BSC Tips & Techniques
Organizing with Producktivity®
Becky S. Corbett, MSW, ACSW & Emily Tevault, MBA
“Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.”
Brian Tracy, Public Speaker and Self-Development Author
Being productive is about more than checking things off your list. It is about aligning your values with how you spend your time and prioritizing where you focus your attention and energy. BSC developed a decision making and time management tool, Producktivity® that is centered around three principles: Identify. Connect. Organize. Each principle has three (3) strategies. Below are nine (9) tips and techniques to support you in making an intentional decision and moving it to action.
Producktivity® Principle: Identify
You need to have all of the pieces of the puzzle to make an intentional decision. Start by identifying all of your options. Identify what you want to accomplish, what success looks like, and why you want to change.
Tip/Technique #1 – Identify Strategy: Brainstorm
Be curious, free yourself to be creative and say goodbye to doing things a certain way because “that is the way they have always been done.” Determine the most effective setting for you to brainstorm. The ideal brainstorming session allows for all ideas to be captured in a supportive atmosphere.
Tip/Technique #2 – Identify Strategy: Collect Data
Resist the urge to assume and instead focus on supporting your ideas with data. Determine valuable and legitimate sources. Create a reliable system to capture data so your mind is free to generate ideas from what you collect rather than concentrating on not losing valuable information.
Tip/Technique #3 – Identify Strategy: Research
Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of research is to investigate exhaustively. We are fortunate, thanks to technology to have access to large amounts of information. Be thorough and also identify when you have obtained enough information to make your decision.
Producktivity® Principle: Connect
Making connections is what keeps you working toward your goals. Take time to reflect and ask yourself tough questions. What could hold you back, what do you need to start or stop doing, what provides you with the greatest value, what is important to you? Making connections will strengthen your why: Why are you choosing your actions and why are you committing time to your decision?
Tip/Technique #4 – Connect Strategy: Dream Big
Dreaming provides you with motivation, passion, and purpose. The daily list of things to accomplish can weigh you down and give you tunnel vision. Take a step back and concentrate on your values to help drive your decision.
Tip/Technique #5 – Connect Strategy: Analyze
Analysis is looking at information and data from different perspectives. Data alone cannot make the best decision for your situation. Analysis allows you to connect your options with your values and priorities.
Tip/Technique #6 – Connect Strategy: Define Resources
You need others to achieve your personal and professional goals. A mentor to make an introduction or review your resume, a financial advisor to plan for retirement, a coach to ask challenging questions to stretch your growth. Determine your network of human resources and who else you may need, as well as the financial cost to move your growth forward.
Producktivity® Principle: Organize
Once you have made an intentional decision, it is time to move it to action. Make specific and measurable commitments that will move your growth forward and build in accountability with a trusted colleague, friend or family member. Manage your priorities. If it is important to you, it needs to be on your calendar.
Tip/Technique #7 – Organize Strategy: Plan
The majority of people do not write down goals and plans. A plan is a road map and there are many ways to reach your destination. Sometimes people equate a plan with not being flexible, however planning keeps you focused and lets you know when you can be flexible. Write down your plan and be prepared to modify it.
Tip/Technique #8 – Organize Strategy: Prioritize
Even though there are many tools to assist with managing priorities, you are the one who needs to determine and own your priorities. They need to connect to and support your values. Making everything a top priority will lead you to feel overwhelmed. Identify and focus on your top three (3) priorities.
Tip/Technique #9 – Organize Strategy: Manage Time
Center your energy and attention on managing your priorities, because you cannot truly manage time. Working longer hours does not equate to being more productive. Also, schedule time for unplanned interruptions. You may not know what the interruptions will entail, but you can count on them happening each day.
“There are 24 hours in a day. You cannot change the number of hours, only how you use them.”
Becky S. Corbett, Producktivity® Creator
“Producktivity® is intentionally identifying what is important to you and focusing your time and energy on your priorities.”
Emily Tevault, Chief Producktivity® Officer
Apply the Producktivity® Principles to make intentional decisions, move to action, and reach your full potential. What is one tip/technique you are committing to try? Share your thoughts and experiences, join the conversation below.
Resources:
Eat That Frog! – Brian Tracy
The Productivity Project – Chris Bailey
Today Matters – John C. Maxwell
Producktivity® is a unique, interactive personal and professional organizational tool that assists individuals and organizations with improving their decision making and time management skills.
For more information about Producktivity® and our Strengths-Based Coaching services, reach out to us at Info@bscorbettconsulting.com, follow us on Twitter, and read our Move to Action blogs.