What I've Learned About Productivity

Mark Shead over at Productivity501 had an interesting series of posts over the last week. Mark is a blogger who writes very insightful posts from personal experience about using technology to increase productivity. He asked over 30 bloggers the following three questions...

Question 1:
What is the single biggest way people waste time without even realizing it?

Question 2: 
What change has made the most difference in making you effective in life?

Question 3:
If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend they read and why?

This was very helpful and I learned a tremendous amount from the combined wisdom of the bloggers. With answers like Doing & Reviewing, Working on your most important tasks, and turning off the TV, you're sure to glean some very helpful information from this series

Today I would like to share with you my answers to his questions and give you a personal example of a process that can effectively increase your productivity.

The biggest time waster that I see everyday is people trying to Multitask. They will have a cell phone in one ear, while typing on a computer in front of them. While they are doing that the desk phone will ring and the cell phone is put on hold. Just then someone walks into their office and is told to sit down. All of a sudden a new e-mail pops up and grabs their attention. They have three or four tasks going on at once but their focus is scattered.

Have you ever been the person sitting in the room with this multitasker? Did you feel like you were important or did you feel like a third cousin twice removed? Studies have found that when we try to multitask (using the same part of our brain to do multiple things) we actually slow down. Since our minds can actually only do one thing at a time, we must put one thought on hold and switch to another.

This constant switching back and forth is inefficient because it takes our mind a while to get back up to speed once we switch tasks. It seems like it should work, but it actually slows us down and may cause us to forget things. It is also hard on relationships as we try to carry on a conversation while our focus is elsewhere.

I have been a multitasker for years but it has been increasingly hard to keep up with the barrage of new technology that is begging for our time. It used to be just the phone and snail mail, but then we added e-mail, cell phones, faxes, web sites, blogs, and a host of other things including the supposed savior of technology... the smart phone.

The more things I added to my life, the more stress and inefficiency they caused. I would get to the end of an incredibly busy day and have to ask myself... what did I accomplish today? The answer was always less than I expected.

The answer to this problem (And Mark's Question #2) is to work in a focused manner on one project at a time.  You turn off e-mail, let the phones go to voice mail, turn off your browser, and work on just one thing straight through. I've found that this works best for me in a 48 minute work period. I work for 48 minutes straight and then take a 12 minute break.

I use this technique every morning when I'm writing my blog posts and it has really helped me become more efficient. It used to be that the constant barrage of e-mail and browser seduction would constantly pull me away from my writing. Now that I segment my time, I'm focused just on my writing and I accomplish much more this way.

The 12 minute break is useful to start background projects that don't require my attention. Currently I'm washing clothes and running the dishwasher, but they will not require my attention until my next break. In my daily routine, I'm an early riser so I try to get two focused work periods in before I have to go to the office each day. Once I'm at work, I try to get at least one focused period in each day.

If you are interested in trying this technique, I have a post on my blog that explains the procedure and a printable goal setting toolkit that has some cards that are helpful for segmenting your time.

Remember... Get Focused... Get Productive.

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John Richardson has a personal blog entitled Success Begins Today where he discusses topics on success and personal development.

Comments

[Herman Najoli]

Question 1:
What is the single biggest way people waste time without even realizing it?

Taking too long to make decisions. Proper navigation of decisions leads to effectiveness. Go to: http://idealstrategies.blogspot.com/2007/06/action-today-not-tomorrow.html

Question 2:
What change has made the most difference in making you effective in life?

The Pareto Principle - Giving 80% of my time to the 20% of activities that are most important. Go to: http://hermanjnajoli.com/2007/05/30/the-pareto-principle

Question 3:
If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend they read and why?

The Legacy Challenge because life is short and we need to constantly be asking ourselves the question, "Am I living a life that is making a difference for those around me?" Go to: http://idealstrategies.blogspot.com/2007/05/legacy-challenge-ten-choices-that-will.html