The ability to avoid distraction and focus in a world of constant and over-stimulation is one of the most important skills you can have.
7 ways to stop being busy and start being productive
To achieve what is worthwhile you must learn how to distinguish between the important and the urgent
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United State’s 34th president, was renowned for his productivity. Eisenhower managed Cold War tensions, ended the Korea war, created NASA, welcomed Alaska and Hawaii into the union, all whilst ensuring that Americans enjoyed great advances in Social Security and infrastructure: see the Interstate Highway System, as well as supporting initiatives paving the path for the internet (DARPA) and nuclear peace (Atomic Energy Act).
Imagine this:
Never in a hurry
Confident, self-assured
In the moment yet ready and poised
Every action done with panache, a sort of flair
This is the kind of attitude Eisenhower had. How was such a man able to achieve so much? Luck must have played a part no doubt? How was he able to act swiftly in the turbulence of World War II as the supreme commander of the Allied Forces yet see America thrive through the post-war period? How was he able to pull off one of the most impressive invasions in military history, D-Day, invading the beaches of Normandy with over 326,000 troops and 100,000 tons of military equipment in only 5 days?
- Eisenhower saw through the cloudiness of life.
- He saw things for what they were, not what he wished them to be.
- He understood the importance of perception in decision making.
“There will only be cheerful faces at this conference table”, Eisenhower said in response to the German blitzkrieg, one of the most intimidating and shocking developments in modern warfare. “The present situation is to be regarded as opportunity for us and not disaster.”
How can we not only see the opportunity within the obstacle but see it and take action? How can we stop tormenting ourselves with these ideas and dreams and actually start them?
I would look at others and wonder how they had achieved great things. It seemed effortless to them. I worked so hard, at least in my mind. What was I doing wrong?
Without further ado, here are six methods to distinguish between the important and the urgent and to start being productive.
Six ways to become more productive
- Focus on the important. At the end of the day, completing which one or two tasks would make me feel satisfied? Which tasks actually contribute to my goals? How can we distinguish between what is important and what is not?
- Write down everything you want to do on a sheet of paper.
- Assign each task to one of the four quadrants in the Eisenhower Decision Matrix below.
- Focus your attention on the top two quadrants.
The seventeenth-century Frenchman Cardubak de Retz wrote, “The most ordinary cause of people’s mistakes is their being too much frightened at the present danger, and not enough so at that which is remote.”
2. The little things build up. Do the uncomfortable things first. Start with
what is tough. Once you get these done, you build momentum. You feel less anxious because you’ve done the mundane or difficult activities first.
3. Just start it. Just allocate 20 minutes to it. That way you won’t feel guilty about it. The game changer and composer Evelyn Glennie does this. At least then you expose the problem for what it is and reign your imagination in.
4. Focus on making something tangible. You can only spend so much time planning and pondering. It’s when you convert ideas into tangible things that you begin to see progress and with progress comes motivation. Turning intentions into calls and business plans into handshakes.
5. Don’t spend too much time on the insignificant. I drained my energy on what offered no long-term benefits. I consumed information like the news that would be useless a day from now, that had a short half-life. I was working hard but not working smart. Working smart is key.
6. There is an opportunity in everything. They are literally all around us. Take the opportunities that come your way. They will often not come in the way you think. They may seem like burdens at first but every situation is an opportunity to act well, to push ourselves to a new level of functioning. Every obstacle trains us or increases our resolve. Do not wait for the rule-book of life to come your way. Nobody’s going to give it to you. Start asking questions, delving into new topics or developing your skills. It’s a different mindset. Look for the opportunity or develop yourself whilst the opportunity waits to present itself.
7. Do not let your plan be vague. The simpler the better. Planning gives clarity. Clarity rids you of the anxiety and vagueness that are the primary reasons why so many fail to conclude their actions successfully. It is better to overplan and be rigid than to be vague and improvise. As Robert Green wrote, “No good can come from refusing to think far into the future and planning to the end. Only having a clear objective and a far-reaching plan allows you that freedom”.
These methods have really benefited me and though I often struggle, keeping these seven rules in mind gets me back on track. To avoid distraction and focus in a world of constant stimulation is one of the most important skills you can have.
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”
― Winston S. Churchill
[Day 3/Day 30]
