Want to be more productive in your days? Read on! :)
What do you define as a "productive" person? Is it the ability to
robotically churn out work, hour after hour? Is it the amount of
discipline one has? Is it the speed at which one works?
Before we can discuss what makes a productive person, we should first
define what productivity is. The common notion of productivity is the
ability to churn out a lot of work in a short span of time. True, but
not complete. IMO, true productivity is the ability to create a lot of
high impact
work in a short span of time. This is the kind of productivity we
should concern ourselves with, not other kinds of productivity which are
more empty / busy work that create no impact in the long term.
For example, let's say Peter types very fast and can reply 1000
emails a day. That doesn't make him/her productive, because there's
little output (product) to speak of (unless the emails contribute to
tangible, high impact outcomes). However, if John completes just one
task in a day that has more impact than the 1000 emails put together,
then he's more productive than Peter is.
At this point of writing, I just had the most productive few months of the year.
- I ran/spoke at a total of 8 workshops/speeches, including one in Hong Kong last month.
- My latest workshops have drawn in the highest number of participants to date.
- I created and ran Live a Better Life in 30 Days Program, the first ever 30-day personal development challenge of its kind online, with over 1,200 participants
- I wrote, designed, and launched 30DLBL Program (both guidebook and workbook), which has sold over 1,000 copies!
- Personal Excellence grew almost double in subscribers from Sep
through Dec (just 3 months), making it one of the biggest personal
development blogs online today.
At the same time, I've also been managing other work, such as 1-1
coaching with clients (I'm handling about 5-6 clients on average each
time), administrative aspects of the business, writing Personal
Excellence articles/guest posts, maintaining the site, etc.
A few days ago I finished designing my lineup of workshops next year,
and earlier this week I conceptualized the idea for a new book. That's
all while maximizing other aspects of my life, such as keeping to my
exercise regime (I exercise daily now), having a positive social life,
keeping in touch with old friends, all at the same time.
I think productivity is really how you manage yourself, and the
habits
you practice. By selectively practicing certain habits over others, you
can get a lot more output for your time. Here, I'll share with you my 8
top habits in productivity. Practice them and watch as your
productivity sky rockets thereafter. :D
Habit 1: Ruthlessly cut away the unimportant (and Focus on the important)
The 1st habit of productive people is to slice and dice everything that's unimportant.
Whenever I go to my work desk, I write down a list of things to do
for the day. I then evaluate which are the most important things out of
the list, first circling them, then ranking the items. After which I'll
challenge these items to see if they're the best use of my time. What
impact does doing these make? Can I be doing more high-value tasks?
Doing so helps me ensure I'm working on the absolute most important
things for the day.
Then, for the non-important ones, I either push them to a later date or find a way to take them off the list. (Learning
how to say no to others is very important here.) Those of you who have the
30DLBL Program may recognize this as the 20/80 List in Day 8. It's my favorite daily self-management tool.
For everything you're doing now, ask yourself how important this is.
Does this bring you dramatically closer to your dreams? Does this create any real impact in your life in the long term? Is it the absolute best way to spend your time or can you be doing more high value tasks?
If the answer is 'yes' to all the questions, keep this task. If not,
perhaps it’s time to ditch it. No point doing something unimportant! Say
you’re handling a project that makes no difference to your business
after it’s completed. It wouldn't matter whether you take an hour, three
hours, or one week to do it—it’d still make no difference at the end of
the day!
It's part of knowing what your end objective is and doing things that serve this objective. Read:
Keep Your End Objective In Mind.
Many people tend to wrongly classify regular tasks as high value tasks. A good tool to set them apart is the
Time Management Matrix
that classifies our daily activities into 4 different quadrants. Your
most important tasks fall under Quadrant 2. I've written about it
extensively complete with diagrams and recommendations on how to deal
with tasks in each quadrant, so read them here:
Put First Things First.
