Hey Reader, what are you up to these days?

My time has been split between helping Scrum teams, creating new content and updating guides with new information.

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So I have been attending some Daily Scrum and Planning meetings with the Scrum teams I'm currently working with.

Since I'm not there full time, it's sometimes difficult for me to follow what is going on, and hence, help them improve.

To get back on track I started attending as many of their meetings as I can - just to listen in.

I was afraid that because I'm not there every step of the way, I won't be able to contribute anything, but I've proven these thoughts to be completely wrong.

In the end, it all came back to the observation and asking questions skills.

I may not very familiar with what's going on in the teams' Backlog, but I can see some patterns that may lead to failure, like too many items sitting In progress, or lack of clarity around who works on what, or lack of focus on the Sprint Goal.

One particular thing that I wanted to share with you is how by just asking questions you can help the team get back on track.

My goal as a Scrum Master is never to intervene, or impact the dynamics of the meeting (unless we are resolving a conflict, of course).

The teams were asking me if I have anything to share every time I would attend a meeting, but jokingly I was saying: "Hey, I'm only here to make you feel uncomfortable".

In reality, I am there to stay silent for most of the meeting and ask a few questions from time to time.

What kind of questions can I ask?

Well, here are a few examples:

• Are we using empirical data to help us decide how much work we can take into the Sprint? Are we overcommitting?
• What is the most important thing we need to work on? If we could only complete one thing, what must it be?
• Is completing undone work more important than new work that we have? Just because something has been started, doesn't mean it's more important.
• How are you taking the work that has been done into account when estimating? Are you only focusing on what's left and how do you track it?

The goal of these questions is not to tell the team what to do, but just let them ponder the thought and make a decision about it.

I wish I knew that my role in the team meetings is that of observation and asking questions earlier on in my career.

I always felt a pressure to organize and lead the meetings.

What I learned is that, while leading meetings was bringing value to my teams, actually observing and coaching instead is much more valuable.

Whether you are new to the role and to your team, or have been working with them for a long time, it's never too late to switch your approach to the one that brings more value.

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Anyway, that's just one of the things that I wanted to share with you in this email.

Another great thing that I've learned recently is the essentialism phylosophy from the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

You know, this was actually my second attempt at reading this book.

I started reading it a couple of months ago, and at that time, I remember telling myself: "Pffff, I know this stuff already".

So I put it aside at that time.

However, a couple of weeks ago I picked it up again, and I'm happy I did because I was able to find so much new information as I kept an open mind.

"I can learn from it" - that's what I was saying to myself this time, and I did learn lots!

But I wish I read this book when I picked it up the first time.

I go in a lot of detail on what essentialism is and how to apply it in my recent video "How to prioritize work the EASY way". You can watch in here.

I started implementing this phylosophy right away, actually, by saying 'No' to a couple of opportunities that came my way because I was much clearer on what I should be focusing on.

The opportunity that came my way was a 2-day Scrum.org class I could run. And I said a firm "No" because it wasn't something that was aligned with my goals and my essential intent (watch the video to learn more about it).

Don't get me wrong - I love teaching classes. But not every class is the same, and this particular one didn't get me excited.

I love running the PSM II class - this is just so much fun!

I also love teaching my own workshops that I created. That's why I went to New York a couple of weeks ago to teach them! (so if you ever wondered if I use the workshop materials I share with you in my store - YES, I very much do!)

ScrumMastered is all about practical educational materials and hands-on mentorship. And this is where I will be focusing most of my efforts.

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BTW, a quick note about those efforts - I've been making some updates to the guides based on the new information I collected.

So stay tuned for those updated versions for the Introduction to Scrum, Scrum Master Startup Guide, and New Product Owner Guide.

If you have already purchased them, you'll receive all of the updated versions for free, of course.

If you haven't purchased them yet, you can do it in the store.​

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And the last thing I wanted to talk about here is the video from last week called "5 things I wish I knew before working from home full time".

In this video, I do a quick office tour to give you some inspiration for organizing your working space.

You know, it took me some time to organize my space in such a way that it gives me a productivity boost and doesn't make me feel cramped (even though I'm actually sharing this space with a mini-gym).

I believe that organizing your home office is an important part of working from home. And, no, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on it.

I hope that these little stories can help you become more productive, more successful, and enjoy the work that you do.

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