Productivity enhancement
Posted on | September 25, 2009 | No Comments
Ever wonder why some people seem to be so productive through-out their day while others seem to spend a lot of time spinning their wheels? We are all given the same number of hours in our day. Truly effective people seem to be able to squeeze 30 hours worth of life into that 24 hour day. There is enough information on time management, energy management, and strategies for increasing productivity to fill a library. The problem is that most of us don’t have the time to read all of this material. And, frankly, most people, even after reading some of the material, fall back into their daily routines, regardless of how inefficient it may be.
Let’s discuss some of the simple strategies that you can apply to make the most of your day. The first thing to remember is: “take care of the days, and the years take care of themselves.” A successful lifetime is made up of successful years, which are made up of successful months, which are made up of successful weeks, etc. So it is important to remember to make the most of everyday. This doesn’t mean that you should try to cram in the most work possible into every waking moment. What it DOES mean is that you should step back each morning and spend a few moments determining the true priorities for that day. Those priorities should include work, rest, recreation, exercise and training, and a well balanced diet to fuel the day.
If you want to have long-term success, your life has to be balanced. You have all undoubtedly heard the phrase ”if you don’t take care of your body, your body will take care of you.” We all know of someone who has had brief periods of amazing productivity but then is sidelined by sickness, injury or some relationship challenge because they let their life get out of balance. An example is the classic story of the Tortoise and the Hair.
We have provided all of our ProMAC participants with a copy of the book “The Power of Full Engagement.” The authors provide ample evidence that managing energy, not time is the key to high performance. That requires the balance mentioned above. To properly manage your energy and remain highly productive you cannot compartmentalize your life; you can’t separate your workday from the rest of your day, it has to be looked at as a complete day. It is important to look at each day as a whole because everything is related. If your diet is good, you’re exercising regularly, and you’re getting plenty of rest, you’re energy levels will be where they need to be to have a highly productive day.
So before we continue, take a minute to analyze your day, from dawn to dusk. Are you in balance? Every day needs to be assessed on its own. No one is always in balance. I have never met a successful person who does not struggle to constantly optimize the balance in their day. What can you do to gain balance or optimize your balance? With this as our back-drop, let’s discuss some strategies to help enhance our productivity at work. How can we get more accomplished each day without necessarily putting in more hours?
Step one
Simplify your work.
This is primarily done in two ways. First, by reducing what we’re doing and improving how we’re doing the work that we have determined needs to be done. How can you reduce the amount of work you’re doing? This can be done by examining your list of activities that make up your workday. What activities can you eliminate? Many times, this evaluation alone can give you an additional hour every day. Next, prioritize your work into three categories: ”must do”,” should do”, “nice to do.” “Must do’s” represent the activities that must be done if you are to accomplish your goals. “Should do’s” represent the activities that aren’t absolutely essential to the achievement of your goals. “Nice to do’s” represent the activities that can be left undone or postponed without affecting your goals. Following these steps every morning will help ensure that the time you have is spent on critical, high priority activities. The second way to simplify your work is to improve how it gets done. In other words, how can you be more efficient?
Step two
Delegation.
Now that you simplified and prioritized your work, what can you delegate? Having established your “must do’s,” you evaluate each one and determine which of these tasks can be delegated. Then evaluate the “should do’s” and determine which of these can be delegated. If you are the only one that can complete certain of these tasks, the next question you must ask yourself is: who can I train to so that I can delegate the work to them?
Step three
Stay on task.
The secret of true concentration, lies in the acceptance of endless distractions or as John Lennon said” life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” Discipline yourself to avoid getting sidetracked. This is quite possibly the most difficult aspect of time management. There are several strategies that can help in this process. Start by building in several breaks throughout the day. This accomplishes two things: first, it causes you to step back and evaluate where you are in your day and your goals you set for that day, and secondly it allows time to recharge. Oftentimes, just a five minute recharge every 90 minutes or so is enough to allow you to focus again. Schedule specific times in your day to conduct your routine tasks (check and responding to emails; paying bills, ordering products, etc.) and then stick to that schedule. Learn how to gracefully keep conversation short. If an urgent issue comes up that you have to deal with, deal with it and then get right back to the task at hand. Don’t be a slave to your phone. It’s OK to turn off the ringer when you don’t want to be interrupted.
Step four
See each task to its completion.
Planning a task is easy. Starting the task is easy. The challenge comes in completing the task. This is where many of us fail. We make great progress and are almost finished with an important task when something distracts us or takes us off task. Focus on getting back on task. Many successful people attribute their success to the rather boring reality of staying on task and completing them before starting a new one.
Step five
Review and Preview.
At the end of every day, review the work that has been completed. Then preview the next day. This step seems obvious but is often overlooked. When you know exactly what you have to do the next day you’re able to better enjoy your time off, and when you finally get back to work you’ll be ready to go.
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About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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