Intentional Producktivity®
Becky S. Corbett, MSW, ACSW & Emily Tevault, MBA
“Producktivity® is intentionally identifying what is important to you and focusing your time and energy on your priorities.” Emily Tevault, Vice President, Programs & Producktivity®
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 strategies and will support you in making an intentional decision and moving it to action.
Principle: Identify
You need all the relevant information to make an intentional decision. Start by identifying all of your options: why you want to change, what you want to accomplish, and what success looks like.
Strategy: Brainstorm
Be curious: free yourself to be creative and say goodbye to accomplishing tasks a certain way because that is the way they have always been done. To facilitate new thinking, determine the most effective setting to brainstorm. The ideal session allows for all ideas to be articulated in a supportive atmosphere.
Strategy: Collect Data
Focus on gathering data to support your ideas. Resist the urge to assume and instead determine valuable and legitimate sources from where to collect information. Create a reliable system to capture data.
Strategy: Research
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of research is to investigate exhaustively. The internet provides us with vast access to information, so sorting valid and constructive nuggets is crucial. Be thorough and identify when you have obtained enough information to make your decision.
Principle: Connect
Making connections keeps you
working toward your goals. Take time to reflect and ask yourself challenging
questions: “What holds me back? What do I need to start or stop doing? What
provides the greatest value? What is important to me?” Making connections will
strengthen your why—why you are choosing
your actions and committing time to your decision.
Strategy: Dream Big
Dreaming provides you with motivation, passion, and purpose. The daily list of tasks can weigh you down and give you tunnel vision. Take a step back and concentrate on your values to help drive your decision. Never lose sight of your overall vision.
Strategy: Analyze
Analysis is looking at information and data from different perspectives, taking it apart, and reassembling it. Data alone cannot make the best decision for a given situation. Analysis allows you to connect your options with your values and priorities.
Strategy: Define Resources
You need others to achieve your organizational, professional, and personal goals: such as, a mentor to make an introduction or review your resume, a financial advisor to plan for retirement, a coach to challenge you and stretch your growth. Determine your network of human resources, as well as the financial cost to advance your growth.
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. Manage your priorities and channel your energy effectively.
Strategy: Plan
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 reminds you it is okay to make adjustments. Write down your goals and plan and be prepared to modify it.
Strategy: Prioritize
Even though many tools exist to assist with managing priorities, you are the one who needs to determine how they support your values. Making everything a top priority will lead you to feel overwhelmed. Identify and focus on your top three tasks.
Strategy: Manage Time
Center your energy and attention on spending your time on what is urgent and important. Working longer hours does not mean you will be more productive. If it is important to you, add it to your calendar. Plan for interruptions—you may not know what they will entail, but you can count on them happening.
Apply the Producktivity® Principles to make intentional decisions and manage your time through prioritization. Move swiftly from reading this document to implementation and commit to making a decision today. Use the Producktivity® Principles to be successful and share your thoughts and experiences below.
“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 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 BSC services, reach out to us at Info@bscorbettconsulting.com, follow us on Twitter, and read our Move to Action blogs.