The Thieves of Productivity

I’m so frigg’n busy! We’ve all felt it …

Having started my own consulting practise, (During a pandemic!) I’ve felt this sense of  stress  (along with others I’m sure) and if I’m completely honest, it’s a familiar feeling, one I can recognize in my life over time. 

Juliet Funt, from ‘White Space’, suggests there are four causes of being so busy that it actually robs us of our productivity. Juliet explains that we all have aspects of these four characteristics within us and that they can steal our time, energy, ideas, satisfaction and potential if we don’t pay attention. They can negatively impact our teams, relationships, health and our bottom line.

1 Drive

2 Excellence 

3 Information

4 Activity  

We can see these characteristics as strengths which have served us to achieve success.

However, they can steal from us, if we don’t pay attention. They can ‘Out Grow’ their pots sort of speak, when taken to the extreme. Like any good thing, unchecked, it can work against us if we aren’t aware of them and  when they become unproductive.

Drive becomes Over Drive

Excellence becomes Perfectionism

Information becomes Information Overload

Activity becomes Frenzy

They can tempt us into a pace and pressure that reduces our overall effectiveness.

To catch yourself from this happening, we need to learn to purposely design them to serve you, not drag you down.

The first step is to ‘notice’  or ‘catch yourself’ when they’re becoming unproductive.

Four Questions to ‘Rid Yourself of these Productivity Thieves’.

When you struggle with one of the characteristics (and we all struggle with at least one of them!) consider asking one of the following questions:

• Drive: Is there anything I can let go of?

• Excellence: Where is good enough, good enough?

• Information: What do I truly need to know?

• Activity: What is most important right now?

Asking ourselves these questions will free your focus on the things that actually matter.