Here’s a checklist for super productivity – review it and compare it to your own performance and see how you score – these seven steps are the difference between a good career in pharma, and a phenomenal one.
1. You Always Plan Your Entire Day Before You Begin
According to the world’s bestselling author on time management, Brian Tracy, every minute of planning saves ten minutes of work. So know exactly who are you are seeing each day, what you are going to say and how you are going to get between each one.
2. You Do The Most Important Tasks First. Even If They’re Difficult
As Mark Twain put it, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” So if you have a vital report due, it’s best to do that before the office coffee run.
3. You Work With An Attitude Of Urgency
Professor John Kotter’s research has shown that a sense of urgency is the number one personality trait of successful CEO’s. This demanding proactivity is vital to cut through the inertia and complexity of most commercial enterprises.
4. You Set Tight Time Frames For All Tasks
When we have less time to do something we usually manage to do it quicker. Therefore we should always set limited amounts of time to get jobs done. Parkinson’s Law is important here: ‘Work expands to fill the time allotted for it.’
5. You Take A Break At Least Every 90 Minutes
Tony Schwartz’s work at The Energy Project conclusively proves that people perform much better when they have frequent short breaks. He has found resting every hour and a half is optimum.
6. You Read Email Only In Organized Blocks of Time
The most effective executives do not respond to email as it comes in. That will quickly break concentration and greatly increase the chances that your attention will be captured by the new and urgent, at the expense of the important.
7. You Review Your Performance Daily
In what ways did you perform well? How could you have worked better? As the U.S Air Force has shown, performance gets better when each and every mission is reviewed.
So how did you score?
Each of us is more than capable of implementing all seven of these productivity methods. None are complex to fulfil, but they demand intense focus and daily self discipline. Keep this Magnificent Seven in mind each day and watch your productivity (and ultimately life achievement) soar.
