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Five Productivity Questions I Ask Every Single Day

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Five Productivity Questions I Ask Every Single Day

 

Is is possible asking key questions at the beginning of each day that will make our day more productive?

What if these key questions removed some stress and at the same time actually gave you more satisfaction at the end of the day because your productivity increased?

Time is one of my most valuable resources. Therefore I must leverage and maximize each precious moment given to me.

I travel a ton for work. I drive a ton every other weekend. It would be easy to use that as an excuse not to be productive.

But the exact opposite is true. I must be that much more vigilant to maximize my time wisely to be productive no matter where I am or what my schedule holds for the day ahead.

There are Five Productivity Questions I Ask Every Single Day:

 

1. What is the ONE THING that must get done today no matter what today?

Anyone who is productive has that one thing that just must be done today. Whether we put something off or it has a deadline, today is that day for completion.

It’s the one thing that will make or break my day with either its completion or quality of work.

When I ask this question, what is the one thing that must get done today no matter what, it forces me to isolate the absolute most important task that must be done and then I schedule it first at all costs.

But yet so often it’s not only a low priority today, it’s put off to the end of the day and two things happen as a result:

I feel rushed and the quality of the work suffers
I’m unable to give it my best effort because so much of the day has taken my best focus

This is completely avoidable by asking this question to begin your day and scheduling it as the 1st major thing you focus your best attention on this morning.

 

2. What is something I need to do but don’t want to do today?

There is ALWAYS something in your day you simply don’t want to do. And if you’re lucky, there may be more than one or potentially your entire day!

Know thyself. If you’re anything like me, you don’t like to do what you don’t want to do. Normally, this is not a big deal. But it is with productivity.

Sometimes the very thing you don’t want to do today is the ONE THING that just needs to get done today no matter what (question #1).

For me, my tendency is to put it off so I pay the price of both not wanting to do it AND having to get it done today (of course, at no additional charge, right?)

In a perfect scheduling day, I will do what absolutely needs to be done as my first time block of the day and if possible, knock it out before doing anything else.

Then secondly, move on to something I need to do but don’t want to do today.

If I can make some progress on this dreaded task (not to be dramatic, right?), it takes the mental edge of completing it because it’s already begun and usually not as bad as I made it out to be. And often, it doesn’t take as long especially if I focus on it for a chunk of time.

The key is knocking it out early so you don’t feel pressure on top of disdain for the task.

 

3. What could I start today that will avoid an emergency tomorrow?

Both of the first two questions can be dramatically influenced and affected to the positive by asking this question.

This is where thinking ahead and planning takes the pressure off of tomorrow. It moves something from Q1 – Urgent and Important to Q2 – Not Urgent and Important.

[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@brybuckley” remove_url=”true”]We have enough urgency and stress in any given day. If I can avoid any of it by thinking ahead, it’s worth my time and effort today.[/tweetthis]

If I have a major presentation to create or a large project to complete, if I can begin that process ahead of time to avoid an emergency tomorrow, two things ultimately happen:

I don’t feel the overwhelming stress tomorrow of completing it that day
My quality of work increases because I’m not rushed

I prefer to allow thoughts to develop and unfold rather than appear and go with the first idea.

Asking this question will allow that key development and minimize your stress for tomorrow.

4. Where could I potentially lose a large portion of time today?

According to Kenneth Ziegler’s research, we tend to underestimate, on the average, by 20 percent the time a task will take.

Everyday offers a task, meeting, conference call, interruption etc. that could suck the life or any extra margin completely out of your day,

This question forces me to look at my day objectively and see where I may need to pad some time to make sure I don’t get off schedule or at least too far off schedule so that something major isn’t completed.

For example, if I’m working on a big project or presentation, I have a gift of under-estimating how long it will take for it to not only be completed but edited, get feedback, and finalized.

I also have certain calls, meetings, etc. which no matter how long the scheduled time states, ALWAYS goes longer yet I never schedule this overage.

This is a solvable problem by asking this question, where could I lose a large portion of time today?

It’s taking control of YOUR schedule to maximize YOUR productivity. Go into your day with “Eyes Wide Open” of where may lose valuable time and plan ahead for this predictable loss.

 

5. When can I batch common activities together today?

There are a few activities that you do every single day: emails, phone calls, filing, etc.

But when these tasks are done in isolation, they seem to take much longer and knock me off focus far more than is necessary and definitely beneficial.

This is where batching activities is absolutely critical. The concept was introduced to me by Kenneth Ziegler in his highly recommended book, Organizing for Success.