Going by the questions I raised above, my most important tasks are
the ones that bring me closest to my dreams when I do them. For example,
working on my blog allows me to reach out to more people out there,
which lets me achieve my end vision of enabling others to achieve their
highest potential and live their best life. For you reading this now,
I'd like to think that you found this blog partially through my efforts
in reaching out to people out there, and partially thanks to the
universe.
Thank you for being here at the blog. This is why I prioritize Personal
Excellence blog development over all other tasks, such as writing guest
articles, getting new speaking engagements, etc. While other tasks help
me progress in my goals too, they're not as effectively as working on
my blog.
It doesn't end with correctly identifying the high value tasks. Often
times, we'll be imbued with a stream of random, miscellaneous requests
throughout the day. I used to give immediate attention to these things.
Say random request # 1 comes in and I’ll do it immediately since it
takes just 5-10 minutes, max. This is the same for random request # 2,
#3…. all the way to #20. After a while, I realized these things take a
lot of my time and I don’t even get any meaningful result out of them.
Not only that, I never finish my high value tasks. I may think I’m being
very productive when I finish the random things, but truth is it’s just
fake productivity.
So nowadays, I use a separate "do later" list for these urgent tasks. I dump all the incoming tasks here and work on my
20% high-value tasks
(that lead to 80% of the value I get in the day). At the end of the
day, I allocate a time slot to clear these tasks. I batch the similar
urgent tasks, then clear them at one go. Turns out I’m always able to
get them cleared in an hour or less, compared to the few hours I’d have
taken if I attended to them in the day.
Habit 2: Allocate breaks strategically
The 2nd habit of productive people is to allocate breaks strategically.
I don't think being productive
requires you to work non-stop like a robot. On the contrary, it's by
doing that that you become less productive. While the number of hours
spent on work increases and the amount of work accomplished seems
marginally higher, the work done per unit time is lower than your
average. Not only that, your work done per extra unit time actually
decreases.
If you think the above sounds
confusing, not to worry! Here's a simple example to illustrate my point.
Say you want to write a book. You can usually type 1,000 words in an
hour working on your book. This goes well for the first 2 hours, and you
clock 1,000 words per hour. However, at the third hour, you feel tired,
and you type 500 words in the third hour instead. That's -500 words
less than your usual output! In Economics, this is known as the
Law of Diminishing Returns.
Rest is important. No matter how much you want to work, there are
areas of your life that work can't fulfill, such as love, family,
health. That's why our
life wheel
is made up of different segments, vs. just 1 big segment. Each segment
is distinct and unreplaceable by others. By "rest", I'm referring to any
segment of your life that's outside of Business/Career/Studies. Taking
time off charges your batteries so you can sprint forward when you
return to work.
Earlier this year, I did an
experiment. I went for a period where I continuously worked without
stopping (save for necessary breaks like sleeping, eating, etc). I also
went for a separate period where I would work, then space in break times
in between work, such as catching up on emails, exercising, walking
around the house, reading books, going for a walk, catching up with
friends, a short nap, and so on. What I found was this:
Output decreases over time when there are no breaks (despite reaching the point of diminishing returns)
With breaks, the output can be maintained at a consistent high
*Drawings are very empirical, but you get the idea!
What this means is when I work non-stop without any breaks, my
productivity keeps slipping until it's near 0. However, when I take
breaks, they help me start on a high note when I get back. Even though
there are "down-times" away during the breaks, the high output more than
makes up for that. Hence, by strategically placing my break times, I'm
able to maximize my output. Rest, hence, does not prevent me from
getting more done - it
enables me to get more done.
More time spent on work does not necessarily lead to more work done, but
applying the above strategy AND combining it with increased time spent
on work
will maximize your output.
If you're self-employed or on a flexible work schedule, you can put
this into practice easily. Even if you're in a 9-5 job, you can still do
it all the time. Whenever you feel unproductive, throw in a quick
break. Walk away from the desk, get a drink from the pantry, go for a
toilet break, talk to a colleague about work. You'll be more perked up
when you return.
