Being productive is a mindset. There are lots of ways people can be productive. Over the course of my career both in corporate and small business, I’ve learned many methods of keeping on track to meet goals. Some are more effective than others. There is one (rather famous) method that is simple, and if you can shift your mindset, it will enable you to be more productive.
Steven Covey is quoted as saying, “The challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.” We all get the same 24 hours each day, yet some people get more done at the end of the day. Why? Some of us spend our time on distractions and urgent tasks. Said another way, some of us spend too much time on things that are not important. If we spend our time on things that are important, such as planning, preparing, prevention, and relationship building, we can achieve great results both professionally and personally.
In order to analyze your personal time management, write down the tasks you do on a daily basis for a week. This will give you a clear indication of how you spend your time, what you focus on, and what results you achieve. Now that you know what you’ve been doing all week, get ready to shift your mindset and focus your attention on different tasks.
Here are Steven Covey’s time management quadrants and some examples to help shift your mindset.
Quadrant I is made up of short term crises and problems. These are tasks that should be managed. We should spend about 5% of our time on these tasks. Some examples are deadlines, last minute preparations, and true emergencies.
Quadrant II includes activities we should focus the majority (about 75%) of our time on. The more time we spend doing these tasks the fewer crises will arise because we are prepared for them. Some examples are preparation and planning, personal development, relationship development, creating new opportunities, and exercise.
Quadrant III tasks are things we should avoid. Delegate as much as possible and only spend 15% of your time on these tasks. Some examples are emails, interruptions, and meeting other people’s priorities. These tasks have the appearance of being important but they do not develop or grow you or your business.
Quadrant IV includes activities we should limit spending time on. Everyone needs to unplug but we should spend 5% of our time doing it. Some examples are social media, busywork, junk mail, tv, and escape activities. Try to unplug by exercising. It will clear your head, keep you in shape, and you’ll be spending your valuable time doing something productive!
When you spend the majority of your time in Quadrant II, you will be thinking ahead and working on preventative solutions that will minimize the stress of working in an urgent/important environment all the time. A great analogy is a car. If we don’t plan for maintenance, then we will eventually be dealing with a car emergency. Spend time focusing your priorities, delegate as many tasks as possible, and limit your time wasting activities. You’ll be more productive, less stressed, and have success professionally and personally.
