“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.” — Paul Meyer
Some time ago I read an article from the Huffington Post that stated 41% of tasks on to-do lists never get completed. Seemed really high, but I went on to read that 50% of to-do items are completed within the first hour of being written down. At this point I was fascinated by how polar opposite those outcomes were. Where is the middle ground? It got me thinking about how I can improve the structure of my day, and how I can keep improving productivity when it comes to the many areas of the SALT brand.
For me, I start by figuring out where the problem lies. After a little research and a lot of thought, I can see several factors. One… there are so many distractions. We are two-screen multitaskers, we have social media, email, texting, streaming directly from our phones, Starbucks on demand, news push notifications… and the list goes on. I even read that humans now have shorter attention spans than a goldfish. We’ve gone from 12-second attention spans down to 8 seconds (and goldfish have 9). Most generations today have grown up never having to wait for anything. Is this you? I know it’s me and I’m not a Millennial or a Gen Z’er. So how do we navigate?
So in light of those facts, here are a few tips on improving productivity that I’ve used from my days working in the music industry to now managing the SALT Brand. (Assuming I’ve kept your attention up to this point.)
1. Steven Covey knew what he was talking about.
I know this is sooo Y2K, but hear me out. Remember the “Time Management Matrix”? Steven makes a great point with his grid on important vs. not important. Look at this — where do you spend your time? You should be spending your time in quadrants 1 and 2. Quadrants 3 and 4 should be eliminated or scheduled at certain points in your day. Eliminating distractions is hard, but I’ve heard it said that it can take up to 20 minutes to re-focus on the current task after being interrupted by an email, phone call or co-worker.
2. The 4 Ms
Monday Morning Meeting with Myself. This is something I’ve been doing for years. It doesn’t have to be on Monday, but I like doing it at the beginning of the week (plus it makes the 4 Ms concept work). This is a big one… it can’t be longer than an hour. This is where I sit down with NO distractions and look at what I did last week and what needs to happen this week.
Typically, I start by analyzing what I accomplished last week, reviewing my notes from conversations or meetings. Then I move on to what needs to be done this week and begin scheduling my week or adding to a task list.
3. The Task List
There are several schools of thought. Some say batch tasks, some say start with the hardest first, others say ditch the task list entirely. Honestly, I’d be in trouble if I didn’t have some sort of checklist. Whatever way you prioritize, just make sure you aren’t spending more time managing the system than being productive — remember, we’re trying to improve productivity, not slow it down.
For me, because I’m involved with many aspects of SALT — from the conference to the website — I’ve found that highlighting 5 things that must get done that day works well. This equates to about 90 minutes of focused time per task, on average.
4. Block out specific times for communication tasks.
This includes emails, texts, phone calls — anything reactive. This goes back to the quadrants above. Remember, just because someone contacts you doesn’t mean you are obliged to drop everything and respond. Talk about a hindrance to productivity!
I typically block time first thing in the morning, before lunch, after lunch, and at the end of the day for these tasks. Also — these tasks are not on my task list because it would take more time to “create” the task than to just do it.
5. Spend a few minutes preparing for the next day.
I’ll be honest — this is the hardest for me. At the end of the day, I’m usually getting phone calls from my kids wondering what’s for dinner (because for whatever reason, they want dinner every night), so I find myself rushing to get home.
But I will say this: when I prepare for the next day by reviewing my list of to-dos, I have a much better start the next morning.
I hope this has helped a little. Also, if you have insight on how you improve productivity in your day, I’d love to hear it — so please share away.
