Double Your Productivity

[wildambitions]

I mentioned last week that I have been listening to some Brian Tracy CD's about success secrets. One of his CD's is called Double Your Productivity and he has a list of 21 "secrets". Rather than limiting ourselves to his tips, I thought I would ask the professionals (that is you guys), the real people who have real results.

So, what tips do you use to increase (ideally double) your productivity?

I am a list person. A long time ago I was an avid Franklin Planner user. Although I no longer use a Franklin Planner, I do still use some of the methods that could double my productivity. When you purchase this particular brand of planner, it came with a book on how to use it, lol. One of the methods for the "to do list" section was to prioritize your list in importance.

Here is how it works:
So, you make your list and identify which things are "A" things, "B" things and "C" things. Brian Tracy uses a similar style, only his letters go out to "E" and each actually have a definition (I can add that later if anyone is interested).

Then, you go back through your list which now has all of your "things to do" labeled with a letter and prioritize those in a numbered order. Each number can only be used one in each lettered category. In the end, you should end up with a group of "A" things that are in a numbered order, a group of "B" things numbered, etc.

The idea is that the A1 is the thing that is the most important and should be done first. A things should get done before B things.

Most people agree that your list should be constructed the night before you plan to put your list into action.

So, again I ask YOU, "what tips do you use to increase (ideally double) your productivity?"

 

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[Russ H]

Covey took the list a step further.

He divides things into 4 groups:

1. Urgent, must be done now, little payoff for your life goals
2. Urgent, must be done now, DOES have payoff for your life goals
3. NOT urgent, DOES have payoff for your life goals
4. NOT urgent, little payoff for your life goals

1. Urgent, must be done now, little payoff for your life goals

These are the time suckers.

These are the items I call "putting out fires". Stupid crap that comes up that you have to deal with, but doesn't further your goals in any way. Sometimes, this is caused by an employee (or customer) who is just high maintanance (I almost had a business partner like this, long ago).

If you determine that a person is causing your problems/fires, get rid of them. It will free up TONS of time.

2. Urgent, must be done now, DOES have payoff for your life goals

These are typically the most important things you'll do all day, as they directly feed into your values and goals.

NOTE: If any task is too big (no matter if it's 1,2 3, or 4), break it down into smaller, doable tasks-- or subcontract it out (another HUGE time saver).

3. NOT urgent, DOES have payoff for your life goals

These are the things we put off, but should be doing. Covey suggests freeing up time in your day by getting rid of #1 and #4 things, so you'll have time for #3 things.

4. NOT urgent, little payoff for your life goals

Perhaps the biggest time sink of them all. Most of us spend HOURS each day (3 hrs/day x 365 days = 1095 divided by 16 hrs (# waking hrs in a day) = 68+ DAYS WASTED EACH YEAR.

That's more than 2 MONTHS of waking hours that we waste each year!!!

Things we waste it on:

-Watching TV instead of reading to our kids, or reading a good book, working out, etc.
-Talking on the phone (yes, even when driving-- you could be listening to books on CD, etc)
-Playing around on the internet (nah, we don't do that, right?!)
-Standing around at work or at a store just yacking w/someone, instead of getting something done.

(these are just a few of my biggies-- everyone has 'em-- what are yours?).

*******

Biggest thing I ever did to HUGELY increase my productivity was get rid of time sinks (staff or clients who demanded too much of my time).

Back when I was self employed, this one thing freed up at least 50% of my time (compared to running a normal S business).

-Russ H.

 

[fanocks2003]

I minimize as much as possible. For me it is hard because I am usually a multi-tasker. But minimizing makes everything more clear and removes stress. Removing stress is almost essential to be able to be productive. Otherwise you run around like a chicken with it's head cut of. Not a pretty sight.

 

[wildambitions]

I minimize as much as possible. For me it is hard because I am usually a multi-tasker. But minimizing makes everything more clear and removes stress. Removing stress is almost essential to be able to be productive. Otherwise you run around like a chicken with it's head cut of. Not a pretty sight.

Good input & I agree it would not be a pretty sight.

Here is another idea:
Simply put... "JUST DO IT!"
Sometimes all I have to do, is DO something. Anything. I know if I keep doing what I am doing, I stay where I am (for the most part) but I change something and just take action (it doesn't even need to be the right action) the dynamics are changed and I move from where I was.

So, another way to increase productivity is to make a decision.

Anyone else?

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

* Planning, Covey Style. (as Russ mentioned)

* Taking just a couple of minutes, beginning and ending of each day to review.

* Delegate tasks that you don't like or that are not "high power" tasks for you.

