3 Keys To Being Productive, Not Busy

Do you ever have one of those days where the time just flies by and you feel like you've accomplished nothing?

Sure, you may have checked off stuff from your list but was it productive for your business?

Did you have a moment?to yourself, time to connect with your spouse, and catch up with your kids?

We all have those days and that's ok.

But when weeks, months, and even years go by and it feels like Groundhog Day, then there's a problem.?

The picture above is from a recent?Saturday Night Live skit ?of a co-worker who's extremely busy doing nothing.

Go ahead and take a few moments to watch a lighthearted?view of what we as entrepreneurs feel like at times.

Hopefully, it doesn't make you cry at the reality of it though.?

So how do you stay away from becoming busy doing nothing to be consistently productive and maintain some balance in your life?

1. Change Your Mindset?

Most of us have bought into culture's mindset of hustle and grind.?

If we're not busy then we're not accomplishing anything.?

No research or data shows working more hours = success.

In fact, it's the opposite.

From Henry Ford's study in his factory in the early 1900s to Stanford Economist John Pencavel's productivity study twenty years ago, working over 40-50 hours/week adds little to no additional benefit.?

2. Quality over Quantity?

With that said, it's about making the time you spend in your business and home count.?

Fifteen minutes a day of dedicated, uninterrupted time with your spouse encouraging each other, praising each other, and hearing each other's heart goes a long way to staying connected.

Sitting on the couch watching Netflix or running errands together isn't the same.

If you have kids, do something similar.

One hour a day locked in your office assessing the overall health of your business, long-term planning, journaling, doing research, or other high-level activities will help you stay focused on the big picture to move the business forward.

Dealing with the day-to-day issues in the business is necessary but it just maintains the status quo. It doesn't necessarily lead to growth.

3. Block and Protect

To maintain the priority of spending quality time with your spouse and family while staying focused on productive work, you have to schedule it.

If not, all the other day-to-day issues that pop up will take precedence.?

For me, I schedule writing these eblasts on Monday morning right after I review our business plan, our (Kay Lee and me)?weekly meetings on Monday at 3:30p are a must-have, Wednesday mornings I reach out to various friends, colleagues, and clients (past, present, future), and Friday mornings stay up to date with our finances.?

These types of activities are easy to let slide because they're not pressing issues, but?if I'm not consistent with these activities Kay Lee and I can get off script and I can lose?sight of the big picture?while doing the wrong things for the business.

In fact, losing sight of the big picture can be a big reason why our lives get so busy.?

We just?"do" without questioning if it's something we should be doing now or?at all.

So take a moment to pause and reflect on your?calendar and make sure the priorities of life and business are scheduled in it.?

Here's to your success,

Robert Fukui

P.S. If you want to pick our brains, feel free to book a complimentary discovery call We’d be happy to help you win in marriage and business.

Biography: Robert and his wife Kay Lee run a consulting business that assists entrepreneur couples to create better balance in life and business. If you need a roadmap for greater work-life balance, buy their newly released book, Tandem: The married entrepreneurs' guide for greater work-life balance.