This is a blog about productivity, right? It says so in the title and I have promised to give you valuable tips and information about how you can improve your productivity by putting into practice the things you read in this blog. And now, I’m going to tell you right from the start that increased productivity is NOT the point.
Let me say that another way, focusing on increasing your productivity without knowing what result you’re looking for is a WASTE OF TIME. Take my client, Kathy, for example. When we first started working together one of her first goals was to stop working on the weekends. We put a customized time management system in place and within two weeks, she was managing her work during the week, with time to spare. When we met and she reported this to me, I was ecstatic. In my head I was congratulating myself for being an amazing coach and counting the referrals she would give me as a result of her incredible results, done in record time.
Then I came back to reality and looked at her face. She didn’t look ecstatic, in fact, she looked downright disturbed. What did she do with all the extra time? NOTHING. She had a ton of additional things to do and she sat in front of the TV and did nothing.
Now if you’re a TV fan, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m not knocking TV. I’m commenting on the fact that SHE felt like she had squandered the extra time. She didn’t have a goal or a result in mind for using the extra time.
Rule #1: Have a goal in mind for your new found time. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want more time to work ON your business and not IN your business? Do you want to get that special project that never gets your attention, done? Do you want to achieve the same results in less time and have more free time?
Productivity is not a goal in and of itself. It’s a means to an end. Know the end.