The Productive Zone

A productive person can be busy, but a busy person is not necessarily productive.

Busy vs. Productive: What is the difference?

Example 1: Angelica has 240 e-mails sitting in her inbox. She is finishing two projects that are due this Friday and has been asked to begin research on three new projects to be completed at the end of the summer. She also has an entrepreneurial endeavor that she founded four months ago. Unfortunately, Angelica is having a hard time finding a good start-up staff. She has been randomly calling people listed on a local public directory to see whether anyone is interested in joining her business. She doesn't have a to-do list and she doesn't like thinking about the future. She takes one day at a time and gets stressed thinking about 2018. Angelica is overwhelmed.

Example 2: Vivique is the manager of a boutique public relations firm. When her co-manager, Lesley, moved to another state with her family last month, Vivique also took on the responsibilities associated with Lesley's position. She is in the process of conducting interviews in order to hire a new co-manager. Vivique has assigned several multi-layered projects to her three competent staff members and is working directly with a long-time client on an upcoming gala. She currently has seven clients, but keeps an organized desk calendar, a detailed to-do list, and she updates event information in her mobile device. Vivique wakes up at 5:30 A.M. to exercise at the gym. She arrives at the office at 8:30 in the morning and leaves at 5 P.M. She is focused, dedicated, and passionate about her work. She answers unread work e-mails between 7 and 8 PM, makes time for meditation sessions each evening, and then goes to bed by 9:30. Vivique looks forward to growing her business.

Analysis

Angelica has a busy schedule. Vivique has a balanced schedule. Her time management skills allow her to work less but to get more done. Angelica, on the other hand, needs to make small changes that will help her to join The Productive Zone.

1) E-mail Strategy: Angelica needs to create an e-mail strategy that works. During her main work hours, she should focus on answering client e-mails. After every workday, she needs to take at least 30 minutes to answer e-mails from those interacting with her side business and use the weekend to delete unwanted e-mails.

2) Time Management: Angelica needs to find a database of people who specialize in start-ups and hone in on those who have the skills that she requires. Randomly calling people is wasting time.

3) Lists of Goals: Angelica needs two lists. She needs to write her short-term goals on one and her long-term goals on another. Until she can imagine her 2018 goals, she will continue to have a chaotic 2017.

Conclusion

Are you like Angelica or Vivique? Are there things that you can do to enhance your productivity quotient? Stay confident, organized, and ready to take on new challenges. The Productive Zone is where amazing things can happen for you and your business.

*Characters are fictional.