Habit 3: Remove productivity stoppers (i.e. distractions)
The 3rd habit of productive people is to remove productivity stoppers.
Productivity stoppers are things that limit your productivity. They
can be the music you listen to when you work, your slow computer,
unwanted phone calls, alerts from your inbox on incoming mail, the
internet, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. These things trap you and
prevent you from getting things done.
What should you do then? Well, remove these stoppers! Or go to a
place where they're no longer an issue. For example, a big productivity
stopper for me is the internet. When I write my articles while online, I
have the tendency to click to other sites. I'd check my mail, after
which I become distracted by the new mail. The mail would lead to
follow-up work and replies, which take time. By the time I'm done, a
good 15-20 minutes have passed. Then within minutes of working, the same
cycle repeats. So instead, when I'm writing, I unplug the LAN cable
from my laptop and move my laptop to my bed (which is what I'm doing now
as I'm writing this article). It's a lot faster!
Go about your daily routine and observe when your output slows down.
What's distracting you? How can you remove it? Experiment and try
working in different places.
Adjust your environment. Make tweaks here and there. The more productivity stoppers you find and remove, the more productive you'll be.
Habit 4: Tap into your inspiration
The 4th habit of productive people is to tap into inspiration.
I can't stress how important this is to maximizing your output. No
matter what field you're in, your inspiration is the key to your output.
For example, an inspired programmer creates programs that changes
people's lives for the better. An inspired structural engineer designs
effective building structures. An inspired marketer creates breakthrough
marketing plans that touches people's hearts. An inspired writer writes
continuously. A highly inspired musician writes one song after another
I fully grasped the impact of inspiration when I started my business
and was in charge of my full schedule. I realized during the times when
I'm inspired, work is simply effortless. Taking writing as an example.
The words will flow and I don't even need to process them. They get
transferred as thoughts in my mind straight to the keyboard. My last
article
How To Finish What You Start
was completed in one night, which is much faster than my normal
articles which can take as long as a week (for series posts). That's
because I was very inspired when I was writing it. On the other hand,
when I'm uninspired, nothing comes out. It's like when opening a tap and
there's no water, save for one to two drops.
What do you tap into your inspiration then? Do you just idle, waiting
for inspiration to strike before you do any work? That's allocating
your control to your external world, which really isn't what this blog
is about. I often hear people say they're not planning to write because
they're not inspired. I think it's not about waiting for inspiration to
strike but about learning to channel into your inspiration.
How do you do that? It's simple -- think about what inspires you in
life. Is it helping others grow? Connecting with people? Being
recognized for your work? Working with the poverty? Helping the
unfortunate? Being #1 in your field? How can you achieve them? Find out
your motivators, then use them to drive you.
My biggest inspiration is to see others achieving their highest
potential and living their best lives. I love seeing everyone living to
their highest being, and if there are ever anything blocking them I'll
feel all ready to rip it away, so I use this to drive me in everything I
create. When I'm writing a blog entry, I'll start by thinking what is
an area people are facing blockages in, then I channel into that energy.
30DLBL
was created because I noticed while many people pursue self-help, not
many know how to translate what they read into practice. I got inspired
to create a personal development program which would encapsulate my best
strategies and lessons on how to live our best life. This program would
consist of a series of tasks, at a manageable pace of one task a day,
which would both trigger immediate action and create tangible results.
And hence, 30DLBL was born.
Habit 5: Create barriers to entry
The 5th habit of productive people is to create barriers to entry.
A great thing about our world today is that it's easier than ever to
reach out to someone. Everyone is just a SMS/phone call/email/Facebook
message away. At the same time it has become a highly distracting place
to live in. Every few minutes, there's a new request coming in. Your
phone rings and it's a telemarketer; you get an SMS from a friend who's
bored at work; you get a new email and it's some unrelated, unimportant
mail; you get a Facebook mass events invite from someone you don't know;
your calendar sends an alert about an appointment you already know...
the list goes on.
