Getting things done - day 3

Here are the final questions to examine as we try to be more productive ... [ht: Mark Sanborn]
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Question number six: Do you understand the difference between perfectionism and excellence? Many people take pride in having extremely high standards but there is a difference between having high standards and being a perfectionist.

A perfectionist is someone who has a neurotic attention to details, usually stemming from insecurity. Excellence is different. Excellence is a commitment to high standards that means additional time or energy invested in a task will be noticeably better to the end-user.

Some things are worth doing and getting done. Some things are worth doing well. Other things are worth doing very, very well. Perfectionism is the inability to know the difference.

Question number seven: Have you developed discipline? Discipline is doing what needs to be done rather than doing what you want to do. It is (also) the ability to delay immediate gratification in order to obtain long-term gratification.

Question number eight: Are your people skills sufficiently developed? There are only three real resources in the world: money, time, energy

The scarcest resource in our life is time. The second scarcest resource is energy. And if you invest your time and energy wisely, you can accomplish anything that you want to accomplish, including financial goals and objectives that you've set for yourself.

Another resource some of us have is the time and energy of other people. If you're only good at managing your own time and energy, you're not fully utilizing your resources. Leaders must develop the ability to get results with people. Your skill at getting results depends on how highly developed your people skills have become.

Question number nine: Do you suffer from the "super person syndrome"? The key is not doing it all yourself. Trying to do it all yourself will severally limit how much you can accomplish both personally and organizationally.

Question number ten: Do you procrastinate? Some people may answer by saying, "Well, let me think about that for a while and I'll get back to you later with an answer." The problem that all of us face is the tendency to postpone, the unwillingness to do what needs to be done at the moment and do something we'd rather do instead.

Question number eleven: Do you fear failure? Maybe you fear success.

Psychologists say that just as crippling as a fear of failure might be, so is a fear of success. Some people fear the consequences, the increased expectations that they have to live up to when they're successful. As a result they sometimes short-circuit themselves in their attempt to get things done. A fear of failure or a fear of success can be a very real barrier in our attempt to get things done.

Question number twelve: Have you attended a meeting this past week that was a complete waste of your time? Most of us can honestly answer yes to this question. Work at cutting down on meeting attendance that isn't really necessary.

Remember that organization and discipline, delegation, good people skills, confidence, and understanding the difference between perfectionism and excellence are the keys to productive and well-balanced lives.
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My recommendation is to work on 2/3 of the most relevant questions in your situation. It may help in really making change for us to be productive. Remember: we are all works in progress.

Mine to work on is 7, 9, 10! You?

Getting things done - day 2

Here is a continuation of the thoughts from yesterday. God knows I am the one who needs these the most! As far as the plans in writing (you will read about) I am a sticky / list kind of guy. I love to cross things out and tangibly throw stuff away. There is closer for me! (sorry for the long post).

"We must learn, individually and collectively, to work smarter, to work faster, and to do it in such a way that we don't sacrifice the quality of the results that we're producing. Here's a 12 question quiz that will help you to begin thinking along these lines. (we begin all our actions with thought ...)

Question number one: Have you committed in writing a long-range plan? In the mid-1940's, a 15 year old boy sat down to make out a list of his life's goals. He wrote down 127 goals. He wanted to explore the Congo, Nile, and Amazon rivers. He wanted to read the complete works of Shakespeare, Aristotle, and Socrates. He decided that he would climb Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro. He wanted to take off from and land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. His final goal was to walk on the moon.

By 1986, John Goddard had accomplished 108 of those 127 goals. He knew that the key to a fulfilling and successful life was a sense of purpose and a clearly identified set of goals so that when life ended, he would have done those things that he deemed to be most important. Research suggests that very few Americans ever take time to do what Goddard did as a 15-year-old. We don't have a sense of what we're trying to accomplish on a monthly or yearly basis. The first step in getting more done and producing results in our personal and professional lives is committing to a long-range plan of action that very carefully details the things that we want to accomplish.

Question number two: Do you have a weekly and daily written plan? Most people say they have a daily plan, but not a weekly plan. I call this "knee jerk time management". Monday morning you get to the office and you have 127 things to do that week. You determine to do all 127 on Monday. By the end of the day, when the dust is settled, the list is up to 128. Not only have you not accomplished most of what you tried to do, but some things have come up during the day that you've had to add to your list. Tuesday morning you start--full speed--to accomplish the list. And by noon on Tuesday you're so frustrated at your lack of results that you wad that list up into a ball and throw the paper out the window.

Planning one week at a time gives you a greater sense of organization and focus because it lets you control your schedule rather than letting your schedule control you. Question number three: Is every item on your daily plan prioritized? Have you noticed that at the end of a typical day you've accomplished everything except the most important item on the list? This is "reversed prioritization." The easy things get done and the important things stay undone. Having a daily list is only part of the equation. Prioritizing every item on the list so that you know what needs to be done first is the next key.

Question number four: Are you consistently utilizing a system of time management? There are numerous time management systems, some with very fine selling points. The system that you use, however, is less important than the fact that you use a single system and that you use it consistently. Determine which system you're willing to commit to for at least the next year or longer and begin using it every day.

Question number five: Are you an architect or a fire fighter? An architect is one who designs the future. A fire fighter responds to crisis. Many of us become victims of other people who lack a system and the skills aforementioned. As a result, these people create crises or respond to crises that impact us. You must be proactive rather than reactive if you're going to produce results." (visit Mark Sanborn)

I know... a lot to digest. Take the weekend to think about a couple of these that speak to you. Then act!


Any thoughts?

Getting things done - day 1

Time is our most valued resource. Once it's gone it can never be replaced.

If you are like me, you may struggle with productivity. Part of it is AAD (adult attention deficit - yeah I made that up) but part of it is much on my plate and deciding what needs to be done today and what can wait.

Mark Sanborn wrote an article about how we can be more productive in our everyday lives. I want to share segments for the next couple of days. I hope it will help you .... and me!

"There is one common ailment facing America today: even though we are doing more, we are accomplishing less. For instance, a client recently wondered, "How do you balance the various components of your day to achieve the right allocation of time?" He mentioned that his time had "competitors": work, family, sleep, education, exercise, recreation, meals, and a myriad of other activities.

How does one get more done and get more results out of each day? But...why should we get more things done?

First, we need to increase our productivity so that ultimately we can have more time to spend with the people who really matter to us. Second, the better we get at managing our time and increasing our results, the more time we have to do the things that we want to do.

Our challenge is not to put more time in our lives, but to put more life in our time."

Tomorrow, I will share 6 questions to ask ourselves about our own productivity.