There is a saying that one should “never confuse activity with results”. We all know someone who is just “busy, busy, busy” all day long, but at the end of the day they never seem to have gotten much accomplished. As I often say, “they were majoring in minors”. If the saying “perfect practice makes perfect” is true, I believe there should also be a similar saying stating “positive activity produces positive results”.
The process of identifying and measuring your own activity is very powerful. It requires you to closely examine how you work, what you do. It requires you to analyze what works and what doesn’t. Too often, we just blindly do the same things time and time again. Too often, it’s out of habit, because we’ve been taught a certain way, or because we may have been told to do things in a certain manner.
The process of identifying your own activities requires you to access and analyze everything that you do – how you plan your time, how you reach out to and engage your current customers, and how you manage new opportunities. Take a specific time, say one full week, and keep a journal of how all time was spent in five minute intervals. If you will take time to do this, I think that you will find that the insights are revealing. You will always find things to change and improve.
Make a conscious effort this week to evaluate the effectiveness of every task that you perform. You will be amazed at how a few simple changes can have a positive effect on your overall performance. We all have the same number of minutes given to us at midnight each day. When you work more efficiently, you will find yourself with both more time and money to enjoy when the tasks are completed. What are you waiting on?
Tom Jennings
