Getting things done

“To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.” - Steve Jobs

“Having a vision for what you want is not enough. Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas A. Edison

Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison. American icons. Inventors. Innovators. Driven.

Execution was everything. Being deftly skilled at execution was significantly important to them both. Executing in an excellent way – priceless!

Last week, we looked at the discipline of managing and maintaining a calendar for each day / week to ensure that we were working on our commitments and focused on the right things.

This week, we are looking at the third of four disciplines related to maximizing our productive time: execution management.

The higher your level of expected throughput, the greater the need for systems and processes to execute efficiently and effectively. Every level step up in efficiency requires higher discipline, structure, and process.?

To make the most of everyday - to move from distracted to laser-focused determination to execute, we must develop a set of consistent, repeatable disciplines – and then practice them each day. We have had hundreds of individuals take our TimeGainer assessment quiz – and consistently the second area that people self-assess as having the most potential productivity gain is Execution Management:

• Email management
• Eliminating Distraction
• Goal setting / goal execution
• Setting Top Priority for the Day

All four of these disciplines have significant value, but for many of us, the impact of mastering the last three is overshadowed by whether we the have mastered the first. To master your time in execution management, most of us need to first concentrate on:

• Mastering inbound requests

Inbound requests – email, text messages, postal mail, voicemail, and internal memos / paperwork follow a similar flow. Combined they require seemingly constant attention that if not given, creates a stack of requests that can quickly become overwhelming.

How many times do you look at an individual email in your inbox before you finally act? Each of us is different, but, on average, a person will review a standard email 3-5 times. The more complex – the higher the average becomes.?

The average businessperson receives 60-100 emails a day (would you love to have it that low?). On the conservative side, that would mean we would read the subject, review the first line of the message, and?decide to not act?on items in our inbox 180-500 times every day! How’s that for a non-productivity stat?

Kenny Nagunst from 806Sports in Amarillo shared a productivity approach that we absolutely love – the O.H.I.O. method:?Only?Handle?It?Once! What impact would OHIO have on your daily productivity? If you could read, react, resolve the next step you needed to take the first time you interact with an inbound message?

I know that I am less stressed, more in control, and more productive when I am diligent about working / resolving my inbound messages the first time. This doesn’t always mean completion, but it does mean that I have taken definitive action and determined the next step for each item immediately.?

From her book?Take Back Your Life,?Sally McGhee offers the 4 Ds framework for inbound email management. This framework gives us a methodology to put the OHIO method into action. For every inbound message, take one of four actions (the first time we read it):

• Delete It?- junk mail, spam, distractions
• Do It?- do I have time to do it right now?
• Delegate It?- better handled by someone else on my team?
• Defer It?- is this something I need to do, but need a block of time to do so

Tackle – and gain the discipline to deal with inbound requests, and then move on to eliminating distractions, setting goals, and setting you top priority for each day. The inherently reactive nature of inbound email, voicemail, and other requests can dominate the mindshare of our day – take control and execute!

Only Action gets you closer to your dreams - do something today that your future self will thank you for."

- COACH RORY

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