Time Management Secret #9: Does What You’re Doing Even Matter?—3 Questions to Ask Yourself…
Have you ever asked someone if they’re busy and gotten this answer back: “I’m covered up!”
I’ve heard this… and I’ve said it. Have you?
If you’re like me, you’ve gotten to the end of a day and thought, “Where did the time go?” What’s it like to look back over the last 8, 10, or even 12 hours and have to admit that despite hustling furiously all day:
1-I didn’t get much done (not good)… and…
2-there’s a lot of stuff left that I didn’t get to… (worse yet!)
If you’re tired of pulling your hair out, I’ve got some tips that will help, and here’s the first one: Being busy does not equate to being productive.
Hey, the easiest thing you can do is fall into the trap of “doing a lot and not getting much done.” Distractions. Interruptions. Multi-tasking. They’re all bandits that rob results.
But there’s another, even bigger threat to your time that’s not so apparent: Doing stuff that doesn’t matter.
So as you go about your day, if want to be productive (you do, right?) you’ll need to continually ask yourself these 3 questions—about EVERY THING you do:
1-”Am I doing this because it will have an affect?”
Whatever you’re doing work-wise at any moment, it should have a purpose that takes you closer to an outcome—a substantive outcome, that is. For example, a guy who runs a muffler shop needs to do things that contribute to:
1-Bringing in customers (marketing/advertising),
2-Maintaining the business (accounting, payroll, paying lease/mortgage/bills)
3-Selling/fixing/installing mufflers (the stuff that brings in money)
Anything the muffler man does that isn’t directly supporting the business and the only thing that matters—bringing in money—is a waste of his energies.
Sound too simple? It’s not. Most things are simpler than we make them. Rule of life: Allow things to get complicated, lose sight of what matters.
So BEWARE: Complexity gives the illusion of importance—don’t be fooled. If you can’t give an immediate “yes” to the question, “Am I doing this because it will have an affect?” then stop immediately and move on to something that will.
2-”If I don’t do this, will it matter?”
Especially in corporate or government bureaucracies—both of which are full of useless activities and positions—a lot of time gets spent doing things just for the sake of doing them. And no one seems to notice. And if they do notice, they don’t mind.
Why? Because many of the people in these institutions (unwittingly) depend on minutia. They make policies that require it. They develop rules for how it will be done. Then they come up with review systems to see how well the meaningless was accomplished.
____________________________________________________________
“This is what we’ve always done.” (somebody call the robot!)
“I’m doing this because it needed to be done.” (are you sure?)
“I’m doing this because I was told to do it.” (and if they told you to jump in a lake?)____________________________________________________________
Here’s how insidious this little germ is: Even when a boss isn’t looking over our shoulder to make sure we’re doing a fruitless task, we might find ourselves taking one on anyway—without even noticing.
This is what leaves you with a “busy, unproductive day”: Doing stuff that doesn’t matter.
The only way to avoid this time-bleeder is to ask yourself this question in EVERY THING you do: “If I don’t do this, will it matter?” You’ll be surprised at how often your honest answer is, “No.”
Even if you work for someone else, your time still belongs to you. You manage it, and you’re accountable for your results. If an assigned task won’t matter, consider not doing it. It may well be that no one will see the difference anyway.
So if no one will notice your not doing it, or if nothing substantive will be produced by your doing it—don’t. Move onto something that matters.
3-”Can I do less and still get the same outcome?”
Require EVERY THING YOU DO to pass the test of the two questions I’ve already given you, and you’ll eliminate a lot of useless busy work:
1-”Am I doing this because it will have an affect?”
2-”If I don’t do this, will it matter?”
Just by doing this, you’ll already being doing less. Which will free you up to do more of what matters.
So assuming you’re doing more of what matters, how can you do that with less effort and less time? Now it’s time to ask yourself this in every endeavor: “Can I do less and still get the same outcome?”
-Always remind yourself of the end goal—if the outcome can be achieved WITHOUT a given action, don’t do it…
-If someone else can do it, delegate—this isn’t laziness, it’s respecting your resources, and making good use of theirs…
-Know when to quit—don’t try to take something to perfection if it will be effective as it is; simply stop when adequacy is reached…
-Know when to say “No”—some things aren’t worth doing. Recognize these time vampires and don’t be afraid to turn work away, or to tell another person, “This won’t matter.”
Productivity comes from what you do—not how much you do. So choose wisely. Rich or poor, the one resource we all have is time. Ironically, how well you master it—or squander it—will determine whether you’re… rich or poor. (And a few others things, too.)
I’m interested in your thoughts… give me your feedback and I’ll respond to your comments.
-jef
Refer this blog post to a friend or colleague…
Tags: productivity, Time Management
Jef,
As a soldier we were often stuck in the bureaucratic quagmire of useless paperwork and repetitive tasks. When push comes to shove, it is always best to break things down to their simplest terms. I used to tell all of my people when I trained and worked with them to “work smarter, not harder.” Sometimes it is just best to pitch the manual to the side and use a little common sense…
Right on, couldn’t agree more. And you’ve got more experience than most of us when it comes to ‘bureacratic quagmire’!
