Less is More

Often when considering productivity, we think about how much we have to do and how to get it all done. The volume of how much we have to do seems overwhelming. So, what if we limited the number of tasks on our to-do list? Sounds a little backwards but one easy and smart way to become more productive is to reduce the number of things we are trying to do.

In his book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” Greg Mckeown explains “Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done.” He continues, “Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”

This concept is not just limited to tasks. Think about how many things you have as well. We all have way too much stuff. I was fascinated by the story of Rob Greenfield, a 29 year old entrepreneur, environmental activist and minimalist who has limited his possessions to just 111 items that fit in his backpack. He shares, “Through my years of downsizing, I’ve found that material possessions don’t create long term happiness or fulfillment for me. I’ve found that an overabundance of possessions hinders my purpose and passion rather than facilitates it.”

Recent research and experiments have proven that working fewer hours results in increased productivity as well. In fact, in 2000 the French government mandated a 35-hour work week and has also since eliminated checking email after hours. Several companies in Sweden have experimented with a 6-hour work day and found that they were doing just as much if not more than they accomplished in 8 hours just by working more efficiently.

So, which of your tasks are hindering your purpose and which ones are helping you reach your goals. Think critically and deliberately about focusing on the Most Important Things from your long list of tasks and you’ll begin to see your productivity increase. The old adage, “Less is More” supposes that by doing fewer things, you are directing more time, energy and attention to the things that really matter thus resulting in a better end product.

TRY THIS OUT: You, too, can become an essentialist: simply ask yourself, “Is this the most important thing I should be doing with my time and resources right now?” Challenge yourself to focus on the few versus the many by eliminating distractions and time wasters.

The Importance of Why

In the newly released and highly acclaimed productivity book “Smarter, Better, Faster,” Charles Duhigg opens with a chapter about motivation. He asserts that those who have control and understand the big picture are more motivated. He writes, “If you can link something hard to a choice you care about, it makes the task easier.” He adds, “Make a chore into a meaningful decision, and self-motivation will emerge.”

So many of us spend a lot of time and energy making lists, tracking tasks and keeping up with all of the things that we need to get done. But, how many of us are asking, “Why?” Why should I do this task? Why is this task important? Why should I spend any time on this task? Why is this beneficial?

Early in my career, someone shared a great story that stuck with me and have since shared with many of my team members and colleagues over the years. A man is walking by a construction site and comes across three workers doing the same job. He stops and asks the first one, “What are you doing?” The man quickly replied, “I am laying bricks.” He then asked the second guy the same question but he responded, “I am building a wall.” The man then turned to the third guy and when he asked him the same question, the guy stood up, paused and smiled and looked to the sky and then shared, “I am constructing a cathedral.”

While each of them were doing the same task, they thought of their work completely differently. There’s a big difference in terms of thinking that you’re just laying bricks versus constructing a cathedral. Through their descriptions of their work, you can tell which of the three workers would be most motivated, driven and productive.

So, next time you’re about to start a new task begin by asking yourself, “Why?” If you can’t come up with a strong answer, it’s fine to just remove that task from your list and move on to the things that have greater meaning and significance. You will find that’s motivation enough.

TRY THIS OUT: Think about the things that you rush to complete and love to do. What motivates you to do them? What drives you to get them done? Then, think about some of the things that linger on your list. Why don’t they get done? Think about how you can attach a greater meaning or calling to those tasks to increase your motivation to tackle and complete them.

The Lingering Task

When talking to people about how they manage their tasks and whether or not they keep a to-do list, inevitably the conversation turns to how their lists get too long and overwhelming. When that happens, many people get frustrated and just give up on the list.

The most troubling aspect of maintaining a to-do list is the annoyance of the lingering task that just stays on the list and never gets done. When you break it down, there are really only a few reasons why certain tasks linger longer than others. Here’s how you can get rid of those lingering tasks.

JUST DO IT

Some tasks are important but for whatever reason, we just don’t want to do it. We just keep procrastinating and avoid the task altogether. In “Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time,” Brian Tracy popularizes the old adage that if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. He suggests that you should take your most important but dreaded task and just attack it, get it done and move on.

DELETE IT

Successfully maintaining a to-do list is not just about completing items but making decisions about what’s most important and also what should be removed from the list. Sometimes you add a task to your list with all good intentions of getting it done, but over time it lingers on the list because it’s just not that important. In that case, it’s OK and should just be deleted from your list. If it’s important enough, you can always add it back to your list later.

