaborative while emphasizing honest & open feedback. In life, your “team” could also be your kids. Try empowering your kids to set healthy goals, work on their own toward those goals & learn from failure. Help them see the power of adapting & learning.
Reflect
In Agile, there is a component of reflection at the end of a work cycle where the team discusses what did & didn’t work, gives feedback, and makes adjustments for the next work cycle. Try incorporating moments of reflection throughout your month, taking a look at what is working well towards meeting your goals and what isn’t. Do you need to dedicate more distraction free time towards tasks? Is there an obstacle blocking you from making progress? Celebrate the wins & also be honest with yourself of what can be tweaked/adapted moving forward.
There are so many ways to apply the agile method to your personal life. Try one of the ways out mentioned above and see the impact it has!