Stevea Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Anytime we use tools to shape our world, the tools shape us in return. I learned to use a screw gun,

and now I have a scar in the shape of a screw head burned into my index finger. I have

been shaped, but sometimes we have a choice about who shapes whom. I usually talk about how we

can help ourselves work less and do more. But that's only half the puzzle. Most of us aren't in it

alone. We're part of a larger organization, like a Fortune

500 company, a nonprofit trade organization, a Little League team, or the mafia. When you're part of a group,

your ability to get things done also depends on the people around you. If you need things from

them to finish your job, your productivity is at their mercy.

Bernice is planning a wedding ceremony.

No matter how efficient she is at writing and sending invitations, she simply can't send out invitations until her boyfriend Melvin sends her his guest list.

Since he still isn't aware that Bernice is thinking of marriage, she's been waiting

quite a while. Bernice is thinking of marriage, she's been waiting quite a while.

Bernice, always careful not to give away details that might upset her plans, sends Melvin a brief note.

Please send me the list, pronto. Melvin, a bit confused, assumes she must want a list of presents

he wants for his birthday. He happily sends that list.

Pokemon figures heavily in his thoughts. In this case, Melvin is sending a list to Bernice,

but it's not the information she needs. Even when people are giving you stuff on time,

it has to be the right stuff, or you're stalled. When you adopt a new tool, that tool makes

assumptions about how its user, your workgroup, does work. If you don't change the tool,

you'll have to change the people. People may need to change how they work individually.

Bernice adopted Google Docs to plan her wedding. She's used to clicking on an icon to open a document.

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