What time is it?

May 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment

clock

What time is it everyday when you’re done doing the stuff you ‘have to do’?

- the monotonous stuff
- the stuff your boss wants you to do
- the stuff your spouse / partner asks you to do
- the stuff you do to distract yourself (like surfing the Internet)
- the ‘deliverables’
- taxes
- payroll
- meetings

When you’re done with all that, what does the clock say? How much time do you have for the stuff you ‘want to do’?

- creating a new product
- testing a new market
- identifying and rewarding your best customers
- thanking and inspiring your employees
- taking your spouse / partner on a date
- reading to your kids
- starting that blog

You have a few options to change this.

1) It’s easier than ever to re-prioritize or delegate parts of the ‘have to do’ list.

2) You can mentally approach the ‘have to do’ stuff more like the ‘want to do’ stuff. Change your perception. How much effort does it take to transform running an errand for your spouse from ‘have to’ into ‘get to’?

I would argue that the people that are most productive and most happy do both.

Take 5

May 10, 2009 | 2 Comments

Take 5

Here is a simple productivity tip you can implement immediately.

Soon after you wake up, during your morning coffee (or morning cartoons), take out a piece of paper (or just a Post-It note) and write down the 5 most important things you need to do that day.

Just 5.

Not 2.

Not 10.

Just 5.

They need to be things that you can accomplish in a day. ‘Cure cancer’ or ‘fix relationship with cousin Jimmy’ aren’t things you can finish in a day. Put those on a longer term list.

Then (and this is critical), finish the first two before you open your email. For me, that’s extremely difficult but since I’ve started doing it, I’ve become much more productive.

Now you have the rest of the day to complete the other three things. Set aside time to do so. Often, you need to build in time away from your regular work ‘tasks’ and away from your email inbox.

It seems simple, but it’s so easy to head down so many rabbit-holes everyday. Facebook. Twitter. Email. RSS readers. It’s like reading a “Choose Your Own Unproductive Adventure” book. By the time you realize what page you’re on, you are a long way from where you started.

If you do this everyday, I guarantee you’ll become more productive. 5 x 5 = 25. Most people do not accomplish their 25 most important tasks every week.

Try it for a week. Let me know how it goes. If you hate it, I’ll refund you the cost of the Post-It notes.

NB: If you liked this tip, there are thousands more over at ZenHabits.net, the amazing and wonderful blog by Leo Babauta. If you actively follow Leo’s blog, you will become more productive, achieve your goals more quickly and easily, be healthier, richer, happier and more at peace. Seriously.

NB2: If you want some great, simple web software to help you (or your team) do this, check out TaskFive from the very cool, very smart and very funny guys over at Contrast.

Now go write down your 5 things, on a Post-It, in TaskFive or on your hand. Then do them.

After pictures

March 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

As I went to workout with two friends tonight, I remembered that I hadn’t taken the “before” pictures as recommended by P90X, the workout program.

The analytic (read: nerd) in me eats this stuff up. Whenever I do a workout program, I like to track everything, reps, weight, distance, # of stairs, heart rate in target zone, bodyfat %, before pictures, etc.

While tracking this data is important, occasionally the analysis and setup in doing so distracts me from what is most important, which is just doing the damn workouts. The only two things I should track is “workouts completed” and “drops of sweat”.

I thought back to the Cult of Done manifesto and happily decided that the before pictures aren’t important.

It’s the after pictures that matter.

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