I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment.
That is a quote given to Tom Hopkins when he was still a struggling salesman. As that quote was given to him after pursuing a successful businessman to have lunch with him. A quote that resonated so well with Tom and provided him the focus he was striving for. Without a pen to write this down, he remembered this and after finding great success, that phrase went into his books, to his readers, and to their listeners. I was one of those readers.
This was the exact mantra I needed. Adopting this ideology of prioritizing the most effective actions and planning those actions into my day has not only provided great dividends in my life, but in my decision making as well. An example of this can be when your company is struggling and everyone has a multitude of great ideas to bring in new revenue. If your company is struggling, should you be capitalizing on new channels of revenue, or mastering your core competencies?
With 86,400 seconds in a day, taking just 300 of those to think and reflect on the past week’s tasks and the measure of their impact can be crucial. Is there any way you could improve the impact of your actions? Was there something else you could have done to bring better results?
Understand this applies to personal and family life as well. This can help you to understand what you’re spending your time on and if that is truly the best use of your time. Spending time with family to plan a vacation? Of course! Once the funds have been secured. Showing up for your Children’s special events? Absolutely. Both of these can be just as important if not more than many aspects of your work life. Productivity and balance go hand-in-hand. You must know which tasks will drive the most optimal results, and most effective use of your time.