Productive vs. Busy

Being in high demand can be both flattering and frustrating at the same time. Here is a question that I hear frequently while mentoring leaders.

Q:  I need to be productive and not just busy, but I can't seem to get to the important work that makes money for my company.  What can I do to help free up more time in my day and get more meaningful work done?

A:  It's critical to really know what's important, remain focused and limit distractions.  My favorite phrase is "Build your plan; work your plan."  Here are a few ideas to help with the process:

1. Identify your important, productive work. For example, if you lead a team of sales associates, your productive work may be coaching for improved sales results, projects which increase the opportunity for sales or anything that removes obstacles to ever increasing sales results. Invest time identifying your important work and goals and then make sure everything you do is on target.
2. Build a plan.  Identify the few (and I do mean few) things that are important to be done in your day. Try setting aside just 15 minutes at the very end of the day to list the top three things that must be done the next day.  Then, build a quick plan to get those things done. Remember, important is all about productive. The difference between being productive and just busy is a matter of money. Real productivity is accomplished when working at the things that add to your firms bottom-line.
3. Block time on your calendar.  Everyone wants your time, but you also need time to accomplish tasks.  Try blocking time on the calendar at key points to be used to accomplish what you've identified as "important." The key points I refer to here are those points in the day when you are most energetic.  Let all those people who want to fill your calendar with low priority meetings do it when you are less energetic.
4. Set up email rules to help organize messages as they arrive.  There are probably email messages that are received regularly that you may need to refer to at some point, but don't really need to read as they are received.  These types of messages can be automatically placed into folders for your reference at a later date.  Additionally, rules can be used to highlight important messages so that when you look at your inbox it's clear what should be handled first. By setting up archived folders and rules that move messages into them automatically, your inbox will no longer over power you.
5. Look at email only a few times a day.  Email is one of the most persistent distractions around.  With the rules in place, there is far less of them to review.  Try setting up specific 30 minute blocks of time 3 times a day to look at email. The first thing in the morning, again right after lunch and right before your 15 minute planning period at the end of each day should do it.
6. If you touch it, handle it! One of the biggest time wasters is the repeated opening and closing of email messages without really taking any action. When a message is opened, be sure to handle, forward, file or take whatever action is required and then move on.
7. Be creative. When someone asks for your time, look for ways to reduce the amount of time that might be used. For instance, if someone asks for 1 hour of your time to meet to discuss ideas for a new project, why not suggest that the meeting be set for 30 minutes and that each participant invest individual time ahead of the meeting preparing their ideas and share them via email so that the discussion is more efficient and intelligent. Then use some of your blocked time to come up with your ideas to share.

These are just a few ideas for organizing time and being more productive. For every leader there is a perfect process. May your journey to find your own best practices be smooth and straight.