Posts Tagged Productivity
The productivity framework – 4 key components
Posted by Billy in Productivity & Personal Growth on May 31, 2010
For my own productivity ‘system’, I have identified 4 key components that simplify the understanding of any system out there. The framework is completely underpinned by your personal modes of operation and your core purpose and desire. With this, here is the framework:
The 3 areas within the framework, as you can see, are tools, tactics and processes. They are defined as follows:
Tools – these are the technology pieces and other systems that help you facilitate your productivity. This would be your computer, smartphone, and software. Also included here are your notebooks and pens, post-it notes, etc. Whatever the tools are, these are here.
Tactics – these are the individual tasks or simple strategies within your system, such as a weekly meeting or daily download. Other areas include how you handle email, how you communicate and how you filter your information flow.
Processes – these are habits, routines, calendar events, and general management of your tactics and tools. It is essentially methodologies that govern the cooperation of tools and tactics.
Now remember, as I mentioned, if your system is not grounded in the foundation of your mode of operation (M.O.) and your core purposes, it will likely fall apart and you will be miserable doing it. The goal isn’t simply to get stuff done but the right stuff in the right way, going for accomplishment and not simply busy-work. Your M.O. is how you work most effectively. Not everyone operates exactly the same and this must be considered when deciding how to get things done. Your core purpose includes your personal mission and life vision. What are you trying to do with your life and does your system move you properly? Think about this and move toward identifying the 4 components for yourself and how they meld together.
What do you think? is this framework descriptive of your system of accomplishment?
Podcast: Your productivity, seeking purpose-driven accomplishment
Today’s show topics:
- exploring personal and business productivity
- How can you look for purpose-driven accomplishment and not simply get more stuff done
- Is there an ideal system of productivity for you out there?
- The starting point is to understand yourself, your talents, and your mode of operation
- Tools and tests to identify your mode of operation and strengths (www.kolbe.com & www.strengthsfinder.com)
- See a current blog post on this topic here.
10 steps to define your own productivity process
Posted by Billy in Productivity & Personal Growth on April 27, 2010
Many systems of productivity exist today. Thousands of bloggers, experts, consultants, and organizations exist all with their own prescribed system of ultimate productivity. But often, it is THEIR system and not one that works for you. So what does work for you? Is it simply an excuse to say that it doesn’t work for me because it wasn’t designed specifically for me? Or are we simply failures for not being able to hold to every written rule within the system that dictates our breathing patterns? Well, to start developing YOUR system, your meMethod to productivity, you need to first understand yourself, and that is often simpler said than done. Most people think they know themselves but when it comes down to it, they are as clueless as a stranger who just met them. In fact, the stranger can be more accurate as they come in with no specific biases or desires or preconceived images of you. Our own image often skews the perceptions we have about ourselves and this then affects our ability to design or operate within a system for personal productivity. Once we understand where we are, we can move on to the next steps in designing our system or approach.
The following steps describe an approach to this design process:
- understand yourself, your strengths, passions, and desires, your mode of operation, YOU.
- Identify your responsibilities, projects, desired habits, etc… all the things you need to, or would like to accomplish
- Analyze the current system or process you use. What works? What doesn’t?
- Gather the information, tools, tactics, and possible strategies together that you have come across or thought up
- Identify what fits within your “you” from step one. How do the current processes that are working fit?
- Drop what does not fit or has not worked.
- Identify the remaining areas of responsibility that are not taken care of by the viable tactics and strategies identified.
- Delegate as many of these as possible. This may be through outsourcing, coworkers or other individuals internally (within your organization or family), or complete automation via technology.
- Eliminate as many other responsibilities or tasks as possible since you likely will not do them anyhow.
- Items that are left… well, you might just have to buck up and do them! Have specific times and approaches to get the things done that need to be done but can only be done by you…even though they are no fun and don’t “flow” with YOU.
So, the question now arises… how can I understand myself more fully? There are many tools and exercises to assist you in doing this. I will list and briefly describe a few of them.
Kolbe A Index – This index identifies your MO (mode of operation). It essentially identifies how you like to get things done.
StrengthFinder 2.0 – This test identifies 5 areas of talent which may be developed to become strengths. It is accompanied by a book that explains them in more detail.
VALS survey – This survey is short and sweet, designed to identify mindsets distinguished by 8 categories or types.
Myers-Briggs – Identifies personality traits such as habits of communication, patterns of action, and characteristic attitudes and values.
