False assumptions and thinking habits that hinder productivity

We all have false assumptions that have a negative impact on our productivity.  We may not even be aware of what we are doing, but that does not make them any less powerful.  We must recognize these false assumptions that are ruling our lives and make a conscious effort to let them go.

Here are a few assumptions:

  • The more you accomplish, the more worthy a person you are.
  • I’m the only one who can do it right.
  • I can do it all alone.
  • The busier you are, the more people respect you.
  • I’m a failure if my house is a mess.
  • I have to do everything perfectly or it doesn’t count.
  • I can manage time.

A few thinking habits that hinder productivity are:

  • Comparing ourselves to others who seem to be effortlessly productive.  This makes us lose focus of our own priorities.
  • Feeling guilty at all the “shoulds” and “ought to’s” that are not accomplished.
  • Making lame excuses to yourself for not setting up the time to organize your priorities.  Lee Silber said: “Dump the excuses.  They just get in the way of recognizing the important things, setting realistic priorities, and creating the life you want to be living.”
  • Fear of failure.

Warren Buffet said: “Bad habits are like chains that are too light to feel until they are too heavy to carry.” Don’t let your thinking habits become so heavy that your productivity suffers.

When you stop ordering your life in obedience to your personal set of false assumptions and bad thinking habits, you’ll find you have more time for your true priorities.

Take time to identify your false assumptions and bad thinking habits, so that you can address them.  Do you have any that you’d like to share?  You are welcome to add them in the comments section below.

If you need help with determining your priorities and setting goals, please contact Virtual Productivity Solutions. We would love to help you!

Become more productive: 10 tips for managing priorities

Do you want to be more productive?

1.  Plan in detail

Have a planner and write/type everything down in it.  The more you plan, the better you manage and the more you achieve.  The more detailed your plans are, the better.  For me planning works best at the end of the day – somehow my brain rests from trying to remember what all needs to be done and rather focuses on creative stuff.

 2. Begin the night before

After planning the next day, see if there are any small tasks that you can do now to give you a head start the next day.

 3. Deal with today

Focus on the tasks for the day.  If you think of other tasks, add them to your task list and forget about them for the moment.  What you are today is what you are becoming.

 4. Value each minute

Know how long it will take you to complete each task.  Then decide if the task is the best use of your time.  How much is a minute worth?  It is priceless or worthless – depending on how you use it.

 5. Keep moving

The principle of momentum states:  “A body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion.”  Use this law of physics to your advantage.  Try doing just one more thing after you think you are finished, and see how much you can achieve.

6.  Develop a routine

Menial tasks are performed by rote, and you save on energy-draining indecision.  Try to put as many tasks as possible into a routine.  Develop good habits.

 7. Exercise and diet

Studies have shown that exercise increases metabolism, creates energy, causes you to sleep better, and produces pleasure hormones which contribute to positive attitudes, joy in life, and a general lust for life. When you plan your day, put in a slot for exercise.

Diet refers to a way of life.  Develop a dietary way of life that gives you energy and health.

 8. Ask the “half-time” question

“If my life depended on doing this task in half the time I have allotted, what shortcuts would I take?”  Then take them.

9. Use a timer for everything

Parkinson’s Law says:   “Work expands to fill the time allowed for its completion.”  The timer helps you allow less time.  There’s something extremely motivating about hearing your life tick away!

10. Say no

Make your schedule. Let it be Plan A.  Then follow your plan by saying no to yourself and to others.  Move to Plan B only if you realize it is in your best interest to do so because you overlooked something in compiling Plan A.

What is Really Important in Life? A Look at Real and Imagined Priorities

The other day I read a statement made by Benjamin Franklin:  “Drive your business.  Let not your business drive you.”  That got me thinking.

Business people, more than any other group, tend to lack balance in their lives.  Their businesses frequently become all-important, crowding out other priorities such as family, friends, hobbies, and leisure time.  However, keeping our lives in balance is one of the keys to avoiding burnout.  It is also the key to real success in life.

Many business people know how to manage millions of dollars and hundreds of people at work, but fail when it comes to their families, friends, hobbies, and leisure time.  They have let their businesses run them instead of learning to run their businesses.

A typical entrepreneur will tell you the following:  “I always wanted to own my own business because I wanted to be in control of my time.  I wanted to be able to take time off without having to get someone else’s approval.  I wanted to make my own decisions and be my own boss.

