Are You Productive or Just Busy?

When I first met James he was stressed and exhausted.  James is an engineer who has his own business. He said he worked all the time, but for some reason his business wasn’t growing.  He was confused about his situation and wondered why all his hard work wasn’t paying off.

As we talked it became apparent that although James was constantly busy, he wasn’t productive.  He spent hours doing things such as updating his QuickBooks, cleaning out his email, and participating in business-oriented social networking web sites.  These are all important things, but none of them were focused on taking care of his clients, marketing to bring in new ones, or creating bottom-line results.

James said he enjoys working with his clients, but doesn’t like to do what’s necessary to let others know his services are available.  He said he “hates marketing,” so whenever it’s time to go to a networking function, write ad copy, or contact potential clients, he allows himself to be distracted by other things.

We spent some time looking at how James feels about his business, to see if it’s really a business, or just a hobby.  If it’s a hobby, it’s OK for him to work on it only when he wants to and when it’s fun. However, if it’s truly a business, then he must commit to doing all that’s required, even when it’s not fun or he doesn’t feel like it.

James said that he has years of education and experience in his field, loves his work, needs to make a good living and wants to be his own boss.  Given those things, he decided his work is a business, not a hobby.  He realized that if he wants his business to grow, he must grow along with it.  This means he needs to stop being busy, stretch his comfort zone and start producing results.

Once James committed to the fact that he’s running a business, he decided to:

·        Revisit his marketing plan and define the steps he needs to take to move his business forward.

·        Set daily and weekly goals, along with an action plan for each goal.

·        Ask himself each morning, “What is the most important thing for me to accomplish today?”  He will then hold himself accountable to achieve that by the end of the day.

·        Pay attention to how he spends his time, to ensure there is a balance between activities that will move him towards his goals, and those that help maintain order in the office.

·        Write a daily schedule that allows time for both types of activities.

·        Make a commitment to stretch his comfort zone several times each day.  If he feels insecure or uncomfortable about an activity such as networking or making marketing calls, he will reassure himself that no matter what happens, he will survive.  Then he will stop thinking about it and just do it.

·        Revisit his marketing plan at the end of each week to ensure he is staying on track.

·        Outsource or delegate the things he doesn’t like or never gets around to.

·        Get control of email by closing it so you don’t hear every time one comes in, and setting a time in the morning and afternoon when you will check it.

                  ·        Avoid doing social media while at work.

Now when James starts an activity he asks himself how it will move him forward.  He is aware that he must pay attention to the ways he uses his time, and insure that whatever he is doing will produce results rather than just keep him busy.

Is there a possibility you might be like James?  How much do you do each day that is distracting or easy, so you can avoid doing what is productive?

It’s something to think about.

Please comment so others will benefit from your wisdom and experience

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