Simple Stuff That Works

Are you tired of hearing people complain about how little time they have, how busy they are and how their work life balance is all out of sync? I hear it daily yet when I challenge people to show me how they manage and control their priorities they simply tell me that they have a to do list or they use a diary or digital tool as an organiser. Few if any actually share with me a daily system they operate to manage themselves. In short they tell me but can’t show me. The reality is they don’t have a system, they simply leave it to luck and chance.

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort. Getting more done doesn’t need more time but rather a change in attitude and habits. It’s not just about getting more done either, it’s about understanding what activities deserve your valuable time and which do not.

Here’s a some simple stuff that works, ideas that when combined cannot fail to drive personal productivity and effectiveness as well as wrestle back the balance people are so desperately seeking………..

Goal Setting 

• Set clearly defined written goals
• Understand your reasons, your motivation for achieving each goal- the losses to be avoided and the benefits to be gained from achieving the goal
• Identify potential obstacles and explore possible solutions in advance
• Make a step by step written plan for achieving your goal with time deadlines for each step in the process, deadlines stimulate action
• Communicate your goals to those that can help and those that can hinder your progress, seek out the helpers and say no to those that will hinder.
• Track you progress, you can’t manage what you can’t measure
• Imagine what it will be like when you accomplish the goal, picture it in your mind’s eye, use visual aids to represent and remind you of your goal
• Practice positive affirmations or self talk to support your goal

Daily Planning

• Use a daily, written planner based on hourly blocks of time
• Identify the activities that drive results, your High Pay Off activities
• Schedule these HPA’s into your daily action plan
• Schedule specific blocks of time to each specific HPA, when you will start and when you will finish
• Your HPA’s are your imperative tasks, things that must be done today
• Strive for results not perfection
• Identify those things that get in the way, your Low Pay Off activities
• Delegate them, simplify them or dump them
• If you can’t delegate them to someone else schedule them into your planner in blocks of time when you are least busy or when most convenient for you
• Learn to say no to distractions- email/interruptions, office gossip, drop in visitors, social media, telephone calls etc
• Schedule emails/telephone/social media into specific time blocks
• Dont multi task, it does not work!!
• Exercise self discipline
• Be persistent
• Schedule your personal time
• Treat yourself like you treat your best customer, you never let them down do you!!
• Work a 55 and 5 hour, “take 5” every hour for yourself. Complete what you need to complete in 55 minutes instead of 60 and “take 5” to recharge the batteries
• Get up and walk around, we are designed to move not just sit
• Drink plenty of water and avoid caffeine
• Eat healthy food

Everything listed is really simple but not easy, if it were easy you’d already be doing it. As stated earlier….

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort. Getting more done doesn’t need more time but rather a change in attitude and habits. It’s not just about getting more done either, it’s about understanding what activities deserve your valuable time and which do not.