“What if”, those could be the most unproductive two words in the ADHD vocabulary. How much time is wasted worrying about “What if”? “What if” steals precious time from you and keeps you busy doing nothing.
“What if” keeps you in a state of worry about the future, which keeps you from being in, and enjoying, the present. The present is the only thing that you can truly have control over, so being in it and aware of it will make the present more product. When you worry about “What if”, you are worrying about a future that “has not” happened. There is a great line in the television show “Modern Family”, when the character Phil tells his wife, “If I start apologizing for things I might do, how productive will I be?” what a great example of how worrying about the future affects the present. So if you catch yourself worried about “What if”, remind yourself that it hasn’t happened yet, and if you focus on the present and what needs to be done now, your productivity will increase, and the “What if” probably won’t happen. I wish you success!
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I wish you success! For a lot of people, saying no to other peoples requests is a very difficult thing. I call this the “Golden Retriever Affect”. You want to make sure that everyone around you is happy, so you say yes to every request that is made of you.
By the end of the day, or the week, you feel so overwhelmed and stressed out, due to all of the new commitments, that you can’t seem to get anything started, and you feel like giving up, because there is no way to get everything done, and certainly not done correctly! Overcommitting is one of the biggest reasons that we get stuck, and are not able to move forward on what really needs to be completed. So, how do we learn to say no? Well, politely of course. A simple, “I am sorry, but my current work load, does not give me the time to handle this project and complete what I have already committed to.” will normally do the trick, and almost everyone will understand that, since they are probably overcommitted as well. By not taking on more then you can handle, you will reduce your stress, and be able to complete your tasks, making you less anxious and happier. Taking care of your happiness first will allow you to help others later. I wish you success! Are you busy from the time you wake up until you go to bed, if you go to bed? Yet tasks never seem to get completed. Don’t give up on a task until you have seen it to completion. Finished with the client proposal, then send it to the client, or print it out for your upcoming meeting.
Start tracking what you work on each day, and what excuses you use for not completing them. “I kept getting interrupted”: Prevent interruptions, close your office door, turn off the ringer on you phone, make yourself unavailable. “There is not enough time to finish”: Start reviewing your schedule, chances are you are overbooking yourself, if most tasks are not completed because you don’t have time, you need to cut back and be realistic. “I’m just to tired to finish”: Again you are probably, overbooked, trying to do to much and not giving yourself enough time to rest and recharge. You really do need to sleep! “I just don’t feel like doing it”: Ah motivation. When you are tracking what you work on, pay attention to what parts of the day you get the most done. Plan on completing tasks during this part, or parts, of the day. I wish you success! Being in charge means that people come to you with questions, problems and suggestions. Having an open door policy creates an inviting and open environment for your employees, but it can also create a non-productive place for you.
Letting people come in and interrupt you at any time, can be a disaster when you are trying to complete a task, or have a deadline looming. Those interrupts often take you into a different thought process and may even take you away from the task at hand completely. When need to focus on a project, have a deadline requirement or just want to complete something, give yourself permission to close your office door, and work! Your employees will understand and respect the closed door and realize that while the door is closed you are off limits. Getting into the habit of giving yourself the time and environment to be productive in will benefit you and those around you! I wish you success! What is the difference between “Activity” and “Productivity”
By definition: Activity is “The state of being active”, “Energetic action or movement; liveliness” Productivity is “The quality of being productive, “Creating a desired output” Right away you can see the difference in the two words. Active means to simply be in motion, while productive means to work toward a desired end, or product. If we translate that into our lives, activity would mean basically doing anything that kept us busy or occupied, while productivity would mean doing something with a specific goal or outcome in mind. Translate that into your business life and you can immediately see the difference, do you want to spend you precious time on work that just keeps you occupied, or work that leads you to a specific goal or outcome? Many times you must pause and reflect on what you are doing and working on, and determine if you are being active or product, and adjust you actions according. |
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