Batching common activities is such a simple concept but so few implement the concept. It’s taking similar activities and doing them at the same time.

For example, let’s say you implement Question #1: What is the One Thing That Must Get Done Today?” before checking email. AFTER and ONLY AFTER you complete your one thing, you took 20 minutes and went after your Inbox.

Since I’ve applied this theory, I get SO many more emails completed because I’m in that mindset and that is my task not bouncing from one thing to another.

The same is true batching phone calls, office busy work such as filing, errands, etc.

But this question must be asked at the beginning of the day to maximize your productivity.

 

In the End…

Productivity begins with intentionality. It’s not a reaction game.

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Learning to ask these or other productivity questions to begin your day will exponentially affect the results of your day.

I challenge you to ask these five questions for the next five work days and measure the results.  Just the simple process of thinking through your day will yield positive results.

Motivated, busy professionals think differently to escape their average. They don’t compare themselves to anyone else but know they can always personally improve.

And this is a perfect way to to excel in an area that only you can control: your productivity.

Closing Question…

Which of the five questions should you ask yourself first that will make the greatest impact on your productivity tomorrow?

Four Simple and Effective Steps to Begin Planning Your Day

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Four Simple and Effective Steps to Begin Planning Your Day

 

What is the key word for most people to describe their day? React.

It’s the easiest way to approach your day. You just let it take its natural coarse to chaos then look back wondering what just happened.

Reacting is ALWAYS there for you the next day and it’s the gift that keeps on giving if you let it.

There is another way.

In my research I found that most people say they plan their day (mostly because it sounds irresponsible if you don’t).

But as the covers are pulled down, little to no planning let alone effective planning actually occurred.

My professional response: HUH? (internally, as far as you know)

And ironically, so few people know how to plan. I mean really plan. IF they sit down and plan, they lose all of their “planning time” due to disorganization.

But this is a solvable problem.

For simplicity sake, I’ve taken the word PLAN and created a process to work through for a few minute plan for the day. Here it is:

P – Prepare to Plan

L – Look Back / Look Ahead

A – Action Items

N – Now Simply Plan

The acronym may sound simplistic, even remedial but considering how many people do not consistently plan their day beyond a simple to do list, I want to put the cookies on the bottom shelf.

You like cookies, right…?

This is a good place to start.

Now, let’s do a deeper dive into each letter.

 

Here are the Four Simple and Effective Steps

Step 1. PREPARE to PLAN

The first step is simply finding a time to plan.

As in most things in life, starting is often one of the biggest challenges.

If it’s not scheduled, it often doesn’t get done for me. So, the first step in Prepare to Plan is to schedule a time to plan.

This looks different for each person.

For example, if you have the same routine each day, it should be very easy to choose a consistent time to plan. Let’s say it’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk. This would mean NOT checking email or Facebook first thing. (how insensitive, I know!)

If you travel a lot like me, then the time changes often which means I must be much more intentional about looking at when in my day is best for me to take these coveted few minutes.

The point here is only you know your schedule and when is best for you.

The rest of the acronym is useless and only light reading if you don’t take the time to Plan to Plan your day.

 

Step 2. LOOK BACK / LOOK AHEAD

The second step is looking at your calendar. (Which means having a calendar;)

These are the appointments within your day. Do you have meetings? Conference calls? Lunch plans?

You can do two things here:

  1. Confirm what is already on the schedule by looking at your calendar so you know what your day ahead is going to look like for you (Look Back)
  2. Schedule any appointments that need to be added to your day (Look Ahead)

How many times have you been bitten by finding out about a meeting or conference call you completely forgot about and either found out at the last minute by a calendar reminder or walked in late?

Easily avoidable newly adopted planning fans.

Sadly, most of us leave yesterday completely in the past. The flaw in this approach is when something was NOT completed or moved into today’s schedule and not given the proper attention: rescheduling.

Step 2 allows you to simply and quickly review your yesterday so you can have a more effective today.

This back and ahead perspective allows you to know major pieces to the structure of your day so you can add the details around it which is found in the next step…

 

Step 3. ACTION ITEMS

The third step is looking at your to do list or task list.

These are the action items that must be done today.

I need to look back to yesterday to see what was NOT accomplished or pushed to today that needs attention. (Looking Back)

I also need to look ahead and what I need to get done today or in the near future. This is where your to do list (in whatever form) is transferred into your day.

Is there a task my boss gave to me that has a deadline?

Was there an assignment given to me in a meeting that I need to actually do?

Do you have travel plans that need to get booked or expense reports that need to be completed? (the story of my life!)

