Productivity is big business these days, and people are jumping through hoops to find that magical system that is going to turn them into the productivity powerhouses that they think they need to be in order to handle their lives.
Well, not even touching on the fact that people are simply spending too much time working – hence the need for the productivity magic – let’s agree that an increase in productivity is something that many people can benefit from. That being the case, what happens when those attempts at legendary productivity get out of control?
The thing to realize when it comes to getting things done is that getting things done is the entire point of the exercise! Talking about it, writing about it, keeping records on it, etc., are all very effective ways to do one thing:
Waste the very time that you are supposed to be saving!
1) Overuse of Productivity Software
It doesn’t take the first hour or two of your day to ring all the bells and blow all the whistles on your ultra high-tech productivity software package. In fact, if you are using more than about 20 or 30 minutes of your day to just get ready for your day, that seems a bit counter-productive to me…
2) Talking about Your Goals too Much
Talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. Tell people about your goals? Absolutely! Get excited and passionate about your goals? Yep! Spend an inordinate amount of time talking about how great it is all going to be when you should be out there taking action? No.
3) Making a To-Do List
For some reason people seem to think that writing down a massive list of things to get done every day is a good idea, even though they know there is a very real chance that they won’t get it all done. Doing so simply reinforces a lack of confidence in our ability to get the job done, and we end up worse off than we were before. Instead of making a “to-do” list, make a prioritized list of things that you would like to get done. Keep it realistic, and don’t move on to the second thing on your list until the first one is complete.
4) Doggedly Sticking to Your Plan
Here’s a shocker: Your life is not always going to go according to plan! When things end up unfolding in an unexpected way, you can either:
- Panic and accomplish very little (if not actually making the situation worse), or
- You can roll with the punches and find a way to get things done in spite of the unexpected circumstances.
One of those choices equals productivity, one of them equals frustration and stress.
5) Always Looking for a Better Way
How does that old saying go? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Just because some high-powered author, speaker, or productivity guru got you all jacked up about some new-fangled system of super-charging your life, you are under absolutely no obligation to actually use it. If your present system works, then keep it! Change is not always necessary.
6) Getting Too Much Sleep
According to pretty much anybody that you ask, getting at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep is recommended. Well, you know what? Not everyone needs 7 or 8 hours of sleep! You’ve been living with your body for how long now? You should know by now how much sleep you need to get in order to function at peak capacity. Get that much sleep, and do something else with the rest of those hours; it doesn’t matter what the so-called “experts” say.
7) Following Practices that You Really don’t Believe In
Just because Suzi’s brother knew a girl whose nephew had a friend with a sister that was married to a guy whose cousin knew a Zen Monk who swore by 4 hours of meditation per day does not mean that YOU should be doing it! Embrace productivity practices that resonate with you personally, and drop the rest.
8) Avoiding Email and Necessary Contacts
Anyone who has read the book The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris is jumping for joy because apparently it is okay for them to drastically limit their exposure to email or to other time-draining conversations with other people. Here’s a newsflash: If you have an Internet-based business, or your customers are very Internet-savvy, you are going to need to read your email frequently. Notice the word “frequent” and not the word “constant”. It’s a critical distinction, and a line that you may need to learn to walk.
9) Constantly Questioning Why
Many people – myself included – will tell you to take nothing at face value, and to question the very foundations of your existence, not to mention questioning the rules of society. However, that being said, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel every single day. Some systems are in place for a reason, and some are a complete waste of time. Question the irrelevant or inappropriate systems, but don’t waste time undermining the stability of systems or philosophies that actually work.
10) Excessive Delegation of Responsibility
This is another one that you 4-Hour Workweek fans will recognize – delegating responsibility to other people in order to free up your time. It’s a superb idea, and I back up Tim Ferris 100% on the concept. However, don’t lose sight of the fact that your role in your company, your business, your home, etc., IS your role, at least right now. If you’re not careful, you could delegate yourself right out of being an important part of your own lifestyle!
Right on! I like this. It’s like the no bull$hit zone! đ I especially like #1, #8.
Yeah, we need to plan, we need goals, we need to be open to new ideas, but most of the time we need to simply be WORKING! đ Too much of the other stuff can easily become fancy procrastination.
