Western society has become consumed with being busy. Most of us feel guilty if we’re not always on the go. The challenge is that busy doesn’t necessarily make you money, nor does it mean you get more done. The real question is not how busy are you, it’s how productive are you?
The first step toward becoming more productive is gaining clarity on what it is you need to accomplish. Once you are clear on your tasks, the next step is to prioritize them. Steven Covey popularized a system for prioritizing tasks. He divided them into quadrants:
1. Important and urgent [i.e.:…
On the last blog, I discussed the Pareto Principle, suggesting that 20% of your time accounts for 80% of your productivity. Today, I want to talk about ways to get more productive utilizing technology that most of us already own: smartphones and tablets. We will focus on using apps to increase productivity.
For iPhone users, the Reminders App, which is already on your iPhone when you buy it, is the single greatest smartphone tool for getting things done. It’s a simple to-do list with the ability to remind you of deadlines, set alarms, and prioritize your tasks. If you are behind the wheel, you can even use Siri to verbally input items.…
It’s hard to ignore people who have achieved great success over multiple areas. There is one man that immediately comes to mind. He set the free throw record for both the NCAA, and the NBA while he was in college. He won an Olympic Gold Medal. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton and was awarded the Rhodes scholarship. He was the MVP of the NBA, served multiple terms in the US Senate, and even made a run for the White House. The man I’m talking about is Bill Bradley.
What’s interesting is that he was never the smartest person in the class or the most talented athlete.…
How industrious are you? Do you wish you could get more done? Can you be more productive?
In the early 1900’s Charles Schwab (left), the head of the Bethlehem Steel, hired Ivy Lee, a well-known consultant and asked him to help his organization be more productive. When they got to the issue of how Lee would be compensated, Lee suggested that Schwab should pay him what he thinks his services are worth. After 3 months, Schwab sent Lee a check for $35,000. Keep in mind at that time, the average house sold for just over $2000, and the typical worker was making less than $2 per day.…
