Prioritizing Productivity

If you are busier than you like to be, but feeling less productive, then read on.

How busy are you these days? Now, here is another question: How productive are you? As most of us know, the two are not remotely the same. All too often, being busy may have nothing at all to do with the results we get and what we achieve.

We spend our days, often very long days, in a flurry of activity. But, when the day or week is over, we are disappointed at the level of our accomplishment. Our disappointment creates stress and we push ourselves even harder to “get more done.” However, pushing hard isn’t the answer.

So, what is the answer? Experience shows that a sense of priorities based on a clear purpose and well-defined short- and long-term goals are what one needs. The world is full of people who are definitely in motion, but they’re not exactly sure where they’re going and they don’t know why, either. Maybe they get going so fast that they never take the time to figure it out, or they are afraid to take a moment on the off-chance that they won’t get started again. If that is your situation, perhaps now is the time to set aside the opportunity for personal reflection, some personal values clarification and goal-setting.

There is nothing like a strong sense of purpose, based on clearly spelled out values, to keep you moving. More than that, it keeps you moving in the right direction. With all the different media out there today, it is easier than ever before to get pulled away from our targets. We just want to make sure that the targets we are aiming at are worth our time and talents, and are truly getting us where we want to go.