Certain people are able accomplish many
things while others are unproductive to say the least!
Why do some habitually hit their goals while others are unable to accomplish things or do so at a slow, frustrating pace? What contributes to the difference?
What do we do with the time we have?
An important component of productivity is time management.
Everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, it is how we use them that makes the difference!
Many people seem frozen by the agenda of things to accomplish and talk about all they have to do but never make a dent in the ‘pile’. Can we increase our productivity?
The good news is we can all improve our productivity by managing our time, a precious resource that must be tightly controlled.
Three O’s
I witness three areas preventing or inhibited productivity on a daily basis – Over Thinking, Over Blabbing and good Old fashioned Procrastination.
Many people put themselves in the circle of Paralysis by Over Analysis. They over think the task at hand, wasting precious time thinking of the best way and every conceivable consequence. I am not suggesting you recklessly pursue action but if you aren’t building rockets or working with nuclear materials, make a reasonable assessment and get t0 work. Stop over analyzing and take action.
Incessant Talking – We are a culture of chatters. Communication is essential but there is a limit to the amount of time we frit away discussing a task at hand and about totally unrelated subjects. Two areas of blabbing to be dealt with. First, if related to the task at hand, put a time limit (for most subjects 5 minutes) on discussion. For meetings large or small, require that the participants stand. Don’t let anyone get comfortable. As for unrelated, ‘small talk’ ban it entirely until the in box is empty!
Procrastination – First be honest with yourself, face the fact you are putting off doing something meaningful with menial diversions. It then truly comes down to focusing, blocking out your tendencies to avoid doing something difficult, and getting down to work.
The common thread here is simply to take action! Don’t let another day fly by without doing what you need or would like to get done.
I have an article coming out that will give you actual tos and ideas to increase your productivity. The ideas work and are applicable to the work environment and in your personal life.