Making Progress?
Making Progress?
I was talking to a leader the other day and they were telling me, proud as punch, about how they had got into the new habit of making lists to get things done. They would prioritise their tasks and flesh out the sub-tasks so as not to miss anything. They then went on to tell me they were frustrated because what they found was that at the end of each day, when they were planning the next day, they were transferring about 80% of the current days tasks onto the next day. Have you ever experienced that? I have to be honest here, in my past life I absolutely had days, maybe even weeks like that! It’s this constant reminder of all the things we are not making progress on!
This is a common problem for a lot of leaders and yes, we can all have those days where it feels like our whole day has been turned upside-down due to some event. But should we be feeling like that most days?
Making progress requires clarity on everything we do. It’s like having a sonar radar that highlights everything around you and helps you make informed decisions on what things are priorities and what things are not.
Once we have the clarity, we can then apply focus into those areas that are our priorities. A priority should be something that will help us achieve our strategic results. It’s the stuff that will make the boat go faster.
With laser-like focus, we are then able to start taking consistent action which means we are now becoming more productive. We have moved from having a list of things, to actually doing some stuff. For those that like to get the reward of ticking something off your list – focusing on your priorities will be your friend!
Focus and consistent action on our priorities will lead us to achieve the results we need and want.
When we lead with impact, we make things happen not only for ourselves but for our businesses and our teams. So, take a moment and look at your list:
is it providing more clarity around where you are spending your time?
is where you are spending your time helping you achieve those strategic priorities – is it providing you the focus in the areas that really matter?
are you actually achieving the things that really matter?
is your list working for you, or not? Why?
Time is the one commodity you don’t get back so invest it wisely. People often complain about not having enough time but often they are struggling with a lack of direction. It was Peter Drucker who said, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things“.
So, own your list, don’t let it own you!
Lead with Impact.