LIVING A PRODUCTIVE LIFE SERIES 1

Have you ever experienced this?
Too much work, but time is limited.
Too many tasks, but you’re only one.
Too many deadlines and you’re feeling overwhelmed.

How can I have a productive day?

If this is your feeling today, THIS BLOG IS FOR YOU!

PLAN & ORGANIZE
This is what I normally do before going to sleep. I already plan ahead of time and organize the things that I am going to do for month, week, and the day. I need to know what are my goals and objectives before I go to work. You may be busy, but if you don’t hang on the marks, you still miss the goal.

Next thing is to do is to…
BREAK IT DOWN
Know what is the URGENT and IMPORTANT.

URGENT things are things you need to do immediately or you will have consequences.
Like trying to defuse a bomb before it explodes or people will get hurt.
Paying your utilities like cell phone bills or your line will be cut.
In my case, writing this article is urgent or else you have nothing to read today.

IMPORTANT things are valuable to you on the long term, but not necessarily on the short term.
Exercising or dieting, it is important for you to look and feel good. Aside from the looks, health is wealth.
In my case, writing my next book is important because my followers are expecting a new book from me this year.

After I segregate the urgent and the important then I do the…

FIRST HOUR RULE
I devote the first hour of the day to do my URGENT tasks which I am going to explain later.
I do not take calls or answer emails that may concern others, especially if it is not part of URGENT & IMPORTANT of my agenda for the day.

Calls or emails maybe URGENT & IMPORTANT to others, but maybe not to you.
You maybe bugged down in fulfilling the needs of others, but it does not directly benefit you.

Do you understand what I mean?

FINISH YOUR URGENT TASK FOR THE FIRST HOUR OF THE DAY.
Have you ever felt that you need to finish the URGENT task so you want to get this over with?
So there is a tendency that you’ve been working for it for 2 to 3 hours but nothing seems to be happening.

The more you feel stressed realizing that the person who will help you to fulfill the task is not available; worst never returns your call and text. So you’re stuck with the task the whole day.

What I usually do is I set a timer in front of me and set it for an hour, then I start working on the given time.
If nothing happens, I move on to the important matters of the day which may not be urgent but is important.
I personally set aside a specific amount of time to also work on the important things and once the time is up, then I go back to the urgent and unfinished task for the first hour.

REMINDER: Important things are for long-term; never expect that you are going to finish it during the day.
Try to do these four things first and see how you will improve your productivity and efficiency.

If you like this blog please feel free to share this with your office mates and friends.

Remember they might be the people that need to know this to help you improve your productivity.

THINK. REFLECT. APPLY.

Where do you think you are weak in the four things that I mentioned?
Are you bugged down by the URGENT or IMPORTANT things?
What do you think you need to do in order to improve your productivity?

Chinkee Tan is a famous motivational speaker in the Philippines. He specializes in topics such as personal development, dealing with relationships within family, friends, work and other people and financial management techniques to name a few. He continues to inspire thousands of people through his books, free business seminars in the Philippines and being a motivational corporate speaker to different organizations.

If this article has lifted a burden in you, check out these other related posts:

• WE ARE PAID TO BE PRODUCTIVE, NOT BUSY
• How To Be Productive Even When Stuck In Traffic
• HOW CAN I DO TEN THINGS AT THE SAME TIME