Kim Davey: Too busy? Try more productive

Kim Davey

We live in a fast-paced world. Technology constantly enables us to achieve more and more in a shorter period of time. Today people have more commitments, more responsibilities and more opportunities than ever before. At times it can all get a little overwhelming!
So what can we do to make life more enjoyable?
If your life is spiralling out of control because you are so busy you don't have a moment to breathe there is a two-step solution.
First you need to ensure you are in alignment with that which you are trying to accomplish and secondly you need to become more productive and less 'busy'.
Being in alignment simply means, doing that which you really want to do. It starts with knowing what you want.
And to know what you want, you need to have set some goals.
Too many people have not spent the time to do this and as a result they allow other people to dictate the outcome of their lives. They say "yes" to everyone and everything without giving much thought to what the task will involve.
When you are clear on what you want you can immediately see whether something will propel you closer to or further away from your ultimate goal. If it does not help you can kindly say "sorry not this time!" and begin to live a less hectic, more focused life.
So do yourself a favour, set some three, six, and 12 month goals - write them down for all areas of your life - health, wealth, family, career, etcetera.
Next, are you being busy or productive?
There are a lot of busy people out there running around like headless chickens trying to go here and there to do this and that. While they may look all important and on a mission to save the world - are they actually accomplishing anything of real value?
What you really want to be is productive. It is not how much you do that makes you successful, but what you do that determines your success. For example, if you spend all your time researching your essay but never actually write it, you have been busy but not productive. If you spend all your time replying to emails when you should be making cold calls you are being busy but not productive.
I am currently on a promotional tour across New Zealand for our LA Dance Tours. While on tour it is a whirlwind of meetings, phone calls and the like. At the same time I receive a number of emails and calls regarding other matters that are not directly related to the task at hand. It is critical to my success that I do not get side-tracked with all these other emails.
My goal is to successfully complete the tour in each city and have hundreds of dancers from all over New Zealand on board for 2015. The other emails, although important, must be taken care of after the number one priority or delegated to my admin assistant. Being productive requires knowing the tasks that will provide the greatest results and ensuring they get completed first.
So how do you structure your day so that you are productive and not just busy?
There are lots of techniques out there on productivity management. One that works well for me is very simple.
Step 1: Set your goals for the next 3 months so you know what you want.
Step 2: Each night, write down all the tasks you want to achieve the next day.
Step 3: Rank these tasks in order of importance, based on which ones will move you closer to achieving your goals.
Step 4: If you like structure, you can put this list into a time calendar so at 8am you know you will be working on task one, at 9am task two. I find that when I give myself a time limit, the pressure to get it finished keeps me on task.
So no more busy! Hello, productive! Once you make the shift your day will calm down, you will feel focused, in control and far more satisfied with your day's results. Look after yourself. Choose what is right for you. Be selfish.
When you are selfish and work on the things that bring you joy, you will be of more value to those around you in your fabulous, joyous state than in your stressed out busy state. This is your life. Be productive!
Be Real. Be True. Be You!
Kim Davey is an international speaker, author and entrepreneur who lives between Hawke's Bay and LA and runs www.nzdancenetwork.co.nz and www.kimdaveylive.com