Each of these tests will reveal valuable insights into how you operate, where you derive passion and energy, and where you ought to explore or focus. Remember this, it will be more valuable if you attempt to shed your ideal vision of yourself while taking these assessments and try to respond to each question as if in a vacuum. Don’t over-think them. For example, if the question states, “do you find yourself moving to the center of a big group or staying toward the edges of the group?” Don’t attempt to think where the question is leading and what the result might be one way or another, simply reflect back on past experiences in groups and realize where you gravitated or where you found to be more comfortable and where you gleaned energy. Was the middle too stressful awkward for you? Did you feel alone when on the edge? Again, don’t over-think it.
With the results from these tests and some time spent contemplating them, you will be much more prepared to design your ideal system of accomplishment. Take the steps above and discover yourself, then start designing!!
Fixed-schedule lifestyle, a great principle of productivity
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Productivity & Personal Growth on January 12, 2010
Entrepreneurs and new business owners have a tough time “changing channels”. If you are one, you know exactly what I mean. When we are at work, we work. When at home, we relax…and work. When at your kids baseball game, we cheer them on…and work (thanks you blasted smart phone!). Now, the benefit to this often is seen in the ability to simply take time off whenever desired and still be able to finish up those contracts, or whatever. This has been handy for me more than once. The danger is, however, quite obvious. If my wife said “lets go to California next week” (where she is from), we could do it. I would, of course, likely take time to chat with clients and do some work. With such short notice, there would inevitably be things that ought not be left or lack time to delegate. This can be great, although worthless if I simply worked the entire time we were there! Learning to manage the “channel surfing” of our attention is an invaluable skill and utter necessity, especially with other important attention grabbers such as family. This brings us to a powerful principle of productivity, part of the meMethod… fixed-schedule lifestyles.
This principle was illustrated quite well in a blog post offered by Cal Newport here. You may also learn more about him on his own blog here. The starting principles for fixed-schedule productivity are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Steps to kick off the year right!
Posted by Billy in Trends & Ideas on January 4, 2010
The new year is upon us! Thousands of bloggers are discussing new year’s resolutions and its a great time to set up goals, renew efforts and get back into the swing of things. Renewal is powerful and what a better time than following a long holiday vacation, the rejuvenation there from, and a new tax year. Which brings me to my point today! What are some areas to remember in business while making your resolutions and starting out in 2010? Lets list them out:
- Get organized! – possibly a more common goal is to get organized. The opportunity to re-look at your systems and methods of tracking the stuff that needs to get done is one that should not be missed. Look at the tools you use, the concepts and tenets you follow (i.e. GTD, 7 Habits, etc.) and the schedule (work, home, balance) you keep. We will be unveiling a new system and tool to help with this over the next few months called Akomplish. I’m excited for what it will do and the flexibility it will offer for you to live and work the way YOU want to.
- re-address your tax planning – With 2009 said and done, it is a great time to look at how you do taxes, bookkeeping, and financial accountability and tracking. It will be much easier to start now than shift gears mid-year and cause confusion and chaos for yourself and your accountants. Look at the past year and see what expenses could have been written off but were lost in the minutiae of living. I know, I know, accounting sucks and is no fun (unless you actually ARE an accountant, then it might be okay to you although you also may not like it!). The advantages of doing it right the first time and from the beginning will pay off, no doubt about it.
- 2009 in review – Take a look at what was done and not done in 2009. What could you have done better? What should you have done but didn’t? What bold moves do you wish you’d taken? Well, lets do them this year!! How can this information and introspection be incorporated into your new year’s resolutions?
- Life Balance – Well, you work too much or too little. You probably don’t have any hobbies but “family” or something cliche like that. By the way, family is not a ‘hobby’, although important to you. What do you do with them? What can you do to unwind and breakup the life of work? Having hobbies will prove invaluable as stress mounts from other money-generating areas of life. For myself, I find this solace in photography, painting, mountain biking, and the like. In fact, my wife would contend that I have too many hobbies! Either way, having a good way to be productive without ‘work’ or pay (this does NOT include watching TV or wasting time) is an important part of balance. Now, maybe you are lucky enough to do what you love for a living! Yay, hooray! I don’t care… find another hobby as well. That doesn’t mean you quit loving work but you don’t want work to burn you out of loving it anymore. For that reason, find a hobby! Now don’t neglect your family for this hobby, again we are discussing BALANCE. Maybe share your hobby with them or find some other way to balance.
Well, there you go. Four points to consider with your New Year’s resolutions!! Any other major points that we all ought to consider?
Minimize your Productive Resistance to Accomplish More
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Featured, Productivity & Personal Growth on October 3, 2009
Productive Resistance?
