During my time of reflection this morning, I read an interesting point of view.
The author said,
So many of us live our lives as if the secret purpose is to somehow get everything done … We convince ourselves that our obsession with our ‘to-do list’ is only temporary – that once we get through the list, will be calm, relaxed, and happy. But in reality, this rarely happens. The nature of your ‘in basket’ is that it’s meant to have items to be completed and it – it’s not meant to be empty … the purpose of life isn’t to get it all done but to enjoy each step along the way and live a life filled with love.
(Richard Carlson, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”)
What I got from this is that it’s important to keep your eye on what’s the most important in life, and stop worrying about getting everything done.
There will always be things left to be done.
This means, that we need to learn how to simplify our lives to get the maximum from it.
So I need to make sure that when I do spend time on the things that are important, that I am as productive as possible in each of those areas.
“Productivity” for me simply means getting the result you desire, as fast and effective as possible, while enjoying the process and challenge of seeing what you can accomplish.
Real productivity is about the process and not the destination, because destination will always move again once you reach it.
This applies to both family life or business.
I’ve learned that because we have limited time (in a day and in life), we need to learn how to make each minute count towards living a life of meaning and filled with love.
We only get one chance to do this right (from what we know anyway).
So, with that being said, let me share with you what many experts consider to be,
The Two Most Effective Ways to Increase Your Productivity.
Please note, in this post, I will only apply the idea of productivity to business and work.
Even though I believe we need to be productive at home also, I want to keep this post short and succinct.
With that being said, allow me to make another statement,
For some people – perhaps even for you – increasing productivity is akin to finding the Holy Grail.
Why has upping productivity taken on such “mythical” proportions?
Simply put, increasing productivity means increasing earning potential.
If you own a business where you provide any type of service, taking steps to increase your ability to deliver the service in less time will allow you to take on more clients OR, service your existing clients with more quality or specialized offerings and earn more money.
Likewise, if you sell a product, finding a way to make or deliver that product faster will enable you to serve more customers, once again, making more money.
When you find ways to do the same thing in less time, you’re being more efficient. Efficiency and productivity go hand in hand.
Undoubtedly, the more efficient you can make the process of completing any task, the more productive you’ll be.
So, let me share with you to very specific strategies to increase your efficiency.
Strategies to increase your efficiency so you can be more productive:
1. Create a prioritized schedule for your work.
Whether using a post-it note or the Evernote App, almost everyone has some type of system for creating and editing the classic “to-do” list.
These lists are sometimes a hodgepodge of ideas and tasks that need to be completed in the future and not-so-distant future.
There is nothing wrong with maintaining a to-do list, as it can make the difference between getting stuff done and going crazy trying to keep everything organized in your head.
Still, the typical to-do list leaves much to be desired!
Unlike a conventional to-do list, have a prioritized schedule takes things a step further, allowing you to increase efficiency and productivity.
This is because prioritizing all of the tasks that you have in front of you while keeping track of a longer-term picture of your schedule for weeks to come, will allow you to really figure out what is the most important thing that needs to be done right now.
If you are creating a prioritized schedule and realize that you have a best friend’s wedding in two months, you’ll be able to bump getting a dress or tux way down the list, while still making sure to place it somewhere on your schedule.
A prioritized schedule essentially puts things into perspective, allowing you to figure out what truly needs to get done this very moment and focus on that.
My favorite way of prioritizing is using the 80-20 rule (Pareto principle).
I use this for everything, even when assessing, identifying and creating solutions for clients’ sticky issues (both in personal and professional lives).
The reason I like it so much is because of the fact that most of our problems are the result of consistent actions or lack of action.
When we are not working as hard as we can, that creates obvious problems.
The more insidious issue, however, is when we’re working too much on the wrong things. That also creates problems (and lack of productivity).
The 80-20 rule helps us cut through that.
80% of the results we get usually come from 20% input.
If you can figure out which 20% gives you an 80% return, you can quickly cut through a lot of clutter and prioritize maximally.
Therefore, rather than just considering, “what is the most important thing that needs to be done right now,” prioritize your schedule with a much more potent question,
What is the most important thing (20%) that needs to be done right now that will give me maximum ROI (80%)?
This question will help you focus on “the most important” of the most important of your schedule.
Not everything important on your to do list is created equally.
Another way of putting it is, not everything important on your list is equally important (if that makes sense)?
Figure out your 20% they will give you an 80% return, and your efficiency plus productivity will skyrocket.
If you need any help with this, please contact me and I’d be happy to take you through a process.
2. Seek out and accept specialized help.
The second secret I’ve learned about high performers is, they do what they can do extremely well but for everything else they get help.
People, is our greatest resource to efficiency and improve productivity.
We simply cannot do everything on our own and by ourselves.
Whether you run your own business or are a stay at home mom or dad, it will save you lots of time and energy if you’re open to collaborating with others.
Bill Gates may be quite capable of developing all of the new programs needed to advance IBM as a company, while working with prospective clients in addition to handling customer service and PR.
However, Mr. Gates and most other successful individuals would never be caught doing this.
No matter how much you can do by yourself, your resources are finitely limited by one single factor that trumps all others… time.
So, rather than spend 8 hours a day answering phone calls, working on new products, shopping for groceries and cutting your own hair, it may be a more productive use of your time to zero in on the one or two things that give you the most results for the amount of energy that you put into them.
Again, the 80-20 rule.
For example, if developing a new product will eventually double the size of your business by being able to cater to an additional market or consumer demographic, then this is time well spent.
Some professionals call this, dollar productive activities.
He is a fun little exercise that you can do (you’ll need a piece of paper and pen for this)
- Write down your monthly income ($10,000)
- Write down how many days per month do you work to earn that amount (20 days)
- Write down how many hours per day do you work, on average (8 hours)
- Divide amount by days per month worked to see how much your working time is worth per day ($10,000/20 days = $500/day)
- Divide your working day amount by hours worked per day to get hourly rate ($500/8 hours = $62.50)
That’s what each of your working hours is worth!
Now you can use this to ask and answer a few important questions, like,
- Is what I’m doing or how I’m spending my time worth $62.50?
- Can I pay someone else to do a $15/hour job (e.g. mowing the lawns) which will free me up to make another $62.50/hour?
- If I do like mowing my own lawn, what will I have to do or have in place to make up for the $62.50/hour “lost?”
- What else can I do to earn $62.50? etc.
Paying someone else to answer phones or having strategies in place, freeing up your time to be devoted towards projects that will give you more returns for your time invested is a sign that you get it.
Now, here’s my bold promise – when you combine this strategy with using a prioritized schedule, your productivity will soar.
It will enable you to focus on what’s most important for you and you WILL get things (that matter) done.
Let me know how you go.
To your success,
Gideon H.
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Previously published on Therelationshipguy.com.
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