Do you feel like your to-do task never ends? You cross-out one, but later two or more new items are added? Despite working so hard, you’re not able to do most of the things on your list. You are so busy, but then why is this happening?
Is it wrong to be busy? Well, being busy not necessarily means being productive. Read on to find out what is the difference between the two.
- Busy people do many things at once, productive people focus only on one thing.
Multitasking may seem like an achievement, but the truth is you are distracted. Productive people know their Most Important Task, they focus on it by working one to two hours each morning, without interruptions. What task that will have the biggest impact on your work?
- Busy people say ‘yes’ all the time, productive people say “no” to almost everything.
Warren Buffet said “You say no to most things”.
If you say “yes” most of the time, you are dividing yourself into multiple pieces that is spread among priorities of other people. You have only limited time in a day, so don’t give it away easily.
- Busy people use to-do list, productive people schedule things on the calendar.
Productive people put things on their calendar and will stick to work from that. Almost half of the items on your to-do list never actually get done.
- Busy people quickly reply to emails, productive people process them few times a day.
Productive people don’t check their emails throughout the day. They schedule like every morning, after lunch and before leaving.
- Busy people focus on “doing things”, productive people plan with clarity before taking action.
Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule means 80% of the outcome came from only 20% of the activities. Identify with clarity the top 20% of activities, in which will drive the greatest results, and ignore the rest. Record things that work or didn’t work in a notebook or a diary.
- Busy people complain how “busy” they are, productive people let results do the talking.
Talking about something is not doing it. Busy people let others know (and sometimes brag) that they have so much work. Productive people quietly act and do their job.
- Busy people don’t have the time to go out and socialize, productive people make it home for the dinner.
Work is never-ending. There’s always work to be done. Successful and productive people know their value and purpose in life. They have a life outside work whether it is for the family, for health (like exercise), or giving back to other people. They know what matters most, and allocate their time to those who they value.
