OK, it's a bit tongue in cheek, but it seems there's always some insight when you turn a typical phrase on its ear. In this case, the point being that we are all seeking to shave minutes or steps off the work we do to become more productive. Sometimes I wonder if our lives should be measured in RPMs or cycles rather than in minutes.
While we are all so busy becoming more productive - and I am a big advocate of that - make sure you are not losing sight of the bigger picture. A new keystroke to save time or a new way to communicate or a new book about personal productivity are all well and good, but what are you using that time you saved for? As you may have guessed if you've been around Thinking Faster long enough, I've got a bushel of cliches that I enjoy - so here we go:
1. Do you live to work or work to live? I think what's really important is to do as much as you can as fast as you can and add as much value as you can while you are at work. Face it, most of us
spend 10 hours or more a day away from our families at work. Many of us work for small to midsized firms where our contribution matters. If you aren't willing to give it all you've got while at work, and if you aren't enjoying what you are doing, find something else. Give it all you've got while at work. But be smart enough to know when to back away and focus on the other things in your life - your hobbies, your outside interests and especially your friends and family. While you are with your family or friends or enjoying your hobbies, do you give them the same attention and focus as you do at work?
2. Do the same things faster or new things better. What's your purpose while at work? Do you simply want to do the same things faster - ie process 12 purchase orders an hour rather than 10 per hour? Or do you want to find a way to use the time you save to take on something new? Do you use that time to recommend and design a new business process that eliminates your job entirely? I don't know that there's a "wrong" answer - but from where I stand, I want to be part of creative destruction rather than simply increasing the RPMs.
3. Take the time to think. Every once in a while (every day in my case) I try to have 30 minutes where I simply try to think about what my firm, work team, project or product should do next. I've built a number of plans and ideas for what I want to do or what I think the focus should be for our next product, project or task. Some of those ideas are well received and some are laughed out of the building. But using the time to think and write down my ideas I get to contribute toward what we do next rather than simply be swept along with the tide. Start taking some time to think about where your business (product, service, workteam) is headed and what you can do to impact the results or recommend new strategies.
Productivity is important - but to what result? If you could become infinitely more productive at your current role, what would you do with the time you had left over? More of the same, or something completely different? There's not a wrong answer as to what you do with your time. The only wrong result is never taking the time to think and plan in the first place.
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