Introduction

Productivity experts say that you should start with the end in mind. That leads them to encourage you to focus on goals. That’s great advice, but you might be wondering exactly how to translate that end goal into steps you can follow.

Translating goals into action isn’t easy, but it is necessary to do good meaningful work.

At some point, the ability to deal with not having clear direction became an important career skill. “Tolerating Ambiguity” is the ability to move forward with work when good answers aren’t available. It’s become so important because the powers that be are often unable to give us those answers, and we can’t always find them for ourselves.

Clarity is like a map. It provides you direction by showing you where you stand in relation to where you are going.

But not having that clarity saps your productivity, and it causes stress.

Have you ever gotten a request to do something that you just weren't able to work with? Did you look at it and wonder “What exactly am I expected to do?”

Have you looked at your goals and not known exactly what the next step is you should take?

We all have to deal with ambiguity

The more abstract a task is, the more ambiguity it’s packed with. We all have to deal with that the more we work in thinking jobs. Coping with that will not only make you better at your jobs and less stressed, it will also prepare you for more accomplishments.

Clarity = Productivity

When you have the clarity to know exactly what you need to do, you can get more done. But that means you need to know enough about what you're working with to make an educated decision.

Suppose I tell you that I need you to plan a great vacation for my family. You might be thinking, OK, I understand what that might look like, but I’m not sure where to start.

I didn’t tell you my budget. I didn’t tell you what type of vacation I’m looking for, where I’d prefer to go or for how long. I might not have even told you if I wanted you to book the arrangements, or just prepare the options.

Where do you start?

OK, the request was ambiguous. But you have to do the work anyway.

If you had clarity, you could start booking the locations immediately (if that was the goal) or preparing the research. Without clarity, you have to start playing a game of deductive elimination to decide where to work. That saps your focus and productivity.

Structure Provides Clarity

Fortunately, a strong structure gives you a way to hone in on what your work looks like without wasting much time. It also tells you exactly what you need to figure out when so you don’t become overwhelmed.

Much like a detective, a good structure for asking questions can get you at the truth you need to make progress. You would start by defining a success then you can start developing the parameters by which you achieve it.

Structure gives you the guardrails you need to move forward without fear of going too far off track.

You ask the right questions and you can start extracting what you need to accomplish with your work.

Conclusion

Building your own tools to overcome ambiguity will make your life much easier and make your work more productive.