8 Characteristics of a personal productivity mindset by Carthage Buckley
Understanding time management allows you to develop a clear understanding of what needs to be done. Personal productivity is necessary for you to make sure that what needs to be done gets done. If you are not achieving the results you want from your days, there is usually a problem in one of these areas. Either you do not have a clear understanding of what needs to get done, or you do not have an effective system for making sure that it is getting done. This post focuses on the personal productivity mindset.
Characteristics
of a personal productivity mindset
The following list covers the most
important elements of a personal productivity mindset. If you are struggling in
any of these areas, you need to revisit your productivity system to ensure you
have all of your bases covered.
1.Clear
vision
With a personal productivity
mindset, you have a clear vision of what needs to be done and when it needs to
be done by. You know what the end result looks like and you are clear on the
next action required to move things forward. You do not need to know what every
step along the road is going to be.
2.Unhurried
When you are properly organised,
with an effective personal productivity system in place, you know what your
next steps are for each project. When a new task arrives, you are able to
process that information and determine the appropriate action in just a few
seconds. Your system is set up to remind you of what you need to do, when you
need to do it. When you are this well organised, why would you ever need to
hurry?
3.Active,
not busy
Busyness is a sign of somebody who
is rushed off of their feet. Generally, if you are rushed of your feet, you are
not properly organised and you lack an effective system for managing your
productivity. With a personal productivity mindset, you are calm and clear on
what you are doing. Either you know what action you need to take next, or your
system allows you to quickly determine what action to take next. You can be
active, and effective, without ever being busy.
4.Living
on purpose
When talking about a personal
productivity mindset, the word personal is often overlooked. Anybody can be
productive but if your productivity is not allowing you to fulfil your needs
and goals, what is the point? If this is the case, you are not being personally
productive; you are simply a cog in somebody else’s machine. With a
personal productivity mindset, you are clear on your identity, your values, and
your priorities. You automatically question any activities that conflict with
these.
5.Living
in the present
When you do not have an effective
personal productivity system, you fail to capture and process all of the
commitments that you make. This leaves your mind desperately trying to remind
you of your commitments; even at inappropriate times e.g. you may be in a
business meeting when you remember that you have forgotten to do something at
home. With a personal productivity mindset, this rarely happens. You have a
clear mind, and you are fully present in the moment. You know that you are on
top of your work. If such a thought does occur, you know that you can capture
it quickly and then you are back in the moment.
6.You
don’t hold grudges
When you hold a grudge, you are
leaving an incident or issue unresolved. This takes precious time and energy
from you, as you mull over it in your mind. If you want to be productive, you
need to be assertive. Assertive people deal with incidents, in an appropriate
manner, when they arise. Letting go of your grudges, and grievances, will work
wonders for your productivity.
7.Self
centred
When I was growing up, being self
centred was talked about as if it was a bad thing. It took me some time to
realise that people were confusing being self-centred with being selfish. When
you are selfish, you are only concerned with your own needs and wants. You do
not care if you upset others in the process of achieving them. On the opposite
end of the scale, you have selfless behaviour, whereby you constantly seek to
help others fulfil their needs with little regard for your own. While both of
these behaviours are necessary, from time to time, neither is an effective long
term approach to life. The appropriate approach is to be self-centred where you
are happy to help others achieve their goals as long as you do not have to
sacrifice your own ambitions to do so.
8.Focused
With a personal productivity
mindset, you know what needs to get done in any given moment and you remain
focused on getting it done. There is a tendency in the modern day to try to
multi-task. Multi-tasking is a myth. You are not really performing two tasks at
once. You are repeatedly switching from one task to another with neither task
getting your full, uninterrupted attention. When you try to do this, both tasks
take longer to complete than they would if you do them separately. It is highly
likely that neither task is completed to as high a standard as would be the
case if done separately.
A highly productive person knows
that it is best to focus on one task at time and perform that task to the best
of their ability. Then they can move onto to the next task and give it their
full focus.
A time management mindset is
essential for determining what you want to achieve, deciding on your
priorities, and understanding which activities bring the best rewards. Simply
put, it lets you determine what needs to get done. A personal productivity
mindset, allows you to make sure that this stuff gets done. It is all about
setting up a system which captures each commitment, decides the best course of
action, and ensures that the relevant action is carried out at the appropriate
time. A time management mindset takes care of the bigger picture, and
then the personal productivity mindset takes charge of the little details.
Together, they will ensure that you do everything you need to do to achieve
your goals, and you will be happier and healthier in the process. It can take
quite a lot of effort to create this level of organisation but once you do, the
rewards are amazing
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