Busy Work
So, if we are going to talk about productivity we need to get one thing straight from the outset; busy does not equate to productive.
Try this experiment; go around for a day and ask colleagues, “So, what did you do today?” Most of the answers will be along the lines of, “A lot, it was a busy day; non-stop action, meetings, phone calls, the usual!” That kind of question and answer tells me nothing about what was actually achieved. If anything it proves the point that being busy is often such a distraction that it obscures what we actually may have achieved.
But there is one question that will instantly give you a sense for how productive anyone is and set the bar for increasing productivity, “What did you achieve today!” Think about this for a minute. What did you achieve yesterday, the day before? Not so easy is it? We like to think of achievement as something we do over long periods of time, monthly, quarterly, yearly, but not daily. Yet, if you set the expectation that each day should include a defined achievement, let’s call it an “achievement goal,” then you are creating a nearly instant metric for how productive each day will be and you are taking direct personal responsibility for that goal’s achievement. “That love affair with focus drove Apple’s success, it minimized distraction, and it articulated in clear terms what the metric of success would be.” Read more