BREAK IT DOWN

Other tasks stay on your list because they are just too big and overwhelming to tackle. In this case, break it down and create a task just for the first step. Once that’s complete, you can then create a task for the next step. For example, if you added a task to “Plan the Party” I bet it never gets done. Instead, start with some of the following:

Set Date for the Party
Create Guest List
Draft Party Invitation
Select Menu

You’ll find that you will have much more success tackling and completing the smaller, quicker and easier tasks. Similarly, instead of creating a task to “Read a Book,” you can break it down into specific chapters.

Keep in mind, the magic of a to-do list is in checking things off the list and not letting tasks linger.

TRY THIS OUT: Look at your to-do list and review the tasks that have been on your list for over two weeks. First, decide which ones you can just delete. Then, start to break down the tasks that are too big. Finally, if it’s important make it your top priority for tomorrow and just get it done.

The Productivity Triangle

Over the years, many have used a triangle metaphor to make sense of concepts including the , the Project Management Triangle (cost, time, resources), the Exposure Triangle (ISO, shutter speed, aperture) or the Drama Triangle (hero, victim, villain). I created my own Productivity Triangle to demonstrate that in order to become more efficient and productive, we need simply need to manage our time, tasks and things.

TIME

Most of us use some sort of calendar to manage their time and while we are really good at scheduling meetings and appointments with others, we don’t manage the windows in between those meetings as well. At the end of the day or at the start of your day, take a few minutes to time block your entire day with the tasks you need to get done in between your meetings. By doing this, you have a set game plan for the day that you just need to follow. In addition to making sure you get the most important things done, this method also help you reduce or eliminate distractions. (NOTE: Beware of the Bermuda Triangle of Productivity.)

TASKS

For the most part, we know what tasks need to get done but we don’t use a centralized to-do list. We just wing it and try to get tasks done just in time. As a result, sometimes things fall through the cracks or become a crisis. Try using one central list to keep track of all of your tasks. This makes it easy to remember your tasks, review and prioritize them and then focus on finding time to complete them. Also, don’t try to do everything at once. Pick your top three tasks and get those done before tackling others. I just launched a new task management app called priorigami: the art of productivity to help with this. Try it out!

THINGS

Last but not least, we need to manage all our stuff. It’s amazing how much time and hassle we can save if we simply find a place for everything. Designate a set place for your keys and put them there as you enter your house. You’ll never have to look for your keys again. If there’s a pile of stuff on your desk, most likely it’s because there isn’t a specific place for some of those things to belong. Create those spaces and you’ll have less clutter and spend less time looking for things.

In future posts, we’ll dig deeper into each of these three dimensions.

Not Just Another To-Do List App

About six months ago, I decided I wanted to figure out how to help people be more productive so they could spend less time feeling overwhelmed and more time on the things they enjoy. And so, I set out to create the “FitBit” for productivity.

I read as many books and blogs on productivity best practices, tried countless apps and tools, conducted surveys and ethnography studies and found that we don’t just need another to-do list app. Most of us know how to create to-do lists and in fact, most of us have many, many lists. There are a million ways to create lists including a good, old-fashioned pen and a piece of paper. Creating lists is not the problem.

We struggle with what to do once we have a list. As our lives have become more hectic, demanding and complex, it’s hard to prioritize tasks, avoid distractions and stay focused on completing tasks. This is what I want to try to help solve.

With fitness, we know we should walk 10,000 steps in a day and limit our caloric intake to less than 2,000 calories a day. But, this is much easier said than done. Until FitBit came along and turned these goals into a daily challenge that became fun and rewarding.

To that end, I am proud and excited to introduce you to priorigami: the art of productivity.

This is not just another to-do list app. This app is designed to help you manage, prioritize and complete tasks more efficiently so you can spend more time doing the things that really matter to you.

It’s simple: enter your tasks and we’ll remind you to select your Daily Top Three. We’ll remind you to Shuffle and prioritize your tasks to make sure you’re focusing on the most important ones. We will also encourage you to get things done and track your progress along the way.

For now, this is just a bare bones MVP available for iOS devices through the App Store. But it is a good starting point. And, it’s completely FREE for you to use.

You no longer need to feel overwhelmed by your list of tasks or deflated by having too much to do. Start feeling good about getting things done. Download it now and immediately enjoy the benefits of priorigami.

So, You Want To Be More Productive?

Not enough time. Too much to do. Not enough sleep. Too many distractions. Constant dings and buzzes. No ability to focus. Rushing to get there on time. Feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Oh, and I just remembered, that I forgot to…

Sound familiar? According to the results of my recent survey, 81% of you desire to be more productive. But, how? Where do you even start?

As our lives have become more hectic, demanding and complex, we strive to be more organized and productive but struggle with how to get it all done — especially when we’re overwhelmed and don’t have any free time to spend finding a solution. So, is there a quick fix?