In any productivity system, you have a certain level of added friction and resistance that is introduced by the system itself, i.e. you have to carry a planner, spend time writing/typing, recording, marking complete, etc. All of these tasks would not exist if it weren’t for the system. Daily and weekly reviews, etc. also often add several hours to your week of unproductive (directly unproductive) minutiae. So why, in our pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness would we add a book of practices that simply add resistance? Well, obviously we think the added resistance will be accompanied by a higher level of productivity. We are willing to welcome the increased resistance in an effort to achieve improved results. Compare it to giving up gas mileage on a car for increased speed and power. It may require a bit more fuel to push through the resistance of a more powerful engine, wider tires, etc. but the increase in performance is worth it to us so we buy the car.
So the question is now raised… and I will illustrate with the car comparison: Read the rest of this entry »
Create your meMethod™ for Productivity
Posted by Billy in Featured, Productivity & Personal Growth on September 22, 2009
With countless blogs, books, and best-practices (pardon the alliteration), maximized productivity is a common pursuit, especially for the 
ambitious ones among us. Many have even dedicated themselves full time to this unachievable endeavor, the perfect level of self-management and productivity. But why? What is the purpose to improved productivity. The obvious, yet superficial, answer is to get more done, to create, to accomplish. This is partially true, yet, lacks, and simply reveals the next question: why get more done, create, or accomplish? Ultimately, it brings us to the pursuit of happiness, particularly lasting joy. For whatever number of reasons, we are happy when we are productive, when we create, when we participate in the progression of ourselves and, as a secondary benefactor in many cases, society. With an understanding of this core purpose, we can more fully explore methods of productivity with a higher context that promises the results we seek. But why do we want to be happy? All I know is I do, so that’s where we’ll leave the philosophy for this post.
With this obsession toward productivity, we find ourselves seeking methods and sharing methods for doing so. Each person or guru introduces a set of principles to productivity with tools of the trade such as calendaring systems, to-do lists, technology, etc. We read the book, try it out, do it for a week or so, maybe a month, then slowly drop parts of each method until we are left back where we were or close to it. Don’t get me wrong, I like many of the systems available and commend their creators for contributing to the world of productivity improvement only have yet to find the system that truly works for me. Maybe those of us falling into this trap are simply undisciplined and we need to quit blaming the system, or maybe not. I don’t question a tendency toward laziness, especially if the system adds a list of new daily tasks simply to manage the system itself! What I do question is whether that “laziness” is the problem!
Enter the meMethod…
What I have noticed is that with each failed attempt at systematically enhanced productivity improvement, we tend to retain a piece of that system, even if only a memory of something we liked. If we attempt several and explore blogs, books, and gurus for more, we are left with a plethora of ideas that have left an imprint on our memory. We create, even subconsciously and unintentionally, our own set of productivity best practices. So why are we all not ultra-productive happy folk? Well, just because a lot of ideas are chaotically floating around in our clouded memories does not mean a single one is even implemented or works complementary to the others. We may not have ever connected the dots! How do all these ideas relate? How would they work together? I mean, what are they?!?!
So the meMethod enters as the method that works for ME. Each person may have their own meMethod, what works for you is yours. So I add my own ingredients to the already overflowing productivity stew, in a kitchen with far too many chefs and the clamor over which recipe to choose. Well, the recipe depends upon each person’s tastes and that, my friend, will never be agreed upon. The pursuit for productivity is an individual one, each person to choose their path. This does not mean we are on the journey alone, only that our specific path will be ours. Many have trod the path before and even more are doing so today. Each has something unique to offer and each ought to be explored. In the future, I will post various resources that I’ve found useful as well as a complete meMethod guide that will be available likely within 6 months or so. I look forward to sharing more on this topic.
What are some resources you’ve found helpful regarding productivity? Any favorite blogs, books, or tools?
Re-design of Daily Life: an ESSENTIAL assessment
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Featured on September 19, 2009
Every few months, I reach a boiling point in my personal productivity and life direction that calls for re-assessment. In essence, life “clutter” begins to cloud my brain and my objectives. What occurs is a decrease in productivity, organization, and operational clarity. Certain areas or projects may suffer in attempts to put out fires and continue forward. Apparently I am horrible at creating powerful habits and require a recharge, a time to step back and say “why do I do that? Why am I not doing this? What about that?” Well, friends, it has once again come to that point and I am beginning the routine re-organization. Each time it is re-addressed, I typically come to the table with a few new weapons, i.e. productivity methodologies acquired since the last assessment, and each time I get a little closer to finding the meMethod™ (what works for me). Some of the concepts and books I’ve been into include:
• Four Hour Work Week
• 7 Habits for Highly Effective People
• Getting Things Done
• Mission Control
• And of course, related blogs, mags, articles, etc.
So, I come to this point in hopes of maintaining a few more habits and concepts than last time, maybe placing this “boiling point” as my last. You may have experienced similar points in your own life. Why does it happen? Should it? Maybe it is good to just re-assess every few months? Maybe we ought to be in continual re-assessment, the idea of continual minor course corrections and maintenance versus substantial correction every quarter. Which is better? I have my opinions, which I will share here but let me know, what do you think?
