3 Ways to 5X Your Productivity Without Burning Out

When I first struck out on my own, I found myself doing a lot to make sure my business would be successful. Over the course of the last month, I have been paying closer attention to the things that I do and came to a surprising realization. I’ve been busy, but I haven’t always been productive.

Being busy gave me a sense of validation, but it didn't mean I was being productive. I was doing things that validate the time I was spending being “active”, but I was not focusing on those activities that were uncomfortable and which I knew would significantly move the needle. For example, I was not getting in front of the camera because I feel more comfortable with the written word. I was afraid to reach out to people to tell them about my business for fear of rejection. Yet, these are the very things that would accelerate my personal and business growth. So instead, what did I do? Those things that gave me instant gratification, those things that kept me busy and gave me the validation that since I am busy, I must be productive. See…, my own psychology got in the way. I love checklists and being able to mark things off gives me a rush of dopamine and a sense of progress.

I have found that I’m not the only one who suffers from this affliction. Many people work really hard, but they are not necessarily working on the right things because they seldom take the time to evaluate their opportunities. They either look at everything with the same eye or they think so short-term that they only address things as they fall onto their plate. When you are reactive, you cannot plan effectively. You may be accidentally productive, but you won't be intentionally productive.

If you're suffering from the same affliction, I’d like to propose 3 ways for moving from busy to productive:

1. Harnessing your energy more effectively and directing it to what matters most, figuring out what your must-dos and nice-to-dos are and prioritizing accordingly
2. Dealing with distractions
3. Weaponizing your agenda and performing weekly reviews

Busy vs. Productive

To differentiate between the two, we must first understand their definition. Busy is having a great deal to do and keeping occupied, while Productive is achieving or producing  a significant amount of result. It’s easy to see that busy has nothing to do with achieving results. It’s simply about doing things.

When I look at the animal kingdom, I equate busy with a hamster on a wheel.  That makes sense to me. Have you ever felt like you're running, running, running, but not achieving much? That’s what busy feels like. A never ending flurry of activity with very little to show for it in the end. On the flip side, look at bees. Calling them “busy bees” is a misnomer. They work all day, collecting nectar, taking care of the queen and the hive, warming and cooling it. They are valuable for our planet and produce something very valuable: sweet, delicious honey!

Prioritize your efforts to the needle-movers

This is important! This is urgent! It feels like everything clamors for our attention. So how do you prioritize? I found something that has helped me immensely: the Eisenhower Matrix. It gives a very simple way to identify where your attention should go and how to manage the rest.

Important and Urgent

If something is both important and urgent, is within your wheelhouse and something you also enjoy doing, then do it! Take it on because you are likely to do it well and do it quickly.

Important but Not Urgent

Plan it! If it’s not urgent, then you don’t need to do it right away, even if it is in your wheelhouse. You can schedule it for some other time. That way, you won’t lose track of it and you can focus on the other things that need your attention now.

Not Important but Urgent

Farm it out! Who can you delegate this to? Is there someone who has the bandwidth, the capability and who would enjoy doing the work? This serves a double purpose. One, it takes some of the pressure and work off our plate and two it gives someone else the opportunity to shine and/or do something they enjoy.

Neither Important Nor Urgent

Forget about it. Get rid of it. Schedule it so far out that you come to realize that it really doesn’t matter. Simply pay it no mind.

Manage or ditch your distractions

Did you know that in pre-COVID 2020, a study found that the average American 18 years old and older watched 4 hours of TV a day! That’s 60 days out of the year in front of the boob tube. Add to that an average of 3 1/2 hrs a day on the smartphone and that’s conservatively another 30 days a year. That means most people lose a quarter of their year to mindless distraction on an annual basis. What…?!?!?

Don’t get me wrong. I get it. I too have the need to do something mindless from time to time, so I found a solution that works for me! I schedule my distractions into my day, while keeping them to a minimum. For example, I don’t watch much live TV, but I like to watch shows on Netflix or Hulu. Since I break for an hour for lunch every day, I take that time to also catch up on an episode while I am prepping and eating. I get to think about something else and catch up on a show of my choosing! It works for me. What would work for you?

For others, nothing short of completely cutting off distractions, will do. And when I say distractions, I’m not talking about hobbies. We need to have balance in our life and part of that balance is having some downtime. If you enjoy playing the guitar or piano, reading, kitting, golfing, whatever, then please don’t eliminate those. They are essential to your well-being. My recommendation is to schedule it in.

Weaponize your agenda and perform weekly reviews

I’ve often heard people say that following an agenda is too restrictive. They feel that they need flexibility and calendaring activities makes them feel handcuffed. My philosophy is that having an agenda and following a schedule is incredibly freeing. Before I got into the habit of using my calendar, I used to spend a whole lot of time thinking about what I would do next. How much time do you think I wasted trying to figure out what my next activity should be? So that’s why I say it is key to use your agenda to your advantage.

1. Get clear about your goals and objectives, set stretch deadlines and chunk your goals into smaller bites
2. Next, schedule your week, starting with your Must-Dos and followed by your Nice-to-Dos. Include your entire life from your morning routine to bedtime, relaxation time in the evening, your hobbies, family time, personal time, gym time, appointments. Whatever you want to include into your day, schedule it. Think long-term and schedule your off time at the onset of the year. Like that you won’t get caught not being able to go on vacation!
3. Follow your agenda! When I started, I found that I was overly ambitious and what I scheduled actually took longer than I expected. Now that I have been doing it for some time, I have a better sense of how long things take and have adjusted. Give yourself some grace as you start out to understand how long tasks take, so you don’t over or under schedule yourself
4. Do you get really into what you are doing and fell that time runs away from you? Schedule some block time 50-75 minutes and set an alarm 5-10 minutes before your next activity is due. That way, you won’t get side-tracked

Using your agenda effectively is one way of being more productive. They other is by doing your weekly review. Every week, measure myself against whatever habits you have set for yourself (I use the 6 High Performance Habits) and on the different areas of your life, including career, love relationship, health and other areas. This will give you clarity as to whether or not you met the goals you set for yourself, if you were able to follow through on the commitments you made to yourself the week before and if anything got in your way. Once you have completed your review and have visibility on what you want to accomplish the following week, map it out. It works beautifully to stay on track. 

Final Words

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but not everyone is able to be productive with their time. So how do you go from being busy to becoming more effective and efficient? It’s about prioritizing your activities towards what matters most, figuring out your must-dos versus nice-to-do's, minimizing distractions, then weaponizing your agenda and performing weekly reviews. I’d love to hear what some of your productivity strategies are. Won't you share them below?