Do yourself a favor with these 3 ways to design structure at work (or play)

[This is about a 6-minute read]

How do you feel when you think of structure in the context of work and organizations? To me the idea usually feels expansive and freeing (which is good, since my job is based in helping organizations structure their work!).  

But it didn’t always make me feel that way. After working in structured environments like chain restaurants (where we were instructed to greet everyone the same way) to highly regulated investment firms, I felt those structures as restrictive, bureaucratic, and, frankly, boring. 

The freedom to figure out your work in the entrepreneurial and nonprofit sectors felt like a breath of fresh air (cue the Sound of Music, The Hills are Alive music and dancing).

But eventually that degree of freedom didn’t make me feel so alive anymore. It felt more like I was drowning and wasting a lot of precious energy. I started craving  structure to help me focus.

I realized that the way a structure is designed, the goals and intentions for it, make the difference on whether it feels freeing or restrictive, sweet or sour. And the creator (you!) is in charge of that.

Still, occasionally I find myself cringing at the thought of structure, reverting back to those negative first impressions.  It just happened, actually. 

I love picnicking. Sometimes I even daydream about starting a business where I pack picnics for others to enjoy. Knowing this, when my partner came across a picnic book at the library he brought it home for me. 

As I was browsing through The Art of Picnics, by Alanna O’Neil, I kept getting bits of inspiration and I decided to make some checklists so it would be easier for me to get out and picnic. At the same time, a little voice inside me screamed, are you really going to structure the art of picnicking?! 

It got me thinking about structure, and how it has the potential to be sweet or sour, and remember that it’s my choice on which way I make it. 

The sweet spot is when your work is structured so the form matches the function. Then your structure can help you achieve something more effectively in a way that feels uplifting instead of restrictive. 

It feels uplifting because you’ve accomplished something (yay!). You’ve also reduced decision fatigue and mental clutter because you had the guidance of your structure to support you, and you’ve drained less energy, leaving more for what lies next. 

The tool: Sweet Structure 

When sweetly structuring something, I like to borrow the architectural philosophy that form follows function. Meaning the “shape” or design of your structure should be informed by its intended purpose. You add sweetness by considering how you want the structure to feel while you are working within it.  

FUNCTION
What’s your intended purpose?

1. What task are you designing for?

2. What is your goal?

3. What decisions will your structure help you make? 

4. How do you want it to feel? 

FORM
What form of structure will best help achieve your purpose? 

Here are a few examples of forms of structure.

• Values, Guiding Principles. These can be helpful when you mainly need a guiding star to inform and align decisions about how to move forward with something.

• Guidelines, Matrix, Frameworks. These can be helpful when you want a little more guidance on how to do something but don’t need steps written out.

• Written protocols, Step by Step Process, Templates. These are helpful when you have a lot of things to remember, want some continuity and clear direction, and/or have multiple people performing the same task. 

• Checklists. These help you remember information or steps and can be especially useful in breaking down complex cases into manageable steps. Any of the above examples can be written as checklists. 

REINFORCEMENTS
What support does your structure need to make it stronger? 

Here are some important things to consider:

• Resources. Does your structure need additional resources to make it effective, for example: time, files, physical items? Account for these in your structure. 

• Accessibility. Where can your structure “live” so it’s easy to access and you can remember when and how to use it? 

Here’s an example from my picnicking brainstorm: 

FUNCTION:

• What: Picnicking!

• Goal: to go on more picnics , particularly impromptu ones and planned outings with friends

• Decisions: supplies to pack; food to pack; where to go

• Feels: Fun and carefree; needs flexibility according to how I’m feeling (ie I’m overwhelmed and want an easy pack vs I am excited to spend more time)

FORM:

A group of checklists will help me remember what supplies and kinds of food to pack, recipes that have worked well, and ideas of good picnic spots. 

I can pick and choose from the checklists according to my mood, so it doesn’t feel restrictive and I can add to them as I find new recipes or picnic spots I like.

REINFORCEMENTS: 

• Resources needed: Supplies and recipes

• Accessibility: A picnic basket with supplies packed and ready in my kitchen will make it easy to grab and go. I have a file folder of recipes that I regularly reference and add to, so adding a Picnic folder there will be easy for me to find. I can include my checklists and picnic recipes there. 

Have 15 minutes? Give it a go! 

Turn on some music, set a timer, and think of a task you have coming up that might benefit from a sweet structure. Here are signs that indicate structure might be helpful: 

• You typically feel slightly overwhelmed to begin a certain task or project.

• You find yourself repeatedly writing down a bunch of to-do’s or other things to remember on a post it note for similar tasks or projects (because your post it note fell into the trash in the in-between time).

• You feel like you are making some decisions somewhat arbitrarily.

Sketch out a structure using the form, function and reinforcement prompts. 

Plan to use it next time you are performing that task. 

Think of it as a favor to your future self! The next time you do this task it’ll be that much easier.

Let me know how it goes! 

The practice

• Notice when something feels overwhelming or more painful than it needs to be. This is your prompt to consider if some structure could help.

• Remember nothing is set in stone and you can always adjust and refine as you use your structure.

• Be creative and find ways to embed company culture or elements of fun in your structure.

• If documenting structure in writing doesn’t resonate, try a video, voice memo, mnemonic, or story. 

If you’re interested in working with me to design some structure for your work, let’s talk!