Black Belt Productivity

When you search Google for productivity, you get a number of different definitions. I think that my favorite is from Labour Canada’s list of Industrial Terms:

Productivity: Output per unit of input: a measure of efficiency.

So, by this definition, you have an input and an output. Your input should be defined in your trusted system somewhere. It could be an item in your Next Action (NA) list, it could be a Most Important Task (MiT) [from Leo Babuta's great zen habits blog], an under 2 minute task that you are ready to complete, or just something that you thought that you needed to do.

For every input, there is going to be an output. Hopefully, you have put some thought into what that desired outcome is going to be. Knowing your desired outcome is the real key to determining how productive you are. If you have to spend time, repeating your inputs to get to your desired outcome, then you are not being very productive. The quality of your input will also determine the success your output

A simple example:

• Input: Talk to Jason @contact

What is my desired outcome for this input? *whistles Jeopardy theme*

That’s right. You cannot tell me what my desired outcome was for this item. I don’t even know what I wanted to do based on this input.

A better input would be:

• Input: Skype Jason Thursday night about increasing readership [on BBP] @contact @computer @home

This input tells me everything that I need to know to attain a single desired outcome: Come up with ideas for increasing readership on BBP.

How much more productive would the second input be over the first input. Jason and I have a wide selection of interests, and some nights we might not even talk about the blog…usually because the Braves lost ANOTHER 1 run game! We might not talk about the blog for over a week after I put that in my NA list. But we would have talked at least 2 or 3 times in that period. That is not very productive.

Spend some time crafting inputs [the actual item in your list, etc] to that it can lead you down the most efficient and productive path to the desired outcome that you are seeking. Also, think more about the desired outcome that you seek. Some outcomes are pretty straightforward, some are not. Make your chances of success much higher with better item descriptions in your system.

- Michael