Personal Productivity 101
Productivity with Purpose
Don’t Overestimate Your Capacity
Jul 15th
Do you have too many projects? Who doesn’t? Sure, I do too, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I could do something about it in a way that could help me to be more successful. Who in their right mind would throw away a perfectly good project? Apparently some very smart, productive people; people and businesses that by the way are more successful than I am and probably less stressed too.
I was introduced to this concept by Anne Messenger, a colleague of mine of Messenger Associates Inc., after she returned from a WPO conference this spring. One of the speakers, Dr. Rebecca Henderson, of the Harvard Business School had given an address on overloading your capacity. She called this concept “Kill Project #26.
It is really a very basic philosophy when you stop and think about it.
Most people, especially entrepreneurs and small business owners consistently overestimate their capacity.
So, take a few minutes to examine all of your projects and possible commitments with a critical and realistic eye; whether they are ongoing, in the planning phase or tabled for a later date.
- Do you have any projects that have been hanging around for quite a while?
- Projects that have been started, but are just dragging on and don’t seem to get completed?
- How about projects that everybody is in favor of, but nobody has the time to tackle?
- The toughest are the projects that you are just so attached to and desperately want to get off the ground, but you don’t have quite enough time to get to today, or this week or this month.
Hint: If you find yourself saying, “I’ll get to that tomorrow,” “maybe I’ll schedule some time for that next week,” “after the busy season is done,” it is a tip off that it is a doomed project.
These projects are wonderful, worthwhile and possibly valuable undertakings. The problem is that there just aren’t enough resources to devote to them. The kicker being that even if you did clear the decks and power through the aforementioned project; it would turn into a “time-suck,” draining resources and time away from the rest of your business or your life.
What do you do then? I like Dr. Henderson’s advice, but “kill” seems so unkind and 26 seems so overwhelming to me. I would be overcapacity way before # 26. I prefer, “Terminate project 10.” Why? Simple, because “terminate” brings to mind having to let go of an employee that everyone loves and has such a great personality, but just can’t do the job. It’s similar to terminating a friendship or relationship that you have been clinging to, but has just turned into a toxic drain. I chose 10, because that seems like such a nice, round, even number. It would seem to your mind that you should be able to do 10 projects at once; it sounds reasonable, but it isn’t.
It won’t be easy. In fact it may be painful if you are emotionally attached to a certain endeavor, but for your own sanity and the health of your company you must say farewell. Do you want to retain your competitive advantage or not?
Your task, should you choose to accept it: Get out the ax and terminate project 10!
Then toast “Bon Voyage” and let it go.
Time Wasters: Top 5 things I Don’t Do That Increase Productivity
Jul 13th
I don’t watch TV – Well ok, I watch a little, but in all honesty it is usually limited to 2 or 3 evening shows during the week and a movie with the kids on Friday night (which I often read during anyway.) If I have to exercise indoors, I will put on Morning Joe. That means I average 5 hours of TV watching per week; considerably less than the average American who watches 28 hours. Look at all of the time wasted!
I don’t play games on the internet – I limit computer usage to work, email and one hour of social media per day (that would be less if it was not necessary for business.) I do not surf the internet, play solitaire or Farmville on Facebook. That is not a productive use of my time.
I do not spend time gossiping around the water cooler (or over the “hedge row”)- This one is an easy one for me since I work from home and my water cooler conversations are limited to 140 characters on our Twitter account! Bonus: It also allows you to stay out of office or neighborhood drama.
I do not watch the news or read a daily newspaper – I know that’s blasphemous for some. Rest assured that I still know what’s going on in the world and my community. I do subscribe to RSS feeds and Twitter accounts from a couple of national news outlets and a couple of local ones as well. That allows me to get the news in real time and scroll through quicker to the items that interest me. I do subscribe to the Sunday paper which I thoroughly enjoy and immerse myself in the delight of the printed news, lifestyle and comics once a week.
I do not over-commit myself – I have learned to say no to activities that do not add value or are not the best use of my skills and time. For example I do not volunteer to work all school events, but I do the bookkeeping for the school PTO (It is easy for me with my business background and I can do it around my schedule, therefore it’s a good fit.) As an add on to this, I do not allow my children to over commit either, which makes for less stress and teaches them the value of making choices.
There were others that are on my list of “Don’ts,” but did not make the top 5. Watch for more time wasters in a future post…
Know Yourself – Critical Productivity Success Strategy
Jul 7th
Do you really know yourself? Have you thoroughly identified, examined and analyzed your thought patterns, activity routines, preferences, abilities and comfort zones? Probably not. Most people never take the time to truly understand how and why they do what they do. Are they afraid of what they will find? Do they judge themselves too harshly? Find too many areas that fall short?
What if we look at it in another way? What if instead of judging, berating and spending time and effort trying to improve and change everything that you or current business wisdom thinks is wrong; you instead just decide to go with what you’ve got and learn to make it work for you? Why do we have to label everything good or bad? How about, it just is! This does not mean that you stop striving for efficiency, growth, knowledge and success, but just don’t place quite so much focus on it.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked, but often most critical component of maximizing your productivity and business and personal success is finding and using what works best for you as an individual or your company as an entity. The news is full of both people and organizations that seem to break all the rules, yet in spite of or maybe because of their quirks still become wildly successful and seem incredibly content. What if your comfort zone isn’t such a bad place to spend maybe 80% of your time?
What’s comfortable for you?
Some preferences or styles to consider:
- Time
- Temperature
- Pace
- Atmosphere
- Work style
- Life style
- Social style
- Communication preferences
For example, my husband prefers to run outside in any weather, at 4AM, in 45 degrees at a moderate pace; while I prefer to run outside as long as it is reasonably nice, at 7AM, in 60 degrees at a good clip, but I take walk breaks if I need them. Both work.
I prefer to work at a very fast, focused pace in a solitary environment with music in the background or on my iPod to shut out the world. I also work in comfortable clothes and sometimes in my pajamas and slippers. Others work at a slower, but steady pace and prefer noise or co-workers around them. Many people feel better working in professional attire and make-up. I’ll admit that the “experts” including me on occasion have been proponents of “dressing for success” and I still agree on the whole, but if you are one of the few for whom that doesn’t feel right then by all means ignore that piece of advice. Many a best-selling novel or million dollar deal has been made while wearing flannels!
Do you prefer to start work early at 5AM, keep office hours starting at 9 or are you most productive in the evening?
Do you separate each job, client or project and draw a clear boundary between each as well as your private life or do you intersperse all types of work, play and family and that seems to work for you?
Do you prefer to communicate in person, via phone or by email? All are valid and have different advantages and disadvantages.
The key to this strategy is to know what is most effective for you. If something is not working for you, i.e. you really could get more done if you got up and started working before the kids woke, but you stay up too late watching TV and don’t get out of bed, then by all means CHANGE IT! But if you enjoy conducting business in your bathrobe at noon in your bunny slippers, then just don’t use video conferencing please!