Regular assessment ought to be part of one’s routine. I believe frequency will depend on the area of life we are exploring. Regular project productivity ought to be explored and assessed weekly while life mission and long-term alignment may receive a hard assessment quarterly, course corrections occurring with these assessments. There even ought to be a daily assessment (I’d say the end of the day) in order to align the following day. Each of the above programs may carry ideas regarding this assessment concept, calling it by different names. I have found value in each of these and have pulled from each in attempts to create the meMethod.
If you haven’t figured out, I am passionate about productivity and personal management. The meMethod is just that, the idea of an individualized concept built upon a flexible framework of productivity theories and strategies. Each person’s personality will synchronize differently with each strategy. Often, the best is to test. Try a few out and begin formulating your meMethod.
What are some other sources you’ve used and found effective for personal productivity, time-management, or however you define it?
Some questions everyone should ask about their site
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy on September 18, 2009
Seth Godin recently posted a list of questions that every business owner, marketer, or individual should ask themselves about their own website and it’s effectiveness. Think through each with regard to your own as I do with this site!
From Godin:
- What is the goal of the site?
- In other words, when it’s working great, what specific outcomes will occur?
- Who are we trying to please? If it’s the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?
- How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level?
- Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?
- What are the sites that this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with?
- Are we trying to close sales?
- Are we telling a story?
- Are we earning permission to follow up?
- Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
- Do we need people to spread the word using various social media tools?
- Are we building a tribe of people who will use the site to connect with each other?
- Do people find the site via word of mouth? Are they looking to answer a specific question?
- Is there ongoing news and updates that need to be presented to people?
- Is the site part of a larger suite of places online where people can find out about us, or is this our one sign post?
- Is that information high in bandwidth or just little bits of data?
- Do we want people to call us?
- How many times a month would we like people to come by? For how long?
- Who needs to update this site? How often?
- How often can we afford to overhaul this site?
- Does showing up in the search engines matter? If so, for what terms? At what cost? Will we be willing to compromise any of the things above in order to achieve this goal?
- Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do issues of disability or language or browser come into it?
- How much money do we have to spend? How much time?
- Does the organization understand that ‘everything’ is not an option?
These will get you thinking about overall site effectiveness, about purpose. Next, make a list of ideas and thoughts that came to mind as you read through these questions and answered them. This list will serve as a reference in developing an improvement strategy moving forward.
Define Success? Is that YOUR definition or someone else’s?
Posted by Billy in Business Theory & Strategy on August 21, 2009
I recently watched the video below, Alain de Botton describing and defining success in our age, including the fabulous opportunity of success like no other time in history, and the shortcomings and downfalls that such thinking brings. This is a good TED talk that helps ground the over-ambitious entrepreneur. It allows you to do a little introspection regarding your ambitions and desires. I liked as well the open identification of the weaknesses of a such a “success-driven” society, including meritocracy. One must be careful, however, as the spectrum goes from “everything is my fault, good and bad” to “nothing is my fault”. Neither end is correct. We do control much of our own future but not all of it (you never know when tragedy strikes, etc.). And, sorry, but the odds are you are not the next Bill Gates. Which brings me to the next interesting point.
I found it interesting, yet logical, that essentially where success is treated as “easily accessible to all”, depression and suicide tend to be accessed much more than where it is not. We all decide we must be failures since it is so readily available and yet, we’re not successful yet. Although I feel it is more available than it has ever been, success has become a game of envy, jealousy, and comparison instead of individual opportunity to be YOU.
He also points out the concept that realistically, you can’t be good at everything. He goes so far as to say that work-life balance is bunk. I may not agree 100% but it is true. I mean, the most successful mega-companies have typically been run by work-aholics with little, if any, “personal” life. This doesn’t mean their have not been extremely successful people with some resemblance of balance, only that the most achieved individuals in one area often are lacking in other areas, no matter what you see (no one is touting their shortcomings…).
A recent post at “bootstrap business” defines the issue entrepreneurs continually have with this balance and validates, to some extent, the point Alain states in the video.
Check out the vid and do a little thinking about success and you want. As he states, we often accept other people’s definitions of success which is a terrible thing as many arrive at their destination realizing it isn’t what they wanted all along.
Now there is your philosophy for the day. Good luck in whatever venture you currently face.
Visit...
developed by Jhack
Twitter: preneurpulse
- Does Entrepreneurship Education Make People Better Entrepreneurs? http://ow.ly/18SVCT
- Ge Fired Up at BizTech Day: Join Me http://ow.ly/18SMDN
- 10 Social Media Books Every Small Business Owner Should Read http://ow.ly/18Sru0
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Youtube
RSS