No I am not talking about 25 pounds or 25% body fat. I am talking about leaning down the 25% of things you might not enjoy on a day to day basis in your work.
Research by Dr. Dan Harrison shows that people that enjoy 75% or more of their work are four times more likely to be successful at it. Assuming you are in this category of highly successful people, there still may be 25% or more of your job that just isn’t your cup of tea. And yet you still have to do it. There are basically two options: delegate or get lean. If you can’t get somebody else to do it, then you might as well get efficient at it.
- Look at some task you may not enjoy—something like expense reports or a monthly status update. (Honestly, who likes those?)
- Look at the process and figure out the steps and what (specifically) slows it down. Get to the root cause. Do you have to spend time searching for miscellaneous receipts in a wallet or briefcase? Are you habitually missing some receipts like for taxis? Are you simply procrastinating? Whatever it is, try to lean down the process and make it easier.
- Use a daily check-in to monitor progress for the next thirty to 60 days. It takes time to get better at things and easy to forget an intention, so make some structure. At the end of each day ask yourself “What did I not accomplish that I wanted to accomplish and why was that?”
You don’t have to be a six sigma black belt or efficiency expert to be more productive. Just figure out how to do it just a little bit faster each time.
Constant progress (even a little at a time) can make our work that much smoother, more enjoyable, and preserve time for our high value activities.
Want to be more effective as a leader and spend more time on high-value activities? Contact me by phone or email (480-720-9551 or gary@garycovertconsulting.com) to discuss your unique situation.
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