There are constantly messages coming from all different directions,
shouting for your attention. Each one of them serves an agenda that's
not yours. And every time you pay attention to them, you're distracted
from doing what matters... to you.
What do you do then? To get real work done, I recommend you put up
barriers, so it's hard(er) to reach you. Unplug your phone, switch off
your phone, close off your inbox, set a personal rule where you only
reply to emails after X days. I'm not saying disappear from the face of
the earth, but do that during your work hours at least, especially when
you're working on an intense project. After a while, people will get
used to it and adhere to the rule in order to reach you.
For example when I was working on the
30DLBL Program
last month, I blocked out my calendar from other appointments. When my
friends wanted to meet-up, I explained I was working on an important
project and I wouldn't be free for a few weeks.
On a daily basis, sometimes I'd switch off my phone and only check it
at the end of the day to return the messages and calls (my telecom
automatically sends a message if there are missed calls while I'm
unavailable). I set up
my blog contact form
as my official contact channel, and list out common requests on that
page so that people can get their answers even before they contact me!
For those who contact me, they know that a reply is never guaranteed,
and no reply can usually be considered as a "no." (See Tip #11 of
How to Say No to Others.)
By making it harder for others to reach you, you filter out a lot of
unimportant "noise" from outside, and that lets you work on your Q2
goals (see Habit 1). It's not about being difficult or putting yourself
above others (nothing of this sort) - it's about focusing on what
matters to you and creating real value you want in your life so you can
then do the same for others.
Habit 6: Optimize time pockets
The 6th habit of productive people is to optimize time pockets.
Time pockets refer to pockets of time you have in between events. You
usually get time pockets when waiting for people, commuting, walking
from one place to another, etc.
Look at your schedule. What are the time pockets that can be better
utilized? How can you maximize them? Have some ready activities to do
during these pockets, such as listening to podcasts, reading books,
planning, etc. You will be amazed at how much can be done in just a
short amount of time!
For example, I spend a lot of time commuting. Even though I largely
work from my home office now, I still commute a fair bit, say when
heading out to meet friends, networking, business/lunch/personal
appointments, giving workshops, and so on. While I try to schedule them
at convenient places, there's still downtime from walking from one
location to the next, waiting for transport, traveling, etc.
So rather than let the time go to waste, I use it to do some work. I bought a smart phone last year (with a
QWERTY
keypad) so I can type articles on the go. I also acquired a dataplan so
I can check my emails wherever I am. Last but not least, I make it a
habit to bring a notebook when I go out to jot down ideas.
Amazingly, I'm highly productive during these time pockets. Because
there's nothing else I can do in this 15, 30, 45 minutes, I concentrate
fully on what I'm doing. Right now, I'm actually typing this article on
my bus ride home. Just a few days ago, I finished creating my 3-months
plan from Dec '10 to Feb '11, as well as created the idea and book
outline for my next book for next year, all while having lunch. That's a
lot of progress compared to if I had just spaced out, slept or idled
away the time pockets.
Habit 7: Set timelines
The 7th habit of productive people is to set timelines.
This is a fundamental productivity habit. By
Parkinson’s Law,
work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. This
means if you don’t set a timeline, you can take forever to complete what
you’re doing. If you set a timeline of two weeks, you’ll take two
weeks. If you set one week, you’ll take one week. And interestingly
enough, if you set one hour, you actually can complete it by one hour
too, if you truly want to.
So, set timelines. When you set timelines, you set the intention to
complete the work by this time, hence paving the way for the reality to
manifest.
I do regular goal setting to maximize my output. The 30DLBL Program
was out last month as I had set the timeline for it to be released then.
