Things Productivity Tools won’t Solve!

Each one of us is busy digging for productivity tools for ourselves. It’s the in thing. It’s the buzz word to live by (for the foreseeable future at least) with AI and Robots all set to knock on your desk. Not your fault!

Absolutely fine… there is nothing wrong with it.

But, yessss the BIG but – are we really aware of what triggered this search for the perfect productivity tool???

Why do YOU think you are “not productive”?

What makes you think you will turn productive overnight with a “tool” by your side?

What makes the tool superior than you?

• Fear of the unknown
• (perceived)Lack of abilities
• Or lack of trust on your own capabilities
• Plain and simple habit of procrastination
• Do not find the work rewarding
• Or mere lack of focus

Really, what is it….

You wake up with a smile, get going with your daily chores and all set on your desk. And then you see the tasks of the day staring at you. You take a good look and then first head out to your inbox. (Procrastination Step 1)

Between clearing your inbox and getting back to your tasks you get sucked into that erratic phone call, continuous pings on the office chat and obviously your Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn pages.

All of these normal & seemingly harmless daily activities have PROCRASTINATION written all over them.

No “productivity system” can beat this. And you guessed it right – You CAN!

We are a comfy yet scared species. (just as all the others, I think?)

We are at our intelligent best when we want to shy away from situations that are uncomfortable, bring in uncertainty and make us feel helpless or depict our lack of control.

It is normal. We all are guilty of doing it at one point or the other.

What matters, is getting ourselves past this. As they say – ships are safest on the harbour. But they aren’t meant for that!

And what do we do exactly?

Break Free – No, don’t run away from the tasks you see as daunting. Just take a walk in the park or around office, regroup your thoughts, identify what is required of you and what is more important…. Shying away from your responsibility or diving through the storm and come out stronger!

Accept and Make peace – Be honest with yourself. Accept that you are frightened. Make peace with the fact that may be you will not be able to pass the test with flying colours.  Persistence is far more important than winning.

No one promised you a job with no-brainer tasks. Embrace the uncertainty around being successful.

What are you fearful of. Analyze. Test your perceptions.  Do not fight the task. Fight your fears, your procrastination. Use your rationale to build the required confidence, skills and persistence. You will do just fine.

List the skills or resources you need to garner to get the project rolling with specific timelines. Start ticking them off one after the other.

Find your Motivation – Nothing can beat a motivated soul. No amount of negativity or uncertainty can shake you when you are focused on your goal and driven by motivation.

Find what the task is all about. How does its completion make you feel? Who benefits the most out of a job well-done?

Is it a happy client, does it bring the recognition you crave for, does it make you skillful and happy, do you find the task rewarding? Does it make you the start of the team?

Dig on to your motivation and stay the course.

Control your Distractions – The digital life we live doesn’t leave us with enough control. But it is time we took back some of it. Mute & put that cell phone in your drawer, sign out of all your social media and concentrate on the task at hand.

Form rules around clearing your inbox, attending to unimportant phone calls or devoting time to social media during work time. After all you are not being paid for being present in the office premises.

When tempted, ask yourself – is it the right thing to do at the moment?

Does it add value to your day?

Does it make you an asset to the team?

Can your clients count on you when it matters the most?

Practice priority setting. Plan your day well in advance and stick to it. Slowly, yet steadily you will be in control, you will be certain of success and so will your projects and tasks.

Small Doses are effective – The key thing while dealing with tasks that test your abilities is to break them down. Break them to a level where they start to make you comfortable.

Second, find your balance. See how much can you complete in one sitting. It can be sittings of 30minutes, an hour or two hours. Whatever works for you.

Do it in small doses. One sitting at a time!

Be your own time keeper. Time management comes in handy when your focus is on the end goal.

It adds that sense of excitement and victory when you meet the deadlines you set for yourself and further add to your motivation.

They set you up for the big stage!

Now some business speak….

As professionals we should never forget the impact of our shortcomings on the teams and enterprise we work for.

Procrastination – missing deadlines, loss of customer confidence and business

Fear of failure – no out of the box thinking, no innovation and your competitor wins

Lack of motivation – precious waste of billable hours, negativity in the team, no collaboration and what you get is absolute project failure.

Not trusting your abilities – loss of productivity, no time management, underutilized resources, lack of skilful resources in the organization

All of the above – End of your career and humungous loss of revenue for your enterprise and possible lights-off

In the end

No system or tool can win this for you.

Mindful practice and focusing in the moment is what equips you to handle uncertainty and discomfort. See them as a valuable part of our life not otherwise. Just as the food, the air and the water they also have their significance.

Remember that the greatest innovations have blossomed because they weren’t stifled by uncertainty and fear of failure – Aeroplanes, Macbooks, Smartphones, Linkedin, Electric cars etc.

Where is the fun in leading a “certain” life with no deviations?

Uncertainty and discomfort though unpleasant, add adventure, experience, learning, excitement and wisdom to our lives. They are the key components that make the perfect productivity system that is you.

And to help you with your quest for a Productivity System – hop on to Orangescrum. The simplest yet highly collaborative platform that brings your teams and enterprise together to be productive, to deliver value to your clients, make them successful and stay profitable.