 

[1mancrew]

I try to handle the little things as they come up so they are not hanging around my mind or list of things to do.
I keep list of things to do and try to group them together if they are in one area and complete them, bill them and move on.
What can bog me down if I let them is a customer that cannot make up their mind. I don't allow these people much of my time in person, but will contact them later.

 

[fanocks2003]

I try to handle the little things as they come up so they are not hanging around my mind or list of things to do.
I keep list of things to do and try to group them together if they are in one area and complete them, bill them and move on.
What can bog me down if I let them is a customer that cannot make up their mind. I don't allow these people much of my time in person, but will contact them later.

I have started to just let the customer be alone. Either they buy or not. I don't care. I won't chase them because it is usually a waste of time anyhow.

If they are serious, they will buy. If not, then no time is wasted at least. They decide.

It's like those guys selling things at the market square. They have people come and look. Those who want to buy always goes first in line. Those who aren't doesn't recieve any direct attention. Productive use of time.

 

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[unlimited]

Believe it or not, just writing down goals EXPEDITES the likelihood of achieving them. I don't just do it once. I do it daily. It really sends a message to your subsconcious mind and connects it to conscious activity.

 

[speed-racer]

Hello.

Although I have a to-do list using some version of the techniques mentioned, in order for me to have time to do them, I had to add e.g. helpdesk software with queues which includes various canned responses and FAQ, tracking, and the ability to forward within the software system to someone else (internally and externally) to handle as needed so I could free up time from routine questions, etc.

I also designed an E-mail infrastructure in a file drawer-type manner so I don't have to separate messages when they come in. Otherwise, it would have quickly become too labor intensive on a daily basis, especially these days when nearly everyone uses E-mail well beyond when I got started over 10 years ago. This also includes taking advantage of fax-to-Email.

I implemented other 'automated' tasks whereby I have clients or potential clients type in their own information via forms (including my 'cashier' function) so they too, are leveraged as part of my company's labor component. Since that information is then stored, it could be imported into other applications and if necessary (no double-entry), via a timed cron job.

Just recently, I implemented a virtual phone system using Toll Free phone lines that ties to my landline and cellphone AND WEBSITE. It allows me to implement scheduled telephone hours, phone menus, and as needed, send out voice communications when appropriate without having to spend additional time talking on the phone (or texting). These features are available for each phone extension created. This makes it where calls can be routed to anyone, anywhere and anytime including to voicemail as appropriate. This actually allows me to be more accessible to clients and/or get them the information they need in a more timely manner. This phone system is way more advanced than the one I used to have.

Of course, there are other examples.

If I hadn't done it this way, I would have even less time to tackle to-do list items and focus on growing (and enjoying) my business and doing other fun things (which I'm still trying to find more time for).

 

[TaxGuy]

Things we waste it on:

-Watching TV instead of reading to our kids, or reading a good book, working out, etc.
-Talking on the phone (yes, even when driving-- you could be listening to books on CD, etc)
-Playing around on the internet (nah, we don't do that, right?!)
-Standing around at work or at a store just yacking w/someone, instead of getting something done.

(these are just a few of my biggies-- everyone has 'em-- what are yours?).

The same as yours :smxB:

The steps laid out in that post along with your Plan thread, 4HWW's "Questions and Actions", the 30DC pre-season exercises, the exercises within Awaken the Giant within are just several of the #3's in my life that are on my to-do list and gosh-darnit I WILL get done this week!!!

As for those #4's, let's see how these bad habits are still sticking, IMO breaking down the problem to its source is one of the best methods for solving it...

-Watching TV instead of reading to our kids, or reading a good book, working out, etc.

When I get home it's almost like clockwork that I turn on the TV, I've cut down on this a lot, but I still end up watching TV at dinner-time which sometimes ends up taking up most of my 5-9 time. On top of this our bedtime routine is to watch an episode of Friends.... these have become habits because I have allowed them to be :nonod:

I have tried....
1) turning on CNBC instead of ESPN, didn't work b/c I got sick of all the whining about the economy, lol, I'm trying to break from this habit, not have it pushed in my face, but hey, it's great marketing as they know that's what a majority of their audience wants to see and the fastlane lesson is find what people want and give it them.

2) reading before going to sleep, but I have the attention span of a 2yr old and most likely have ADD, I know excuses, excuses, but just like any support group, help starts with self-realization in the "Hi, my name is Clint and I am a....", in this case it's being an excuse maker instead of an action taker.

