Why Aren’t You More Productive?

Do you walk into your office armed with an ambitious to-do list then watch the day fade away with your having not completed the tasks you’d set forth? Why aren’t you more productive?

There are a myriad of reasons you’re not achieving the goals you’d set for yourself, so let’s explore some of them.

Before you can determine why you’re not more productive you need to measure your productivity if it was where you believe it should be and why and where you think you may be missing the mark.

What does productivity mean to you?

Does it mean:

1. Checking off items on a to-do list?
2. Getting out of the office “on time”?
3. Bringing in X number of new clients per week/day?
4. Generating X amount of revenue each month?

To truly measure your productivity is to look at the larger picture when it comes to your personal productivity.

Determine what productivity means to you and your business goals. Are you focusing on those items that are necessary to grow the business or are you more focused on checking items off a to-do list? For some entrepreneurs, the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having completed a plethora of tasks is more fulfilling than having tackled a large project that may not have an immediate pay off of ticking it off your task list. If that’s the case with you, take your large project and put it on your list – if checking off an item makes you feel productive and keeps you motivated, then don’t deny that internal feeling.

Track which items are necessary to your business growth. If you spend your time on a myriad of administrative tasks to the detriment of the large business growth tasks, you need to concentrate on your highest payoff activities and not pursuing activities that will not produce results for your business.

Always Prioritize Your Tasks

Write down all the tasks you need to complete to grow your business. These tasks include the mundane (order office supplies) to the necessary (meet with potential clients, find speaking engagements, perform follow up calls, ask existing clients for referrals, send proposals). Once you’ve written down all of the tasks you need to perform in your business on a daily, weekly, or monthly timeframe you need to prioritize them.

To prioritize you need to determine which are tasks:

1. Only you can do and nobody else can do.
2. Those you could delegate to. Download my Free Delegation Exercise to help you identify more activities to delegate, by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/delegation-list-sample/.
3. Those that are money-making items.
4. Those that are urgent, but not important.
5. Those that are important but not urgent.

Color code or label or otherwise denote the tasks that only you have the skills or experience or knowledge to do. Do the same with the other items on the list. You may find overlap; for example, there will be tasks that only you can do that may be important, but not urgent.

Here are some habits that productive entrepreneurs have, and you can implement (or implement even better):

1. They cut their to-do list in half. If you’re faced with a to-do list that is overwhelming, from the start, procrastination is sure to follow. Do you truly need twenty items on your to do list in order to feel productive? Look at those items that will propel your business forward and work on those. Focus on items that truly matter to growing your business to the next level.
2. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind. This is the “rule” that 20% of the tasks you complete daily will produce 80% of your results. Take your large project, break it down into smaller tasks, then remove those tasks one-by-one until you’re at the level of the 20% of the remaining tasks that will produce your highest result.
3. Take a break. It has been scientifically proven that taking a break will refresh your brain and restart your efficiency and energy.
4. Know when your energy is at its highest and focus on your most challenging tasks at that point.
5. Determine which tasks you will work on the next day before you leave the office. Walking into the office with your day laid out ahead of you alleviates the risk of procrastination because you simply don’t know where to begin.
6. Apply effective time management principles and time block your calendar, so all your time is accounted for, for what you need to do every day to make progress on the achievement of your goals. For information on time blocking your calendar for maximum effectiveness, check out an article I wrote by going to https://bit.ly/Time_Blocking.

What are your challenges to higher productivity? Do you struggle to even put your finger on why you didn’t complete what you’d had set before you? Do you find you’re focusing your energy on nonessential tasks and leaving deadline-driven and more challenging tasks until the last moment?

Take time today and reach inside yourself to gain an understanding as to your productivity challenges and you will be better able to change them. You may find you simply are overwhelmed with tasks and can’t find a way to truly prioritize them.  If that’s the case, you may need to find an accountability coach who can help you prioritize and regain your sense of productivity and complete those necessary activities to grow your business.

To help you and your team be even more time efficient, use a Prioritized Action List (PAL). This is a list of everything you have to do, so you don’t have sticky notes, pieces of scrap paper laying around, or things in your head that you are trying to remember or are afraid you will forget. Everything on the list in a priority order – hence the name – so you are more focused and on target to getting the most important tasks/activities done very single day. Some contact management to-do lists can be customized to be more like my Prioritized Action List, which I think makes your list easier to tackle.

To download my Free Sample Prioritized Action List (PAL) that everyone in your office can use, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/pal-sample/.

Get my free audio training, Focus on Your High Pay-off Activities and Achieve Your Goals Using Effective Time Management, by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/landing/.

 

For more help with being even more productive, so you can grow your business and accelerate your results, reach out to me today and schedule your complimentary consultation.

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Do you feel like your business has plateaued or you are sick and tired of being sick and tired? Could you use a shot in the arm to make even more progress on your goals? Consider working with The Accountability Coach. I’m here to help you accelerate your results, so you can enjoy your ideal business and ideal life!

 

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