Common sense is a lost art, isn’t it? Anybody who gets tangled up in the rule book usually doesn’t get much done. Every huge achievement (and the little ones, too) has come from somebody who left the pack and thought for themselves. Think Orville and Wilbur.
Thanks Rob!
-jef
I agree with you both Jef and Rob - Jef thanks for simplifying it and Rob it’s great to see it from a soldier’s point of view. And yes Jef you are right, this can be applied to everything. Simple is good and yet I need to make an acronym for this and make space for it in my brain - AMS: Advertise, Maintain, and Sell. For a person like me who needs structure and more self discipline, the acronym will help as I plan my income-producing and other activities for the day. I’ll be careful not to get stuck in the planning too.
Jeannie
It’s easy to get caught up in all the ’stuff’ that really takes us away from what matters. “Simple is good.” Well said, Jeannie!
We have to consciously just put the brakes on and stop to think, ‘am I making this too complicated?’. When we allow things to get unnecessarily complicated, that’s when we’re most likely to start doing ’stuff that doesn’t matter’!
Simplicity is easier, leads to more results… and takes a bit of effort to stick to, of course. But well worth the effort, ’cause it saves so much more!
And you hit on something else, getting ’stuck in the planning’… it’s better to get going imperfectly than plan endlessly, trying to get everything just right–it’ll never be ‘just right’.
Thanks Jeannie!
-jef
I think that I’m the poster child for this post! I end up working 12-15 hours a day and never seem to cross anything off my to-do list. I’ve recently become aware, however, that like you said, I allow things that aren’t productive to get in the way of getting things done.
I’m letting my desire to stay on top of things to keep me from finishing anything! That “stuck in the planning” mode that was mentioned is an evil mistress! You think you’re being organized, but really you’re keeping yourself from moving forward. I also think that the further behind I get, the more of a tendency I have to “hide” and put things off further. If its already 2 days late? Whats 3?
Thanks for the tips! I’ll have to try them out and let you know how I’m getting on!
Amy, some great points. When you said, “I’m letting my desire to stay on top of things to keep me from finishing anything!” you really got my attention. You’re not alone, a lot of us unwittingly try handle more than: 1-we need to, 2-is ours to worry about, or 3-matters. The result is… no results.
Time is the mother of a whole lot of ‘evil mistresses’! And you alluded to another: Procrastination. Nasty one. Don’t you think that sometimes we busy ourselves with stuff that doesn’t matter–because subconsciously we want to avoid something that doesn’t appeal to us… but really DOES matter?
Am I confessing?
No.
Maybe.
I’ll be posting on some related stuff before long, so stay tuned… a hint? Well, it has to do with another ‘evil mistress’: Multi-tasking.
Thanks Amy, and please make good on your promise, let me know how your new angles of attack work out!
Quick update- I vowed today to only check my email at 9am, 1pm, and 8pm (not having an alert show every time a new message comes in), I “made” myself work on an important project rather than one that isn’t due for another week (but more fun), and suggested that someone else on my team was better suited for an assignment than me.
I actually got things done today. Think I might do that again tomorrow!
P.S. I’m one of those people who thinks multi-tasking is NOT a good thing. Can’t wait to read your post!
Checking email is a HUGE drain. You’re smart to turn the bell off and limit to 3 times a day–for most of us that’s plenty enough. But if you’re really feeling crazy some day, just do 9 and 3… say this to most people and their eyes will roll back in their head and they’ll fall over. The reality: If they checked it once a week they’d still never miss an email from anyone.
Secret: Bigs things are made out of… little things! (think you already know that) Glad to hear that by just tweaking a few ‘little’ things you were able to get more done. Very cool Amy–stay at it! (Another Secret: If we don’t stay vigilant, we ALL slip back into the habits that work against us–cruel but true) Your vow worked, nicely done and a great example for all of us.
Thanks Amy!
And here’s my struggle, Jef: focus and discipline.
No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined. - unknown author..
Most people focus most on: What they want to do, What’s fun, or What’s easiest. What SHOULD be done usually comes in last place of things to do. Having the discipline to reverse this, and put what should be done first, that’s the trick… for all of us, really.
What makes focus easier? Doing what you love. If you enjoy your job, your business, your invention (think Tom Edison) then focusing on it is easier.
The catch? Even when we love what we do, the peripheral necessities may not be so fun… like invoicing, marketing, returning calls, dealing with patent attorneys… so we tend to not focus so well on the stuff that’s not so attractive, even when it’s related to what we enjoy.
Try focusing on just one thing. When it’s done, focus on just one other thing. Make a list, follow it, and knock ‘em out one by one.
-jef
unfocused. Most are not disciplined
Now I understand why in school, my teachers always told me to work on the difficult tasks or answer the difficult questions first, before the easy ones…
Thanks Jef
hey, Jeannie, you’re ahead of me: I still don’t understand what my teachers tried to tell me!
I ignored nearly all of it, then went out into the world and tried to figure everything out from scratch.
Long road.
But what I was after? None of them knew it anyway.
(But I do vaguely remember what you’re talking about here!)
Thanks Jeannie!
-jef