3) not watching TV during dinner... this didn't work, but is something I need to work on more as it will help me to focus more on my eating and hopefully not eat as fast/much. If only I came from one of those families where watching TV was strictly prohibited at the dinner table :smxB:

Solution- TURN THE TV OFF!!! Simple, if I could I would cancel cable, but as it is one of the selling points for our roommates(it's included in their rent), I can't.

-Talking on the phone (yes, even when driving-- you could be listening to books on CD, etc)

For me the vice is listening to sports radio. When I commuted to work, I had no radio so I was able to read books or when I got my iPhone, to browse the forums, can't do that while I'm driving though and even then I got back to my old habits of just listening to music or comedy skits(namely Chris Rock, George Carlin or Bill Maher). So I tried-

1) Playing audio books, namely Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant within, the problem was that I was not focussing enough on what was being said and felt I didn't get anything out of it b/c when it got to the "now stop the tape for 5 minutes and write down..." I didn't do that and felt nothing was being accomplished. Solution- take Diane Kennedy's advice and be sure to something within 72hrs of listening to such inspirational material.

-Playing around on the internet (nah, we don't do that, right?!)

Ding, ding, ding!!! This right here is problem #1. Until I found these forums I can't even count the number of hours wasted in typical forum "philosophical" discussions or just plain b.s.ing either on one of the several car/bike forums or worst of all, the Cubs forums, IMO the biggest waste of time as I didn't even learn any skills as I did in how to fix my car/bike or get better deals on parts. So what I did...

1) Found these forums and spent much more time. This is great, but really making a focus towards the #3 tasks such as "how to start my business", "what business to start" and most of all, "what product/service will I offer that others will want" are key.

2) Starting to organize bookmarks and either hide or delete the bad ones... this is a work in progress and one of my goals for the week.

3) Stick to one business idea, for now it will be e-biz with the goal being to prove to myself that I can create income, I know it's not very fastlane, but just getting over this hump will lead to much bigger and better things.

-Standing around at work or at a store just yacking w/someone, instead of getting something done.

If this isn't enough of proof of how much I love to yack, I don't know what is. With that in mind I'll get started and finish off by saying that more needs to be done and less said, so as always, don't be afraid to knock me down a peg if I get too chatty on here as the objective is to start taking action, in addition I need to learn to keep my posts short but sweet, especially in the intro forum as this is one area I feel I can add value to as I don't quite have a wealth of success stories to share, but what I do share is my energy and lust for life that I feel is essential to taking the on-ramp to the fastlane :coolgleamA:

 

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[fanocks2003]

I don't believe in giving up TV, movies etc. Not at all.

Without TV and movies I would go nuts. I get all my brilliant ideas from TV and movies. I get brilliant ideas when I don't sweat at all.

I would say the opposite: If you want to become successful and earn money "watch TV and watch movies and waste some time". Because it is very often when you waste time and don't think a bit about doing anything worth while that you get the best ideas to progress productively. Leasure shall be cherished.

Sometimes I work too hard and I get really unproductive. Everything gets blurry. Everything turns to black and white. Everything turns to trash and I hate it all. In those moments I take a sabbatical for a week or just for a day. Just watching TV and just being as lazy as I can possibly be.

Dan Kennedy also talks about this (but I have done this for years. Long before I even knew a guy named Dan Kennedy existed). He talks about using a whole day for yourself when you feel self pity and when you just act childishly. It is so refreshing to just have a day or a week to just act like a spoiled brat and blame the world for everything.

And when that is done you go back to being responsible again and acting grown up. Filled with love and happiness. It works. Try it if you haven't yet done so. Everything follows yin and yang. In order to be happy you need to be sad from time to time. In order to be responsible you need to act non-responsible and childishly from time to time. The one doesn't exclude the other. They are mutual parties that needs to be expressed.

All of them enhances productivity to new heights.

 

[wildambitions]

Believe it or not, just writing down goals EXPEDITES the likelihood of achieving them. I don't just do it once. I do it daily. It really sends a message to your subsconcious mind and connects it to conscious activity.

Thanks! I agree. It also dawned on me during a different post - I have taken this idea a step farther at times and gone beyond just writing it. Post your written goals in locations around your home and when you see them, SAY them - out loud. I find when I say things out loud, I become more committed to what it was I said. This is especially true if you say things out loud and have a witness! It is kind of like giving your word and then having to honor it.

Just recently, I implemented a virtual phone system using Toll Free phone lines that ties to my landline and cellphone AND WEBSITE. It allows me to implement scheduled telephone hours, phone menus, and as needed, send out voice communications when appropriate without having to spend additional time talking on the phone (or texting). These features are available for each phone extension created. This makes it where calls can be routed to anyone, anywhere and anytime including to voicemail as appropriate. This actually allows me to be more accessible to clients and/or get them the information they need in a more timely manner. This phone system is way more advanced than the one I used to have.

