I believe in putting my money where my mouth is, so this week I am sharing with you my own personal productivity tips: the actions that have helped me stay on top of my game, manage my business, wealth, family and life in general.
I developed these three ideas as the result of countless iterations, experiments and improvements I have made over my 25+ years in business. They represent the best systems I have discovered to keep me focused, productive and fully engaged in those critical few activities that create value, while avoiding the trivial many that distract and deplete my precious resources.
Tip 1 – My Goals: I have one long-term, overarching lifetime goal for each of the following areas of my life: Health, Family and Wealth. Each year I break each of those long-term goals into an annual goal which supports its achievement. Each day I set up a single action, in each of those three areas, that will help me achieve my annual goals and then schedule it into my day. These are the “must hit” actions for the day and everything else is subordinated to them. Big goals produce big actions which produce big results.
Tip 2 – My Schedule: I live by my schedule and use it to rule my day. If it’s not on the schedule, it gets ignored! I use a paper based, week-at-a-glance planning diary called the Quo Vadis Trinote (7″ x 93/8″). I know it sounds strange in a digital world, but I love the convenience of seeing my entire week laid out in front of me, and the ease of being able to quickly modify appointments or update actions. In addition, I write my top three goals into a box at the top of each day, and then my minor to-do items into space below the day. At the end of each day, I write down my biggest accomplishments for that day, in order to reinforce my own work ethic and traction.
Tip 3 – My Week In Review: 100% of the credit for this idea goes to David Allen’s great book, “Getting Things Done”. Buy a copy today. Each week (Friday mornings 8 – 10 am) I review and organize my entire week just past, and prepare for the week coming up. I review every goal, project, and update all my actions. I file every scrap of paper (even empty receipts from my wallet weekly) and they are actioned, filed or thrown away. I review all email, VM and correspondence for follow up (scheduled) and periodically review what worked, and what did not. I can then finish the week well organized and set to go for the following week. I keep a file for everything.
My key point is to take productivity seriously, by having a system that is simple and works for you. I hope you enjoyed this note and if you have any questions, let me know.
By Eamonn Percy
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