How to Be More Effective

Scenario: "Yo, let's spend the entire day on fixing ____. We-so-determined! Yay!" Peep this: Johnny Orangeseed runs a small factory in Fremont, Californ-i-a. This crazy mofo employs twenty employees.

The company ain't runnin' so well:

• His managers need resources.
• His accountant needs balance sheets.
• His employees need software.
• His customers need shipments.

But-oh-no-no-no! Sure, Mr. Orangeseed thinks subconsciously:

• "Oh-gee-golly! I have so much work to do!"

But consciously, what does his booty do?

• "Just wait right there! I gotta fix our customer feedback form first! Once I fix this thing, that will free up my time to help others! Shebang!"

So, what does the Johnny do?

• 10:00 a.m: He tries fixing teh report.
• 11:00 a.m: Still tries.
• 12:00 p.m.: Still tries.
• 1:00 p.m.: Still tries.
• 2:00: p.m.: Still tries.
• 3:00 p.m.: Still tries.
• 4:00 p.m.: "Gee-golly! I just fixed it!"

Then, he tells himself and whoever's listening:

• "See...when you put your entire heart into completing something, you can accomplish anything! Yay! Believe in yourself!"

So, he goes about his daily days with his self-indulgent victory trips, as:

• His managers drain morale.
• His employees lose productivity.
• His accountant's getting woozy.
• His customers start cussing.

Boo.

Why Accomplishing ______ Ain't So Important

What was the most important thing you did last year? "Oh-no, not-one-thing!" you scream. "My badass completed a plethora of things that contributed to my effectiveness last year!"

1. Take the the most important thing you did last year?
2. It'd still be a fraction of what you accomplished.

(And probably, within that context -- you still completed numerous mini-tasks.) A ridiculous collection of tasks contributed to that 2006 story. And the times when you focused 100% of heart, energy, and soul on fixing that itty-bitty problem that bugged you?

• In the grand scheme of things, that itty-bitty problem ain't so important after all.

If a future situation like that happens:

1. Delegate/trash it.
2. Move on.

It's not worth your time.

The Goal

1. Finish something quickly.
2. Start next task.
3. Repeat.

Productivity. Soar. Eagle.

Big Shots Think Bigger

Hewlett and Packard had no business plan. As did Salesforce's Marc Beinoff, Virgin's Richard Branson, and Michael Dell, Gates, Buffett, yadda. Walt Disney's behind just wanted to sell something. We still know folks that tell us they're still "perfecting" their business plans -- after 5 years. Boo. Spending 9968987408609587094 hours on one thing gets you nowhere.

It Just Doesn't Matter

Sure, you hear those "success gurus" telling you:

• "Never give up! Yay!"

They.suck.suck. Hanging onto something for too long suffocates productivity. It gets to a point where spending any more time on Task A will contribute nothing to Task A. Remember:

• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.
• Nothing's too important.

One-two-three-five-twenty years from now: It just does not matter.

Sidebar: Measuring Real Productivity

A sweet measure of productivity: Measure how many tasks you accomplish, daily. That is:

1. List the items you'd want accomplished today.
2. Tackle dem suckas.

Rule of thumb:

The more tasks you accomplish in a day, the crazier more productive you'll see yourself by the end of the week. Doing many things drives you to focus on bigger pictures. A collection of tasks drives freakish progress.

El entire enchilada.

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