Do you like your new system and would you recommend it? If so, what do you use?
(Rep+ for your informative complete post!)

* Delegate tasks that you don't like or that are not "high power" tasks for you.

I like this! GREAT plan!

Clint - You listed all the things that waste your time... What do you specifically do to DOUBLE your productivity?

 

[speed-racer]

Do you like your new system and would you recommend it? If so, what do you use?
(Rep+ for your informative complete post!)

Thanks for the Rep+, wildambitions (btw - cool nickname :smxB!

I really like this system, Phone.com.

It is very versatile and they are in the process of addiing more features soon. I can't wait to see what they are.

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

bump for more ideas.... plus as an urging for wildambitions to post the list that origonally inspired her to post this thread...

 

[wildambitions]

bump for more ideas.... plus as an urging for wildambitions to post the list that originally inspired her to post this thread...

1. Make a Decision!
2. Develop Clear Goals and Objectives
3. Plan Every Day in Advance
4. Use the ABDCE Method
5. Separate the Urgent From the Important
6. Practice the Law of Forced Efficiency
7. Apply the 80/20 Rule
8. Work at Your Energy Peaks
9. Practice Single-Handling With Key Tasks
10. Eat that Frog
11. Organize Your Workspace
12. Use Travel Time Productively
13. Get Better at Your Key Tasks
14. Work in Real Time
15. Re-engineer Your Work
16. Reinvent Yourself Annually
17. Practice Zero Based Thinking
18. Set Clear Priorities
19. Keep Your Life In Balance
20. Plan Every Project Carefully
21. Be Intensely Action-Oriented

:fastlane:

 

[Runum]

Take the time now to build systems to make you more efficient in the future.

 

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[andviv]

Think once, write it down, then never think again.

I call this the "We don't think" motto.

Document the process and save the document in a place where you can always find it (Google Docs, for example) and then, a few months later when you have to do it again simply read the step-by-step instructions you created for yourself, no thinking needed.

This will also help you later to hire and train somebody to do it for you if needed.

Or, if you are lighthouse or jonleehacker, automate the heck out of it and let your computer do it with a double-click on your mouse.

 

[LondonLife]

Delegate work.

My rule is, profit divided by 1950 is my standard hourly wage if I work a standard 7.5 hours a day. For example, just one of my investments provides £400,000 a year passive income, thats £205 an hour. I pay my PA around £15 an hour + perks, and she deal with that and ALL my other invesetments. I work 3-4 hours a day max.

So thats my hint, work out your profit, how much you earn per hour and sit back and think, "Could I pay someone less than this to do these tasks?". if the answer is yes then your time can be spent doing something more productive, and coming up with your next big idea. That's the fastlane... the fastlane isn't licking stamps and organising meetings.

 

[sswift]

I found I double my production when I'm listening to music. It has to be instrumental music, either dub-step or classical, but I get soooo much more work done when im listening to music.

 

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[andviv]

Delegate work.

My rule is, profit divided by 1950 is my standard hourly wage if I work a standard 7.5 hours a day.

This is the first time I hear about this rule (or something similar). Did you come up with it yourself or you learned it somewhere else? I am intrigued with this concept.

 

[LondonLife]

This is the first time I hear about this rule (or something similar). Did you come up with it yourself or you learned it somewhere else? I am intrigued with this concept.

It's just my general rule of thumb. The 1950 is just the average working hours of a person in the UK.

If you're living to your means, then you have to do the menial tasks. Doing the menial tasks saves you money. Money that you probably need.

But if you have a fastlane mentality and/or have money, then you have to ask yourself 'Are the longterm benefits of me sitting down and thinking up ideas going to outweigh the cost saving of doing these tasks myself and not spending time thinking?'. That's how I first justified the expense of my PA. Although I technically have the spare time now I've sold my company I kept my PA on because it's a luxury. And if you have the money, the most valuable thing you have is time.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Never heard of a few of these.... Care to expand?

6. Practice the Law of Forced Efficiency

9. Practice Single-Handling With Key Tasks
10. Eat that Frog

15. Re-engineer Your Work (I can guess at this one.... but am curious about what he means...)

17. Practice Zero Based Thinking

Have you been implementing these things? How has that been going for you?

 

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[FDJustin]

Solution- take Diane Kennedy's advice and be sure to something within 72hrs of listening to such inspirational material.

Sounds interesting, but why is it 72 hours, exactly? If that's the 'window of inspiration', I'm envious! I'm lucky to be inspired for 72 minutes.