Or if you have a meeting at 2pm that you’re expected to present information, you’ll need to schedule time within your day to prepare for your part in the meeting. (and preferably before 1:50pm – current parties discluded)

Sounds simple yet again, so few take the time to prepare. And as a result, they enter into Q1 – URGENT and IMPORTANT (aka: freak out zone) and enter high stress and anxiety. (for you and by the way, EVERYONE ELSE…)

Can you say preventable?

Step 4. NOW SIMPLY PLAN

The fourth and final step is plan your day.

If you’ve done the previous three steps of setting a specific time, looking back and forward then focusing on your action items, then you can now simply plan.

You have a majority of the needed information to go into your day eyes wide open and maximize your day.

[tweetthis]Planning is one of the few activities that a small investment of time will produce exponential results. – Bryan Paul Buckley[/tweetthis]

This minimal amount of time (5-10 minutes even) will give you the best chance of succeeding today.

I’ve yet to find someone who has tried these steps and has chosen to go back to reacting to their day.

And for me, IF I miss a planning day, it just takes a few hours of “reacting” and everything stops for me to plan the rest of the day. Make the bad man stop!

Get to this fourth step and let the results determine if this was the best use of this minimal investment of time.

 

In the End…

Honestly, what is the risk? Is spending 5-10 minutes the worst use of your time? What if this becomes the most valuable 5-10 minutes of your day?

So, are you willing to P.L.A.N. tomorrow?

  1. Plan to Plan = schedule a time
  2. Look Back / Look Ahead = calendar
  3. Action Items to Complete = task / to do list
  4. Now Simply Plan = schedule your day

In future posts, we’ll do a deep dive into how best to maximize your day through more complex planning concepts.

For now, let’s implement and maximize your P.L.A.N. and get the basics down.

 

Action Item:

Schedule 5 minutes to PLAN your tomorrow by writing this time in your calendar right now. I’m waiting;)

 

Closing Question:

What time did you choose to plan your day?

The Secret Killer of Productivity

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The Secret Killer of Productivity

Three Convincing Reasons Not to Simply React to Your Day

 

You sit down to work and one of the following happens:

  • You hear your infamous text ding and well, you know what happens next
  • You choose to return this “one pop-up email” while working on something else (because it popped up and seems urgent) only to lose 10 minutes going back and forth
  • Someone interrupts you with “hey, this will only take a second”
  • You’re going to just check this one thing and it leads to another thing which leads to…

It’s like hitting rush hour traffic. Again. And again. You get absolutely no where.

 

I’ve always struggled in this area. I like movement and getting a lot accomplished quickly. But there is always a trade-off and a cost.

Yet reacting gives me a rush because I feel busy. I feel like I’m still accomplishing something at the end of the day.

Sadly, most of the time only God knows what actually was accomplished but it was something, right?!

The book The 5 Choices hits this topic dead on by describing it as URGENT

Q1 – Urgent / Important

If it’s Q1 (quandrant) you’re in crisis and it’s high stress.

Q3 – Urgent / Not Important

If it’s Q3, it just wants your attention and wants it now! But isn’t necessary unless you get a thrill or instant gratification from relieving the urgency of it

Screen Shot 2015-04-12 at 5.22.33 PM

I want and should live in Q2 – Important but not urgent but live in the land of react.

But is there a cost? Could reacting actually be a secret killer of productivity?

 

Here Are Three Convincing Reasons Not to Simply React to Your Day:

1. Loss of Control

When I’m reacting the 1st thing I lose is the control of my day. I find this in two specific areas:

  • Others Requests / Demands
  • Personal Rabbit Trails

I also find someone wants me to respond instantly then they take their sweet time returning the favor.

Sure, I drop everything because it was urgent then it’s no longer that important. (insert bitterness here)

But I do have control to what is truly worth stopping what I’m doing to consciously choose to do something else.

 

2. Loss of Momentum

The 2nd loss is all momentum. How many times have you stopped to react to something and had absolutely no idea what you were originally doing? Yeah, no waste of time there, right?

Or more times than not, I have to re-read my work to see where I left off, and get back in the zone of whatever I was working on before I hi-jacked all momentum.

In the book, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (highly recommended), the author spends an entire chapter on “The Big Mo” (momentum, for those not following along at home) and the power of it when harnessed.

Yet, when we react, all of the momentum that has been gained is like a freight train slamming on its break. It will not regain its speed quickly it had before the sudden stop.

 

3. Loss of Results

In the end, the highest price for reacting becomes my results.

Sometimes it’s a short-term result because the reaction distracted me to a key thought or idea which I rarely recapture after that “so important” work stoppage.