If you turn to Google and search “productivity tips,” guess what? You get 104M articles of tips from incredibly busy people you can read through to learn how to radically improve your life and become the most productive person you know.

You can order or download, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen and then find the time to pour through 350 pages of the defacto “Bible of business and personal productivity.”

You can sign up for email newsletters, blogs, webinars and training sessions from a variety of “productivity gurus” who can provide advice and guide you through productivity best practices.

You can look in the App Store to find literally thousands and thousands of apps claiming to help you become more productive. You can sort through, them pick some to download and try them out for two weeks to see how they work and if they help you or not.

Or, wait — maybe there’s a better option. I’ve spent the past six months doing all of these things in a quest to understand the challenges, evaluate the strategies, and test current solutions to come up with a simple, easy-to-use tool you can just start using.

Please Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and check out my Web site so you can be the first to know when this new tool will be available for FREE.

Seeking 10 Incredibly Happy Customers

When I decided to start my own business, the one thing I knew is that I didn’t know anything about anything. So, I started meeting with as many successful entrepreneurs that would make time for me. I figured I would try to learn as much as possible from those who have braved this path before me.

The one thing that was mentioned to me repeatedly was the importance of product-market fit and taking the time to make sure it was right. Since my background is primarily product management and marketing I understood this point immediately but also began to understand the criticality of this for a new start-up.

What especially hit home was David Cumming’s recent blog post claiming, “If You Can Get 10 Happy Customers, You Can Get 100.” Even though he was referring to B2B services, he states, “Getting 10 unaffiliated customers that are passionate about a product is incredibly hard. Once achieved, entrepreneurs have a strong foundation in place and can get to 100 customers using the lessons learned and momentum.”

So, my new productivity app is currently in development. Even though it’s just an MVP (minimal viable product) including less than 10% of the features I had dreamed up and planned for, my goal is to find at least 10 unaffiliated, incredibly happy customers who LOVE the product.

I realize this is going to be incredibly difficult to achieve but at least it’s a goal and it’s a measurable first step.

Stay tuned to find out when my new app is available and perhaps, just maybe, you could be one of my first 10 incredibly happy customers.

Why Women Quit Corporate America

OK. So, maybe I don’t know exactly why all women quit corporate America but I can certainly tell you why I did.

For 25 years (other than for 6 months when I was “off” for maternity leave), I naively believed if I worked hard, collaborated, shared ideas, showed up early, worked all hours and over-delivered beyond all expectations, I would be acknowledged, thanked, rewarded, promoted and paid more. But, guess what? It didn’t happen that way for me.

Instead, what happened to me over and over again in my career is that I was noticed for being one to work hard and get things done. I was willing to do more and work harder and for that willingness I got more work and was tasked with more of the work that just simply needed to get done. And, why? Because they could count on me to get it done. And I did.

In general, we women seek to understand the goal, listen to what’s expected and then work tirelessly to achieve it without any promise of any return or reward. We strive to please and often over-compensate by doing more to prove we are worthy.

In addition to work, I was constantly juggling and struggling to balance everything else in my life. My husband is a partner with a global consulting firm requiring him to travel quite often and with two very active, multi-sport student athletes, we have a very full calendar. Most days, I’m up before 6 a.m., out before 7 a.m. and don’t get home until after 9 p.m. And, due to the guilt of attending to family duties, I get back online until 11 p.m. And then do it all again the next day.

The good news is that thanks to technology, I am always connected. Stuck at a traffic light, I can check my text messages. Waiting in line at Starbucks, I quickly respond to that email message. At the deli counter in the grocery store, I schedule a meeting for tomorrow. But, this is all menial, time-consuming, “shallow” work with no real reward and absolutely no satisfaction.

I finally opened my eyes when I was presented with an incredibly unachievable goal and was told, “The thing I like most about you is that you will kill yourself trying to achieve this goal.” At the time, I was outraged and angry with my boss. Now, I am just disappointed in myself.

I just finished reading Cal Newport’s new book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,” and realized that for all the time we spend “working” very little of it really matters. The reason that only 13% of employees feel engaged at their jobs is that their work isn’t meaningful or satisfying. And, we are giving up a lot of really rewarding activities to waste our time in directionless meetings, responding to useless emails and just trying to keep up with unrelenting requests. And, to what end?

I finally realized that I want to work really hard on the things that really matter. I want to make a meaningful impact and I want to do it on my own terms. I don’t just want to work. I want to make a difference.

PRODUCTIVITY | 101

Helping You Lead a More Meaningful Life

Category: Productivity101