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Eleven Keys to Increasing your Productivity- Brian Tracy

Posted by in Goals, Leadership, Management, Personal Effectiveness, Time Management

No one can put it better than the guru of productivity- Brian Tracy. This is from one of his newsletters – which is exactly how one should improve their productivity.

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  • Develop clear goals and write them down.
    Because higher productivity begins with clear goals, goal setting is a key component of our coaching program. As you know, a goal must be specific and measurable to be effective in guiding your behavior. It must reflect your beliefs and be within your power to achieve.
  • Write a clear action plan.
    Next, if you want to turbo-charge your productivity, make sure you have a clear, written plan of action. Every minute you spend in careful planning will save you as many as ten minutes in execution.
  • Set your priorities.
    The third step is to prioritize your list. Analyze your list before you take action. Identify and start with the high-value tasks on your list.
  • Concentrate and eliminate distractions.
    In this step, choose a high-value activity or task, start on it immediately, and stay with it until it is done. Focusing single-minded attention on one task allows you to complete it far more quickly than starting and stopping.
  • Lengthen your workday but increase your time off.
    By starting your workday a little earlier, working through lunchtime, and staying a little later, you can become one of the most productive people in your field.
  • Work harder at what you do.
    When you are at work, concentrate on work all the time you are there. Don’t squander your time or fall into the habit of treating the workplace as a community where socializing is acceptable.
  • Pick up the pace. At work, develop a sense of urgency and maintain a quicker tempo in all your activities. Get on with the job. Dedicate yourself to moving quickly from task to task.
  • Work smarter.
    Focus on the value of the tasks you complete. While the number of hours you put in is important, what matters most is the quality and quantity of results you achieve.
  • Align your work with your skills.
    Skill and experience count. You achieve more in less time when you work on tasks at which you are especially skilled or experienced.
  • Bunch your tasks.
    Group similar activities and do them all at the same time. Making all your calls, completing all your estimates, or preparing all your presentation slides at the same time allows you to develop speed and skill at each activity.
  • Cut out steps.
    Pull several parts of the job together into a single task and eliminate several steps. Where you can, cut lower-value activities completely.
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The Basics of Goal Setting- Why it not as easy as many make it out to be! – and 5 steps to make it easy!

Posted by in Personal Effectiveness

 

Goal setting is a Science! However, one needs to be prepared to do many iterations before being able to achieve a model that works!

Reading books on setting goals is a great eye opener. It sets a sense of urgency on what one needs to do, to move forward in life. It opens one’s eyes to the things that one needs to do NOW, and prioritize the activities. Putting items in various quadrants, and other numerous models that can be used to get the life you wanted, becomes the norm!

And then, reality sets in.

You realize that, for some reason, you don’t know where to start.

Trying to work through the maze of things to do could be a different goal by itself!

When I started off, I found my focus to be something like this! A balancing act that was a miracle by itself- and I was doing things to keep the whole act balance by itself!

 

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You quickly realize the following-

· You don’t know where to start.

· You realize you are leading a life that is tethering on the edge.

· You really don’t have a very clear or central goal (if you do, you should congratulate yourself for you have to be a minority in this area – most people don’t know what their core purpose in life is).

· You spend most of the time in life following the things that are of immediate importance- in most cases these are items that offer immediate gratification!

· Most importantly, your activities are upside down compared to what most experts advise!

· You are running around spending time on your career, and making more money (or at least trying to) so that your family can have the best life possible! Ironically, at the end of the day, the whole purpose is lost because there is no time to spend with the family!

Over the years, I have attended programs like the Steven Covey’s 7 Habits, read books by Brian Tracy (Goals etc.), and other numerous books on Managing time & setting Goals. Every book has been brilliant and has provided numerous tips on how best to do Goal-setting.

However, a few pointers that has stuck with me- and here are the top 5 things that have stuck with me!

1. Focus on the CENTRAL GOAL of your life. It will vary from person to person . For me it is FAMILY! Everything that I do, I work on, has the family as the central goal. This central goal becomes the governing principle of your life. It could be Religion (I have friends who do things that help them get closer to god). Brian Tracy in his books “Goals” calls this the “Reticular Cortex”, which is where the brain starts visualizing this end goal.

2. Don’t expect QUICK RESULTS – This is a slow process. After all you have spent a few decades of your life leading an existence without these guiding principles. How do you change it at short notice? It is a long road – and you need to be prepared to drive through this. A few trial and errors are required. I moved from using the trial version of Franklin Covey to software that helps sets goals (Goalpro). After much trials (and more errors and non-starters), I have come to using a good old Excel sheet to help me formulate the goals. It is still a long way from being good- but it works to an extent. I can at least articulate my key goals in their list of priorities. (Not here though 😉 ).

3. Do the FIRST DRAFT first – Complete one draft – however vague it is – as it sets the tone to start the next steps. Keep at it – so that you are able to address this effectively. Focus on creating the key goals you are going to focus on.

4. Avoid getting stuck into “Tasks” and focus on the big picture – This is one area I found myself repeatedly during this exercise. It is easy to get confused and focus on “tasks” – activities that you have to do and miss the bigger goals. Example, deliver that presentation to the customer by 12 noon tomorrow rather than delivering on the goal of possibly being – the person “who is always dependable and delivers on his commitments”.

5. Pen & Paper – Always works better than computer! Write down the activities & do the exercises on paper. This is one area that I did not focus on- and in hindsight, a key element of success in your goal setting journey.

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This is an example of how the earlier balancing act could be realigned – with clear focus on the central purpose & allocating the time that is required to make it happen! Once the central purpose is taken care, the rest follows. Remember to focus on every single element of your goal statements – and keep moving accordingly. Every element is critical.

Here are some good reading material that could help you with this…

Goals! How to Get Everything You Want–Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible

Get Motivated!: Overcome Any Obstacle, Achieve Any Goal, and Accelerate Your Success with Motivational DNA

Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It

Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed

The Secret (Extended Edition)

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