Other times I lose precious time never to be retrieved again and I live in the land of regret. Been there. The admission is too high and never worth it.

Rarely is my reaction worth the time I took to stop and pay attention to it. But yet I so easily can get pulled in by its shiny attraction.

 

Here Are Two Solutions on How Not to React:

  1. Limit possible distractions

The less I have around me that can distract me, the less my urge to react dramatically decreases and my productivity increases.

Here are my biggest culprates to take me down on reacting to a distraction:

  • Text – the ding owns me – I am a slave to it!
  • Email – cannot resist the email pop-up across the screen
  • Websites – seeing an open icon is like dark chocolate to my wife or a good bottle of vino for yours truly

I will justify “this will only take a second” (lies I tell you!) which it very well could be quick but I sacrifice momentum which is never worth the reaction.

I have a natural gift that I will find myself drawn to most distractions and then I’ve officially lost control. Can I get an Amen?

  1. Discipline

In the end, I must CHOOSE what is more important and have the discipline to determine what is most important and actually do it.

One of the best ways I can measure how disciplined I was for the day was to measure my actual results at the end of the day. I look back and see what was accomplished in comparison to my original plan for the day. (of course, both require planning – see link)

When I take the time to actually look at what was done then when went wrong, this valuable intel lets me know what to adjust for tomorrow.

But the reality is I must resolve that whatever I’m working on deserves my focus and attention more than reacting to the urgent. Then I must actually do it.

This reality takes discipline to delay instant gratification and produce the actual desired results.

 

IN THE END…

If you’re truly serious about productivity, you will do three specific actions:

  1. Determine what is your distraction (or if like me, distractions) immediately
  1. Seek to eliminate them at all costs (even instant gratification)
  1. Evaluate your progress daily

Closing Question…

How are you doing in this area? Do you find this is the secret killer of your productivity?

What is the Absolute Best Way to Hijack Your Day?

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What is the Absolute Best Way to Hijack Your Day?

Three Key Benefits of Planning Your Day Ahead

 

How do you start the work part of your day? I’ve found this question has dumb-founded more people and caused more defensiveness than almost any other question.

Why? Because it questions how someone uses their time and you might as well dive right into religion and politics since you’re gaining so much credibility. (don’t do that, bad idea!)

What is the absolute best way to hijack your day? Here’s the gun-point answer:

Here are some of the rich benefits to reacting:

  • You get to react all day long
  • You get to make excuses why you didn’t get anything done
  • You’re not responsible for the outcome
  • You get to do it all over again tomorrow and act like today never happened!

Compelling, huh? (insert sarcasm here)

But is there another way? What if this way is not working for you? If you’re a motivated, busy professional who wants to excel in areas only you can control, this may be average and acceptable for everyone else but not you.

What if you went into your day with a plan? A guide that let you know what was important and what should be done by the end of the day? This simple process could be a game changer for most people.

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

Yet I hear over and over that people don’t have time to plan. Really? But they have time to waste time by either doing non-productive work or checking social media, personal email, etc. Not blaming, just saying.

It truly gets down to making choices that will ultimately make you more effective. It’s not getting defensive and truly being will to learn and grow how to embrace better in your life.

“Do not mistake activity for achievement” said economist Mabel Newcomber, and I could not agree with her more.

Most people get to the end of their day and wonder where the day went and spent it on almost everything that was either not important or what actually needed to be accomplished.

And the problem only worsens as the next day. My opinion is to make the bad man stop. For those following along at home, this is a solvable problem.

It’s also a great opportunity to choose what not to do. Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism (must read) said,

“Sometimes what you DON’T do is just as important as what you do.”

But this is not a spare of the moment decision. It requires pre-thought and decision which comes out of planning your day.

 

There are Three Key Benefits of Planning Your Day:

1. Focus

Nothing beats focus. When you choose to plan and not react to your day, good things happen. I find when I do not plan my day, I am so random. I jump from task to task and although busy all day, I don’t feel like I really accomplished anything and exhausted. (go figure)

But when I plan my day, I know WHAT to do and as a result can focus on what I planned and needed to do. What a difference! And it’s amazing the results when you focus and distractions are “sold separately.”

2. Priorities

The goal is to determine the three most important priorities of the day (author Kenneth Ziegler in his book, Organizing for Success calls them “Veggies”). Once chosen “prioritize your priorities.”

At the end of the day, you will ALWAYS have completed the most important priority of the day. How good would THAT feel?

One of my favorite yet most challenging questions comes from the book, The One Thing by Gary Keller, who asks,

“What is the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it EVERYTHING else will be easier or unnecessary?”

