{"id":646,"date":"2022-03-18T15:49:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ims-online.com\/?p=646"},"modified":"2022-03-18T15:49:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:49:42","slug":"becoming-2-5x-more-productive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ims-online.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/18\/becoming-2-5x-more-productive\/","title":{"rendered":"BECOMING 2.5X MORE PRODUCTIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Time is the scarcest of all resources since it is the one thing we never get back. You can always get more money or other resources, but you will never get back any of the time you have spent. Time management is productivity\u2019s greatest tool. As Peter Drucker stated in The Effective Executive<\/em><\/a>, \u201cEffective executives, in my observation, do not start with their tasks. They start with their time\u2026They start by finding out where their time goes. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back on unproductive demands on their time.\u201d So how can you start becoming 2.5X more productive? Drucker provides a three-step process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 1 \u2013 TRACK YOUR TIME<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This allows you to have a better understanding of where your time is currently being spent. Also, tracking usually improves performance and uncovers time wasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 2 \u2013 MANAGE YOUR TIME<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eliminate the non-essentials and cut out those time wasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 3 \u2013 CONSOLIDATE YOUR TIME<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Identify time blocks to tackle your essential tasks. Jason Womack, IMS educator and co-author of Get Momentum<\/a><\/em> calls these activities his MITs (most important tasks). Try to schedule these time blocks earlier in the day and make sure you minimize interruptions from others<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you are integrating this approach into your daily routine, you are likely to need other insights and tips to manage the overwhelming number of things you need to do. For that, I turn to productivity guru, David Allen, who is the best-selling author of Getting Things Done.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

David approach is to capture everything that needs to get done into a trusted system. We need to close the open loops. As David states, \u201cMost people walk around with their RAM bursting at the seams.\u201d His system works with many of the common technology platforms, although I prefer Trello or Omni focus. After we capture everything, now we need to translate everything into next actions. For everything we have collected, the critical question that David poses, \u201cWhat is the next action?\u201d The following are a few of the tips I have personally found extremely helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE TWO MINUTE RULE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My favorite tool that I have used from David\u2019s system for becoming 2.5x more productive is the two-minute rule. If an action takes less than two minutes to complete, do not place it on a list to do later.\u00a0 By completing these tasks, you are creating momentum of small wins that will keep you motivated and give yourself a sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INBOX ZERO<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How is your inbox these days? If it anything like mine, it is out of control. David is quoted as stating that the energy to maintain at zero base than at a thousand base. Having too many emails results in there being many \u2018open loops\u2019 in your mind that are vying for your attention. Surprisingly, the emails we tend to keep in our inbox usually requires us to decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I wanted to leave you with some additional advice from Jason Womack and the questions he asks himself at the end of each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n