In thinking this over to try and gain a better understanding of what holds back the rock star days I have come up with a few things I noticed in my own day that apply across the board. Small or large organization, there seems to be some commonality, without further adieu, here they are:
Limit meetings to once a week or less.I know, most of you are shaking your head here. While it is important for QA to be involved from the very beginning on all projects, it is also just as important to have time to work on those projects. Assess what meetings are truly important to your projects and productivity and attend only those. The three hour meetings to discuss button color for the new application is hardly going to increase the productivity of QA. Make sure you ask for an agenda for each meeting you are requested to attend so you can ascertain if this one is for you.
Leave yourself a breadcrumb trail. Be creative and define a method for yourself so that you can determine where you left off should an emergency crop up and cause you to be distracted from testing. Doesn't have to be elaborate, can be as simple as typing a large "X" on the line of the test plan you were working on or some other indication to you personally that will help you to get right back in the game without having to hunt down where you left off.
Have a plan. Take the time to plan out your projects and your working hours and stick to it. It is very easy to get distracted during a busy workday, keep your plan in mind in all you do, in all your interactions and develop personal methods to keep yourself on track.
Work in a lab. Hopefully, your organization has a lab for you to work in, an isolated area where the noise and hustle and bustle of the day to day business activities are outside of earshot and sight. If you don't have one, talk to your manager or team lead and work to build one, it's worth it. This is not to say QA should work in a vacuum, rather, QA needs concentration time that is often impossible to obtain amidst regular business activities.
Kill the IM's. Have the IM on your desktop and not on your lab or testing machines. IM is a fabulous tool to keep me productive in other factors of my work, but when it comes to writing test cases and plans, the less distraction you have from outside influences, the better.
Take a walk. Try taking a short walk in the morning before work starts or some form of exercise, even if it is only twenty minutes. Your body needs that time and exercise, it matters to your overall health and well being. Hard to be productive if you are ill or your body feels neglected.
Take lunch. Most of us get so engrossed with our work, we loose track of time and forget to take even thirty minutes for ourselves to eat and chat with others. Put lunch in your daily plan and take it. Even if it is only thirty minutes, do it and make plans to have lunch with others. Being social and taking some breathing space during the workday is essential for your personal well being and your productivity. Working lunches are great only if you have a light schedule for the day, otherwise, steer clear of them and give yourself a mental and social break. You will be impressed with how positively this impacts your attitude and productivity.
List common distractions. Take a minute or two and think about what distracted you over the past week. Know what the distractions are, write them down. Now make a plan to address those things you feel hampered your productivity. Having a plan to address these things in advance will make you feel more focused and in control of your destiny.
Tear yourself away from email. Again, this is another fabulous tool to increase productivity and by all means, the urgent emails must be addressed. So address those that are critical or urgent and get back to your plan. Leave all the other emails for the end of the day, they can wait until you are done with your testing.
Get out!. Get your team members together and get out at least once a month together where you do not talk about work. being social and building relationships with your team members is a fabulous way to understand one another better. You can talk about work if you must, but be sure to get personal, know who you are working with and maybe make a new friend or two. It doesn't hurt, promise!Hopefully this will help you to have that rock star feeling more often and feel more productive. I have employed these rules to my own day and find I feel much better at the end of the week with a nice list of accomplishments to present to the business. I am not saying any of these are easy, but at least get started and see how much better you feel at the end of the day. Speaking of the end of the day, here is a bonus tip:
BONUS: Take the night off! It is sometimes ever so tempting to work into the evening and at times, you cannot avoid it. Don't make a habit of working overtime if you can avoid it. Your peak hours of productivity are the first six you work each day, anything after that, your effectiveness drops considerably. Consider this and ask yourself if working late is going to accomplish anything more than missing dinner with your family, friends or significant other.Have a "Rock Star" QA Team with some of these suggestions to get your started.