I would say the opposite: If you want to become successful and earn money "watch TV and watch movies and waste some time". Because it is very often when you waste time and don't think a bit about doing anything worth while that you get the best ideas to progress productively. Leasure shall be cherished.

Hmm... I try to relax each day to bring my brain to a state of passive daydreaming, basically. Hot showers or baths work best for me. I can't quantify how much it affects productivity, but it makes my think box literally feel better. If there's a way to make the brain more youthful and vigorous, this is it.

Think once, write it down, then never think again.

I call this the "We don't think" motto.

Document the process and save the document in a place where you can always find it (Google Docs, for example) and then, a few months later when you have to do it again simply read the step-by-step instructions you created for yourself, no thinking needed.

Could I ask you for an example of the kind of thing you would do this with?


@LondonLife: Your post from March 19 is possibly the only hour/money thing I have ever found myself agreeing with.

Well, many systems I've tried have failed me, due to lack of discipline and time sense. It wasn't until very recently I began doing something about the time thing, which is having a positive affect on my discipline.

I downloaded an alarm system, Alex Burturuga. I set it for an hour. After that hour goes by, it'll come to the foreground with the message: "What have you done this past hour?"
To be entirely honest, sometimes, if I'm not doing a productive task it won't dissuade me the first time it comes up.

However, since implementing this, I haven't been doing things like saying, "Alright, I'll play this game for half an hour then do some work!" then only realizing six hours have gone by because of hunger pangs.


Oh! Writers block! I think writers block is a very specific form of procrastination. You want to work, but you just can't get into it. Basically, your mind isn't able to focus on it. I don't know why, but I do know what works:
If you've ever had writers block, or sat there twirling your mouse in circles while looking at your tasks, you probably realize the hardest part is getting started.
So what I do is insincerely work at the task. Using writing as an example, it might go like this: "I'm writing an article about cheese crackers. This article might make people hungry. Cheese crackers are usually yellow. I'll use a cheese-yellow font for the headline." then I'll wind up putting a temporary headline of "Yellow cheese crackers declare war on inferior snack foods!"
... Before long I'm into it, and you get to sink your teeth into all the cheese cracker knowledge my tartrazine coated fingers have to offer.

 

[valuegiver]

Google Dean Jackson Focus

 

[andviv]

Think once, write it down, then never think again.

I call this the "We don't think" motto.

Document the process and save the document in a place where you can always find it (Google Docs, for example) and then, a few months later when you have to do it again simply read the step-by-step instructions you created for yourself, no thinking needed.

Could I ask you for an example of the kind of thing you would do this with?

* Anything that you don't do that often (for example, how to download your bank statement and import it to your accounting software, which you may do quarterly; Steps to reset passwords or create user accounts on your server, which you don't do that often).

* Anything that you do, but are targeting to outsource/delegate to others for them to do. Example: Steps to send a mailer from a list of contacts you have in an Excel Spreadsheet or some CRM software;

* Steps you follow to create a new web site

See the idea? The plan is, and it works for me like this, that I have these docs on my Google Docs account. If I need to share them with others I simply do so from their Sharing settings for that document with Read only access so only I can modify them. Or I give them Editing permissions when I need somebody to modify what I have.

 

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[FDJustin]

Yes, that helps a lot, thank you.

Since I don't just want to say one line, I'll share something: I use truecrypt to make encrypted folders to hold sensitive things, like my document that has all my user names and passwords. It looks like google docs lets you upload those folders, so that might be a good backup source in case of hard drive failure, or having your laptop stolen.

It might not directly improve productivity, but we should still take measures to make sure what we produced isn't ruined... In fact, I better make some backups today. Don't have anything recent, and this hard drive does have hundreds of hours of service.

 

[jacob]

At home one things that keep me productive it is by writing all daily priorities in a piece of paper and arrange it from the most important to less important. This way I can easily determine what should I do first before the others using this strategy it will be less time consuming. At work I do the same strategy but in an automated way using a time tracking tool and plan a set amount of time for doing each task. Using this tool also helps me stay productive, organize, and focus on work.

At the end of the day, I fell that It is a big accomplishment for me every time I finished work. Self discipline is a factor to follow the schedule. Using this I am productive than before.

 

[Brander]

If I didn't have internet I would be so much more productive, but then again I could do half of the the things I do, because I couldn't get my hands on the information I needed. So it's a positive if you use it for information and learning, but not entertainment.

This reminds me that spending time here writing things is a waste of my time, but I enjoy helping a few people each day so that is why I do it in a limited fashion.

 

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