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Four guys and a backhoe are outside my window digging up drains while I eat breakfast. (No, this will not turn into a joke). The guy inside the backhoe is doing most of the work, as he expertly maneuvers the bucket and detachable jackhammer. It’s easy to see that he is highly skilled and very experienced. The other three guys watch, kick a rock or two and nibble on snacks from their pockets. One guy moves the truck occasionally to catch the contents of the bucket.
Is it efficient and productive to have four people do a job that appears to take two?
Watch what’s going on around you. Productivity is a problem everywhere. Most advisors I speak to say that they never get enough done in their day. Some complain that important things like business development get repeatedly postponed. Many are frustrated with ongoing interruptions and overwhelmed with unproductive staff and too many tasks on their to-do lists (if they even have a to-do list). Their emails are overflowing, and the unfinished business follows them home in the evening.
What about you? Are you the highly skilled, experienced person (like the backhoe driver) who checks off every item on their to-do list. Or are you like the other three guys, suffering from a lack of productivity? Let’s see if I can help with a few productivity hacks that you can implement today.
Release your delegator
If you think that there’s even the slightest chance that you’re a perfectionist, then it’s very likely that your “delegator is stuck in prison.” Perfectionism and delegation don’t mix. You’ve probably convinced yourself that nobody else can do (fill in the blank) as good as you can. Sometimes, what you mean is that you don’t trust anyone else to do it right, as if you hold the magical power of doing everything right. Is this true? Striving for perfection can bring about anxiety, stress, feelings of hopelessness, loss of interest, loss of appetite, and even serious conditions that require medical treatment.
The reality is, just because you can do it all, doesn’t mean you should. I understand this because I too used to be a perfectionist. I’ve lived the struggle. One step towards increasing your productivity is to empower other people to do the things you don’t need to do or shouldn’t be doing. The key word here is “empower.” Do what needs to be done to ensure they gain the skills, acquire the knowledge and have the time to fulfill their role and responsibilities. Release your delegator from prison and empower your team to perform their best.
Manage the doorway lurker
If one day you counted how many times you were interrupted, you would quickly realize the significant impact it has on your productivity. This is what happens. As the interruptions occur, your energy drops from what you were doing to handle it. Afterwards, the difficulty lies in trying to regain that energy. Without a good plan for your day to cope with interruptions, you’ll get distracted by another task, go fill your coffee cup or surf social media. Sometimes you can’t avoid them, but there are many, many other times that you can manage your interruptions and salvage your productivity. Learning to manage interruptions comes down to one thing: taking control of your time. It’s up to you to protect your time.
Advisors tell me that a big culprit for interruptions is the person standing in their doorway wanting their attention. Plan ahead for this common interruption and improve your productivity almost instantly. Here are a few strategies to help you manage the doorway lurker.
Some advisors purposely do not have an extra chair in their office to avoid having people sit for any length of time. It might feel extreme, but it works. Politely tell people that you only have “x” minutes, because you’re focused on a project (and stick to it). Tell people it would be better for them to come back at a specific time when you can give them your full attention. Or tell them you can’t talk now but will come find them once you’ve completed your task. I know advisors who teach their staff that when their door is open, they are available for limited interruptions and other necessities, but when their door is closed, they are focused on a project and prefer not to be interrupted if possible.
Schedule your to-do list
Have you ever had one of those days where you’re crazy busy, never stop going and still cross nothing off your to-do list? To make yourself feel better, you add something to your to-do list that you just accomplished so that you can cross something off. Sound familiar?
If your to-do list is in your head, it’s surrounded by the swirls of everything else you need to remember to accomplish before the end of the day. A better strategy to help your productivity is to schedule your to-do list directly on your calendar. Every item on your to-do list requires time to complete it, and it demands a commitment to get it done. When you leverage your calendar as your planning tool, you’ll change how you plan and view your day.
Take each task and decide when you’ll do it. Make an appointment with yourself in your calendar to complete that task. At the end of the day, if a task was not completed, make a decision and move it to a new day and time. If your decision-making muscle is weak, this could take a while to become a new habit. But stick with it and watch what happens to your to-do list.
It’s easy to resign yourself to thinking that your productivity is out of your control. But be honest, there are plenty of ways that you can improve your productivity by your actions, words and decisions. These are a few of the many productivity strategies that I help my clients perfect over time.
Remember, if you don’t control your time, someone else will.
Michelle R. Donovan and Patty Kreamer own Productivity Uncorked LLC where Michelle (Referral Coach) and Patty Kreamer (Productivity Coach) offer a one-two punch to help financial advisors get more done in their day and be more profitable. If you’re tired of feeling unproductive and overwhelmed, email Michelle at [email protected].
Read more articles by Michelle R. Donovan