Oh, and I completely agree that we need to check our email. The Tim Ferris story recently of not checking his email seemed like selfish rationalization. If you can’t check it, have someone else do it. (I thought he was into delegation.) More power to him if he’s making it all work.
Like it! Oops. I need to get back to work! đ
Thanks, Sully, and I’m glad you liked the post so much.
As you said, we need to be WORKING, not practicing “fancy procrastination” – that’s a great term! Thank you so much for your comments!
Cutting down email and phone can be a great productivity booster.
However, dependend on what kind of product or service you are offering you must make sure that a proper form of customer service, pre-sales support, …
A point that many people miss is that those “work less and earn more” books suggest outsourcing and automation. You are going to be the big boss, the captain, who is not much or not at all involved in the daily business.
Actually I have written a series of post about a similar topic. It’s called “Touch It – Do It – Get More Done”. My link leeds directly to that article.
Yours
John
John,
I checked out your post, and those are 2 great tips! Thanks for sharing that, as well as your comments on this post!
Hi Aaron,
Funny – I’m so guilty of No.2!
I remember when I first came up with a name to my tutoring company I was sooooo excited! I told everyone about it for a year but there wasn’t a lot of doing…. not much action on my part.
Thanks for bringing this into my awareness.
Stephen Martile
http://www.stephenmartile.com
Stephen,
Glad to be of assistance!
It is certainly easy to go running off at the mouth when we get excited (I sure do!), but at the same time we gotta get out there and get it done, or else there isn’t anything to BE excited about! đ
Outstanding, Aaron! I really fell in love with GTD when I first learned about it, but I ended up spending so much time tweaking my systems and worrying about my methods that I wasn’t actually getting anything done! I still love the it, but we really do need to keep the end in mind and actually *do* the things that we want to get done.
Thanks, Lyman!
I think this is a lesson that we could apply to things other than just productivity. I’ve seen people gain info on relationships, workout programs, money-making systems, etc., who do the same thing.
They start to apply what they have learned, but then they spend so much time trying to get the system right that they lose sight of goal that the system was supposed to help them with!
In all fairness, who am I going to listen to? Tim Ferriss – a self made millionaire who runs his own successful company with little effort and travels the world enjoying himself or you? Whoever you are.
Personally, I would listen to me. But, that just me! đ
Besides, I agree totally with the concepts that Tim talks about. I just don’t agree with using them as a blanket way to be (or NOT be) productive.
Also, when I get done with what I have in mind, Tim’s accomplishments will pale by comparison.
No offense, Tim. đ
I would agree with the aspect of over delegation. My husband recently read the book 4-Hour Work Week and have been going nuts with the idea of outsourcing everything to India. But here is the catch, HE HAS NOTHING FOR THEM TO DO! Since my husband had read the â4-Hour Work Weekâ he has been âextremely excitedâ about the possibility of having a virtual assistant. He spent hours posting on elance and other websites in search of a virtual assitant. He started talking to everyone around him about hiring a virtual assistant. But what the hell could he get a virtual assitant to do? His latest attempt was to get some bids on doing our taxes for us. Now, I definitely think he has gone too far with this simply because he is now considering sending some pretty important and confidential documents to India to be âprocessedâ by these outsourcing firms with possibly no knowledge of our tax system. Then my husband started asking me to come up with something for his future virtual assistant to do and wanting to waste some of my time too!
When I had some time to think about the contents of the 4-Hour Work Week, I realized that these guys are really getting a big ego boost by simply being able to get someone to treat them like they are royalty. Yes, thatâs right, I am suggesting that Outsourching to India is a HUGE ego booster. Not that he hasnât been treated like royalty at home Oh, how I love my dear husbandâŚ
For now, the quest for a virtual personal assistant continuesâŚ
Well in that case Aaron, I admire your confidence and good humour in the face of my rudeness – so best of luck and I’ll keep watching! đ
May,
Thanks for sharing your real-life story of out-sourcing gone bad! That is exactly the type of thing that I was talking about.
Good of you to recognize the Ego-boost side of the equation, because I’m sure there are people who have played that exact card, although possibly without even realizing it.
Thanks for sharing your story, May!
It’s all good, Travors! Looking forward to putting up a show worthy of attention! đ