Improved productivity is the goal of every freelancer.

Ever since I started my one-man business, I have looked for ways to improve my productivity and get things done faster. There were a couple of methods that seemed to lead to small improvements, but overall none of them proved efficient.

That is, until I discovered agile techniques. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the ways that agile techniques can help improve a freelancer’s productivity. Specifically, I’ll look at agile methods in general and at Scrum methodology.

Agile Techniques are Team-Oriented

A couple of months ago I was researching agile methods to see if they would help improve my productivity. While studying agile development methods such as Extreme Programming, pair programming, and Scrum I was disappointed to learn that these methods were designed for teams and not for freelancers.
I decided to examine the methods further. I asked myself the question: Why are agile techniques team-oriented?

I discovered that agile development methods are team-oriented because a single person inevitably makes mistakes, mistakes that go untracked and unfixed. This means that the end product has poor quality and stands against the very nature of the agile manifesto, which tries to ensure high quality in each iteration of a product’s development.

If a team develops the product, errors made by one member are discovered by others and fixed. Each member has a specific role. Some may even have passive roles, as their only task is to listen, observe or moderate–such as the moderator of a 

You’ve prepared a solid proposal for a new prospect. You’ve covered all your bases and made a convincing case for why you’re the ideal person for the project.

Now the waiting begins.

A day goes by without a call back. Then another. And another. You’re beginning to wonder if the prospect received your email. Maybe she went with someone else?

Should you call? Should you wait another day or two? Will following up make her think you’re desperate for work? But what if you don’t call? Will she think you’re not interested?

                    MANKIND-What does ONE think of when he comes across this word? Does this word really justify itself? or at least define itself to the least? Not to be skeptical but, on my roller coaster of LIFE so far, I see instances every single day about MAN,NOT BEING KIND not only to his fellowmen, but also to SELF…and when I stress on SELF I mean HIS CONSCIENCE which is an integral CREATION OF THE CREATOR. Cheating one’s conscience is considered as one of those unforgivable crimes according to HINDU MYTHOLOGY and also in many other benevolent cultures by the book. Now how does one overcome this disease? What is an impudent response to such capricious questions? This reminds me of the famous FRENCH EMPEROR-NAPOLEON BONAPARTE’S words…

    “There are two levers to set a man in motion, FEAR and SELF-INTEREST”

                       Now, Fear is something which is INDUCED into someone by means of FORCE and which would count as an assuring weapon to deal with problems in the time of distress and which in my personal opinion is a safe bid to close the deal in any given scenario regardless of its aftereffects. However the motive is not objected and it will be a smooth run at least for a specific period. People who practice this genre towards LIFE always have a new solution up their sleeve regardless of the proximity of the situation and who eventually keep rediscovering a NEW SELF with each passing day thus grinding specifically the RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN-The creative outlet for MAN.

                       The next aspect we are discussing here is about SELF-INTEREST which is grown in an individual by SELF for the LOVE OF THE JOB or sometimes even maybe FOR THE LOVE OF THE BOSS. In this case… FOR THE LOVE OF THE BOSS deliberately intends on focusing about impressing one’s superiors to such an extent that eventually the BOSS is hypnotized into giving high regard to negligible achievements on his work station. However SELF-INTEREST has its own pros and cons as well just like the FEAR ASPECT. Just like how FEAR is short lived in any work scenario and eventually it turns into mockery among colleagues, SELF-INTEREST also FADES sooner than later. Self-Interest is more vulnerable to making the work station more monotonous and eventually leading to LOSS for the employer and finally to the employee as well.

                       So a complete research has revealed that for a successful employee, these two individually distinct features need to undergo a combination therapy within their aorta. This means that, for an employee to be successful.. he needs to create a FEAR among his peers about the consequences of NOT developing a SELF-INTEREST in one’s work which would lead to another employee reaping the fruits of his hard work. In plain words …

 “Generating a FEAR OF COMPETITION”

 This will serve as a very important TOOL for any employee in any WALK OF LIFE while scaling the MOUNT OF SUCCESS.. Which when tackled with flair will make the trek easier with each step upward.

                      Now, this reminds me of a recent scenario which I came across sometime back. It’s the story of a BUSINESS CONSULTANT who runs her own firm and which has been in good regard for quite a while now with her clients. All of a sudden the attrition rate of her company had shot up way beyond the negligible levels and this had left her wondering as to what the reason was for the sudden change in the employee scenario in her consulting firm and why there has been a drastic change in Business ethics and employee behavior being secluded within each cubicle.

                      This had left her worried because if this will be practiced on a regular basis with each employee being secluded to oneself, it would only lead to the employees leading a monotonous life and finally having their charm faded out. Eventually it might   also lead to the shutting down of the organization.

                       Then came the need of the hour wherein a thesis was generated about the cause of the effect. An interview was conducted one day on a few candidates for the posting of CONSULTANT ADVISOR. There was a lady who was selected the best among the lot and who was given a JOINING DATE, a week after the date of the interview and who also consented to the same.

                         The same evening the LADY who is the BUSINESS HEAD received a call from one of her very close pals about a GIRL whom she felt would be best suited for the job that THE BUSINESS HEAD was looking for. After thorough hesitation, THE BUSINESS HEAD was finally convinced for a meeting with this new GIRL who was suggested by her close friend. Maybe she could opt for the new girl for any future requisites.

                         The next day, The Business Head had an appointment with the NEW GIRL at 11:00 a.m. The first strike of impression was created in THE BUSINESS HEAD’S mind when she walked into office at 10;00 and found her appointment waiting. She immediately gestured her to walk in along with her so that she could start over the day without wasting much time.

                            It was a meeting for half an hour and THE BUSINESS HEAD was thoroughly impressed with this new GIRL. By now she was on the edge of a soup bowl. This was because she had already given her word to the other employee along with a joining date letter as well she can’t afford to lose such an employee who has all the skill required for the job. Experience, Clientele, attitude, client approach and anything under the sun and it was as if she was tailored for the job.

                            Hence she was in a big dilemma and didn’t know what to do as she could not afford both of them at this point of time. So she was trying to battle between her tendons but was not going too far.She had a major problem now-A BUSINESS ETHICS PROBLEM which was juicing more and more energy out of her, draining her into stress and creating an unhealthy atmosphere within her firm.

                            Finally she overcame this stress and took the right decision in keeping her word she gave to the first candidate and went ahead recruiting her.In spite of making this decision she also stood by the same in such a way wherein she spent ample amount of time with the new candidate by teaching her everything she knew about the business and molding her into a successful taker for the assigned job.

                            All of a sudden the total environment of her firm had changed. Employees were more energetic.Business was flowing in from all corners. Everybody was interested in the job and all the tasks assigned to them and there was literally fresh air swaying inside the firm.

                             Finally the cryptex was cracked and the secret to a healthy office atmosphere was created by none other than the employees themselves. This effort is also known as TEAMWORK.

 Somebody once said..

                        “Nobody is FLAWLESS. But SUCCESS is attained when STRENGTHS overlap a person’s FLAWS which creates the difference between WANT and GREED”

-VAP,Chennai