If I hadn't done so, it would still be in the works, possibly for
release this month, next month, or perhaps even never. This month, I've
timelines for other projects, such as for an upcoming workshop, to start
writing my next book, write new articles, have a second anniversary
celebration at Personal Excellence (more on that next week!), release
Personal Excellence Book version 2,
and hit new readership targets at PE. By virtue of just setting these
targets and striving for them, I'm already increasing my productivity
compared to if I didn't set any goals.
Be clear on what you want to achieve (Habit 1), then set your
timelines for them. What do you want to finish this month? What will
make you look back and think that this is the best way you've spent
today, and there's no better way you could have spent it? Set that as
your targets. From there, set your weekly goals. Finally, you can set
your daily goals which become your day-to-day targets.
Habit 8: Automate everything possible
The 8th and last habit of productive people is to automate everything possible.
Technology today has made automation possible for a lot of things we
do. Even when it's impossible to fully automate the task, we can still
use the systems to get a lot of the work done for us.
Keep a record of the things you do today, and see how you can
automate them. Some of the not-so-productive tasks that we do on a
regular basis are:
- Delete, archive, sort our mail
- Delete spam mail
- Paying our bills
- Appointment scheduling
- Planning our days/weeks/months (unproductive because it's still planning vs. acting)
Here is a partial list of things I automate:
-
Mail: I have set up e-mail filters where all site
requests and reader mail automatically go into my ‘Reply later’ folder.
I also have filters where newsletters and subscriptions go into
different folders depending on what they are about. That way, my only
job is to read e-mails and respond where needed, not to sort. (Check
out: 11 Simple Tips To Effective Email Management and 3 Simple Tips To Achieve Inbox Zero Using E-mail Filters [Video].)
-
Scheduling: My schedules are somewhat automated. I set
recurring items for things I've to do daily, weekly or monthly like
paying the bills, posting new 30DLBL daily posts (for Dec 30DLBL),
exercising (daily), training workshops, etc so I don't have to worry
about them later. It's not exactly automatic in that I have to first
create the entry, but once it's set I don't need to do anything about it
anymore.
-
Tweeting/Facebook: I automate the tweeting and posting
of my new posts. Every time a new post goes live, my twitter will have
an announcement, which automatically feeds into my facebook as well
-
Book payments: My book payments are automatic.
Whenever someone makes a purchase for one of my books, e-junkie (my
payment vendor) will automatically generate an invoice, a download link
and a confirmation email and send them to the buyer. The payment is
automatically sent to Paypal.
-
Coaching payments: The same goes for my one-to-one coaching, where the payment system is automatic.
-
Coaching schedules: My coaching sessions with each
client are set on a fixed day, fixed timing every week. Like #2, I have
to first create the entry, but after that it's automatic. That way we
don't need to arrange for a time slot every week and can get on with the
coaching topics.
-
Site maintenance: I've set up my blog and forums to be
as low maintenance as possible, to the extent where my only involvement
is to write/post new content and reply comments. Many things such as
the statistics, category count (in the sidebar), etc are automatically
generated by Wordpress.
I'm continuously looking for
ways to automate my process, so I can spend more time on creating value
for others rather than being stuck in busy work. By automating your
to-do list as much as possible, you reserve your time for the absolute
important things. If you get a deja vu feeling when doing something on
your task list, that's a cue to automate that item.
Apply the 8 Habits of Productive People
Which of these 8 productivity habits can you apply in your work/life
now? Practice the 8 habits of productive people and boost up your
productivity immediately.
If you have found this article
useful, please share it with others whom you think will benefit. Tweet
it, like it via facebook, and share the link to your friends on facebook
via the links below.
This article is also available in
manifesto,
web lecture and
audio podcast formats.
Here are other articles in the productivity series you will find useful:
- How To Finish What You Start: 10 Important Tips
- 11 Simple Tips To Effective Email Management
-
How To Achieve More with Less in Life via 80/20 Principle (3-part series)
- The Best Productivity System There Is
- 50 Ways To Boost Your Productivity
- Become the Master of Your Time
- Put First Things First
Lots of Love,
Celes