“Now I own a successful business.  I have the money to travel anywhere I want to go, but I am so tied down with this business I can’t get away.  I haven’t had a vacation in three years, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to take on this year.  I think I work for the business instead of it working for me.”

This statement reflects a life that is out of balance.  He is devoting all his time and effort to the business and making money, and in the process he does not have any time left for himself.

Most business people don’t want to admit their lives are out of balance;  but when a person spends ten to twelve hours a day, six days in his business, his life is unbalanced in favour of business.

What is really important in life?

There are two kinds of priorities:  real and imagined.  We know our priorities are real because we give them our time.  On the other hand, things we talk about doing, plan to do, want to do, but don’t do, are imagined priorities.  Imagined priorities may be written down and discussed regularly, but if we never do them they aren’t actually priorities.

If you want to know what your real priorities are, look at where you spend your time – not what you say or how you spend your money!

Getting your life in balance

It isn’t always easy for business people to keep their lives in balance. Some tips are below:

  • Remove the garbage and insignificant rubble from your daily routine.  Identify the things that are really important and focus on them.
  • Make time for the right priorities.  Unproductive activity is robbing us of time that should be spent on important priorities.  Insignificant activities that take up time but contribute almost nothing to our success must be weeded out and thrown away.  Focus on the significant, letting the insignificant die from lack of attention.
  • Learn to say no to some worthwhile causes.  Most business people are high achievers.  They have a knack for getting things done quickly.  As a result, they are constantly bombarded by people who represent all kinds of good causes wanting “just a little”  of their time.  To have the best things in life, we must practice “selective involvement” – and learn to say no to most of the merely good things. If you don’t know what is most important in your life, you will always wind up doing the things most important to other people.

If you want to know a person’s values, look at his priorities.  If you want to know his priorities, look at how he spends his time.  Your own actions are a statement to others concerning the most important things in your life.

Priorities keep us on track.  They also keep us from getting bogged down in the mire of ineffectiveness.  How far and how fast you travel in life will depend on how faithful you are at developing and maintaining your priorities.

Next steps

  • Evaluate your priorities.  Are they real or imagined?
  • Write out your priorities.  Develop a plan of action for pursuing these goals.
  • Make a list of necessary tasks that you can delegate so that you can spend your time on what is most important to you.

10 Ways to stop procrastinating and boost profits

I once knew someone who was a master procrastinator.  He loved procrastinating. He procrastinated too long in submitting a proposal that could turn around his business. On the due date he realized his mistake, and quickly compiled the proposal.  Then he found out that a courier service would take 24 hours to deliver the proposal.  This would mean his proposal would be late.  In the end, he personally flew to a neighbouring country to submit it on time!  Needless to say, because his proposal was hastily slapped together, he was not awarded the contract.  He had however, wasted a whole lot of time and money.

Although this is an extreme example, procrastination can lead to all sorts of problems in a business.  We all procrastinate at some time or other.

Is there any way to overcome procrastination?  Some ideas are listed below:

  • Say to yourself:  “I can do anything for 15 minutes.”  Often starting a task is the most difficult part.  Once you are in motion, it is easier to stick with it.
  • Do the task you dread doing first thing in the morning. Not only will it be behind you, but you will have a pleasant feeling of accomplishment all day.
  • Work with the time available to you.  (Procrastinators tend to have an unrealistic perception of time).  If you estimate that a project will take 10 hours to complete, break it up in to manageable pieces.  Write down each detail of the project, so that when you have a 5 minute break, you can quickly scan the tasks and make a phone call, or schedule an appointment, etc.
  • If you really don’t have time for a task, rethink your priorities.  If something is important enough to you, you will find the time to do it, even if it means getting up 30 minutes earlier in the mornings to fit it in.
  • You don’t always have to start at the beginning of a project. Sometimes starting in the middle makes it easier to go back to the hardest part.
  • Set small deadlines for yourself, and reward yourself after reaching each deadline.  After the project is completed, you can have a bigger reward.
  • Ask yourself if there is a simpler way to do it.  You could be making the task more difficult than it is.
  • Ask yourself what the worst is that could happen if you do the task.  A day enjoying the fruits of your productivity is better than a day wasted thinking how you’d feel about doing the work the next day.
  • Tell someone else what your deadline is.  Being accountable to someone else is often enough motivation to get it done.
  • Remember you are not the only person that can do the job well.  You can delegate it or hire someone else to do it for you.

What works for you?  If you have any good tips on overcoming procrastination, please share them with us in the comment section below!