Today, more than ever, we are constantly having to find ways to do more with less. The demands continue to rise, while the time we have each day remains the same. Whether you are a working professional, business owner, student, or a parent, doubling your productivity will certainly benefit your life. I am convinced that it will be difficult to achieve your goals without mastering your time and productivity. For some fundamental tips on time management, visit this blog post. Now let’s dig a bit deeper into 3 Secrets to Doubling Your Productivity Today.
The 80/20 Rule
The first secret to doubling your productivity today is to use the 80/20 rule for everything. The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle, states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This means, if you have a list of 10 items to complete on your to-do list, only 2 items will account for 80% of your productivity. In business, let’s say you are selling 10 different products. You will probably find on average that 2 of those products account for the majority of your sales. You can look at this principle in many ways of course. The important thing is to apply it to your current situation now. If you find yourself overwhelmed with never ending tasks, use the 80/20 rule to prioritize.
“Low-value tasks are like rabbits, they multiply continually.”
Brian Tracy
If you are one of those people who procrastinate on the difficult tasks, apply the 80/20 rule. Those few tasks that you hate the most will likely be the catalyst to double your productivity today. You can apply this to any area of your life including business and career, marriage and relationships, parenting, education, and more. The key to doubling your productivity and achieving success in those areas is to do the most important tasks first, even if you highly dislike them.
“Discipline is doing what you really don’t want to do so you can do what you really want to do.”
Jeff Fisher
Learn to Delegate
One of the problems with being capable of doing anything is trying to do everything. While it may have previously been a badge of honor to be someone who does it all, that’s no longer the case. There are certainly people who still wear many hats for their business or company. I would highly doubt that they are among the most productive people. Being busy is not the same as being productive. You must learn to delegate if you are going to double your productivity.
“You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.”
Byron Dorgan, Former US Senator
The primary fear of those who won’t delegate is that the task will not get accomplished with the same level of excellence or care as they will perform themselves. I can agree with this also, as I like for tasks to be performed a certain way. I believe this is some of the best advice I’ve heard for those situations,
“If someone else can do a task at least 80% as well as I can, I give it to them.”
John Maxwell.
My wife, who stays home primarily with our children, can probably attest to this fact in the area of cleaning. She is unmatched in her ability to clean and make the entire house shine with excellence. It still makes sense to “delegate” certain tasks to me because she knows that 80-90% effectiveness from me is better than not completing them at all. She could decide that we would get a better outcome by her doing everything herself. The reality is that she is only capable of so much output, and making progress on the day to day tasks is more important.
Sharing the load at home is fairly typical, whether with a spouse or roommate. We can live with the results even if not perfect. We must do the same in all areas of our lives where we need to be more productive. If you are unable to get 80% of your expected output from others, here is some more advice,
” If someone else has the potential to do a task at least 80% as well as I can, I train them.”
John Maxwell
Taking the time to train someone who has potential will be a worthy investment of time now to save time later. If you want to double your productivity starting today, learn to delegate.
Learn to Outsource
The final secret to doubling your productivity is outsourcing. This allows you to trade your money for your time. Delegation is when you give someone else authority but the responsibility is still ultimately yours. Outsourcing gives both authority and responsibility to someone else for the task.
If you are constantly bombarded with tasks and find it hard to focus on your top 20%, outsourcing could be the key. The reason people decide against outsourcing is because they value their money over their time. We spend our entire lives being taught that “spending” time and saving money is effective. I am an advocate for saving and investing money with a purpose, but this mindset will not allow you to double your productivity.
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”
Jim Rohn
You must begin today to change your thoughts concerning the value of your time. If you can invest your money to allow more time for things that truly matter, it’s well worth considering. Furthermore, if you can now spend that time making even more money, that’s a monetary return on investment, which is always a good thing.
Start Now
Now that you know the 3 Secrets to Doubling Your Productivity, begin immediately to implement these strategies. Time management is a very important part of attracting success into your life, but there are certainly others. If you are ready to become the best version of you, sign up for a free consultation and allow me to help you jump-start your journey to becoming more.
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