Copyright 2006 Colleen Kettenhofen“Everything is hard before it is easy.†Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
One key to greater personal and professional success is the
ability to effectively manage time, overcome
procrastination, and improve productivity. Here are six
simple strategies that will guarantee your success IF you
practice them on a daily basis.
1. Study and master your core competencies. If you’re in a
leadership position, it’s imperative to continuously hone
your skills. What is one important subject or skill you
could learn, or continue to develop, that would bring you
closer to achieving your major goal? Decide what it is and
work on that area every day no matter what, except for the
one or two days each week you take off and relax. Ask
yourself, “What specific areas do I need to improve upon in
my line of work that would bring me closer to achieving
success?â€
The more experience you get, the more confident you feel.
The more confident you feel, the better you perform. Write
these core competencies down. Write them on your daily
to-do list each day. Commit to them 100%, and make time for
them with no excuses and no distractions. Make a daily
habit out of continuing to learn and practice new skills,
strategies, ideas and methods that are most critical to
your success. By continuously honing these skills, you’ll
start achieving better results in half the time.
2. Perfectionism leads to procrastination. Many people have
trouble getting started on a task because in their minds
they think they have to do it perfectly. As the saying
goes, too much analysis leads to paralysis. I remember once
procrastinating writing an article on overcoming
procrastination! Why? Because somehow in my mind I thought
I had to write the article “perfectly,†and get it right
the first time without writing a rough draft. Most of the
time that never happens. Usually I sit down and brainstorm,
and just begin jotting down thoughts. This way all sorts of
creative ideas come to mind. That’s how most of my articles
are written. Many of them are written in the late afternoon
and at night when I’m performing at my peak in terms of
creativity. Which brings up another important point about
improving your productivity:
3. Work with your natural biorhythms on your most important
tasks. What time of day or night are you most productive?
When do you have the most energy, concentration and focus?
If you are a morning person, make certain that is when you
work on those areas of critical importance to your career.
If you’re more of an afternoon or evening person, are you
able to do the bulk of your work during those hours?
I remember a senior manager in one of my leadership
trainings commenting on how many employees complain they
are “not a morning person,†yet they accepted a position
where they must report to work at 7:00 a.m.! Make sure that
your job is in line with your core values, priorities,
likes and dislikes. Otherwise you’ll ultimately fail no
matter how much you are being paid.
4. Incorporate the “Divide and Conquer Rule†to overcome
procrastination and achieve success. Break tasks down into
doable chunks and with specific time frames written down.
Research points to the fact that often we don’t tackle a
task because it seems too overwhelming. For example, if you
have to write a ten page special report, start by jotting
down ideas. Make a commitment to just get started writing
one or two paragraphs. Often the hardest part is just
getting started. Ever notice how often once you begin
something you’re on a roll and don’t want to stop?
I remember vacationing in Aruba in 1996. Normally I don’t
work on vacation, but there was a last minute leadership
training I had to prepare for an upcoming conference in
Seattle. When I told myself I’d work on it six solid hours
a day, I ended up doing nothing. After all, who would be
motivated to work for six hours on a beach in the
Caribbean?! As soon as I made a commitment to work on it
for only 45 minutes a day, and with a specific time frame
written down, it made it more palatable. I was on a roll
and finished working on that leadership training after just
three days. So, get rid of the “all or nothing†mentality.
5. The compounding effect of new information and refining
your skills. If you were to improve one percent per day,
five days a week, at the end of that week you’d be five
percent more effective. At the end of a year (52 weeks) you
would be MUCHÂ more productive. With that amount of
continuous and steady improvement, you would increase your
overall productivity, performance and output by
approximately 1000% over a ten year period. Project ten
years into the future and think about what that could do
for your income.
6. Eliminate distractions, low value activities, and create
your ideal working environment. Block out a chunk of time
to begin working on that all important task. Write it down.
Before you start, mentally prepare yourself. Clear off your
desk except for the essentials you will need to work on
that important project. Eliminate clutter. Tell everyone at
work that you will be off limits and unavailable until that
time you’re scheduled to be finished. If you work from
home, turn off the TV, your home phone and your cell phone.
Don’t have the washing machine or the dish washer on. These
will only serve as distractions.
What would be your ideal environment where you wouldn’t
have any distractions whatsoever? See if you can create
that. For example, to eliminate interruptions and work at
my best, my ideal environment is going to Starbucks in
Portland, with incredible views of Mt. Hood right outside
and nothing but my computer. In my speaking engagements,
participants tell me that sometimes they arrive for work
very early, or stay very late because it’s so peaceful and
no one else is in the office. There aren’t any people
distractions and they get double the work done in half the
time.
Every morning take time to write down your most important
goals in the present tense. Write them down on a large
sheet of paper several times. By writing them down you
print them indelibly in the subconscious of your mind. This
will put you in the right frame of mind to start thinking
of action steps for how to accomplish your major goals.
Remember, the key is to just get started. Do something. Do
anything on a daily basis that will bring you closer to
achieving your dreams. Practice makes perfect.
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Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational speaker, workplace
expert, & co-author of “The Masters of Success,” as
featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and
Jack Canfield. To order the book, or for more free
articles and e-newsletter visit
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com or (800)323-0683. Topics:
leadership, management, difficult people, public speaking,
success. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout
sessions and seminars.
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com
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