 

Imagine if you answered that question every morning when setting your priorities..? But choosing your daily priorities is a direct result from the small time investment in planning your day.

3. Results

If you’re a high achiever which most motivated professionals are, then you love results. Yet I’ve found when I don’t have a plan I don’t see any real results and get frustration included at no additional charge.

I’ve yet to meet or read about a successful person who chooses a “shotgun” approach to their day. They see results in direct correlation to their plan for the day. Then why should you if you want to be effective?

[tweetthis]Here’s my advice if you’re not consistently planning right now: PLAN 2 PLAN. – Bryan Paul Buckley[/tweetthis]

 

Choose a realistic amount of time to begin, say just 5 minutes and schedule it in your day. Let it be your first 5 minutes. Then see what happens. Evaluate at the end of the week and measure the power of focus, setting priorities, and simply weigh the results.

You may find that 5 minutes needs to grow and I’ll even throw in an extra 5 minutes right now at no additional charge. (said in a cheesy infomercial voice)

But seriously, I’ve never heard about a person who began planning who every went back to reacting to their day. Are you up for the challenge?

Or if you are planning your day, what could you do to make it more effective?

 Closing Question:

How consistent are you at planning your day? And when you do, how much better are the results?

Defining Be Professionally Better

Defining Be Professionally Better

8 Descriptions of the Average Professional’s Day

Most people feel the strongest area for them is professionally. But here’s a question: are they measuring the right things to make this actually a true statement?

I’ve been the guy who was busy but not productive. I wasted SO much energy reacting to my day and getting everything done for everyone else but not my own work. I was frustrated, drained, and ultimately unproductive. But I was sure was busy.

But then things started to change when I decided to escape my own average and get serious about planning and productivity. And oh have things changed!

The second of the three key areas of Escaping Your Average and Embracing Better is the professional side of your life.

Your Mind = Your Mental World. Not everyone sees it but they do see your results. And often, that’s exactly the difference maker between success and mediocrity. Here is the symbol for Be Professionally Better moving forward:

Clock

Ironically, most people truly believe they are much better in this area than they actually are which is easily proven by their results (or possibly the lack thereof).

But even then, most people prefer the comfort of not changing and getting the same results.

Here are 8 Descriptions of the Average Professional’s Day:

  1. Show up and just begin
  2. React to whatever just appears
  3. Drop everything for anything urgent
  4. Bounce from task to task
  5. Never really finish anything or its completed poorly
  6. Waste time due to overwhelm or lack of engagement
  7. Feel busy all day but not necessarily productive
  8. Feel exhausted and NOT looking forward to tomorrow

 

It doesn’t take long to uncover the lack of planning and productivity in one’s day let alone their life.

But why live this way? Why regret how you spent your time and what little was accomplished? There is another way.

Be Professionally Better consists of two main categories. Each one is directly affected by the other and is the strongest when both are working together. And when done effectively, can provide exponential results. What are the two categories?

  1. Planning
  1. Productivity

Every Wednesday I will be writing on one or the other of these critically important subjects. One Wednesday will be a planning focus. The other Wednesday will be a productivity focus.

Reflective Question…

Are these areas that you feel you need improvement in your life? If you planned more, would you be able to not only accomplish more, but actually the things that are truly important and game changers to your success?

John Pierpont Morgan once said, “The first step in getting somewhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are.”

Here’s the point: You must make this decision to grow in the professional area of planning and productivity.

And are you busy or productive? I find that is one of the biggest misnomers or lies that need to be exposed. Busy does NOT equal productivity.

Good analogy by Alfred A. Montapert: “Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make progress.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_url=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true”]Don’t confuse busy & motion with productivity & progress. Once this is grasped, growth is right around the corner & there for the taking.[/tweetthis]

Yet I find this is one of the largest poser areas of busy professionals. We want to appear successful and it’s hard for us to truly admit we need to improve in this result-oriented area.

But the motivated professional will learn from anyone and anything to grow especially in planning and productivity.

Once I personally chose this learning mindset, I came across SO much information that offered immediate relief and ultimate improvement.

I hope to shorten your journey in this area by educating, challenging, and motivating you in the professional area of your life. Remember, these are areas that only you can personally change and control.

Your average may be better than most people, but is it good enough for you?

Truly motivated professionals will be honest with that answer and make the necessary changes to grow and excel. Will that be true of you?

KEY ACTION ITEM:

Commit to learning and being willing to change in this area. Read and apply the action items in each post under becoming professionally better.

KEY QUESTION:

Are you busy or productive right now in your life?